General News
23 February, 2026
Fresh cops on the beat
THREE fresh-faced first year constables have hit the ground running at Innisfail Police station, joining the ranks just five months after graduating from the police academy in Brisbane.
For the next 12 months, while working in general duties, constables Brayden Wochner, Zoe Winfield and Godfrey Neame will put in practice skills learnt at the academy, as well as acquire new skills as they tackle the challenges of ‘real world’ policing.
During their eight months of intense training at the QPS Academy, recruits covered driver training, firearms, computers, domestic violence, mental health, arrests, drink-driving, tasers, traffic crashes, physical skills, scenario-based assessments, as well as heaps of legislation.
While at the academy, recruits got their first taste of police life when they had two weeks of station duty.
The trio were initially part of an intake group of 145, which reduced to 110, where the ages of recruits ranged from 18 to 54, from diverse backgrounds, countries and work experience.
For eight weeks, experienced field training officers constables Andrew Marre, Jenna Conway and Renee Szaak collaborated with the new constables and mentored them in community policing.
The officers have worked both day and night shifts, rotations, as well as in specialist sections, such as Child Protection Investigation Unit, Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), as well attended scenes of crime, domestic violence, trespassing, wilful property damage, public nuisance, prosecutions, theft, wounding and undertaken community policing.
Constable Neame, aged 23, originally from Worcestershire, England, migrated to Australia in 2011 where he settled in Brisbane. He completed a bachelor’s degree in bio-medical science at Queensland University of Technology, then worked in retail and as a laboratory assistant in cancer research. His future aspiration is to work in the field of forensics.
Constable Wochner, 19, was born and raised in Brisbane and prior to joining the QPS, he worked at McDonalds.
Constable Winfield from Brisbane, 22, holds bachelor’s degrees in forensic science and criminology and community justice. At Griffith University, she volunteered as a lab demonstrator and peer mentor and had also worked at Coles.
For those considering going into the police force, the three new constables said “give it a shot”, “prepare to be challenged, diverse and rewarding career, job security, training and travel opportunities”. While they felt integrity, empathy, honesty, resilience, strong community relationships and self-management, as well as excellent communication skills are important qualities to be a good police officer.’
When not policing, the trio is looking forward to experiencing what the Cassowary Coast and surrounding regions have to offer, as well as camping, rugby league, gym, reading, running, beach drives and cycling.
Read More: Innisfail