BALLARAT experienced a police patrol with a difference on the weekend, as a father-daughter policing team hit the streets for the first time.
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Superintendent Craig Gillard and his daughter Constable Jaime Gillard conducted a patrol shift in the police divisional van on Saturday.
It was the first time the pair had worked alongside each other.
With more than 30 years in uniform, including time in Ballarat as a senior sergeant, Superintendent Gillard is currently based at Victoria Police headquarters in Melbourne.
He said he had long wanted to work a shift with his daughter who joined the force two years ago.
“When Jaime came out of the academy she kept saying to me “come on old man, come and do a shift with me.”
“Seeing Jaime come into Victoria Police and do a great job has already made me very proud and I think we will work well together today.”
Constable Gillard said she knew who would be in charge during the shift.
“I am sure I will get stuck with all the paperwork later.”
She said it was her father’s example which led her into policing, but she wanted to know if he was as good as he made out.
“I guess he was a bit of an inspiration, having grown up around policing, it was interesting to see him come home from work and give us a few war stories.”
Side-by-side in the divisional van for eight hours on Saturday, the pair responded to emergency calls and conducted proactive policing in and around Ballarat’s CBD.
Senior Victoria Police officers regularly return to the beat alongside more junior officers, but Saturday’s shift was the first time a father-daughter pair had worked together in Ballarat.
