When Constable Jack Ware graduated with Wing 395 in May, it marked more than the start of a policing career, it continues a family tradition stretching back nearly seven decades.

Jack is the third generation of the Ware family to wear the blue uniform – following father Sergeant Colin Ware and grandfather former Constable William “Barry” Ware into NZ Police.

For Barry, now 86 and living in Katikati, policing looks very different to when he joined Wing 10 in 1959.

“He was telling stories about the old whistle and the baton and the pennies for the phone box if you needed help,” Colin says. Back then, officers walked the beat checking shop doors by hand and kept an eye on homes while residents were away.

“He got shipped down to Trentham on the train,” Jack says. “Now I’m heading out with all this technology and all the gear. It’s pretty different.”

Barry’s policing career took the family from Wellington to Napier, National Park, Waiheke Island and eventually Auckland’s North Shore. He spent more than 40 years in Police, remaining a constable throughout his career because, Colin says, “he joined Police to deal with the public, not other cops”.

That commitment clearly rubs off.

Colin joined with Wing 129 in 1991 and built a career largely on the frontline before finding his niche with Eagle, Police’s air support unit, where he remains a supervisor more than 30 years later.

“I kind of ended up sticking in the same place,” Colin says. “But the variety of the work and what comes with the air support unit ticks a lot of boxes.”

Now, as Colin begins thinking about retirement, Jack is only just getting started.

The 25-year-old says policing has always been in the back of his mind. “Dad’s been in it my whole life and he’s probably my biggest role model,” Jack says. “I always thought if I could be someone like him, I’d be doing pretty well in life.”

Jack first raised the idea of joining Police at age 18, but Colin was cautious: “There’s an old term everyone uses in Police – ‘life experience’,” Colin says. “I didn’t think he’d had enough yet.”

Instead, Jack tried building apprenticeships, but the work never quite clicked.

“So I thought, well, I’ll do what I’ve always wanted to do,” Jack says. “I applied, got in and was really happy. It was a nice feeling.”

Colin says once Jack made the decision, the change in him was obvious. “His demeanour and attitude improved straight away. He found where he wants to be.”

Jack has now been posted to Henderson in Waitematā District – coincidentally returning to beat policing much like his grandfather once did.

“There’s always a lot happening out west,” Jack says. “There’ll be heaps of opportunities to learn and gain skills.”

Long-term, he has ambitions of working with youth or perhaps even following Colin into Eagle. “I always joke I could use the family name to try get in.”