Being a police officer sometimes means you deal with slippery characters but Acting Sergeant Tracy Graham is one of few who would do this voluntarily in their spare time.
Acting Sergeant Graham, who is Officer in Charge of the Bundaberg Scenes of Crime Unit, said she was an avid snake enthusiast.
“I have always loved animals, however reptiles are by far my favourite,” Acting Sergeant Graham said.
“For as long as I can remember I have always wanted a pet snake but my mum always said ‘when you move out of home you can get what you want but not in this house’!
“Two weeks after I moved out of home, I got my first snake and have kept them as pets ever since.”
She said she currently had five pythons and had just added to her menagerie with two pygmy bearded dragons.
“They are such easy pets to keep if you know what you are doing.
“I also love breeding them but with work and family life, I just don’t have the time.
“I enjoy taking my guys to schools and educating kids and sharing my passion with them.”
Acting Sergeant Graham shares love for snakes and forensics
Acting Sergeant Graham has been a police officer for 18 years and has worked within the Scenes of Crime section for 15 years.
“I love the variety of forensic work.
“Forensics has changed so much over the years with the advancements in technology.
“From 15 years ago to today, almost everything has changed from the equipment to the techniques used to locate and collect physical evidence.
“Procedures are constantly changing and evolving so it is a continuous learning curve.
“It is a great feeling when you get an identification of an offender at a crime scene and it assists the detectives in moving forward with their investigations.”
She said there was no ‘typical day’ for a forensic officer as it could be completely different from one day to the next.
“Typically we are assigned tasks from other police officers to attend volume crime incidents such as break and enters, wilful damages, steal from vehicles, assaults etc.
“However, we are also called upon to process major crime scenes such as murders, rapes, serious assaults, fires, deaths and fatal traffic crashes.
“We are a district resource so we quite often have to travel to attend these scenes.”
Interested in a career in the police force? Bundaberg Police are calling on future officers to join in on the next police recruiting seminar.
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