Friendly and welcoming community a big plus for fresh-faced SAPOL officer

Probationary Constable Tyla Dicicco has only been living in Port Pirie for about a month and already feels like part of the community.

She said she was initially nervous to move out of home and away from her family for the first time, but she was excited by the prospect of country policing.

"Everyone at [the Port Pirie Police Station] is beyond helpful and so lovely, I couldn't really fault anyone," PC Dicicco said.

"Everyone went beyond to help me move into my house, come visit me, help me build stuff when I got here.

"The social aspect makes the work environment a lot easier because you feel that friendship so much quicker and easier - everyone gels so well."

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PC Dicicco said she has been welcomed outside of work too, already having been roped in to joining Centrals for netball and Crystal Brook for football.

"I love my sport, I follow the footy and played netball back in Adelaide, so to fit into something that I do back home helps me feel like I'm at home," she said.

Port Pirie Police Station Acting Inspector Andrea Wilson said it was wonderful to have new police officers come through Port Pirie because there were plenty of community benefits.

"Being a headquarter station, we have the capacity to have probationary constables come through," she said.

"It brings lots of new people from lots of different areas, new ideas into the community, which is wonderful that we've got the opportunity to be able to do that.

"Even in metropolitan where you get people new that are ... keen to learn, and as an experienced person being able to mentor people in that is very fulfilling."

For PC Dicicco, the decision to take on country policing straight out of the academy is already paying dividends.

"Moving into country policing, getting that opportunity to do lots of different things that the metro don't get the opportunity to do so early on," she said.

"Like the opportunity to do warrants, learn a bit more about drugs earlier on which is interesting to me.

"I've had lots of good jobs that I've been to that I've already learned so much within such a short amount of time."

PC Dicicco hopes to have a long career with SAPOL and currently aims to work towards joining the family violence unit.

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