It's a triumphant story that has become synonymous with multicultural Australia. A young child arrives in Australia from Vietnam, with their parents yearning to give them a better life.

In this case the year was 1979, with the young refugee being Toan Nguyen, who along with his three siblings and parents couldn't speak English and knew very little about the country and city they would soon call their forever home.

Fast forward 46 years, and Toan Nguyen has become the first Vietnamese-born police officer to rise to the rank of Inspector and become an Officer of Police in South Australia Police (SAPOL).

"Being appointed to Inspector has fulfilled one of my long-held career goals," Inspector Nguyen said.

"I'm thrilled to break new ground and achieve something that has not been done before.

"I feel great personal pride in my ability to persevere and dedicate time and effort to achieve a set goal, however there's also a degree of anxiety."

Inspector Nguyen's ascent to Officer rank is the culmination of many years of hard work and commitment, a journey that began in 1993 as a fresh-faced cadet at the Fort Largs Police Academy. However, policing wasn't his first choice.

At the urging of his father, Inspector Nguyen started a teaching degree at university.

But during a placement in his second year, he apprehended a student who he had seen assaulting a teacher. He immediately decided that teaching wasn't for him and walked into the SAPOL recruiting office to start a new career.

After graduating in 1994, Inspector Nguyen commenced his career at Elizabeth, performing roles as a general duties member and later within the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) and Human Source Management Liaison Office.

In 1995-96 he was seconded to the Viking Joint Task Force, a SAPOL-led joint agency operation investigating Southeast Asian organised crime.

He soon realised his Vietnamese language skills were in demand and was earmarked for detective work.

As a detective for most of his policing life, Inspector Nguyen has worked on some of the most significant and complex operations in SAPOL history.

This includes Operation Ironside, which dealt a massive blow to organised crime, and Operation Elixir, a two-year investigation which resulted in the dismantling of a heroin and methamphetamine syndicate.

"Elixir successfully investigated, prosecuted and secured convictions for 85 offenders, with a considerable number of those pleading guilty prior to trial," Inspector Nguyen said.

"It's definitely a major highlight of my career."

CRACKING CASES

In 2013, the same year Operation Elixir ended, Inspector Nguyen joined Serious and Organised Crime Branch (SOCB).

Over the next 11 years he served with distinction as a criminal investigator and team leader in both the Serious Crime Task Force and the Drug and Organised Crime Task Force.

This included significant roles as manager of the Joint Agency Ice Strike Team investigating drug trafficking and imports, and as a Drug Expert Coordinator and Clandestine Laboratory Coordinator.

"As coordinator I led training to ensure SOCB members had the required knowledge to be qualified to give expert evidence in drug trials and were able to investigate and safely dismantle clandestine drug labs," he said.

Inspector Nguyen (pictured with former South Australian Governor and fellow Vietnamese-Australian Hieu Van Le) was also the Case Officer for Operation Cobalt, a successful 12-month investigation into drug trafficking within Limestone Coast Local Service Area which resulted in eight people pleading guilty before trial to more than 90 counts of drug trafficking offences.

This was yet another case which highlighted Inspector Nguyen's keen interest in drug investigation, and in particular his desire to minimise the community harm associated with the use and distribution of illicit drugs.

"I have enjoyed all of my policing roles, but the detective role within SOCB has been by far the most rewarding," he said.

"The investigation of serious and organised crime, including drug production, distribution and trafficking. appeals to me due to the extraordinarily complex and multifaceted approach required to successfully investigate, dismantle and disable organised crime syndicates.

"Investigating these groups requires a high degree of tenacity as it often takes many months, if not years to bring investigations to a successful resolution."

As a bilingual speaker and qualified interpreter and translator of English and Vietnamese, Inspector Nguyen has been invaluable in numerous investigations where suspected drug traffickers communicate in coded conversations.

"Some of these codes can be extraordinarily difficult to decipher, with foreign language adding to the complexity," he said.

"Having been involved in many drug investigations focusing on Southeast Asian organised crime, I am adept at deciphering complex coded conversations between alleged drug traffickers, especially when these communications are in Vietnamese.

"I am one of only two specialist investigators in Australia with this credential and experience."

A CULTURE OF SUCCESS

Vietnamese heritage and culture have remained extremely important to Inspector Nguyen since he first set foot in Australia as a child. He is now ensuring his own children have a strong connection to their Vietnamese roots.

"I am incredibly proud of my heritage as it has shaped my identity, values and beliefs into the person that I am today," he said.

"I feel privileged and thankful for the opportunity to start a new life in Australia.

"I have positive memories of my upbringing here. The first three months were challenging with learning English, however once I grasped the language I assimilated quickly.

Inspector Nguyen is now showing the same ability to settle into his current role, and first as an Inspector, as the Communications Shift Manager (CSM) within Communications Group.

It's a role he believes is the most challenging of his career.

"During each shift I have oversight of all reported events occurring across the state. I also have responsibility for safely managing police pursuits, and overseeing the response and investigation of high-risk missing person reports and mental health incidents," he said.

The CSM is also responsible for the centralised resource management of the State Crime Assessment Centre, the Call Centre and the Communications Centre.

"It's vastly different to my detective role in SOCB where I could usually plan operations well in advance. As CSM I must make split- second decisions and risk assessments due to the time-critical nature of the tasks."

While being the first Vietnamese-born officer to become Inspector is a considerable achievement, Inspector Nguyen is not content to bask in that glory.

He plans to develop his management skills and experience in areas across SAPOL and embark on a postgraduate qualification.

"Education is a lifelong endeavour for me. I seek continuous improvements within myself, to bring the best version of me to the service of SAPOL and the community," he said.

"Thomas Jefferson once said, 'I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it', so I approach my goals with the attitude that in life, if first you don't succeed, then you must continue and work harder until you do."

Reflecting on his successful policing career, Inspector Nguyen has no regrets about putting down the chalk and duster and deciding to achieve more with SAPOL.

"Policing has absolutely been the right choice for me. I have been able to experience and be exposed to a variety of life's events unique to policing, and have the opportunity to make a positive difference," he said.

"I have been fortunate to work under some great mentors, supervisors and managers who have provided me with valuable advice along the way, and I owe them a great debt of gratitude."

Inspired by Toan's story? South Australia Police is recruiting now. Find out more here 

This article was written by Mathew Rodda and first appeared in the South Australia Police magazine Blueprint. It has been reproduced here with permission.