Two new police officers have joined the Blue Mountains police ranks.
Blue Mountains-raised Jack Tunks gave accounting the flick for a policing career. The former Leura Public and St Columba's High School student knows the Mountains well and has several family members who have also served in the police force.
The 26-year-old will initially be stationed at Katoomba. He's looking forward to soaking up all the experiences of general duties policing.
Joining him for his first day was Riley Brennan, 20, from Penrith. He chose policing to make a difference in the community.
He has ambitions to join the dog squad. "I love dogs and it's something I have always thought about as a kid," he said.
He will be based at Springwood station initially.
"I feel like a lost puppy at the moment. It's all very new and there's a lot to learn," Const Brennan said.
Break and enter
In the early hours of Monday, December 14, offenders broke into a tobacconist store at the Winmalee Shopping Centre. They tried, unsuccessfully, to break into the cigarette cabinet with a crow bar and a hand-held electric angle grinder or cement saw and eventually left empty handed. Anyone with information is asked to contact Springwood Police Station on 4751 0299 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Drink driving crash
About 12:15am on December 11, a black Mazda 3 slid off the road in Dulhunty St, Katoomba, and into two pine trees. When police arrived, they found a 17-year-old male from Leura sitting in the back seat, who appeared moderately intoxicated by alcohol. He would not say who had been driving. A 16-year female from Katoomba then arrived and told police that she was the driver. She failed a breath test, was taken to Katoomba police station and charged. Later that afternoon, the 17-year-old told police he had been driving and lied to avoid trouble because he was intoxicated. Police are seeking witnesses to this incident, as well as anyone who may have CCTV, phone or dashcam footage. Call Katoomba police on 4782 8199 or Crime Stoppers.
Drug arrest
On December 9, police stopped a vehicle on Lurline Street, Katoomba. The driver, a 26-year-old man from Blackheath, was found to be driving on a suspended licence. The passenger, a 24-year-old man from Katoomba, was found to be wanted for domestic violence offences. Police also found about 70 grams of green vegetable matter suspected to be cannabis. The 24-year-old was taken to Katoomba station, where he was charged.
