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THE VICTORIA POLICE MAGAZINE
WINTER 2019
Changing channels A CAREER SWITCH FROM GRISLY HOMICIDE CASES TO THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF TELEVISION PLUS POLICING OUR STATE’S PORTS > TRAINING IN A WATERY WONDERLAND GROWING PAINS FINALLY EASED AND MORE
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Winter wonderland Preparation is key for Victoria’s seasonal snow stations as police ready themselves for an onslaught of visitors.
Support in any situation Victoria Police’s Custodial Health Service plays a unique role in the management of people in custody.
COVER: Senior Sergeant Anthoula Moutis gives an insight into her varied 19-year career at Victoria Police. Photography: John Pallot Police Life is produced by the Media & Corporate Communications Department, Victoria Police, GPO Box 913, Melbourne, 3001, Fax: 9247 5982 Online police.vic.gov.au/policelife facebook.com/victoriapolice twitter.com/victoriapolice Email policelife-mgr@police.vic.gov.au Managing Editor Superintendent Jo Dolan
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Editors Roslyn Jaguar Grant Condon Journalists Jesse Wray-McCann Danielle Ford Isabella Anderson Janae Houghton Martin Kay Emily Wan Graphic Design Fluid – fluid.com.au
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Building knowledge A new, dedicated training centre will ensure police officers are more skilled in responding to family violence incidents.
In their blood Senior constables Dan and Ben McDonald are following in the footsteps of their father Wayne.
FSC POSITIONAL ONLY PRINTER TO STRIP IN. 100% From wellmanaged forests
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Subscriptions 9247 6894 ISSN 0032-2598L Crown Copyright in the state of Victoria. For permission to reprint any part of this magazine, contact the editor. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Victoria Police.
REGULARS
PLUS
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Snapped on Social Career in Focus Out & About By the Numbers
Legacy lives on More than 25 years after his death, a respected police officer continues to be remembered by Victoria Police’s newest detectives.
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER This edition of Police Life features an article on the important work of the Major Collison Investigation Unit, and highlights the tragic start to the year on our roads. Over the past 30 years, Victoria has seen a steady reduction in road trauma. With our road safety partners, we have worked incredibly hard to achieve this result. We are deeply troubled that despite these efforts, we are experiencing an increase in lives lost this year. Victoria’s long-term vision is for zero serious injuries and deaths on Victorian roads. Every death and serious injury is one too many. Victorians can be reassured that we remain focused on road safety as one of our key priorities, and we are working hard to understand why we are seeing more road trauma this year, as well as what can be done to address it. We know that rural roads and motorcyclists are overrepresented in road trauma this year. We are working with our partners and local communities to identify roads in need of safety infrastructure 2
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upgrades, advocating for safer travel speeds and continuing our highly visible enforcement operations. We are also exploring and investing in new technologies to make driving safer and allocating more Highway Patrol members to regional Victoria. Recent investments include the 10 new state-of-theart alcohol and drug testing vehicles and the roll-out of mobile Automated Number Plate Recognition and in-car video systems. With these investments, we expect to see a considerable increase in the number of impaired and unauthorised drivers detected and removed from our roads. We also continue to participate in a variety of research projects, including trialling new technology to detect fatigued drivers and a study to identify new and innovative programs to prevent road trauma. Importantly, we must remember that keeping safe is every road user’s responsibility. I strongly urge everyone to play their part by taking care on our roads.
Follow Victoria Police on Twitter at @VictoriaPolice
MAKING NEWS For the latest police news visit police.vic.gov.au/news
PORT OF CALL The success of a multi-agency operation targeting truck and marine safety around Portland and its surrounding coastline will see the crackdown continue throughout other Victorian ports.
“The benefit of Operation Crossway is the effect it has on all crime, from unlicensed or drug affected driving to the importation of illicit goods such as drugs,” Det A/Insp Warwick said.
More than 440 vehicles and over 100 vessels were checked in April as part of the threeday Operation Crossway, aimed at improving safety and flushing out organised crime in the supply chain industry.
“We have seen too many times that the industry is susceptible to organised criminals using the industry to bring illicit goods, including drugs, into the country.
Victoria Police, including the Heavy Vehicle Unit, Operations Response Unit, Technology Enforcement Support Unit, Portland and Hamilton highway patrols and local Portland police, along with Australian Border Force, the Department of Home Affairs, Maritime Safety Victoria, Victorian Fisheries Authority and VicRoads were all involved in the operation. Trident Taskforce’s Detective Acting Inspector Mick Warwick said Operation Crossway would continue to operate across all of Victoria’s functional ports throughout 2019 and into 2020.
“An unroadworthy or poorly-managed transport industry is equally susceptible to organised crime infiltration and a weakened port security framework.
however a few don’t and it’s those drivers and operators that police are targeting,” Insp Reither said. “Fatigue, speeding, illicit drug use and unroadworthy vehicles remain the biggest contributors to serious collisions involving heavy vehicles, and that behaviour can have fatal consequences. “This operation is not just about enforcement but also hopefully means that by highlighting the fact we are actively targeting this activity, it prevents some drivers and operators from taking these risks.”
“Any influence that law enforcement can have on the strategies of crime figures creates another opportunity to detect their activities in order to disrupt and prosecute the offenders responsible.”
Image On the docks Police from Trident Taskforce and other units conducted checks on vessels and vehicles at Portland as part of Operation Crossway.
Western Region Inspector Dave Reither said the heavy vehicle transport sector had a huge role to play in road safety in Victoria.
Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann
“The majority of drivers and businesses take their safety responsibilities seriously,
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SMALL TALK VOXPOP
REGIONAL HUBS TO FAST-TRACK FORENSIC TESTING
How does your job change during winter? ACTING SERGEANT GEMMA HARGREAVES State Highway Patrol
“When the winter weather arrives, traffic on the roads can increase as people choose to drive to their destination instead of taking public transport, cycling or walking. Aside from that, winter doesn’t really impact the State Highway Patrol as we are always focused on driver behaviour.” SENIOR CONSTABLE DAVID HEALY Frankston Police Station
“There’s less activity and troublemakers on the beach. But instances of family violence can increase because people are staying inside their homes more.” FIRST CONSTABLE KIERAN FORRESTER Frankston Police Station
“We don’t have as many issues at licensed venues because when people leave, they don’t hang around on the streets as much because they just want to get home and out of the cold.”
Victoria Police’s forensic capabilities have received a significant boost with the opening of two purpose-built regional forensic hubs. New forensic facilities in Ballarat and Morwell commenced operations in May, giving local police faster access to forensic services to assist in investigating crime and apprehending offenders more quickly. The facilities now mean police in regional areas no longer need to convey commonly encountered forensic evidence to Melbourne for testing. Victoria Police Forensic Services Executive Director Rebecca Kogios said the Forensic Department was thrilled to be extending
its capability to regional communities. “The state-of-the-art facilities will deliver high quality forensic services to regional communities with the aim of fast-tracking investigations,” Ms Kogios said. “The Regional Forensic Hubs will house scientific equipment and specialist staff, trained to perform multi-disciplinary evidence recovery across a range of biological, chemical, digital, botanical and fingerprint specialities.” Both regional hubs will accommodate 14 forensic specialists and support staff and were funded as part of the $596 million Public Safety Package announced in the 2016-17 Victorian Budget.
SECRET LIFE OF POLICE Some may wonder why Senior Constable Jessica Walsh chose to pursue a policing career over chasing Olympic equestrian glory, but she assures Police Life that her love of eventing is only a hobby. “My parents purchased my first horse when I was 13 years old after I pestered them for years,” Sen Const Walsh said. After joining Kangaroo Ground Pony Club and competing throughout her teenage years, Sen Const Walsh is now more involved in equestrian sport than ever before. Eventing is an equestrian sport that sees a single rider and horse compete across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country and show jumping. “The adrenaline eventers are all about the cross-country phase, which involves jumping over natural objects such as logs and various obstacles along an outdoor course,” Sen Const Walsh said. “Nothing beats the feeling of galloping flat-out at solid objects, especially when it all goes to plan.”
BE PART OF THE STORY Join the Conversation Police Life loves hearing what you think about the magazine, your local police and Victoria Police in general. Police Life GPO Box 913 Melbourne, 3001 Email: policelife-mgr@police.vic.gov.au
Barrabadeen Captain and Barrabadeen Crusader are Sen Const Walsh’s two beloved horses. Sen Const Walsh has been successfully competing with Barrabadeen Captain (or just Captain for short) for two-and-a-half years. In his class, Captain recently placed third at the Wandin Horse Trials, seventh at the Ballarat Horse trials and 13th at the Melbourne International 3 Day Event. Between shifts at Diamond Creek Police Station, Sen Const Walsh dedicates her time to training in readiness to compete.
“I ride about five to six days a week, I have two lessons with my coaches per week to practice show jumping and dressage and I also do gallop and fitness work,” she said. “Roughly every two weeks I’m travelling to compete.” Sen Const Walsh hopes to one day combine her love of policing and riding by joining the Mounted Branch. Image Up and over Senior Constable Jessica Walsh and Barrabadeen Captain demonstrate their eventing prowess. Editorial: Emily Wan
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BEHIND THE BADGE
WENDY WIESE Rank: Leading Senior Constable Age: 54 Graduated: 1987 Station: Welfare Services
Why did you join Victoria Police?
Tell us about your career with Victoria Police.
There were two tragedies in my family, which had a profound effect on me but in such a way that I became more empathetic and driven to help others through difficult times. I joined Victoria Police to pursue my passion to help others and to make a difference in people’s lives. It’s been the most satisfying and rewarding career.
After graduating from the academy, I performed operational duties at Royal Park, Russell Street, Geelong, Corio, Bellarine and Portarlington. Other roles have included D24 (Police Communications Centre), bike patrol, Police in Schools, Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigations Teams and the State Event Planning Unit. I’ve moved every three to four years, which has helped me to develop a variety of skills and given me opportunities to work on some very interesting cases, events and projects throughout my career. During my service I’ve been awarded the Victoria Police Medal, the National Medal and the National Police Service Medal.
Tell us a bit about what being in Welfare Services involves. Welfare Services, which is part of Wellbeing Services, provides support to all Victoria Police employees, which includes police officers, Victorian Public Service staff, Protective Services Officers, Police Custody Officers and their immediate families. Wellbeing Services encompasses the Police Psychology Unit, Internal Witness Support, Peer Support, Police Veterans Support Victoria, Police Chaplaincy, Case Management and a very supportive administration team. We provide support for any kind of issue that may come up, ranging from crisis support, mental health support, emergency accommodation and a wide variety of practical support options. Mental wellbeing is our focus but we help with many things. In my role I’m also required to respond to critical incidents that occur anywhere in the state.
Can you name a highlight of your time at Victoria Police? I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of amazing things during my time but the moment that beats everything would have to be watching my daughter graduate from the academy and presenting her with her police identification badge. It was really emotional and I had people come up to me after the graduation and say it moved them, because you see a lot of fathers and sons in policing but it’s not as often that you see mothers and daughters.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job? Supporting and encouraging other staff to achieve their full potential. Everyone I talk to – it doesn’t matter if it’s a high-ranking officer or a cleaner – I don’t change how I approach their situation. I get a lot of satisfaction when I see someone who thinks ‘Wow, someone actually stopped and talked to me’. To be able to help anyone through tough times is just the best job satisfaction.
Image Keeping well Ldg Sen Const Wendy Wiese notes seeing her daughter Sen Const Emily Casey (pictured inset) graduate from the Victoria Police Academy as a highlight of her career. Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann POLICE LIFE | WINTER 2019
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IN BRIEF police.vic.gov.au/news
PROACTIVE POLICING STORIES
HELP IS AT HAND
AUSLAN VIDEOS LAUNCHED
Changes to Victoria Police’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) have made it easier for current and former employees, as well as their families, to access support.
Interactions between police and the deaf community will now be easier thanks to the launch of a series of videos.
Under the new arrangements, Victoria Police employees, former employees and their families can now directly contact EAP service providers without the need to get a referral from Victoria Police Wellbeing Services, giving them immediate access to support. Other changes include the introduction of an e-treatment service, which makes access to support services easier by offering several ways for people – particularly those in regional and remote areas – to receive counselling, other than face-to-face. To access EAP support, contact providers directly by calling SMG Health on 1800 273 865, or Acacia Connection on 1300 364 273. Victoria Police Wellbeing Services can be reached on (03) 9247 3344.
Created by Victoria Police in collaboration with Expression Australia, formerly known as VicDeaf, the videos were launched earlier this year to make information on police processes and interactions more accessible to the deaf community. Priority Communities Division Acting Commander Richard Watkins said Victoria Police is committed to ensuring information about Victoria Police services and procedures is accessible to all members of our community. “We understand that interactions with police can often be confronting and intimidating,” A/Cmdr Watkins said. “We hope these videos reduce any uncertainty around police processes and improve confidence for members of our community who are deaf or hard of hearing whenever they interact with police.” The videos are available on the Expression Australia website or via the Victoria Police YouTube channel.
VOLUNTEER RECOGNISED A Geelong woman was inducted into the 2019 Victorian Honour Roll of Women for her outstanding voluntary work in the justice system over the past 30 years.
Geelong Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Investigation Team Detective Leading Senior Constable Samantha Jennings said Ms Scott was extremely deserving of the honour.
Joan Scott was recognised at a special presentation on International Women’s Day earlier this year.
“Joan dedicates her life to assisting underage and intellectually disabled victims and offenders in their dealing with police,” Det Ldg Sen Const Jennings said.
She was nominated for her role as a volunteer Independent Third Person with the Office of the Public Advocate, where she assists people with a cognitive impairment or a mental health illness during police interviews, or when making formal statements to the police. Ms Scott is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, attending Geelong, Lara, Corio, Waurn Ponds, Torquay and Bellarine police stations.
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“I’ve personally known Joan for 28 years and she loves her voluntary work today just as much as the day I met her. “On behalf of Geelong Police I am so proud of Joan’s acceptance onto the honour roll.”
Get the latest police news at police.vic.gov.au/news
SNAPPED ON SOCIAL
The Victoria Police Air Wing took flight to Sugarloaf Reservoir earlier this year to undertake winch training. Air Wing crews regularly perform training exercises designed to develop their skills, ensuring they are well prepared to tackle any tasks that come their way.
While on patrol at the Caulfield Party in the Park, constables Jennifer Fletcher and Catherine Osmond couldn’t help but get involved in the paw-ty, stopping to snap a picture with these adorable greyhounds.
The Blue Ribbon Cup celebrated its 20th year on 14 April at the clash between St Kilda and Hawthorn. Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton presented the cup to St Kilda captain Seb Ross after the Saints claimed a five-point win. The Blue Ribbon Cup was established as a tribute to Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller and acknowledges all Australian police killed in the line of duty.
ODD SPOT CORNER An excited P-plate driver has learnt an important road safety lesson after his car curiosity got the better of him. Greensborough Highway Patrol officers Leading Senior Constable Brendan Dyer and Senior Constable Taryn Kentish were patrolling the streets of Heidelberg one May evening and had just issued a driver with a ticket for driving an unregistered vehicle. As they were about to merge their new, unmarked BMW 530d patrol car back into traffic, a young motorist driving an early model BMW pulled up beside them with his windows down. The 21-year-old from Heidelberg Heights was fawning over the police car, waving at the officers and giving them the thumbs up. As the P-plater leaned forward in his seat to chat to the officers, they noticed he was not wearing a seatbelt. When Ldg Sen Const Dyer told him to pull over, the driver asked him why. “Because you’re not wearing your seatbelt,” was Ldg Sen Const Dyer’s reply. Realising his mistake, the driver uttered a few choice words and put his head in his hands before pulling over. But, still excited about the patrol car, the driver asked if he could have a look in the new BMW while the officers were writing out his ticket. The officers happily obliged. “He was impressed with the new vehicle and said he would be certain to obey the traffic laws the next time he sees a new BMW passing by,” Ldg Sen Const Dyer said.
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OPEN SEASON
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With almost a million people set to descend on Victoria’s popular snow slopes this winter, police have been planning methodically for months for the massive influx of visitors.
Victoria Police has three seasonal snow stations – Mt Hotham, Falls Creek and Mt Buller – that open on the Queen’s Birthday weekend and stay manned 24 hours a day until the end of the season in late September.
Officers from nearby stations staff the seasonal stations, and undertake regular training and qualification in alpine skills, map reading and navigation and snowmobile and four-wheel-drive use.
Senior Sergeant Doug Incoll has been working in the region for 16 years and is the officer in charge of the Falls Creek and Mt Hotham stations.
Victoria Police has boosted its alpine policing model the past two snow seasons, sending alpine-trained officers from the Melbournebased Operations Response Unit (ORU) to the slopes.
With its combination of general duties policing, search and rescue and traffic and emergency management, all done under the threat of extreme and sudden weather changes, he said alpine policing is like no other job in Victoria Police. “In my view, it’s the highest risk environment police have to work in across Victoria,” Sen Sgt Incoll said. “Because of that, our officers have to attain a certain skill level before they even set foot on the resorts.”
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Sen Sgt Incoll said the snow resorts this season would again benefit from the extra numbers of ORU officers teaming with the local knowledge and experience of officers who have worked many years on the mountains. “We’ve had some great results with the ORU,” he said. “We’ve really benefitted from their valuable expertise they have in licensed venues, and their addition means we have a larger pool of police resources to draw from.”
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Sen Sgt Incoll said the planning and preparation for each snow season begins in January and involves extensive liaising with the resort management boards, lodge owners, other emergency services and more.
The danger of freezing temperatures is also still a risk within the resorts.
“It’s quite unique to be planning for a snow season while we’re in the middle of the fire danger season up here, but that is what is needed,” he said.
“I can recount many, many times where we’ve saved someone’s life who has been drunk out in the snow,” Sen Sgt Incoll said.
Sen Sgt Incoll said proper preparation could mean the difference between life and death in the snow.
“The only reason we found him was because someone tripped over him as they were walking along.
He recalls one season when a group of Northern Territory school students were enjoying their first ever snow experience, staying at Fitzgerald’s Hut, about 10km from Falls Creek.
“He would have been dead in the morning otherwise.”
“They went out in summer-like conditions, hardly any snow on the ground, and didn’t have any extreme weather gear. “Overnight they got a metre of snow and were trapped because they couldn’t open the hut door. “They were terribly unprepared and all thought they were going to die. “We combined with the SES and paramedics and headed out to Fitzgerald’s Hut to basically save these kids’ lives.”
Having too much to drink at a pub in Melbourne can earn you a nasty hangover, but up at the snow, the consequences can be catastrophic.
“There was a gentleman at Falls Creek a couple of years ago who was inebriated and found covered in snow.
This is why regular checks of licensed venues at the resorts are a mainstay of alpine policing. “Every night is a Saturday night up in the snow fields and responsible service of alcohol is especially important,” Sen Sgt Incoll said. “In Melbourne or in towns you might have someone who’s drunk in a pub and the security can just kick them out on to the street,” he said. “But in the snow, you obviously can’t do that.” Sen Sgt Incoll said ensuring vehicles were equipped with snow chains was another vital task for alpine officers.
“We always make sure we get the chains message across early in the season because it can be catastrophic if someone doesn’t have the right chains or none at all,” he said. “It has a domino effect all the way down the road because you end up with 40, 50 or 60 cars lined up behind them. “And when you’ve got that many people stuck in blizzard conditions, it quickly becomes an emergency management event.” Sen Sgt Incoll said he was “incredibly proud” to see the work ethic and dedication his officers display each season. “We have a huge focus on officer safety, because there are times where they have to go out in blizzards with 50-60km/h winds and visibility so poor you can’t see your hand in front of your face,” he said. “Time and again our officers go above and beyond to keep people safe in the snow.”
Images Snow problems here 01 Sen Sgt Doug Incoll checks the weather forecast ahead of this year’s snow season. 02 Using a police snowmobile, Sen Sgt Incoll patrols the ski resorts with Ldg Sen Const Tony Finlaw. Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann Photography: John Russell and Andrew Henshaw POLICE LIFE | WINTER 2019
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IN BRIEF PROACTIVE POLICING STORIES
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As Chris Coster finishes at Victoria Police and heads into retirement, he will take the rank of chief inspector with him.
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Images Hail to the chief 01 Chief Insp Chris Coster has been with Victoria Police for 45 years. 02 Chief Insp Coster is proud to see his family name continue on at Victoria Police through his daughter Sen Const Lauren Coster. 03 With Chief Insp Coster leaving Victoria Police, it means there is only one chief left in the organisation, Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton (right).
The organisation’s only remaining chief inspector has called time on his 45-year policing career, much of which has seen him play crucial roles in training officers of all ranks, from constables to Chief Commissioners. Chief Insp Coster is the last remaining officer at the rank, which began to be phased out in 1999 along with the rank of chief superintendent. His career involved a blend of general duties, proactive and preventative initiatives, including establishing the Neighbourhood Watch program in the early 1980s. Yet he spent the majority of his career in training and education. Chief Insp Coster said delivering leadership programs that strengthened Victoria Police was a particular highlight. “Those of us who ran those programs would take much satisfaction from seeing the participants overtake us in rank,” Chief Insp Coster said. “We once had a young fellow in a course by the name of Ken Lay. He ended up as Chief Commissioner. “And there was another young fellow by the name of Shane Patton, who is now one of our deputy commissioners. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the geniuses and legends of Victoria Police.” But despite regularly working with the upper echelons and rising through the ranks himself, Chief Insp Coster was determined never to lose sight of the work of constables. “The only way I could be successful in more strategic roles was to remember my roots and to remember what we do on the ground,” he said. This philosophy determined everything he did in training and education. “I made a point of being in contact with constables to learn something I didn’t know about, what they’re doing or thinking, or how we can be doing better for them,” he said. “I think it’s important we always remember that we’re sworn into the office of constable, not the office of superintendent or inspector or anything else. “At the base level, all of us are simply constables.”
Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann
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RECENTLY ABOLISHED RANKS Station officer – The last station officer retired in 1974 from the former Bourke Street West Police Station. This rank sat between the senior sergeant and inspector ranks. Chief superintendent – The last chief superintendent was Peter McDonald, who retired in 2015. This rank sat between the superintendent and commander ranks. Chief inspector – This rank comes to an end with the June 2019 retirement of Chief Inspector Chris Coster. It sat between the inspector and superintendent ranks and at its peak, there were about 60 chief inspectors at Victoria Police.
CURRENT RANKS In descending order of seniority: • Chief Commissioner • Deputy Commissioner • Assistant Commissioner • Commander • Superintendent • Inspector • Senior sergeant • Sergeant • Leading senior constable • Senior constable • First constable • Constable
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CAREER IN FOCUS
Changing Channels
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When Senior Sergeant Anthoula Moutis turned down a permanent position in the hallowed halls of the Homicide Squad, her manager nearly fell out of his chair. “No one’s ever done that,” he said. But Sen Sgt Moutis backed herself, and her career hasn’t suffered for it. From an auspicious beginning working in armed robbery investigations, Sen Sgt Moutis has had an incredibly diverse career, and one of relative chance – or so she would have you believe. It was after spending time in Greece with a cousin who was sitting a police entrance exam that Sen Sgt Moutis had her head turned by a radio advertisement about joining Victoria Police. With a love for the law and ambitions of one day becoming a barrister, she applied to join Victoria Police in 1999 and graduated in 2000, during the Melbourne gangland killings. Serving four years in general duties, she had her first taste of armed robberies while working on secondment with the Embona Taskforce. “Dealing with stickups, I got a real taste for solving armed robberies and absolutely loved it,” Sen Sgt Moutis said. When it came time for her to move on from general duties, she asked to go to the Armed Robbery Squad, thinking it would “never happen". She was accepted into the then-named Emerald Taskforce and spent the next 10 years thriving in the dynamism of the work. “You’re dealing with people committing the most violent armed robberies, and you’re supported by the Special Operations Group, Technical Support Unit and covert operatives – so you have all these services to assist with the investigation. I reveled in it," Sen Sgt Moutis said. “I did that for 10 years and then said ‘It’s time for a change’ and I went to the Homicide Squad and did three months in 2010.” Her introduction to the squad came at the time of notorious drug kingpin Carl Williams’ assassination – his was only the second autopsy she had attended. While finding the work exhilarating, at the end of the three months Sen Sgt Moutis declined the offer of a permanent position, as she was pregnant at the time. Her hiatus from the Homicide Squad was short-lived. Returning in 2012, she joined the Apollo Taskforce as part of the investigation into the unsolved 1991 murder of 13-year-old Karmein Chan.
Chan was babysitting her two younger sisters when she was abducted from her Templestowe home by a balaclava-clad man.
Far more than just entertainment, her team furthers the interests of Victoria Police in living rooms across the state.
Her remains were found a year later in a landfill in Thomastown. It was determined she had been shot dead.
“The work of the FTO is all about educating the public about the work of Victoria Police and what can happen if you’re committing offences,” Sen Sgt Moutis said.
Initial investigations into the abduction linked Chan’s case to that of 10-year-old Sharon Wills and 13-year-old Nicola Lynas. Both girls were taken from their homes and molested before being released by an unknown man.
Aside from policing crown jewel Blue Heelers, the FTO is perhaps best known for its work producing the highly successful Highway Patrol – which Sen Sgt Moutis is quick to confirm is all real.
Police believe that one perpetrator, known in the media as ‘Mr Cruel’, is responsible for the crimes.
The FTO liaises with Road Policing Command, which gives direction as to what they want highlighted in the show.
A taxing cold case, Chan’s murder remains unsolved.
The overrepresentation of motorcycle riders in road deaths and the higher incidence of accidents on country roads have been the most recent focus.
“We worked on several persons of interest in the Karmein Chan case, but sadly for the family it still remains unsolved,” Sen Sgt Moutis said. In 2013 while at the Homicide Squad, Sen Sgt Moutis saw a more successful result in the case of William ‘Bill’ Stevenson who was savagely murdered by his ex-girlfriend Danielle Kerr and her new partner Darren Lewis on Christmas Day, 2014. Bashed to death in bushland north of Bendigo, Stevenson’s body was then put in a car and set alight before being discarded at another location.
In terms of the people and intercepts on the show, the team doesn’t record anyone who refuses to be filmed, but for the most part the real characters don’t mind. “They are the ones audiences enjoy the most,” Sen Sgt Moutis said. When asked if she misses being on the beat, Sen Sgt Moutis concedes “high-profile investigations, the thrill of the chase and the satisfaction when an offender is convicted and sentenced” are hard to beat.
“Delivering that news to the family…it’s very hard,” Sen Sgt Moutis said.
She may eventually go back to the Homicide Squad or another area within Crime Command, but family takes priority for now.
“You always feel like a counsellor, and we always link them to specialist services.
“I am very happy where I am, and I am lucky to have a very supportive team.”
“It’s the worst crime, to take away someone’s life.” It was a difficult case because although Stevenson had been reported missing, there was no body or crime scene. Both Kerr and Lewis were charged, but police could not locate the remains of the deceased for many months. Eventually, they had a break in the case. “Lewis had a huge dislike for police, but we went and visited him in prison, built up a rapport and he finally told us where the remains were,” Sen Sgt Moutis said. Sen Sgt Moutis spent two further years with the Homicide Squad before transferring to Victoria Police’s Media and Corporate Communications Department in June 2015, where she now heads up the Film and Television Office (FTO).
Image Highlight reel From working in the Armed Robbery Squad and the Homicide Squad to heading up the Film and Television Office, Sen Sgt Anthoula Moutis has had an extremely varied career with Victoria Police. Editorial: Isabella Anderson Photography: John Pallot
Find out how you can join Victoria Police at police.vic.gov.au/careers
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W Care in custodyWWW W After a nursing career in war-torn South Sudan, rugged outback mining towns and a hospital emergency department in Scotland, Katelouise Howard was more than prepared for work in Victoria’s custody system.
“And I’m used to that kind of conflict, because I’ve always treated vulnerable people.”
“We don’t know their legal situation and we don’t need to know,” Ms Howard said.
But Ms Howard maintains that working with offenders and defendants in CHS is safer than working in hospital emergency departments.
“When they see that someone is caring for them and listening to them, it goes a long way to getting a better result for everyone.”
The Custodial Health Service (CHS) nurse has always been drawn to caring for people at their most vulnerable, and even at their most hostile.
“It’s a different environment but it’s not as scary as I thought it would be,” she said.
CHS’s Acting Chief Custodial Health Officer Dr Michael Wong said Ms Howard was an asset to CHS and Victoria Police.
When Ms Howard was just a few days into a general nursing stint at a medical outpost in outback Western Australia, an Aboriginal man arrived for help but became aggressive and ended up pointing a bone at her, a practice that is said to mark the victim with a death curse. “I just told him, ‘That doesn’t work with me. Do you want help or not?,” Ms Howard said. So these days, when Ms Howard is dressing wounds or administering medication to people awaiting their court cases in the cells below Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, she knows how to handle people in an agitated state. “It’s a conflict environment that we work in, because they’ve just been arrested and don’t know what their lives could look like after their court case,” she said.
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“We’re really well supported and there are always two guards with you.” Made up of four doctors and 20 nurses, CHS is Victoria Police’s round-the-clock health support service responsible for the health and human rights of people detained in police custody. Ms Howard and her colleagues provide direct help with general medical conditions, mental health conditions and drug and alcohol issues to people in custody, while also giving expert health advice to police officers and Police Custody Officers managing cells around the state. Ms Howard said by treating people in custody and managing the stresses that influence their behaviour, she is also helping the court system function effectively and getting better outcomes for the community at large.
“Our team is not judgemental, never holding back on caring for someone because they’re in custody,” Dr Wong said. “We can sometimes deal with some really difficult people and potentially dangerous situations, but our team never loses sight of that care focus.”
Image Helping hands A/Insp Guin Cleminson, Custodial Health Service nurse Katelouise Howard and custody officer Abdul Mohamed. Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann
Making a DIFFERENCE
Victoria Police’s response to family violence continues to be bolstered with a new, dedicated training centre.
DC Nugent said every single police officer through to superintendent level will undertake family violence training.
roles next month, working within every policing division across Victoria to prevent and reduce the harms of family violence.
Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said the Centre of Learning for Family Violence, based at the Victoria Police Academy, was a “huge step forward” for Victoria Police in dealing with family violence, which accounts for 40-60 per cent of frontline police time.
The centre has 37 specialist educators made up of police officers, senior instructors and family violence training officers.
By January 2020 there will be 415 trained specialist investigators, completing Victoria Police’s transition to state-wide Family Violence Investigation Units with dedicated detectives and intelligence practitioners embedded into the teams.
He said the centre will lead the organisation’s education and training efforts in ensuring police officers are more capable to respond and provide support to family violence victims. “The latest crime statistics show police attended more than 79,000 incidents across the state in 2018, an increase of more than 3 per cent compared to the previous year,” DC Nugent said. “This means that about every six minutes, a police officer comes into contact with someone who has been the victim of physical or sexual assault, manipulation or abuse of power or control by someone they trust, often in their own home. “The home should be one of the safest places in the community to be, yet in reality it’s often not. “We’ve got to change that.”
The two-level building can accommodate up to 110 staff members and includes a simulation space, a 60-seat auditorium, 15 smaller rooms and five classrooms. It is equipped with contemporary learning equipment, including systems capable of live streaming, providing regional and rural police employees across Victoria with access to education and training. The new facility will also strengthen police collaboration with community, government and family violence service providers. DC Nugent said the work and training done at the centre – which was a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Family Violence in 2016 – would make Victorians safer. “Better supporting the victims, better supporting the perpetrators and holding them to account, will save lives,” he said. The launch of the centre comes as 207 new family violence specialists commence their
Images Tackling the scourge Police take part in scenario training in the simulation space at the new family violence training centre (pictured above). Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann
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BELOW AND
BEYOND Victoria Police’s Search and Rescue Squad has gone to new levels to fine-tune its underwater diving skills and prepare for any situation. Like the rest of the world in June 2018, Search and Rescue Squad members were watching and studying the captivating images of 12 young Thai boys and their soccer coach trapped in a dark, muddy cave 800 metres below the surface of a mountain. The team became stranded in the cave after flash flooding caused by torrential tropical rain cut off their exit. Between them and freedom stood a daunting reality. The journey out of the cave was around 3 kilometres long and while half the escape would be carried out on foot, the other half would be traversed in or under water. Such were the dangers of the rescue mission, a former member of Thailand's elite Navy SEAL died while attempting to store oxygen tanks along the escape route.
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That would be the only death of the ordeal, however, as the 12 boys and their coach were miraculously rescued from the cave in a dramatic three-day mission. The inspirational rescue highlighted the need for Victoria Police’s Search and Rescue Squad to work more closely with agencies from other states. The Victorian squad first began training with its South Australian counterpart in 1991 and continued to do so until about 2008. The cross-border training then endured an almost decade-long hiatus before resuming in 2017, prior to last year’s Thailand incident. While the Victorian Search and Rescue Squad hasn’t been required to work alongside South Australian officers on any recent large-scale operations, it is often called upon to help north of the border.
As the Murray River falls within the state boundary of New South Wales, Victoria Police’s Search and Rescue Squad is often requested to attend tasks on NSW’s behalf due to limited resources and large distances. As recently as March this year, the squad worked in conjunction with NSW in the Murray River at Mildura searching for a man who had drowned. It’s this type of incident that sees the Victorian squad frequently embark on deep dive training exercises to simulate rescue and recovery operations. The most recent exercise saw Victoria Police divers cross the border to South Australia to broaden their skills. Victoria Police’s Search and Rescue Squad members joined the South Australia Police Water Operations Unit and the New South Wales Police Diving Unit for a nine-day, ground-breaking exercise where divers trained for real-world scenarios such as searching for the victims of drowning, homicide or misadventure, and locating evidence or lost property. “The main emphasis for this training is to develop working relations with other states to enable us to work together if a largescale incident were to occur in Australia like
an aircraft or cruise liner accident, or even an overseas incident like that of the recent Thailand cave rescue,” Search and Rescue Squad Senior Constable Chris Morris said.
Victoria Police’s Search and Rescue Squad, which regularly trains at places such as Lake Eildon where dark, muddy waters and steep slopes hide large trees and other obstacles.
Utilising South Australia’s unique diving locations, including Kilsby Sinkhole, Pines Sinkhole, Allendale Sinkhole, One Tree Sinkhole and Piccaninnie Ponds, participants endured hours working in a range of challenging conditions, encountering freezing water, varying rates of visibility, underwater caves and vegetation.
Diving at 50 metres there is so dark, you may as well have your eyes shut.
They did it all while plunging to 50 metres below the surface, the maximum depth to which police can dive. “The main lesson from diving in the limestone cave systems is the need to control your buoyancy,” Sen Const Morris said. “With some sinkholes going to depths of 120 metres, you have to be able to maintain your depth and not cause any disturbance to your surrounds. “Stirring up the sediment reduces your visibility, which can be an issue when diving in the confined spaces of sinkholes.” The clear water in bodies like the Kilsby Sinkhole – once used by the government for underwater weapons testing – are a rarity for
A torch does not help, as the light cannot penetrate through the silt-filled water. “Most diving in Victoria is referred to as black water diving, offering next to no visibility in dams and rivers, including the Yarra,” Sen Const Morris said. “South Australia was a whole new experience, diving in crystal clear freshwater environments with visibility up to 40 metres. “As divers, we need to maintain currency and experience in diving to depth and within different environments and this training did exactly that.” Images Deep dive Members of the Victoria Police Search and Rescue Squad crossed the border into South Australia recently to practice deep water diving in the state's renowned caves and sinkholes. The training was a joint exercise between police from Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. Editorial: Grant Condon Photography: Senior Constable Chris Morris
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Walking the same halls
In so many facets of Brad Robertson’s life, timing was everything. It was crucial as a young piano prodigy who was awarded honours at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music at the age of six, and honours at the Royal Academy of Music in London at 10. Timing was again critical when, after graduating from St Kevin’s College in Toorak as cadet under officer in the Cadet Corp, Brad swapped music for motorcycles and went on to race at Bathurst, Calder, Winton and Phillip Island, attracting professional sponsorship and management. At 18, Brad joined the Royal Australian Army, progressing through basic training before being selected by the 1st Armoured Regiment, where he rose through the ranks to serve as commander of the regiment’s strike weapon – a leopard tank. Brad left the Army after six years’ service then took to the skies, gaining his wings as a pilot. 18
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A test report on Brad states he “was one of the best pilots to be trained at the Royal Victorian Aero Club". While clearly an outstanding high-achiever, there was one thing Brad couldn’t change – his height. It was less than 1/8th of an inch (about 0.3 of a centimetre) that had seen Brad rejected multiple times from joining Victoria Police. Eventually, after entry requirements changed, he was accepted into the force. It was Brad’s time to shine. And shine he did. After graduating from the Academy, Brad served at Dandenong, Coburg, Port Melbourne and Frankston police stations, chasing postings in known trouble spots and at times carrying out undercover work in the drug and criminal world.
In early 1992, Brad successfully completed the detective course at the Victoria Police Detective Training School and was accepted to work in an elite area of the police, the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), commencing work at Caulfield. Sadly, Brad’s time at the Caulfield CIB would be short. At 10am on Anzac Day, 25 April 1993, Brad’s body was recovered from Port Phillip Bay off Brighton after he drowned in a scuba diving accident. At just 34 years of age, Brad’s time was up. “You showed us all the real meaning of 'detective' with your drive and dedication to the police force and this office,” the Caulfield CIB said in its bereavement notice to Brad, showing the significance of the loss Victoria Police had endured. Just as Brad had continually embraced the challenges of life, the Robertson family faced the unimaginable tragedy of losing a loved one, and went on to create a special honour in his memory. The Detective Training School (DTS), from which Brad had graduated to join the CIB, is where officers train to become a confirmed police investigator. Established by Brad’s father Bernie and stepmother Rosemary, the Brad Robertson Memorial Award is awarded to the DTS student who pursues excellence and has enthusiastically participated in the course, demonstrated the qualities of tenacity, fairness and maturity and has the confidence and ability to use these qualities. The award, introduced in 1994 – the year after Brad’s death – is decided by a vote of DTS students and instructors.
It comes with a certificate and, fittingly, a high-end watch. This year’s March graduation marked the 100th time the award had been presented, with Detective Senior Constable Gabriella Holt announced as the recipient for Course 262. “The Brad Robertson Award is something that we know about and something that is talked about a lot in the detective world,” Det Sen Const Holt said. “For me, the award recognises the most promising detective, or the person you’d want by your side the most when investigating a crime. “To have my peers vote for me in that manner is extremely humbling and touching.” Det Sen Const Holt’s name now sits alongside 99 other fine members of Victoria Police. Assistant Commissioner Cindy Millen, Homicide Squad Senior Sergeant Pixie Fuhrmeister, Professional Standards Command Superintendent Sean Woods and State Highway Patrol Inspector John Cormack are among the award’s prestigious alumni. It’s an honour that doesn’t sit comfortably with Det Sen Const Holt, who graduated from the Academy in 2014 and worked through a trainee posting in Frankston before being stationed at Sunshine, where she remains in the Brimbank Crime Investigation Unit. “I feel extremely lucky and it's an honour and a privilege to be part of the award’s legacy,” she said. “I was one of those people that always wanted to be a police officer. “This is my dream and that’s why I’m so overwhelmed to be where I am now". Brad’s stepmother Rosemary, sister Vicki, and brother Neil were on hand to present the 100th memorial award to Det Sen Const Holt.
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“The award was established to acknowledge the academic and psychological demands of the Detective Training School Course because, for Brad, despite all of his achievements, he said passing this course was one of the hardest things he had to do,” Rosemary said. “He was incredibly proud to be a detective in Victoria Police. “The award is a tangible acknowledgement to recipients that they’re worthy of recognition and if that inspires them to go further in their careers, we as a family are very proud to be a part of that process.” The Robertson family is committed to continuing the award long into the future, to ensure Brad’s lasting legacy. And they promised to be there to present it, time after time.
Editorial and photography: Grant Condon
02 Images Honoured winner 01 Det Sen Const Gabriella Holt was the 100th recipient of the Brad Robertson Memorial Award, which honours the late Brad Robertson (pictured top left). 02 Det Sen Const Holt was presented the award by A/AC Lauren Callaway and Brad Robertson’s brother Neil, sister Vicki and stepmother Rosemary. POLICE LIFE | WINTER 2019
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Collision Course 20
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It has been a tragic start to 2019 on Victoria’s roads. The numbers tell the story of lives lost and families broken. At the conclusion of Victoria Police's Queen's Birthday long weekend road policing operation, 147 people had died on the state's roads, a shocking 55 more than the same time last year. It’s a rate that puts Victoria on track to record the highest number of annual road deaths for more than a decade. The increase comes despite the huge effort by Victoria Police and its road safety partners to prevent death and serious injury on the roads. Measures include 50,000 more roadside drug tests, operations cracking down on dangerous behaviours such as speed, impairment and distraction and initiatives aimed at groups overrepresented in the fatality statistics. This prevention and deterrence work is the public face of road policing in Victoria. But when tragedy does occur, it falls to a highlyspecialised team to find out what has gone wrong and bring to justice those who have taken lives through criminal acts. Every time there is a fatal or life-threatening crash on Victoria’s roads, the phone rings at the Major Collision Investigation Unit’s (MCIU) base in Melbourne’s Notting Hill.
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one of the few MCIU positions was advertised the very next week. I took it as a sign and applied,” Det Sgt Hayes said.
first responders playing an important role in preserving evidence and protecting potential crime scenes.
Completing the Advanced Diploma of Police Investigation is a requirement for joining the unit, but Det Sgt Hayes said most of the specialised skills are learnt on the job and take time to acquire.
Once they are on the scene, MCIU detectives will form an initial working theory of what has happened, which guides future investigations.
The MCIU is charged with determining whether these collisions warrant further investigation, though there are several categories they must attend.
“The first collision you attend just looks like a mess of twisted metal, fluids, scrapes and skid marks, but after a while you can pick out the important clues used to reconstruct the collision,” he said.
These include collisions in which three or more people have died, hit-and-runs and cases where there is evidence that a surviving driver has committed an offence, such as drink or drug driving, excessive speed or distraction.
The team uses an array of specialist equipment to map out crime scenes, including a 3D scanner that records millions of positions in the space of a few minutes, but there is also plenty of “good old fashioned detective work”.
Head of road policing operations and investigations Superintendent John Fitzpatrick says the MCIU is an important cog in Victoria’s road policing machinery.
“A lot of people see us at collisions taking measurements, photographs and samples and assume our role is purely forensic,” Det Sgt Hayes said.
“Our operational focus is very much on preventing death and injury on the roads, but despite these efforts, there are road users who engage in dangerous behaviour, such as driving after drinking or using drugs or speeding,” Supt Fitzpatrick said.
“What doesn’t get seen is the detective work on the back end.
“When that results in lives being lost, it’s important that we hold those responsible to account and get justice for the victims and their loved ones.” With a total of four years in the MCIU, Detective Sergeant Chris Hayes has seen more than enough senseless loss of life on the roads. He was working as a detective investigating organised crime when a colleague who had previously been in the MCIU told him about the “thorough and complex investigations” conducted by the unit. “It sparked an interest in me and by coincidence,
Det Sgt Hayes said investigating road trauma could take its toll, and it was always difficult seeing young lives cut short. But it is important for Victoria Police to piece together what had happened and give closure to the loved ones left behind. “When you’re there at the scene, it’s all ugly and a mess, but when you’re able to come to the family of the victims later and tell them exactly what’s happened and answer all their questions, that’s what makes it all worthwhile," Det Sgt Hayes said.
“Our initial scene examination is definitely weighted towards collecting and documenting the physical evidence, but some of our more complex investigations, especially hit-and-run collisions, use traditional detective work and covert methods to identify the suspect and track them down.” He said there had been a notable increase in callouts this year, many of them to country areas and collisions involving motorcyclists. “I’d say our workload is about 50 days ahead of where we were last year," Det Sgt Hayes said. “To put that into context, it’s late-May now and last year it was well into July before we had the number of cases we’ve got now.” Like many things in policing, investigating a fatal collision is a team effort, with the
Images Crash course 01 Det Sgt Chris Hayes hopes to see the road toll reduced. 02 Sen Const Kelly Carvill sets up a 3D scanner used by the MCIU at crash scenes. The images created by the 3D scanner can be zoomed, rotated and measured. Editorial: Martin Kay Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann, Shane Bell POLICE LIFE | WINTER 2019
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TALL ORDER TO
Reach Dream Fifty-five years after she applied to join Victoria Police, Sadie ‘Lassie’ Mahoney has finally experienced a taste of life as an officer. In 1964, a then 27-year-old Lassie had applied to join Victoria’s policing ranks, something she said had been a long-time dream. “I don’t exactly know why it was always a dream; I think it was a sense of authority and maybe the uniform,” Lassie said. But having had her initial application knocked back as she did not meet the height requirement of 5 feet 4 inches (162.5cm), the ever-tenacious Lassie made the trip from Warrnambool to Melbourne to challenge the decision, eventually taking her case all the way to the Chief Commissioner.
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“I applied and I first got a letter straight back saying ‘We can’t consider your application because you’re only 5 feet 3 inches (160cm)’,” Lassie said. “But I was talking to another girl who was a policewoman and she said ‘We’ll see about that’. So we went down to the barracks on St Kilda Road and went in and saw the guy at the desk. “But he just wouldn’t even consider me because I wasn’t 5 feet 4 inches.” Undeterred, Lassie returned home and penned a letter to the Chief Commissioner – but it was to no avail.
“I got the same sort of letter back saying even though there was only a small number of policewomen and they needed more, they couldn’t take me because of the standards set by the government,” Lassie recalled. In a last-ditch bid to reach the required height, Lassie sent away for a stretching device she saw advertised in a magazine. “You hung it over the door and you did these stretching exercises with these rope things, but unfortunately it didn’t help, I didn’t gain any height.”
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More than five decades on, it was the rejection letters Lassie received that ultimately brought about the chance for her to live out her policing dream earlier this year.
Lassie said she was thrilled to see more women in Victoria Police in modern times, even though she admits feeling a bit jealous when she sees police shorter than her wearing the uniform.
After Lassie recently came across the old letters her nephew Detective Senior Constable Gary Greene showed them to some of his female colleagues at Warrnambool Police Station.
These days there is no minimum height requirement to join Victoria Police, but rather a weight to height ratio assessment.
Wanting to help Lassie live out her policing dream, they invited her and her sister Mary Greene into the station, where they met with local officers, along with Western Region Assistant Commissioner Cindy Millen. The tour was conducted by Inspector Di Thomson and Leading Senior Constable Fiona McIntyre and gave Lassie a look at the side of a police station she was never able to know. She visited the family violence and criminal investigation units, viewed the police cells through live CCTV footage and tried on a police vest equipped with all the gear. “I would have arrested a lot of people, you know,” Lassie quipped during her visit. Over the years Lassie’s interest in policing never faded. When her nephew, Det Sen Const Greene, joined Victoria Police in 2001 she attended his graduation and has followed his career closely, as well as the advancement of women in the force.
Insp Thomson said meeting Lassie provided a great opportunity to reflect on how far Victoria Police had come and how it has changed over the years to allow more people the opportunity to join. “I think as gatekeepers of the past we have to acknowledge that was how it was and I’m grateful to know that’s not how it is now,” Insp Thomson said. “What I like to think now is that the organisation is at the point where it can recognise the tenacity and attributes of human beings and not just the physical attributes. “So the people with the tenacity of Lassie can come in through the doors and be graduating from the police academy regularly and often.” AC Millen said she made the trip to Warrnambool to thank Lassie for the part she played in opening Victoria Police up to more women. “You probably underestimate the important part you’ve played in the history of police,” AC Millen told Lassie.
“When you tried to join there was only 1.5 per cent females, when I graduated there was about 13-14 per cent and now we are up to about 28 per cent, so we’ve come a long way.” AC Millen presented Lassie with a copy of Colleen Woolley's book Arresting Women: Celebrating 100 years of Women in the Victoria Police. Lassie also received an engraved gold retirement watch from The Police Association Victoria and a plaque and Constable T Bear from Warrnambool police. Images Living a dream 01 You couldn’t wipe the smile off Sadie ‘Lassie’ Mahoney’s face when she finally got her chance to experience a day at a police station. 02 Det Sen Const Gary Greene, Supt Glenn Owen, Ldg Sen Const Fiona McIntyre and AC Cindy Millen welcomed Lassie and her sister Mary Greene to Warrnambool station. Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Michael Teychenne POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2019
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OUT & ABOUT
Brimbank Police Service Area 24
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Police on the beat in Brimbank are now wearing body-worn cameras, offering a better way to gather evidence at incidents and to help improve community safety. When Sunshine Constable Jenna AstwoodStone and her partner turned up to a house recently to take a statement, they were expecting it to be a pretty routine job. Both members were wearing their bodyworn cameras (BWCs) as they got out of the divisional van and walked towards the door. “As we were approaching the house, we could hear shouting coming from inside,” Const Astwood-Stone said. “We hadn’t had a chance to tap our cameras on yet and suddenly the door burst open. “My partner quickly tapped his camera on and, thanks to the 30-second back capture feature, it caught the mother assaulting her daughter. “We got her red-handed and may have missed it otherwise. She now can’t dispute the evidence.” Brimbank police have been using BWCs since January, as part of a wider roll-out to all Victoria Police frontline members at the rank of sergeant and below, due to be completed by 2020. The cameras are attached to an officer's vest and are easily turned on with a double tap on the device. They capture video and audio evidence and are expected to increase the number of early guilty pleas and successful prosecutions. Police will turn on their cameras when exercising policing powers, on any occasion they believe necessary and when an incident has or is likely to occur. The cameras are used alongside Victoria Police-issued iPads and iPhones. The devices are equipped with an application called IRIS, which allows officers to conduct
vehicle, licence and location checks across a range of national databases at their fingertips. The device also allows police to view and manage jobs allocated following calls to Triple Zero (000).
Insp Normington said it is a busy policing area, with a wonderful multicultural community.
The functionality of the device will continue to evolve over time.
“We have issues with high-volume crime such as robberies, assaults, theft from and of motor vehicles and we work hard to keep on top of these,” he said.
Brimbank Inspector Dallas Normington said these recent technology upgrades modernised the police force and were essential tools for police.
“We have a big focus on high-visibility policing around our key areas such as Sunshine Train Station, shopping centres and the Sunshine and St Albans CBDs.”
“The cameras capture real-time evidence of what police deal with on a day-to-day basis,” Insp Normington said.
Insp Normington said Brimbank police were involved in a variety of community projects to assist at-risk youths and break the cycle of youth offending.
“They capture the context and emotions of events and will help to corroborate police and offenders in prosecutions.” A recent example of the success of body-worn cameras was at a house fire in St Albans. “It was a known squatters house and all the doors and windows were barred up and the attending police couldn’t force the door open, but they could hear someone screaming from inside,” Insp Normington said. “The police officers managed to break through the weatherboards and get in and save the man inside. “All of this was caught on their BWCs and we have been able to review the footage and look at just what a great job they did and how brave these members were.” The Brimbank Police Service Area has two 24-hour police stations at Sunshine and Keilor Downs, and encapsulates frontline police, Highway Patrol, a Criminal Investigation Unit, a Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team, as well as a Safer Communities Unit.
One of those is the Social Cohesion Project, which involves a range of local stakeholders and community groups working together to offer a multi-sport program in Sydenham. The program gives youths a safe space to play sport at times they may otherwise participate in anti-social or criminal behaviour, a place to develop relationships with police and other social services and to increase confidence and self-esteem. “This is a really important program that offers opportunity for youths through sport,” Insp Normington said. “Not only is it about using sport to improve the mental and physical health of young people, it also has the potential to reduce the risk of anti-social behaviour.” Brimbank police also participate in the Coffee with a Cop program, where police attend local shopping centres and have a cuppa with community members. “The community come and tell us about a range of issues and it gives us a firsthand picture of the issues the public are facing and how we can help," Insp Normington said. Insp Normington said his three years of policing in Brimbank have been rewarding. “It is such a pleasure watching all the members in this division work collectively and work really, really hard, day in day out, to provide the very best response they can to this community.”
Sgt Michael Baulch uses his Victoria Policeissued iPad while out on the beat, giving him quicker access to national database checks.
Body-worn cameras are attached to officers' vests and are switched on by double tapping on the device.
Main image Switched on Officers in Brimbank Police Service Area, like Sgt Michael Baulch and Const James Hanks, are better equipped to gather evidence thanks to the introduction of body-worn cameras. Editorial: Janae Houghton Photography: Scott McNaughton
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FAMILY MATTERS With Sergeant Wayne McDonald’s long policing career being the inspiration for his sons Dan and Ben to join Victoria Police, it was fitting that he should work his final shift with them.
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Having started in 1973 as a 16-year-old police cadet, Wayne’s retirement in March brought a close to a career that saw him respected by all he came into contact with. He started out with uniform stints in Melbourne’s CBD and Geelong, before becoming a detective based in the city and then Brunswick. Wayne then was promoted to sergeant and worked the rest of his career in uniform at St Kilda Road, Oakleigh, Knox and finally Rowville. Wayne’s career was one marked by hard work, humility, reliability and treating people with respect. “If you treat others how you want to be treated yourself, you can’t go too far wrong,” Wayne said. “In this job you can see the worst side of humanity, but at the same time, you still need to recognise that they are still people. “I’ve always tried to maintain that philosophy throughout my career.” His approach caught the eye of a fellow officer in the 1980s, who would go on to become his wife Helen. “We were very much a policing family, even before the boys joined,” Wayne said. “Other than to take them to open days and put them in the back of divvy vans, I didn’t try to push Dan and Ben to this career.” But seeing his dad in the uniform meant that Dan, now a detective senior constable at the Moorabbin Family Violence Investigation Unit, wanted to follow his father’s footsteps from a young age. For Ben, a senior constable at Collingwood Police Station, the desire to join Victoria Police came later in life. “When I was at school, everyone knew my parents were police, so they would always ask me when I was going to join,” he said. “I got sick of the question, and I was pretty adamant that it was a ‘no’.” But after several years working in sports administration, Ben made the move to Victoria Police and hasn’t looked back.
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Wayne's daughter Chloe has also shown an interest in joining Victoria Police, having even done a work experience stint with her dad at Rowville Police Station. She is currently working in the insurance industry.
“I’m very proud of his career.” “Dad’s definitely a superstar,” Dan said. “He’s a great asset to the police, and I want to glean as much as I can from him and apply it to my career.
And Wayne’s other son Luke believes there should be at least one member of the McDonald family not in Victoria Police.
“He’s paved the way for us to be able to have a good crack at this career.
“He has told us, ‘We’ve got enough police in this family already’, so he works in the health sector,” Wayne said.
Wayne said it was “pretty overwhelming” to hear his two sons speak with such admiration.
The family’s two dogs, King Charles Cavaliers, also seem to fancy themselves as police sniffer dogs.
“If we can be as half as good as he is, we’ll be rapt.”
“Whatever the boys want to do, I’ll be proud of them, but I’m particularly proud in a sense that they have followed in my footsteps,” Wayne said.
“They sniff around at dinner time quite a bit,” Wayne said. With Dan and Ben jumping into the divisional van at Rowville to work with Wayne on his final shift, it proved to be a passing of the policing baton and an opportunity to reflect on Wayne’s career. “I really like his hard-working nature, the way he deals with people and he’s pretty calm, he doesn’t get flustered too often,” Ben said.
Images Today's a family day 01 Ben (left) and Dan (right) congratulate their father Wayne on a long and distinguished career. 02 Wayne and Dan check police database details while out on patrol. 03 The McDonalds kit up before heading out on Wayne’s final shift. Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann
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Remembering the fallen
Marks on the ground indicated Const Duff had been dragged by the stirrup for 10-15 metres, with the impact enough to tear his clothing. A medical practitioner, Dr Hetherington, declared the cause of Const Duff’s death to be a broken neck when he arrived on scene about five hours later.
A riderless horse was the first sign something wasn’t right. It was around 4.20pm on 11 November, 1871 when a horse belonging to Mounted Constable John Alexander Duff was spotted “furiously” galloping past the police camp at Greta, a broken bridle entangled in its legs.
Const Duff was laid to rest at the Greta cemetery, but his grave was never marked. It would remain that way for 147 years. In that time, the only memorial that existed to Const Duff’s life was an unattributed entry to his personnel file that was made after his death.
Fellow Mounted Constable Ernest Flood sensed an emergency after witnessing the distressed horse galloping past and ran on foot in the direction of the post office.
It said Const Duff was “an efficient and well conducted constable whose death was a great loss to the Department”.
On the road lay Const Duff’s lifeless body.
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Const Flood had previously noted the horse was a nervous creature, but “not vicious”.
It had been just over two hours since Const Duff had set off on patrol to the Greta Post Office, but now his horse had returned without him.
Just 400 metres into Const Flood’s urgent dash, his search ended.
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An inquest conducted before Coroner Walter Butler two days later concluded Const Duff had been accidentally killed by a fall from his horse.
That loss was finally acknowledged by Victoria Police in February this year when a grave dedication for Const Duff was held at the Greta Cemetery with Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton, Deputy Commissioner Rick
Nugent, descendants of Const Duff, police members, dignitaries and community members in attendance.
her efforts that we have been able to find out more about my great-great uncle,” Ms Wood said.
“Within a period of six months they had personally visited every known grave across the state.
The ceremony marked Const Duff’s untimely demise, but also celebrated his life.
“Many years ago, in an effort to put together more of the pieces, Tamara and I came to this cemetery hoping to find his grave because we knew that he was a policeman in this area and that he had died here.
“In cases such as Const Duff’s they worked with local cemetery authorities and scoured old records to identify the sites of unmarked graves.
“Although we looked, we couldn’t find it because, as we now know, it was unmarked. To be able to come back and stand by his graveside is a wonderful feeling.”
More work is planned, with five currently unmarked police graves in the Melbourne Cemetery set to be restored and dedicated by the end of 2020.
Const Duff’s relatives had previously been presented with a Victoria Police Star in his name.
Supt O’Neill said it was imperative Victoria Police ensured those who lost their life in service were always remembered, no matter how far back in history their sacrifice may have occurred.
Having worked as self-employed miner at Daylesford, Const Duff joined Victoria Police on 15 October, 1869 at 24 years of age. On his Oath Sheet, he was described as being 5 foot 10 inches (180cm), with blue eyes, sandy hair and a sandy complexion and came recommended by parliamentarian Mr Henry Miller. The Duff bloodline carries on into Victoria Police today, with Const Duff’s great-greatgreat-niece Tamara Fitzpatrick currently serving as a Laboratory Information Management System Manager at the Victoria Police Forensic Science Centre. Her husband, Jeremy Fitzpatrick, is a senior constable at Lilydale. Tamara’s mother and Const Duff’s great-great niece, Heather Wood, said the newly-dedicated grave gave her family a place to come together and reflect on a life that, for more than a century, had been lost in time. “My daughter Tamara has been researching our family tree for a long time and it was through
It is estimated 20 graves of police members who have lost their life in service remain unmarked in Victoria. Superintendent Peter O’Neill, who leads the Victoria Police Memorial Committee, said Const Duff’s grave dedication was part of a much larger process. “In 2017 two recently retired members, Superintendent Tony Biggin and Senior Sergeant Ian Fidler, volunteered to locate and conduct an audit of all the graves of those named on the honour roll,” Supt O’Neill said.
“The committee would have been unable to achieve what it has without their efforts.”
“The dedication provides a moment where we get to reflect on our past, acknowledge the present and to celebrate the future,” he said. Images A day to remember Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton and descendants of late Mounted Constable John Alexander Duff were on-hand to reveal a new grave dedicated to the officer who died in 1871. Editorial: Grant Condon Photography: Sergeant Colleen Sheridan
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At your fingertips If you’ve visited the Victoria Police website recently, you might have noticed it looks a bit different. The redesigned police.vic.gov.au website has been revamped, with a focus on making it easier for visitors to find what they’re looking for. Underneath the new facade it also has several new accessibility features, introduced to make it easier for visitors to quickly access vital information. Media and Corporate Communications Department Executive Director Merita Tabain said with more and more people accessing the internet through mobile devices, such as phones and tablets, mobile optimisation was important for the new website. “Research showed that more than half the traffic to the Victoria Police website was from a mobile device,” Ms Tabain said. “Making sure the new site was compatible with mobile phones and tablets was vital.” Another main focus of the redesign was ensuring it was user-friendly for all, with several accessibility features introduced including language translation. 30
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“Victoria Police serves a multicultural demographic, so it makes sense to have information not only available in English, but in other languages as well,” Ms Tabain said. “The new site translates the text into 80 languages currently, and that number will continue to grow.” Ms Tabain said the updated website also had colour contrast features, making it easier for people with different visual conditions to read. “Most people visiting the Victoria Police site are doing so for a specific reason, whether they’re looking for their local police station, safety information or news, so it’s important the website is easy to navigate for everyone,” she said. Senior Constable Johnny Tran, a Victoria Police multicultural liaison officer, said having police information available in so many languages helped people feel safer and more engaged with police.
“It’s going to have a really great impact on a lot of migrants out there,” Sen Const Tran said. “If we are able to take away any barriers, we can become more approachable and accessible. “It also shows that Victoria Police is trying to reflect the community it serves and it tells people that it doesn’t matter where you are from, we still value you and want to protect you.”
Images Keeping in touch The new Victoria Police website is easier to navigate and accessible to all users. Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: John Pallot
Find out more information visit police.vic.gov.au
VICTORIA POLICE BY THE NUMBERS:
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hands (165.1cms) is the minimum height requirement for horses to be accepted into the Victoria Police Mounted Branch.
17,324 37
is the number of specialist educators at Victoria Police’s new family violence training centre. Turn to Page 15 to read more about the centre, based at the Victoria Police Academy.
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3
is the number of seasonal police stations operated by Victoria Police on the state’s snowfields. Read more about the preparation for this specialised winter policing on Page 8.
roadside drug tests were performed by Victoria Police in April 2019. This is a record for Victoria Police and included 5,234 roadside drugs tests performed during the five-day statewide Easter road safety operation.
1,247 entries were submitted to this year’s Chief Commissioner’s Colouring Competition. Winners were treated to a tour of the Mounted Branch in May.
14
is the number of forensic specialists and support staff at the newly-opened Ballarat Forensic Hub. The state-of-the-art facility will give local police faster access to forensic services to assist in investigations, reducing the need to redirect evidence to Melbourne.
metres is the maximum depth to which highly-trained Search and Rescue Squad police can dive. Read more about the squad’s recent training on Page 16.
Keep up with the latest police news at police.vic.gov.au/news
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YOU’RE MORE SUITED THAN YOU MIGHT THINK
With more than 3000 new positions available, a career with Victoria Police can offer you: • Paid training and great starting salary • Rosters planned in advance allowing for work/life balance • Generous leave entitlements • The chance to make a difference to your community • The opportunity to specialise after as little as 2 years
policecareer.vic.gov.au Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne
