On a Tuesday evening in January, Joanne Davey is overlooking the ocean as people stroll along an esplanade and children play on the beach.
It is 8.10pm in Adelaide and the former Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer is talking to The Irish Times from a surf club after finishing her sergeant’s shift with the South Australian Police.
Following almost a decade working in Belfast – her final posting was in the PSNI’s public order unit, policing riots and potentially dangerous situations – Davey (49) applied to an international recruitment campaign 15 years ago.
She had day-tripped to Adelaide in 2000 “for just two days”, visiting the Barossa Valley wine region and Glenelg Beach during a backpacking trip around the country.
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“I loved my job, but the opportunity came up to transfer out to South Australia – and because I always had this dream to return and live this lifestyle I applied and was successful,” she says.
Ten boxes of her personal items were shipped out and she and her husband (who is also from Northern Ireland) rented for the first year before buying a four-bedroom home in Semaphore, a seaside town, with a swimming pool in their backyard.
The Carrickfergus-born woman has never looked back.
“Though we had to cut back in those early stages, we still had a brilliant life – whether it was at the beach, visiting all the wineries, the markets and the festivals that Adelaide offers,” she says. “There’s lots of things to do that are very cheap and have a good lifestyle.”
Today, Davey is backing a fresh overseas recruitment drive for 200 experienced officers that has attracted interest from serving PSNI and Garda officers.
Of the total applications over the past year – police are being sought from the UK, Ireland, Canada and New Zealand – around 5 per cent have been from the PSNI, with 7 per cent from serving gardaí, says Chief Inspector Scott Collins of the South Australian Police.
There has been a “massive amount of interest”, adds Collins, who transferred to the South Australia force from Thames Valley Police in southeast England 20 years ago. He still experiences “pinch me” moments when “I’m just doing my daily business”.
[ One Australian police force receives ‘over 100’ applications from gardaí, though few make move ]
Enticements for the recruits include “competitive” salaries – a constable earns the equivalent of €63,000 to €74,000 – and gets six weeks’ annual leave and “various health and well being packages”.
The South Australian government has recently announced pay rises of up to a 17.9 per cent over the next 12 months.
“Combine this with the lifestyle over here in South Australia, which is very different from the Eastern states. It’s busy enough, but not too busy. It’s nice for families, it’s clean and it’s safe,” Collins says.
Davey agrees.
Lower crime levels, beautiful weather and her outdoors life in the family camper van are among the big differences to life in Northern Ireland. Kangaroo Island – an island beach voted the second best in the world last year – is a half-hour drive away.
“I have a very active 12-year-old and as soon as I finish work I’m off taking him to swim training or footie training. He also does surf life saving. They start at age six,” she says.
“We love to travel and there’s lots of camping opportunities along the beach or by the river or inland. Adelaide has the whole beachline with so many open spaces and parks.
“There’s no vandalism in the parks and all have free barbecues for you to use. There’s quite a lot of new adventure playgrounds and they don’t get vandalised the way stuff does back home.”
The types of day-to-day crime we deal with are the same, but the crime level here is much lower
As PSNI numbers fall to their lowest in the service’s 24-year history – there are around 6,300 officers, with a ‘recovery plan’ under way – and attacks on officers increase, Davey contrasts her former job with her current role.
“I didn’t move because I disliked the PSNI. I moved because I was able to come here and do the job I love and help people and serve the community – but still have that lifestyle, to be outdoors, to go to the beach, to go camping and have the proper summers. The facilities here are just amazing,” she says.
“The types of day-to-day crime we deal with are exactly the same, but the crime level here is much lower than home.
“I currently work full-time and I’m a sergeant. My shifts are eight hours a day. There is a big focus on work/life balance with lots of opportunities for flexible work.”
Australia is my home now
What she misses most are her family and friends. “We are far away, but we’re also very close to home as well with technology these days. You only have to lift the phone to ring home and I probably speak to my family more often than I would do if I lived in the same town,” she says.
The only other yearnings are for Marks & Spencer’s foodhalls and Tayto cheese-and-onion crisps.
“If they could just bring it over here, that would be awesome,” she says.
Visits back home are frequent to “keep that connection with my son’s grandparents and cousins”, she also says. “But Australia is my home now.”
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