CAREER IN FOCUS - Finding a purpose in policing

Editorial: Grant Condon

Few people know the value of good police work more than Samantha Davidson.

In May 2005, the now-Constable with Victoria Police was just like any other teenage girl living in the tiny rural township of Picola, undertaking year seven at high school and spending her weekends playing netball.

But during a weekend drive with her father, sister and two brothers, her life both literally and metaphorically took a turn for the worse.

Const Davidson’s father, Jon, lost consciousness behind the wheel and the car left the road and careened into a creek.

As water flooded the car, Const Davidson helped her siblings onto the roof and managed to rouse her father and help him to safety with the aid of some nearby campers.

Davidson suffered an injury to her spleen in the accident and spent the next week in hospital, but her father didn’t come to visit her.

Once she was discharged from hospital, Const Davidson learned why.

“I got home and dad had a large scar and a lot of staples running along the side of his head,” Const Davidson said.

“Doctors had discovered he had stage three glioblastoma, a fast-growing brain cancer, and the tumour had caused him to lose consciousness while driving.”

Despite being told he had five months left to live, Jon bravely battled the cancer for the next five years. In that time, Jon’s repeat surgeries and frequent seizures were a reality the family had to cope with.

In November 2010, Const Davidson again saved her father from drowning, this time from a bathtub after he suffered another seizure.

He was taken to hospital after the incident but would never come home. A stroke derailed his recovery and the subsequent complications resulted in him passing away at the age of 40.

Sadly, only another six months would go by before Const Davidson and her siblings buried their other parent.

In May 2011, a trivial argument about the household being out of milk upset Const Davidson’s mother, Julia, who had been diagnosed with bi-polar schizophrenia years earlier.

Tragically, the small argument led to Julia locking herself in a bedroom and taking a massive dosage of prescription medication.

Const Davidson cleared the house of her siblings and paramedics rushed to the home, but Julia couldn’t be saved and died in the arms of her daughter on the living room floor as a result of the overdose.

Const Samantha Davidson says working for Victoria Police has provided her with a purpose after a difficult upbringing, which saw her lose both her parents as a teenager.

At 18, Const Davidson had lost both her parents in what was undoubtedly the darkest chapter of her young life.

But then there was Leading Senior Constable Kerry-Anne Rappell, the only police woman in the neighbouring three-officer town of Nathalia, who managed to shine some light in the darkness.

Through their involvement with the Picola Football Netball Club, Ldg Sen Const Rappell and her husband had been family friends of the Davidsons since moving to the nearby town of Numurkah shortly after Jon’s cancer diagnosis.

Ldg Sen Const Rappell was a source of inspiration to Const Davidson, who had wanted to become a police officer since the age of four.

“I had always had a lot to do with Kerry-Anne and spoke to her a lot about life after my dad passed away, but she really took on a mentoring role after my mum died,” Const Davidson said.

“That was the turning point in our relationship and she really started to influence my life.

“It didn’t matter what I needed, she was there. She took the statement when my mum passed and helped during the inquest into her death, she did everything."

While Const Davidson was keen to join Victoria Police almost immediately after her mother’s death, Ldg Sen Const Rappell suggested she take some time to process what had happened.

So Const Davidson continued working jobs at a petrol station, the local fish and chip shop and a dairy factory to help support her three younger siblings.

One day, she finally took the leap.

“I just randomly decided to finally do it. I messaged Kerry-Anne to let her know and I applied to join Victoria Police that day,” Const Davidson said.

By her own admission, the application process wasn’t smooth.

She narrowly failed in her first and second attempts at the police entrance exam, but as her results were so close to passing, Victoria Police offered her a position as a Protective Services Officer (PSO).

“Being from a country town in the middle of nowhere that had one train arrive and leave per day, I barely even knew what a PSO was,” Const Davidson said.

“I was hesitant but needed to make the decision that day, so the first person I called was Kerry-Anne and she encouraged me to take it.”

A fast-tracked application process meant a hasty transition, with Const Davidson finishing her work in Picola and moving to the Victoria Police Academy all in a single weekend.

With guidance from Ldg Sen Const Rappell during her time at the Academy, Const Davidson graduated in September 2016, with her biggest supporter in attendance.

Ldg Sen Const Kerry-Anne Rappell helped Const Davidson throughout her childhood and was again right by her side when she graduated as a Protective Services Officer in 2016.

After two years of “loving” PSO duties in Collingwood, Richmond and Footscray, Const Davidson was ready to take the next step and entered the Constable Qualifying Program to transition from PSO to police officer.

Again, Ldg Sen Const Rappell was there for Const Davidson’s graduation day in June of 2019.

Const Davidson’s parents were there too, in the form of a treasured framed photograph her family had brought to the ceremony.

Currently stationed at Moonee Ponds and using her past experiences to better relate to the people she deals with while on patrol, Const Davidson says she wants to have a

similar impact on the community as Ldg Sen Const Rappell had on her.

“Kerry-Anne didn’t have to take me on and help like she did, it wasn’t part of her job, but I’m so lucky she did,” Const Davidson said.

“If I could have half the impact on someone as Kerry-Anne had on me, my career will be worthwhile."

“I’ve already had parents back home ask me to speak to their daughters because they’re interested in working for the police.”

Const Davidson wanted to share her story to let people know they can still pursue a career within Victoria Police, regardless of their backgrounds.

“It doesn’t matter if you speak one language or 10, or if you’ve had a difficult past – when you work for the police, you work to provide a service,” Const Davidson said.

“The reason it is a strong organisation is because of the diverse backgrounds of the people who work here.

“I reached a crossroads in my life and was looking for a purpose – Victoria Police gave me that.”

For 24/7 crisis support or suicide prevention services, please call 13 11 14. If life is in danger, call Triple Zero (000). Current and former Victoria Police employees and their families can also access wellbeing services via bluespacewellbeing.com.au