Determined to make a difference in his new country, the Congolese-born man recently graduated from the police academy.
It is early, and Constable Arsene Bounda has arrived at the Moonee Ponds police station in north-suburban Melbourne for his shift.
Zipping up his protective vest and securing his cap, the 42 year-old prepares to hit the beat.
It has been a long road.
As a newly arrived Congolese refugee, he picked fruit.
As a Victorian law-enforcement officer, he fights crime.
He says his motivation has always been to help others.
"I thought of the police force not only for myself, my kids later on, but also with the hope to inspire others, mostly young African-Australians."
Constable Bounda remembers his first encounter as an officer, with a young African-Australian boy.
"He's like, 'Whoah! Mum, Mum, Mum, look, look, look, look, a black police officer!' He's about 10 years old, but, obviously, he's never seen a black police officer."
It was a positive reaction he hopes to inspire from others in the migrant communities.
As he walks down one of the main streets in Moonee Ponds, a little girl with curly blonde hair runs up to Constable Bounda asking for help to find her mother.
The crisis is over in minutes, as the mother rounds the corner, but Constable Bounda says it was a small act of trust that is beyond many kids of a refugee background.
"Most of us, we have bad experiences with the police or military in our country of birth. So when we come here, our first reaction is to think that the police are bad."
It is a reaction he has witnessed firsthand.
Working highway patrol, Constable Bounda says he once intervened when an African-Australian driver accused his partner -- of Anglo-Saxon heritage -- of racial profiling.
"It's too easy to accuse people of being racist. He was just doing his job. We were working together. So, 'Firstly, apologise to him, then you can call me Brother.'"
Victorian police have about 50 officers of African heritage among their 15,000 sworn members, but it is a figure they are trying to increase.
The African Think Tank's Berhan Ahmed says improving diversity in the force is considered vital to improving trust with Australia's migrant communities.
"That brings face-to-face communication, ease of tension, better communication. So if we are going to move forward, we need more of Arsenes."
A plan is already in operation.
Information sessions for potential migrant recruits are being held across Melbourne.
Victoria Police deputy commissioner Andrew Crisp says diversifying the force brings benefits to both the community and the other officers.
"It actually provides an opportunity for other police members, around the mess-room table, talk to someone like an AJ, understand his life journey, which actually helps them probably be more empathetic in dealing with people in the community."
Constable Bounda is hoping many others will follow in his footsteps.
"When you have a role model, then you can develop a can-do attitude. You say, 'I can do it.'"
