At least, that is what Riverina police say. 

Blood-caffeine levels are often high for these general duties officers, who push past normal working hours to keep the streets secure. 

But they continue to sleep through the daylight hours and work through the dark, because it is part of the job. 

Riverina police Sergeant Tim Hall and his emergency service colleagues are part of the city’s underbelly, an army of locals keeping the region safe, fire-free and alive, while the rest of the world sleeps. 

For the men and women in blue, night work includes patrols, bail checks, alcohol-licensed premises walk-throughs and general responses to emergencies, disturbances and crime.  

But outside the lights, sirens and obvious police presence, Sergeant Hall said there was an element of stealth that came with the night shift, that was a little bit fun. 

“A lot of people worked under the cover of darkness,” Sgt Hall said. “That’s when a lot of crime happens.”

For the same reasons, he said night time was better for surveillance tasks, where officers could gather the evidence for search warrants, arrests and charges. 

But despite the years of after-hours operations, the Junee officer said you never got used to the dark. 

He said as soon as you stopped listening to that “something isn’t right” feeling, you were putting yourself in danger. 

“You’ve always got to stay cautious,” Sgt Hall said. “If you get to a point where nothing scares you, you put your guard down.” 

The young officer said it was hard to imagine taking on a different career.

“It’s one of those jobs where you think about moving on,” Sgt Hall said. “But you know you’d regret it if you did.” 

Junee’s police chief, Inspector Rob Vergano, said there were benefits to working after dark, but it was not always easy to slip in and out of the routine. 

“I agree (night shift) takes years off your life,” Inspector Vergano said. “I think it takes its toll … and the older you get the harder it gets.”

But the Riverina police officers said a choccy milk and sausage roll from the fuel station at 2am could sometimes help with the transition. 

Unlike cops, firefighters can sleep during their late shift. 

Despite being able to put their heads down after 10pm, the Turvey Park station firies said 24-hour shifts were never fire-free.

Whether maliciously lit or otherwise, station officer Chad Kennis said the four members of his Fire and Rescue NSW team were responding to the bell most nights.  

Mr Kennis said one of four crews would spend quiet days maintaining the station and its equipment, training and exercising, and engaging with residents across the city. 

Rolling straight into the night, the men on shift were then prepared to jump out of bed and fight fires at a moment’s notice. 

With Wagga being one of the busiest stations in the state, he said a triple-zero call after the sun went down in Wagga was rarely a false alarm. 

“When the bells go off, there’s a recorded message that comes over a speaker,” he said. “If we’re hearing about a house fire after 10pm, it is rarely going to be anything else.”

Despite the drag that sometimes came with shift work, the Wagga dad said there was nothing else he’d rather do.  

“I’m not the sort of person who wants to sit behind a desk. That’s not me,” Mr Kennis said. 

“I like not knowing what to expect.

“When you’re meeting someone in the worst part of their life ... you have to make the situation better.” 

It was a sentiment shared by paramedics, according to Tumut man John Larter.

An Ambulance NSW member for more than two decades, Mr Larter said unlike cities and larger regional areas, rural townships ran the night shift on an ‘on-call’ basis. 

Mr Larter conceded the job could be busy and exhausting at the best of times, but the pm-hours came with added challenges. 

“Conditions aren't optimum,” he said. “You can see in the day more than you can at night.”

Mr Larter said night shift could take its toll, but some parts were enjoyable. 

“It’s a different perspective working night to day.”

Check out the rest of the Night Shift series: