WHEN the gun and badge come off, the Hudsons are just like any other family in the Hastings.
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Lincoln and Julie are married with two young children, and each morning venture to another day of work, just like thousands of others in Port Macquarie.
The only difference is, the Hudsons are general duty police officers and risk their lives each and every day to serve their community.
Whether it is attending a fatal car accident, dealing with a theft, attending a domestic incident or conducting a random breath test, Lincoln and Julie never know what the day will bring.
The couple met when both were stationed at Granville – Julie in 2000 and Lincoln in 2002.
They fell in love, wed and eventually transferred to beautiful Port Macquarie to have their children.
“Port Macquarie is busier than people realise on the crime front, but it’s also fun,” Lincoln said.
“The outer areas, like Lake Cathie and Beechwood for example, are getting bigger. The population is growing and that means more to do for officers.”
“We love the area, we’ve had our children here and have met some beautiful people outside of the police as well as on the job,” Julie added.
“You can start the day going to a fatal car accident and ending it with theft and everything in between. You never know what you’ll be faced with as a general duty officer.”
Dealing with those confronting and often heartbreaking situations must be easier with a significant other who understands, right?
“Well, it’s definitely easier coming home to someone who knows what you’ve been through,” Julie said.
“With us, sometimes it’s easier to just focus on the kids and leave work at work. If we need to talk we can, and if not we understand each other.
“Knowing there are people to talk to, peer support officers and other services if you have had a tough day, knowing there is a back up is a good piece of mind.”
Lincoln finds it easy to switch off after a day at work, where he says car accidents, drugs and domestic incidents are at the top of the list for problems in the Hastings.
“The thing at the moment is all of the accidents on the highway. People need to slow down,” he said.
“The amount of drugs we are finding is a concern. Especially as we have young kids growing up in this community.
“Working in general duties I find domestic related assaults are quite high in this town and are another thing we want to see minimised.
“We are constantly out on domestic violence jobs, and we are arresting people almost every day.”
Every day we go to domestic jobs and constantly get out there to these jobs, and we are arresting people almost every day.
- Lincoln Hudson
Julie said that domestic incidents are not always male on female, and it is an issue Australia-wide that needs combating - and are being fought - with the help of many services and awareness programs.
“In saying all of that, it’s so rewarding to see the great work our officers do to cut down the impact of drugs and crime,” Lincoln said.
“We see the amazing work other officers do, the extra hours they do, and to see that it pays off you can’t help but feel proud for them,” Julie added.
Both feel as enriched as their first day on the frontline. And at the end of the day, these passionate people are the same as you or I – human.
“We love to hang out, have a beer, watch sport, go to the beach just like everybody else,” Julie said.
“We’re just normal people.”