Meet Sergeant Willis

EUROA Police’s new sergeant, Dempsey Willis, took a demotion because the chance to work in her own town was “just too good”. Sergeant Willis spent her early policing career in Melbourne and was senior sergeant in Shepparton for three years before she took the Euroa job in July. She moved to town four years ago, where her daughters Lily (seven) and Remy (five) attend St John’s Primary School and Euroa Kindergarten. “Through luck, the sergeant position here became available, and I actually took a reversion in rank to take on this role,” Sgt Willis said. “I'm a local resident, my kids go to school here, and I'm very immersed in the community… it was just too good an opportunity to pass up.” Euroa’s previous sergeant, Robyn Reed, retired in July after taking extended leave due to a workplace injury in December 2022. Sgt Willis inherited a short-staffed station, but two long-running job vacancies have now been filled by new officers Senior Constable Eva Christou and Senior Constable Sharon Beaumont. “We're diversifying… We've got three women, three men,” Sgt Willis said. The other officers are Leading Senior Constable Lucas Paul, Ld Sen Const Jarrod Toomer and Ld Sen Const Peter Bath. Euroa Police Station is a 16-hour station, with a day and night shift. “For a really long time, we have been so short-staffed that we've only been able to staff one shift a day,” Sgt Willis said. “But now we’re staffing two almost every single day.” Sgt Willis said in her time at Euroa, the most significant trend has been the town getting “absolutely smashed” with car thefts in recent weeks, as previously reported by this masthead. “People leaving their keys in them, leaving the cars unlocked,” she said. “I don't know the exact number, but there would be at least six in the last two weeks that have been stolen.” Sgt Willis has also taken on the role of Strathbogie Shire’s Municipal Emergency Response Coordinator (MERC). She said policing in Euroa and the shire has some unique challenges. “We are quite remote from the next closest station… we work really closely with Violet Town, but our next closest station within our division is Seymour,” she said. “So, if we require backup, we’ve got to call really early in the piece, and it can be a 30-minute wait for backup.” Another challenge is the Strathbogie Shire’s lack of mental health support. “We find that when we engage with people going through crisis, we put referrals in and they're usually referred out to Shepparton, Wangaratta, Benalla,” Sgt Willis said. But the experience of working in her own community has been overwhelmingly positive. “I’ve felt really supported since moving here,” she said. “Lots of g'day down at the local coffee shop and stopping me at Burtons for a chat.”

Meet Sergeant Willis

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