Jacob Pledger is the newest Oamaru Police constable.
While it was still "early days", he had enjoyed being able to give back to the community he grew up in.
"[I am] learning lots and every day is different, which is good.
"It’s something that I’ve always been interested in doing and thought I’d give it a go."
Having grown up in Oamaru, he was pleased to be able to return home.
"I was happy to go anywhere in the South Island, to be honest. But the opportunity came up to go back to Oamaru so I just thought I’d take that."
The 22-year-old is a former Waitaki Boys’ High School pupil who had been completing a building apprenticeship before attending the Royal New Zealand Police College.
It was helpful to be a local when responding to call outs, he said.
He is one of two recruits to join the team in Oamaru, alongside former lightweight rower Logan Docherty.
They attended police college at the same time and were even in the same wing, 370.
Both men were under the mentorship of Paddy O’Brien, who was the patron for their wing.
O’Brien, a former international rugby referee, was stationed in Oamaru during his career with the police in the 1980s.
