Who Are You Gonna Call?

Whenever there’s trouble, these brave women are there on the double

- Rebekah Hebenton

Every day, thousands of men and women put their lives on the line to protect their communities. Whether they’re in the air assisting their teams to catch city perpetrators, in the countryside fighting wildfires, or in an ambulance call centre coaching someone through CPR, they all play their part in keeping us safe and healthy. Here, the Weekly talks with three women who have dedicated their careers and lives to helping others.

ALICE RENOUF – NZ POLICE

As a member of the New Zealand Police’s Air Support Unit, Constable Alice Renouf spends her days flying in a helicopter high above Auckland, collaborating with police teams on the ground to catch offenders and searching for missing people from the sky.

“We could go from locating a three-year-old missing child to attending a fleeing driver incident, a firearms job or a burglary, then be off to gather intelligence on active gang members – so there’s a whole range of jobs.”

Growing up with a father in the police force, Alice knew she wanted to follow in his footsteps from a young age, but was torn between her love of aviation and serving her community. A career with the police eventually won out and an unexpected opportunity within the force has meant that her dream job has become even more special.

“I never really considered Eagle, the Air Support Unit, as an option, but then an opportunity to go for a ride in Eagle and have a trial became available,” she says. “Luckily enough for me, everything just kind of clicked. I loved the aviation side of it and knew that this was what I wanted to do.”