When new police officers arrive on Saibai Island, Elsie Waia greets them with warm words her people have used for thousands of years: "Kapu bathaynga". It means "good morning" in the island's local language, Kalaw Kawaw Ya.
Her grasp of languages allows Ms Waia to help Queensland police crack crimes and enforce the law on Saibai, one of the Torres Strait's northern-most islands.
"Language barrier is a big thing … you know English is a third or fourth language for us, so understanding can be a bit of a challenge."
What is a 'tiplo'?
Ms Waia is a Torres Strait Police Liaison Officer — or "tiplo" as they are known locally — a unique group of Queensland Police Service employees based on 14 of the region's remote islands.
They are referred to as the "eyes and ears" on the ground, an integral part of policing in this diverse region.
Often, tiplos are also the first to respond to crimes.
When an incident occurs, it might take state police hours or even days to get to the scene by boat, small plane or helicopter.
Sergeant Jade Taylor, who manages the tiplo program, said they could keep situations under control, take statements and report back to police.
"Without them, we wouldn't know what happens because a lot of the communities aren't comfortable ringing triple zero or calling through to the police station."
Low crime rates
Tiplos have been credited with contributing to statistically low crime rates in the Torres Strait.
A report by the Australian Institute of Criminology, published in March, found rates of property crime on the islands were below the state's average.
It also found that crimes against the person — such as assaults and homicides — were fewer than in Aboriginal communities on the Queensland mainland.
University of Queensland criminologist Dr Zoe Staines said tiplos played an important role, acting as a conduit between locals and state police.
"So that's a really important community policing function that they play."
Island chiefs in charge
The report also found the Torres Strait's experience of colonisation had been quite different to that of mainland Aboriginal communities.
Dr Staines said that, during the 1800s, colonial administrators in the Torres Strait tried to preserve some of the traditional law-enforcement structures in the region.
Island chiefs, called mamooses, were appointed to maintain order, drawing only on state police for serious crimes such as rape or murder.
"That meant there was this sort of ongoing presence of police, Torres Strait Islander local police, across the outer islands," Dr Staines said.
Elsie Waia said she was inspired by her father, who was a community police officer on Saibai Island, when the role sat within the local council.
"Growing up as a kid, I saw my dad on the job … he was a great role model in the community … just a great impact on my life," Ms Waia said.
Fighting for equality
But local police in the Torres Strait were not treated equally.
Carolus Isua became a "native police" officer on Saibai Island in the 1960s.
Over more than two decades, he campaigned for better training for locals and for the transition from "native police" to "community police" in the Torres Strait.
His daughter, Goeynaw Isau, said native police were not paid equally and had to wear a khaki uniform, instead of the blue shirts worn by state police.
In 2003, shortly before he died, Mr Isua was made an Honorary Superintendent of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and was also awarded and OAM.
"I am really, really proud of my dad," Ms Isua said.
Ms Isua said her father paved a pathway for community police to be officially incorporated into the QPS, a move that occurred a decade later, in 2013.
Elsie Waia said she was proud to wear the QPS uniform and special epaulets, designed with the colours of the Torres Strait flag.
"Every day, it's pretty much like any other normal day but, for me, it's another day to help a community member or to help build my community, Saibai."