She's the embodiment of an impressive 20+ years of policing experience and a huge passion for aiding investigators, fitting into the smallest, most dangerous spaces.
From retrieving evidence in suspicious death investigations to taking samples from suspected underground drug labs, this female officer is there and ready to crawl, climb, photograph, collect or examine.
Sewage pipes, hazardous underground dwellings and fitting into crawl spaces might not sound too appealing to some, but Acting Senior Sergeant Roxanne Balke has a flare for this unique role we just had to uncover for you.
While this job isn't for the feint-hearted or the claustrophobic, it definitely has its interesting angles.
Acting Senior Sergeant Balke's official role is as a scenes of crime officer (SOCO).
The twist to her role though, is the elective additional training she has undergone to be a SOCO within the Hazardous Environment Examination Team (HEET).
The main aim of the HEET is to assist investigators in sampling and retrieving evidence from, you guessed it – hazardous environments, before it is destroyed or needs to be decontaminated.
The skills the team continuously refine allow them to sample things in situ, limiting the need to bring hazardous materials out of scenes and risk further contamination.
Acting Senior Sergeant Balke was one of the first five SOCOs to do all different training types relevant to her role in the HEET back in 2013 and is consequently one of the few who is trained up to do any scene, any environment and to work with anyone at scenes of crimes.
With her unique knowledge and skills base, ability to run a scene and enthusiasm to assist, she is also one of the few HEET-qualified officers deployed to almost every relevant job.
After working in the Fingerprint Bureau straight out of high school as a public servant in a technical role, Acting Senior Sergeant Balke joined the Queensland Police Service in 1995, where she started her career in Red Hill, also moving around to Toowoong and Brisbane City.
She's remained Brisbane-based for the whole of her Queensland Police Service career before working in the then Bureau of Criminal Intelligence where she noticed a desk job was not suiting her well.
"I like to interact with, talk and help people, but I'm much more of an outdoors person and I like to be active in general," Acting Senior Sergeant Balke said.
The Acting Senior Sergeant's previous knowledge of fingerprinting processes proved valuable when she transferred to a scenes of crime role at Inala.
Now working out of Hendra Police Station, Acting Senior Sergeant Balke never knows when she could be called to a HEET-specific job but is always ready and describes her role as a 'jack of all trades'.
"In our team, we can take photos, collect samples and check for fingerprints - basically anything that is going to aid the investigators.
"With our HEET training, we can then do that in confined spaces, hard to reach spaces or in chemically hazardous environments so that the evidence doesn't have to be moved first, risking it being destroyed or contaminated.
"With our training, it's safer for us to wear the appropriate protective gear, go into the hazardous scene and process the items there than to risk further areas becoming contaminated by bringing them out."
If you didn't enjoy wearing a mask during COVID-19 restrictions, then this job probably isn't for you as the team regularly suits up in protection gear including 3B Splash Suits (chemical spill suits) which really do bring the heat.
The suits, which protect both the wearer and the evidence, are heavy and create a sauna for the wearer, taking a toll on their physical ability in many ways.
When she's not lecturing about forensic capabilities to uni or high school students, Acting Senior Sergeant Balke uses her active lifestyle to keep her in the best position to perform under these conditions.
"Exercise and looking after myself is something I do so I can best perform in my role and not let my team down.
"You're climbing through tiny spaces, lugging around heavy and onerous suits and working in extreme conditions and I want to be confident in my ability to continue to do that.
"I love to go out trekking with my good friend, Olive – we motivate and challenge each other and it's a coping mechanism and good outlet for me when sometimes dealing with some gruesome scenes and high-pressure situations."
In terms of training, the 30-odd officers within the team frequently undergo lifelike scenario training, getting used to wearing protective gear and performing their role with limited dexterity under high intensity situations, so when the time comes, everything is a matter of muscle memory.
Acting Senior Sergeant Balke recalled jobs the HEET had been stood up for where those skills had to be put into use, including the discovery of an explosives lab in Rochedale South.
Acting Senior Sergeant Balke and her team were instrumental in the response, safely collecting samples and identifying the materials present where it was unsafe for their colleagues to do so, leading to a man being charged.
When asked what drew her to join the HEET, Acting Senior Sergeant Balke said the uniqueness of the team's work was attractive.
"I saw the training listed as traversing heights and confined spaces and thought, 'Yes! Sign me up for something different.'"
Acting Senior Sergeant Balke remains driven and passionate for the job in a self-aware and contemplative way.
"After 20-odd years, I still love the job and am still achieving – until I start to see my ability fade, I think I'll be sticking around in this role."
In a dynamic and exceptionally strenuous role that could see Acting Senior Sergeant Balke called to any major jobs around the state, her main motivation to lead and to perform remains selfless in the name of aiding her counterparts investigating.
"At the end my shift, if I've helped someone or assisted investigators in some way, that is a successful day for me."
QPS officers have shared their journey to help inspire Queenslanders to take a close look at a policing vocation when considering their potential profession.
For more information on police recruiting, please visit policerecruit.com.au.
