Deborah Richardson

So we were allowed to put in some preferences and I didn't get any of my preferences.

And I ended out in the eastern suburbs, a little town called Croydon, which was very much a sleepy hollow.

There was, you know,

virtually nothing ever happened at this station and that was my first station.

Exactly, exactly.

I went in much to my mum's horror when she realised it a couple of weeks down the track

I went in to play prostitute and very much part of the vice squad.

There was and we didn't look like a policewoman.

You know, when I took the uniform off and took my hair out, my hair was, you know, long, halfway down my back and I didn't look like a typical policewoman, you know, if you can define one as that.

So initially I was standing on the streets of St Kilda.

We were looking for people that were, you know, I think the terrible nickname in those days was gutter crawlers.

And we were looking for the men that were trying to entice a female.

And so initially I was doing street work.

So we had to obviously wait for someone to approach us.

I couldn't say anything to them.

So they would have to offer me money for sex.

And so it was, you know, sometimes the conversation would dance around a little bit because I wasn't allowed to say anything or lead them to say what they wanted.

And then eventually, once they had admitted that that's what they were wanting, then I would pull out my police badge.

And very quickly, in most instances, very quickly, my colleagues would then come up to support me with that arrest.

Very strange.