A father and son created a unique piece of history in Kyabram policing history when they ‘walked the beat’ together on Allan St for an afternoon shift on Friday, November 22.
Leading Senior Constable Frank Scopelliti, who has clocked up 36 years with Victoria Police, spent an eight-hour shift with his 21-year-old son, Liam.
He is based at Stanhope and was given permission to work alongside his son for the shift.
Liam, who was a St Augustine’s College student, has almost 18 months of experience under his belt and is based at Shepparton.
The pair share more than just a surname, with Frank joining the force straight out of school and Liam doing the same, although his application took a little longer to process than his father’s.
“It was a little easier when I applied, it was pretty much straight in, off to the academy, and graduation four months later,” Frank said.
“It was a bit more complicated for Liam, although since the shortage of police in Victoria they have sped the process up a bit now.”
Liam is the youngest of Frank’s three children, with his 25-year-old son an occupational therapist and his daughter a school teacher.
Liam, 21, said becoming a policeman had always been “one of the options”.
“When he was going through school he kept talking about it and at the end of Year 12 he applied to join,” Frank said.
Liam was one of 50 graduates from the Glen Waverley academy in 2023 and his first assignment is at Shepparton — a much busier station than Kyabram, even on a Friday night.
It does not compare, however, to his father’s first two stations — Prahran and Russell St — amid the Walsh St police murders and the bombing of the Russell St police station.
Frank spent some time at the Shepparton station in 1992, but has been at Stanhope for the past six years.
He, long-serving Tongala station chief Tim Fraser and Kyabram’s Ross Adams are all well into their fourth decade of service to the force.
As for the experience of working together, Frank and Liam agreed it was an enjoyable eight hours.
“Both inspectors were really supportive and it was a fun day,” Frank said.
“I spent a bit of time showing him my beat, speaking with people and completing some community policing.
“I introduced him to some of the Stanhope community and he got a bit of an insight into what a day in my life is all about.”
The Kyabram and Stanhope stations are part of a cluster of police stations that also includes Rushworth, Rochester, Elmore and Tongala.
“Often we will be called on to help out in another town,” Frank said.
As for any excitement on the night, it was a reasonably quiet evening for the pair and both said they had no complaints about that being the case.