Sonali Deshpande was just three months into the country, when one of her new friends suggested, “Why don’t you join Victoria Police?” The year was 2003. For Deshpande, who grew up “watching the boots and bouquets in the police force in India”, the question rekindled an interest that had been buried.
Back in India, Deshpande’s father was Assistant Director of Prosecutions and Public Prosecutor, and her mother a teacher and social worker. So, the inspiration to work for the public was sowed in her parentage. It came close from home. In fact, Deshpande always wanted to join the elite Indian Police Service but ended up studying medicine.
It was also a question, at the time, that gestured to a diverse representation in the police force that any multicultural city would aspire to. And Deshpande got thinking, “It’s my dream that is coming back, why not give it a go?”
The rest, as they say, is history. In 2005, Deshpande would become the first female police officer of Indian heritage in Victoria Police.
Born in Amravati, Maharashtra, Deshpande proudly calls herself an “aamchi Mumbai girl”. She studied Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery in India. While a noble profession, Deshpande realised she didn’t quite enjoy the 9 am to 5 pm routine of “scribbling prescriptions”.
Seeking something to spark her interest, she looked at preventive medicine, which is the practice of promoting preventive health care to improve patient well-being. She would go on to complete a specialisation in community health.
A fully licensed doctor, Deshpande moved to Australia in the early 2000s. Navigating her way into community healthcare, she immediately got a job with the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health, an organisation she is still affiliated with.
“I absolutely loved it, and I was meeting new people,” says Deshpande. “But migration is an isolating experience which comes with its challenges. I wasn’t an exception.”
Although she had a few other jobs, she was, at the same time, trying to look for new things. That’s when her friend, whose then boyfriend and now husband, asked her to apply for a job with the Victorian Police.
Interestingly, what firmed her resolve was the fact that during her classes at the Adult Multicultural Education Services (AMES) which most migrants go to, she was also inspired by the police recruits with whom she interacted. She sat for the exams.
Having always been academically good, Deshpande passed the exams with flying colours. However, she didn’t anticipate the other hurdles that came alongside. She could not swim or even run 200 metres.
But with an unbending commitment to succeed, she quickly took swimming lessons, enrolled in a gym and passed the physical exams on the third attempt, which was also the last.
In 2005, Deshpande became the first Indian origin woman officer to graduate out of the Victoria Police Academy.
She recalls the first four years as probationary constable and constable the perfect learning ground of what policing is all about – looking at different types of crimes, meeting different squads and visiting specialist areas with Victoria Police.
“Investigations caught my attention, I thought it was my forte. It is fascinating,” says Deshpande who took up various investigative roles, working with global leaders in her 12-plus year career.
Illuminating the potentials of the policewoman in her, she found the first four years a big rewarding experience. Working on a multiagency taskforce with Australian Federal Police, she says, “It expanded my horizons not just in investigation but about the critical decision-making fields, and managing overt and covert police investigations as well, managing multi-agency operations that involve national security.”
But not just investigation, Deshpande also worked in other departments of the force. She likens Victoria Police to India. “The jobs within Victoria Police are so diverse, you feel you have multiple careers under one single umbrella.”
After investigation, she got on to management roles. Currently the Acting Inspector with Professional Standards Command, which is about enhancing and promoting a culture of high ethical standards across the organisation and improving community trust in Victoria Police, and also Senior Sergeant with Road Policing Command, Deshpande has probably not left any stone unturned to maximise her potential.
She has also worked on police response to Royal Commissions on mental health, aged care and disability. “I have learnt a lot; it is such an enriching experience personally and professionally. You get the chance to push your potentials that you don’t even know exist.”
Deshpande’s energy for work is remarkable. Alongside policing, she holds a secondary employment as a Health Educator with Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health where she empowers immigrant and refugee women nationwide.
Currently engaged with the Victoria Police Diversity Recruitment Program, she is mentoring women from diverse backgrounds to join Victoria Police.
“People from multicultural backgrounds bring their language and cultural skills to the job, it is important to have the reflection of the community in the job as well. We need to have that culturally capable workforce,” she says.
“Women should not limit themselves to thinking they cannot do this, everyone can do anything, it’s about putting the mind to doing something. It is also a lucrative lifelong career, and you will grow as a person. And there are multiple careers within one single organisation.”
For someone who didn’t know how to handle a gun and then realised she can be good at it, Deshpande gives you not just a spark but a surge of energy.
She does not make a great deal about being the first Indian-origin woman police officer. “It is a sense of achievement, yes, if you are paving the way for other women aspirants,” she says.
Asked if she has ever experienced fear, Deshpande says, “The sense of bringing perpetrators to justice outweighs the sense of fear. We get trained to face those challenges and fears. And that objective drives you.”
Balancing her personal and professional life in such a fast-paced environment is a tough one, she admits. “When I go home, I switch off. I also try to pursue my hobbies—travel, play tennis, cook and watch Bollywood movies.”
Above all, in forging a new identity as a police officer and helping others to picture the future they want, Deshpande has found a productive way to live her life.
Victoria Police Diversity Recruitment Program
- Victoria Police Diversity Recruitment Program – Applications now open! – Jesuit Social Services (jss.org.au)
- Apply to be a police officer | Police careers | Made For More
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