Kudos for road use- Sergeant Richard Coulson, Officer in Charge at Yarra Glen. 66104

By Kath Gannaway
YARRA Glen’s new top cop Sergeant Richard Coulson has given local residents a pat on the back for exemplary road use.
Sgt Coulson said random preliminary breath test operations are a good way to get to meet the locals … and he has been pleasantly surprised.
“I have conducted a number of PBT stops at different locations over the past two weeks, and I would say they have resulted in a pat on the back for locals.
“The sites are designed not only to test for alcohol, but for general road worthiness and licence checks and, on the whole, vehicles have been in very good condition,” he said.
Sgt Coulson, who has been in the force for 18 years, moved to Yarra Glen from the city where he said he has worked in a number of busy general duty areas within the force.
The move to Officer in Charge at Yarra Glen is a new challenge.
A family man with teenage children, he said he was looking to move towards a country posting and that Yarra Glen with its country setting and proximity to the city was ideal.
Sgt Coulson said he was looking at ways to maximise the effectiveness of the three-officer station.
“Obviously, we don’t have infinite resources and maximising our service delivery is something I am very keen to do,” he said.
A message board will be set up at the station with a sheet people can fill in, detailing their reason for wanting to contact police.
“If we’re not here they can slip it under the door and we will contact them when we’re next in at the station,” he said.
He also urged people to leave a message and return phone number when they ring the station, saying they get a number of hang-ups.
Sgt Coulson also however emphasised that if anyone needs police attendance, they need to ring Triple-zero.
The phone number for Yarra Glen police is 9730 1296.