- Published:
- Friday 2 January 2026 at 12:25 pm
| Parent-child duos with OSTT instructors at the recent "Bring your kid to OSTT" day in Bendigo. |
Five policing families have had the chance to create unique memories at the first ever Operational Safety and Tactics Training (OSTT) qualification day exclusively for parent-child duos.
Dubbed “Bring your kid to OSTT day”, or conversely “Bring your parent to OSTT day”, the special occasion was held recently at the Bendigo OSTT facility for parents and their children who are both police officers within Victoria Police.
OSTT is training all police and PSOs must complete twice a year to be qualified to work operationally. It covers a range of tactical and safety components including firearms training, tactical arrest training, and more.
The parent-child training day was the brainchild of Bendigo Highway Patrol’s Sergeant Geoff Annand and Bendigo uniform’s Sgt Rod McDowell.
The family pairs who trained together on the day were Sgt Annand and his daughter Senior Constable Bronte Annand, Sgt McDowell and his daughter Constable Darien McDowell, Sgt Brett McLoughlan and his daughter Sen Const Makayla McLoughlan, Leading Senior Constable Anne Sparkes and her daughter Const Kate Sloan, and Ldg Sen Const Cameron Dean and his son First Const Braeden Dean.
A chance to connect
The Annands have been doing their OSTT training and qualification days together since 2023 and Sgt Annand wanted others to experience the opportunity to do the same.
“It’s something Bronte and I have really enjoyed doing because it gives us the chance to spend a day doing the same thing together,” Sgt Annand said.
“That’s what I got out of it initially, but now what I really get from it is a sense of pride in seeing how well she handles and approaches all the scenarios.
“I began chatting with the OSTT instructors about the idea of other parents and their kids being able to share an opportunity like this together and now, months later, we’ve made it happen at Victoria Police for the first time.
“Some of them came from as far as Robinvale and Benalla to make it happen, which shows just how much they valued the chance to do it.”
| Sen Const Bronte Annand with her father Sgt Geoff Annand |
Friendly competition
The five pairs started off the day going through physical warm-ups and it didn’t take long for the banter to start, with Ldg Sen Const Sparkes telling the instructors, “Go easy on the young ones today, would you”.
And when it came time to practice defence tactics and hands-on arrest scenarios, some of the parents thoroughly enjoyed throwing their kids to the ground and vice versa.
But it was out on the shooting range when things got most serious, with each member trying to prove they were a better shot than their respective parent or child.
Sen Const Annand said her father is a competitive person and has raised her to be the same.
“He’s a better shot than me because his groupings are better than mine, but only just because I’m creeping up to him,” Sen Const Annand said.
“But I’m much faster when it comes to drawing and all the tactical stuff.
“It’s great to be able to do it with him and always a bit of fun, too.”
As Sgt Annand prepares to wind down his policing career, with retirement on the horizon, he is taking the time to cherish days like these.
“What I really enjoyed most was seeing the five parent-child pairs during the breaks in the day, sitting together and talking away, enjoying their time together,” he said.
“It was a special occasion and will be a memory for life.”
| Ldg Sen Const Anne Sparkes and her daughter First Const Kate Sloan. |
Editorial and photography Jesse Wray-McCann
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