Out and about: Brimbank Police Service Area

Editorial: Janae Houghton

Photography: Scott McNaughton

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 Astwood- Stone 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.

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.

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).

The functionality of the device will continue to evolve over time.

Body-worn cameras are attached to officers' vests and are switched on by double tapping on the device.

Brimbank Inspector Dallas Normington said these recent technology upgrades modernised the police force and were essential tools for police.

“The cameras capture real-time evidence of what police deal with on a day-to-day basis,” Insp Normington said.

“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.

Insp Normington said it is a busy policing area, with a wonderful multicultural community.

“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.

“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.”

Sgt Michael Baulch uses his Victoria Policeissued iPad while out on the beat, giving him quicker access to national database checks.

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.

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.”