Neesham leaves force

After 20 years as a police officer and more than five spent in Broome, Sen. Sgt Rob Neesham is sad to be leaving the force and his colleague’s believe he will be sorely missed around the Broome station.

As officer in charge of the Broome Station, Sen. Sgt Neesham said he had a challenging job but was proud to be part of the police force in the Kimberley.

“It’s very challenging, fairly relentless but at the same time very satisfying to be part of the team which does a bloody good job,” he said.

Sen. Sgt Alan Armstrong, who will act as officer in charge for the time being, said the legacy his colleague had left was a credit to his hard work and perseverance.

“A good manager is shown by how they leave a station when, what Rob’s done for policemen and the community here is quite expansive,” he said. “He’s been able to forge very close ties with a lot of community members which has been really, really positive for the police station.”

Sen. Sgt Neesham said he was not leaving the police out of dissatisfaction with the force but out of an obligation to his family and is happy to be staying around in Broome for his new job.

“It’s been a real honour to serve the Broome community and I’ve been very well supported and appreciate the complexities of a place like Broome,” he said.

“I’m much better for having worked here and I’ll still be maintaining community roles.”

The Broome Advertiser understands Sen. Sgt Neesham will be taking a position with Woodside.