From managing tsunami warnings to rescuing hikers in distress, Senior Constable Joel Merchant's days are never the same, as he keeps the peace on remote Lord Howe Island.
It's a Saturday morning on Lord Howe Island and, technically, it's Senior Constable Joel Merchant 's day off.
"I have set rosters, which is generally Monday to Friday … but it's very rare that I have an afternoon or weekend where something doesn't come up or I'm not doing something."Lord Howe Island, 600 kilometres offshore from Port Macquarie, has a permanent population of about 400 residents and visitor numbers are capped at 400 at any one time.
He's well supported by his head station in Port Macquarie but the unique isolation of his position means he needs to be able to make quick decisions on the ground."It is testing … you get a diverse range of jobs, from boats coming in in distress, they've lost engines, or a crew member is sick, and you have to work out how to get them in safely," he says.
"You still get your standard policing issues as well, domestic violence jobs, alcohol-related crime."was issued for Lord Howe in May 2023, after an undersea earthquake south-east of the Loyalty Islands in the French territory of New Caledonia.
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