Holly Lembke has two daughters who she hopes will be inspired by her new role as the first female sergeant in charge of the Heathcote police station.
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"I feel honored to be able to show my kids and other females that we can do anything that just as well as a man," Sergeant Lembke said.
After spending the previous nine years on patrol at Bendigo, she was asked to fill a gap at Heathcote as acting sergeant.
"The community are amazing and I fell in love with the role," she said.
Sergeant Lembke did not plan to spend her new role with her "feet up on the desk".
"We know from feedback that members of the community love seeing our flashing lights," she said.
"In Heathcote, they all know my name and I'm learning their names.
"Due to the more quiet pace out there, I am able to do more proactive and community policing."
Heathcote residents and police were exposed to a lot of road trauma and death, with recent serious accidents in the area including a fatal at Tooboorac in July 2023.
She said she would be taking a "no discretion" approach to drivers breaking the law.
"We're out there patrolling a lot more, we're pulling cars over a lot more, we're enforcing speed limits," Sergeant Lembke said.
"There used to be a bit of discretion around whether or not they book them... that is no longer in place."
Sergeant Lembke, who manages seven other police members at Heathcote, said the increased road patrols would also help her staff.
"I wanna slow drivers down to prevent my members seeing bad decisions in speeding causing collisions, serious injury or death," she said.
The town's closeness to a big wine area was also on the radar.
"We know things can go south when there's alcohol involved, and it is about stopping things before they turn," Sergeant Lembke said.
She said she would bring qualities of compassion and kindness to the role, and reflected in the strong female role models she had when coming up in the force.
They were patting her on the back now, she said.
"They are very encouraging of all female members that are climbing the ladder."
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