Superintendent Naomi Moore is the new Hills Police Area Commander. It is only the second time in over 100 years that Castle Hill police station has had a female officer in charge.
Supt Moore graduated from the Police Academy 27 years ago at the age of 19. For her it was the perfect career choice.
“I had wanted to be a police officer for as long as I can remember. I get great satisfaction out of helping others and I love that I can be active in my job and be part of something meaningful,” she told the Hills to Hawkesbury Community News.
Prior to coming to The Hills PAC Superintendent Moore headed the NSW Police Governance Command for two years and before that she was at the Police Transport Command and operational commands at Kuring gai, Bankstown, Northern Beaches and Leichhardt.
“My heart has, and always will be in frontline policing as I believe this is where I have the greatest impact as a police officer,” she says.
A keen sportswoman, she played “anything that was going” when young with netball, cricket, athletics and softball in the mix. She represented NSW in softball for many years and still plays and also still holds athletics records from the 1980s.
Supt Moore grew up in Lake Macquarie and lived in the Hills for 12 years before moving to the Hornsby Shire with her partner and four “very sporty” kids.
She says priorities for her new Command in the Hills are:
“Supporting my officers and providing them with the skills and resources that they need to do their job and being accessible to the community to help me understand what the community needs and expects from the police.
“As a detective I have a very strong focus on crime – preventing, disrupting and responding to it in a way that not only keeps the community safe but instils confidence in the community that police in The Hills will do everything they can to prevent people becoming victims and when it does occur, respond in a very professional manner.
“While all crime, and preventing it is my priority, domestic violence and youth-related crime is at the top of the list.
“(The Hills) is just a great place to live and work with plenty of localised groups working together supporting each other and the broader community – from Carlingford to Pennant Hills, across to Box Hill up to Maroota and all the suburbs in between, The Hills PAC is a large, diverse and growing community.
“I see opportunities to continue fostering police and community relationships, building greater confidence in police and ultimately reducing crime and victims in this great area.”
She also wants to encourage more women to go into policing. “Policing as a career has been very good to me, I have had incredible opportunities to develop my skills and communication from being a detective investigating serious criminal activity to supporting the Chief Risk Officer functions of our internal organisation.
“I encourage other women to consider policing as a career option – particularly with the added bonus of recent changes to recruitment with students being paid during the study phase of entry – in my view this is the best job ever”.
Supt Moore replaces Supt Darrin Batchelor who has moved to Mt Druitt Police Area Command after 2 1/2 years in the Hills
