SENIOR constable Allan Rider had only been in the force for just over two years when he was dragged unconscious from a burning wreckage.
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He knows how close he came to death in April 1993 during a fatal accident where the vehicle they were in was rammed during a pursuit.
"I was knocked unconscious and my partner dragged me out while our vehicle was on fire; that was close that one," he recalled.
"I was still very young and nearly lost my life that morning."
Nearly 28 years later, the senior constable celebrated 30 years in the force on January 25.
He did so alongside two officers he went to the academy with - acting sergeant James Styles and detective senior constable Richard Broomby.
"You join when you're 19 and don't still think you'll be here at 49," senior constable Rider said.
"But without the support of your family, friends, work colleagues and a bit of luck I don't know how you get to 30 years.
"You need all those together to get through."
"Without the support of your family, friends, work colleagues and a bit of luck I don't know how you get to 30 years."
- Senior constable Alan Rider
Both Styles and Broomby started in Sydney before they also moved to country stations before they ended up in Port Macquarie where they have been for a number of years.
But senior constable Rider said what attracted him to the force as a teenager was wanting to make a difference.
"I just wanted to help out and it went from there," he said.
Over three decades all three officers have seen the dramatic changes in technology.
"When I started it was all carbon paper, typewriters, a charges book and hardly any computers unlike today where everything is online."
"When I started it was all carbon paper, typewriters, a charges book and hardly any computers unlike today where everything is online."
- Senior constable Alan Rider
Not only have they had to change with the times and a focus on technology, officers now have more equipment readily at hand.
"Now we have body cameras, tasers, sprays and portable radios; everything is either on your vest or your hips," senior constable Rider said.
"When I started you had a gun and handcuffs ... now you've got everything."
While all officers have memories which will stay with them forever, snr const Rider said there was now more help available.
"When you go to those scary jobs you know it's part and parcel of what you do," he said.
"You didn't have agencies to talk to back then, but you do now. You worry about helping the family and the victims first and worry about yourself second."
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