Caja Polglase CO09

State Prosecutor, Western Australia

Although Caja only attended Truro School for two years, at the beginning of her senior education (2002 – 2003), prior to her family emigrating to Australia, she has vivid memories of that time at Truro and feels those two years had a real impact upon her:

“Truro School was exceptional. It provided me with a solid foundation which I then applied in my future studies.”

Following the family move to Australia, Caja continued her Methodist education and attended the Methodist Ladies College, Perth. She recalls that from the age of 11 she had the strong desire to become a barrister and so, after completing her school studies, she enrolled at the University of Melbourne where she gained a bachelor’s degree in Politics and History. She then went on to complete a Juris Doctor of Law degree at Monash University in Melbourne. (The Juris Doctor degree, also known as the Doctor of Law and Doctor of Jurisprudence, is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. In Australia, Canada, the United States and some other common law countries, the Juris Doctor is earned by completing law school.)

Caja’s career dream has been realised and she is now a State Prosecutor at the Office of the Director for Public Prosecutions for Western Australia (ODPP WA). Caja’s office is responsible for the prosecution of all indictable matters in Western Australia.

“As a State Prosecutor, I manage a case load of criminal matters for which I review the evidence, speak to the relevant parties (police, witnesses, victims and defence counsel) and prepare recommendations for what should be indicted (what charges we should take to trial, and how the trial should proceed). I also appear as trial counsel for the State in criminal trials in the District Court and Supreme Court of Western Australia.”

Career advice for anyone considering law.

“Criminal law is a niche field. If you have passion for criminal law, you should ‘stick to your guns’ and pursue it, whether that be by volunteering in the field or shadowing a criminal law barrister. Corporate law is often considered to be the more ‘glamorous’ choice. However, there is nothing more rewarding, in my view, than making a real impact upon your community.”

Caja is settled in Perth, Australia where she lives with fiancé Fraser, who works in IT, and their French Bulldog, Tuppence. They live close to Caja’s parents, Michelle and Tony. In her spare time Caja enjoys visiting local Australian wineries and farmers’ markets, reading, camping, and playing badminton at the weekend with Fraser.

Caja visited Truro School with Fraser in 2018 whilst visiting family, as her sister Ria lived in Cornwall with her partner and their daughters, Riley and Ruby, until June of this year when they moved back to Australia. Caja also stays in contact with friends made during her two years at Truro School.

The past year has been far from normal for most people around the world, but Caja explained that in Australia life has mostly continued as usual:

“Perth has been very lucky because of its geographical position and other matters, so fortunately we have not had too many cases of Covid here. The government strategy has been to shut the borders (people can only enter if they quarantine for 14 days at a quarantine facility). Because of this, my life has not been impacted too much by the pandemic. It has however impacted our wedding plans as we can no longer have international guests which is very disappointing.”

Caja and Fraser plan to get married in Matilda Bay in Perth on 26 March 2022. We hope they have a wonderful wedding day and look forward to seeing photos!