Former community cop Sean Patterson is walking a different beat nowadays.
After 28 years as police officer – 20 of them with the Ashburton police – Patterson has changed careers to become a consultant at Property Brokers Ashburton.
He has been in the role for about a month.
The 53-year-old started his policing career in Christchurch, with most of the eight years spent in Sydenham, before he transferred to the Ashburton station to be closer to family.
Patterson said he really enjoyed his time with the police.
‘‘There wasn’t a day I didn’t want to go to work,’’ he said.
In Ashburton, Patterson took to working in front line duties.
He spent 15 years in that role before moving into a school community role.
Policing came with good and bad elements, but for Patterson one of the joys was the ‘‘great team’’ he worked alongside.
The work on the front line was varied and he didn’t know from one day to the next what he might be doing.
The move to the school role, brought with it the end of shift work which could be challenging, especially for those police officers with a young family, he said.
Patterson said during his nearly three decades of policing, one of the biggest changes was with technology and its increased use in the digital world.
This year, he decided it was time for a career change and got the chance to become a residential/lifestyle sales consultant.
‘‘I love dealing with people and I know the community, so the move to real estate was the right one,’’ Patterson said
He did training through the Open Polytechnic to gain qualifications and is enjoying his new role, learning on the job.
He is using the skills he has, and gaining new ones.
‘‘It’s a great team at Property Brokers, who have welcomed me,’’ he said.
When not adding new listing or putting up sold signs, Patterson can be found on the Ashburton golf course or supporting his children with their sporting endeavours on the courts and fields of Mid Canterbury.
