By CASEY NEILL
Horses initially drew Inspector Narelle Beer towards a police force career.
“In 1974 I was in Deniliquin and I saw a parade down the main street and there was mounted branch members from the New South Wales police,” she said.
“I was a farmer’s daughter and I liked horses. I said ‘dad I want to be in the police force, I want to ride horses’.
“So I joined the police force in 1988 and I’ve ridden horses all my life – but I’ve never ridden horses in the police force.”
Insp Beer took on the Greater Dandenong Local Area Commander job six weeks ago, stepping into Inspector Bruce Kitchen’s shoes.
After starting her career at St Kilda Road she spent a couple of years at Dandenong Police Station from 1991.
“It helps to have some geographical bearings,” she said.
“But it’s changed an awful lot.
“I remember being a young constable driving from Dandenong to Cranbourne and just having all of these paddocks and open spaces.
“That’s not there anymore.
“It’s just such a vibrant and multicultural area now with so many great spaces for people to meet and greet and play and eat.”
From Dandenong she went to Glen Waverley, the Major Collision Investigation Unit, CIU, Computer Crime Squad, professional standards command and more.
Most recently she was the City of Port Phillip Local Area Commander.
“I’m really lucky, I love my job,” she said.
Insp Beer has about 150 officers under her command. Youth, drugs and alcohol, and recidivism are her main focuses.
“I’m also really keen to enhance and build on the really great partnerships that Bruce Kitchen already had up and going,” she said.
“I want to look at having joint approaches to how we make the City of Greater Dandenong a greater place to be.
“That’s not always enforcement.
“There’s a lot to do with prevention and there’s a lot to do with having other options on the table.
“I’m meeting so many new people, I’m sticking cards everywhere so I don’t lose names and contacts.
“I’ve been really welcomed. I really appreciate that.”
She said alcohol harm reduction was “something that’s dear to me”.
“Drugs and alcohol are a significant driver of crime,” she said.
“As the liquor licensing inspector, that will certainly be one of my focuses, to ensure that those that do have liquor licences are complying with those licences, particularly when considering the amenity of the area and how the sale of the alcohol and the use of the alcohol is impacting.”
Insp Beer said she’d like to look at how police engage with young people.
“And how we can grow and develop and provide opportunities for our youth,” she said.
Combatting family violence is constantly front of mind, she said, referring to an email she received from a young woman who’d “been engaged with police in relation to a family violence incident”.
“She’d taken the time to write in to say ‘I’ve dealt with numerous police over this journey and everyone has been really professional and really empathetic … I was really scared of my partner and he’s now out of the picture and for the first time in a long time I feel safe at night’,” she said.
“The impact that had on my members … they felt really, really proud of themselves.
“This young woman talked about the fact that she told other people about that experience and their confidence in coming in to report a matter had grown.
“That’s such a rewarding job for us.”
