Police Life AUTUMN 2020

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THE VICTORIA POLICE MAGAZINE

AUTUMN 2020

State of disaster VICTORIA POLICE’S UNPRECEDENTED RESPONSE FOR AN UNPRECEDENTED BUSHFIRE EMERGENCY PLUS POLICE PAIR PULLS COUPLE FROM THE FLAMES > INSIDE THE MASSIVE FIRE EVACUATION MISSION > CARING FOR COMMUNITIES IN CRISIS AND MORE

AUTUMN 2020

6-15 From the fire front

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Special extended coverage of Victoria Police’s response to the bushfire crisis in the state’s north east and eastern regions, told by the people who witnessed it first-hand.

COVER: Leading Senior Constable Baden Bell and Constable Alice Edmonds, pictured at Buchan, usually operate booze buses around the state as part of their work with Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section, but in January, they were among the more than 2,000 extra police deployed into fire-affected areas in Victoria’s east and north east.

Turning a corner More females are steering Victoria Police’s road policing effort, including a new Assistant Commissioner.

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann 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

Seeing the light of day The role of Protective Services Officers continues to expand, and roaming day-time shifts are allowing them to have an even bigger impact on safety.

Globe runner A police prosecutor is taking on the world's six biggest marathons, with a special cause pushing her every step of the way.

Managing Editor Superintendent Jo Dolan Editor Grant Condon Journalists Jesse Wray-McCann Danielle Ford Graphic Design Fluid – fluid.com.au Subscriptions (03) 8335 8564

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For permission to reprint any part of this magazine, contact the editor.

Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Victoria Police.

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Small Talk In Brief Career in Focus Out and About

A personal safety message Having survived a serious motorcycle accident himself, Leading Senior Constable Grant Healy is dedicated to keeping all riders safe.

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER Unfortunately, due to the widespread and destructive Of course, we must also acknowledge the bushfires across the state, this was not possible for outstanding work of our colleagues in the emergency many Victorians and visitors to our state this year. services, particularly those fighting at the frontline.

The punishing impact of the bushfires, particularly in I’d also like to save a special mention for the residents East Gippsland and the north east, made this summer of the affected towns. They showed strength and more demanding than usual for Victoria Police. resilience in incredibly tough conditions.

For Victoria Police, summer is always a busy time.

At major and local public events across the state, in popular holiday locations and on the roads, we ensure that we have a strong police presence so the Victorian community can enjoy summer safely.

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In this edition of Police Life, we are highlighting some of the stories of Victoria Police officers who worked during the bushfire emergencies.

Their cooperation allowed our officers to safely evacuate more than 70,000 people, the largest number of evacuations we’ve ever conducted.

However, they only represent a small percentage of our officers’ remarkable efforts in protecting Victoria’s rural communities under very challenging circumstances and over an extended time.

And of course, many people showed wonderful generosity by providing meals and refreshments to our members and other emergency workers.

We saw police on the frontline working long hours and going above and beyond their regular duties. We had Victoria Police staff from across the organisation taking on behind-the-scenes roles to support the frontline response.

I am incredibly proud of every Victoria Police staff member who contributed to the response and helped keep the Victorian community safe.

Their support showed that responding to emergencies is truly a collaborative effort.

Thanks again to everyone who played a part in the bushfire response. It is in the face of challenges like this that we see communities at their best.

Follow Victoria Police on Twitter at @VictoriaPolice

MAKING NEWS For the latest police news visit police.vic.gov.au/news

POLICE PREYING ON CAR THIEVES Police in Melbourne’s south east have swooped on more than 400 offenders in a widespread operation targeting vehicle crime.

“We also know these offences can often be a gateway to more violent crimes, with stolen vehicles regularly used in burglaries, ram raids, pursuits, and in evading police.

In the year since its launch in March 2019, Victoria Police’s Operation Birds of Prey has resulted in 408 arrests and 2,950 charges for vehicle crime-related offences, including theft of and theft from motor vehicles.

“By making these arrests and holding offenders to account, we’re stopping criminals at the first step of what could be a path to further crimes that seriously impact the safety of the wider community.”

Key arrests from the operation have included a 34-year-old Seaford man charged with 129 offences and a 19-year-old male, who will face court on theft of motor vehicle and handling stolen goods charges.

General duties police, detectives from crime investigation units and officers from frontline tactical and divisional response units have all been deployed across the three operations that make up Birds of Prey.

Birds of Prey brings together three localised operations – Night Hawk, Night Owl and Night Eagle – all dedicated to cracking down on vehicle crime in the Port Phillip, Stonnington, Glen Eira, Bayside, Kingston, Frankston and Mornington Peninsula areas.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology has also been used to identify false registration plates, stolen vehicles and people wanted on outstanding warrants.

“Police take the thefts of and thefts from motor vehicles very seriously because we know the personal impact and inconvenience it can have on a victim’s day-to-day activities,” Southern Metro Region Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill said.

“But the best way to combat vehicle crime is to prevent it happening in the first place.

“There are simple precautions Victorians can adopt to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of car theft – lock our homes and vehicles and place car keys in a secure location.”

Night Hawk, Night Owl and Night Eagle are ongoing operations and will continue to run throughout Melbourne’s south east.

Images Car crime Police have made more than 400 arrests during Operation Birds of Prey. The operation targets vehicle-related crime in Melbourne’s south east.

Editorial: Grant Condon

“While all these measures are helping us identify offenders, the best tool police have in combating vehicle crime is the public,” AC Hill said.

“Reporting any vehicle crime as soon as possible is crucial because it gives police a greater opportunity to potentially locate and arrest the offenders and collect valuable evidence.

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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SMALL TALK VOXPOP

POLICING CAREERS UNPACKED IN PODCAST

If you had the power, what bad habit would you make illegal and what would the punishment be?

CONSTABLE TIM CURTIS Wallan Police Station

Victoria Police recently launched an all-new podcast delving into A Career in Policing.

The 11-episode series addresses frequentlyasked questions about joining the force and educates prospective applicants about the recruitment process.

The host of the podcast and Victoria Police Applicant Attraction project administrator Madeleine Rice said the podcast is part of the organisation's ongoing campaign to recruit, train and deploy more than 3,000 additional police officers by June 2021.

“We're in the midst of the biggest recruitment drive in Victoria Police's history, and a big part

“I would make it illegal to leave shopping trolleys in the carpark instead of putting them back in the trolley bays. It’s very annoying. The punishment would be paying for the next person’s shopping.”

SENIOR CONSTABLE BROOKE MALANE Seymour Police Station

“People talking or using their mobile phones when ordering coffee at a cafe. They’d have to pay a fine.”

SERGEANT FIONA ROBINSON Water Police

“I’d make it illegal for people to not pick up after their dogs go to the toilet. The punishment would be me personally collecting it and putting it on their front doorstep.”

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

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POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

of that is attracting high-quality candidates and ensuring they have all the information they need to feel confident to apply for our policing roles,” Ms Rice said.

“When making this podcast, we wanted to create more transparency and answer some of those common questions people ask when applying for police roles and, ultimately, help people to realise they're more suited than they might think.”

To listen to the podcast, visit police.vic.gov. au/career-policing

SECRET LIFE OF POLICE ‘The King’ isn’t an official rank in the Victoria Police hierarchy, but if it was, it would probably belong to Leading Senior Constable Scott Woodford.

That’s because for the past four years, the leading senior constable, based in the Prosecutions Unit at the Dandenong Police Station, has been taking on the persona of Elvis Presley, the undisputed king of rock ‘n’ roll.

Despite being a lifelong fan of the Mississippi rocker, it took Led Sen Const Woodford a trip to the iconic Parkes Elvis Festival in New South Wales to kick-start his transformation.

The annual festival celebrates all things Elvis and is attended by 25,000 people, including thousands of impersonators.

“I went just as a fan. I was watching an amateur tribute performance competition and when the first bloke got up and started singing, I looked at my partner and we both said I could do better than that,” Led Sen Const Woodford said.

Having decided it was now or never, Led Sen Const Woodford undertook five months of singing lessons, invested in a costume and returned to Parkes the following year to make his debut as The King in front of 2,000 people.

It’s not a stress-free hobby however, as Led Sen Const Woodford must choose which is his favourite song to perform.

And it’s not Jailhouse Rock as his profession may suggest.

“It’s a hard choice, considering Elvis recorded more than 700 songs,” he said.

“I think Bridge Over Troubled Water is my favourite right now, or An American Trilogy is a great song to belt out.”

From that moment, Led Sen Const Woodford couldn’t help falling in love with impersonating and now finds himself performing at the events of family and friends, as well as the odd office Christmas party.

Led Sen Const Woodford must also decide between his five Elvis outfits – two diamantécovered jump suits, a full leather ensemble and two casual outfits featuring dress shirts and flared pants.

The lively performances are a major breakaway from the usually “reserved” personality of Led Sen Const Woodford, who has served in Victoria Police for 23 years, working most of his career in Highway Patrol units across the state.

“Then there’s the wig, the sunglasses and all of the jewellery, of course,” Led Sen Const Woodford said.

“Elvis commanded attention as soon as he took the stage. He knew all eyes were on him and he was absolutely captivating, so you’ve got to try and emulate that,” Led Sen Const Woodford said.

Image Elvis hasn’t left the building With the addition of a wig, some glitzy accessories and an iconic jumpsuit, Ldg Sen Const Scott Woodford quickly goes from prosecutor to Presley as an Elvis impersonator in his spare time.

Editorial: Grant Condon

IN BRIEF police.vic.gov.au/news

PROACTIVE POLICING STORIES

RIFLE ROLL-OUT BEGINS

CAMERAS COVERING THE STATE

Victoria Police will soon take possession of 300 new semi-automatic rifles to further strengthen the organisation's response to critical incidents.

All frontline police from the rank of sergeant and below, Protective Services Officers (PSOs) and specialist units are now embracing the use of bodyworn cameras following the completion of a state-wide rollout of the new equipment.

The weapons, supplied by Huntsman Aus, will be distributed to the Public Order Response Team (PORT) and 24-hour regional stations: Geelong, Ballarat, Morwell and Shepparton.

From June, more than 700 officers will be trained to use the rifles.

PORT has been selected to receive the semi-automatic rifles as a frontline support unit that can be deployed anywhere in Victoria in response to major events, issues and high-risk incidents.

The four regional stations have been selected to ensure there is a strengthened response in key regional areas “It will be a very sad day if the rifles are used, but the reality is we need to be prepared if an active armed offender or terrorist attack was to occur in regional Victoria,” Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said.

“By expanding this capability to four key regional hubs and PORT, the community can be reassured we can respond to these incidents in a timely manner.

“Police will not be patrolling the streets with the rifles as part of general duties. Unless police are responding to a critical incident, the rifles will be securely stored at the police station or in vehicles.”

The cameras are attached to an officer’s uniform and used to record video and audio when police are exercising their powers, collecting evidence, feel there is a need to record or if a recording would provide transparency to an interaction Assistant Commissioner Russell Barrett said it was pleasing to see the way police and the community had responded to the cameras.

“The benefits of body-worn cameras are widespread, improving the processes for victims and witnesses of crimes, and the way police collect evidence,” AC Barrett said.

“Throughout the past several months, many police officers have noted an increase in early guilty pleas, which leads to faster and easier outcomes for victims and witnesses.”

Footage captured on body-worn cameras is stored for a minimum of 90 days and then deleted if it has been deemed non-evidentiary. If an offence is detected or footage is labelled as evidentiary, police may use that as part of an investigation, or a brief of evidence supplied to the courts.

The camera has a visible red flashing light when it is recording.

ODD SPOT CORNER Victoria Police is all about upholding the law and ensuring justice in the community.

With last names like theirs, it would seem a perfect policing partnership was formed when Leading Senior Constable Andrew Law (left) and Detective Senior Constable Mark Justice happened to be rostered on voluntary duties together at the end of last year.

The duo, unknown to each other beforehand, both signed up to work Elton John’s Farewell

Yellow Brick Road show at A Day On The Green at Geelong’s Mt Duneed Estate on Saturday, 7 December.

While all Victoria Police officers do their part to uphold the law and ensure justice, the chance meeting between these two was against the odds.

Only five officers in the entire organisation have the last name Law and just two have Justice.

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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2019-20 VICTORIAN BUSHFIRES

BY THE NUMBERS:

6,953 shifts worked by extra police deployed into Eastern Region between 2–23 January

2,070 405

extra police deployed into Eastern Region between 2–23 January

homes destroyed

29,863

people registered with Red Cross’s Register.Find.Reunite service

70,000

people evacuated

5,827 livestock deaths

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653

non-residential buildings destroyed

DELIVERING IN A DISASTER As fires ravaged regions in Victoria’s east and north east, dozens of communities that were threatened, destroyed or isolated were crying out for help.

At Corryong near Victoria’s north-eastern border, Critical Incident Response Team officers helped struggling farmers by rebuilding fences destroyed by fire.

Victoria Police answered the call, mobilising en masse by land, air and sea to join other emergency services and authorities in responding to the fire crisis that gripped the state in late December and January.

After finishing long shifts each day, officers lodging at Upper Murray Cottages in Walwa would ask the owners Robyn and Brian Caldwell how they might help around the property.

The sheer magnitude of the fires in East Gippsland and north east Victoria meant the police response was one of the biggest for any event in the state’s history.

It was the first time the State Government declared a state of disaster, giving authorities powers and resources to compel people to evacuate from at-risk areas.

“They gave our garden the once over, pruning the roses and doing the weeds, and also helped put away our firefighting hoses and gear, because we weren’t going to be able to get to it any time soon,” Mrs Caldwell said.

“They were just the loveliest people and we are truly, truly thankful.”

State Emergencies and Support Command Assistant Commissioner Mick Grainger oversaw Thousands of police – both from Eastern Region the coordination role to get police into fireand other areas across the state – worked long affected areas. and hard hours for weeks.

He said the biggest challenge of the crisis As well as evacuating towns and communities, Victoria Police officers and personnel managed road blocks, delivered food and water supplies, searched for missing persons, escorted hay delivery convoys, conducted welfare checks and more.

But they also regularly went above and beyond what was expected.

was evacuating communities under threat or isolated by fire.

“The fact that we saw police called to action and respond in such an amazing fashion in complex circumstances was really gratifying and testimony to their professionalism and focus on delivering community safety,” AC Grainger said.

Eastern Region Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said the “enormous” response demonstrated Victoria Police at its best.

“I’ve been inspired by the way people have worked under really arduous conditions, over really long hours and they’ve done some extraordinary things,” AC Weir said.

“We’ve had to put people in positions and conditions where, ideally, we wouldn’t do that.

“Yet everyone has really risen to the occasion.”

AC Weir said Victoria Police’s relationship with the community has never been stronger.

“There have been a lot of homes lost, there have been a lot of stock losses, a lot of infrastructure losses and we’ve had Victorians killed in these fires,” he said.

“Yet, overall, I think we’ll look back when the emergency ceases with a great deal of pride about how our officers performed under great pressure.

“It gives me great confidence that, whatever the emergency we face, we will all be able to get through it together.”

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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COUPLE’S CLOSE CALL

To watch a video of the dramatic rescue, view this story online at issuu.com/policelife

“LET’S GO! ANDY, GET HER OUT . . . STROEY, WE’VE GOTTA GO! RIGHT NOW!” The black smoke is suffocating, the radiant heat is overwhelming, flames are licking the house and barrels of fuel could explode at any moment.

But leading senior constables Ray Moreland and Andy Trace will stop at nothing to save an elderly couple from their burning home.

The two police officers are only at the humble weatherboard home of Ian and Gwen Strobridge outside Buchan because of the local knowledge Ldg Sen Const Moreland has of his small East Gippsland town and its community.

“I’ve got to be firm but fair, and it’s a delicate balance,” he said.

But policing in Buchan is another kind of unique, with the seasons taking turns to threaten the town with fires and floods.

Last year, winter was barely over when Ldg Sen Const Moreland and the community started worrying about fires.

It’s knowledge he has honed over the 18 years he has proudly served as the lone police officer at Buchan Police Station.

Three years of dry weather had primed the bush for a bad fire season and as the hotter weather of December began to take hold, the town started its anxious wait.

Having joined Victoria Police in 1985, Ldg Sen Const Moreland worked in Melbourne's CBD, Oakleigh and Narre Warren before arriving in Buchan in 2002.

The fire danger spiked on 30 December with strong winds and temperatures that soared past 40 degrees.

checking people were safe and prepared while also monitoring several fires that were starting to surround the town.

A Country Fire Authority (CFA) strike team was in Buchan and had strict orders to only protect the town itself and the many evacuees who had gathered on the town’s football oval.

At 11.30am, the two officers went to the local pub to check on its publican and other residents.

One of Ldg Sen Const Moreland’s mates, Mick Roberts, was there after coming in briefly from his home just a few kilometres to the north.

“I said to Mick, ‘How’s your fire plan?’” Ldg Sen Const Moreland said.

“But he was always the same with those kinds of things - ‘I’ll be right mate, no worries’.”

It would tragically be the last time Ldg Sen Const Moreland would see his friend.

“I was the city copper coming to Buchan in the bush,” Ldg Sen Const Moreland said.

Police commanders in the region assigned Knox Highway Patrol’s Ldg Sen Const Andy Trace to help Ldg Sen Const Moreland on the day.

“When I started here, I had never been to the bush before, never started a chainsaw and had never driven a four-wheel-drive.”

Both men have been police officers for more than 30 years and have served during various bushfires.

But Ldg Sen Const Moreland and his wife Linny fell in love with the town, its 200 residents and a new outdoors lifestyle.

The officers left the pub to keep track of the fires, which had blocked road access from the south and cut off the town’s power.

Making an instant connection, they worked together brilliantly.

At 7pm, the pair drove to a vantage point overlooking a valley to the town’s north.

Ldg Sen Const Moreland said serving at a 8

single-officer station in a small town requires a unique kind of policing.

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

Beginning their shift at 7am, they were driving to all directions of the compass around Buchan,

Mr Roberts’ body was found the next day inside his burnt-out home.

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They watched helplessly as a large fire marched towards Buchan, growing with greater fury as each minute passed.

“We could have had 100 strike teams and they wouldn’t have put it out because it was burning so ferociously,” Ldg Sen Const Moreland said.

“All Andy and I could do was wait for it to impact the town and make sure people were prepared.”

Just before 8pm, Ldg Sen Const Moreland noticed the fire flaring up 2km north of Buchan, near the house of Ian and Gwen Strobridge, aged in their 80s.

Despite being on their own as the CFA strike team had to stay in town, the two officers headed to the Strobridges’ home.

“I saw Stroey had dropped his hose and retreated behind the house, so I gathered myself for another go and we got to the house,” Sen Const Moreland said.

“I said to Andy, ‘There’s a wife in here somewhere, she’s probably in the house.”

While Ldg Sen Const Trace dashed inside to look for Mrs Strobridge, Ldg Sen Const Moreland stood mere metres from flames starting to consume the house’s car port verandah.

With smoke blinding him and making it near impossible to breathe, he started shouting for Mr Strobridge to give up on his home and leave.

“Stroey, we’ve gotta go! Right now!” Ldg Sen Const Moreland yelled.

He knew every second mattered.

The greatest fear of every police officer is not being there when you’re needed, Ldg Sen Const Trace said.

Fear shot through Ldg Sen Const Moreland when they rounded the corner to see the Strobridges’ 50-year-old Holden sedan parked out the front of their burning house.

“Ray’s 18 years in Buchan mean he knows every local and all of their habits, so the moment he saw that old Holden, he knew they were home,” Ldg Sen Const Trace said.

“My big fear was that the main fire front was going to arrive with a massive fireball at any moment,” Ldg Sen Const Moreland said.

“I also knew Stroey had a fuel tank and 44-gallon drums on the property and I was worried they would explode.

“It was just a nightmare.”

Mr Strobridge then fled past the flames to the front of the property to Ldg Sen Const Moreland.

After frantically grabbing belongings from various rooms, Mrs Strobridge finally came out of the house with Ldg Sen Const Trace.

They raced to the property to see Mr Strobridge – known as “Stroey” – desperately trying to put out flames that had fully engulfed sheds next to his house.

Embers were swirling through the air as they loaded the Strobridges into their car and spot fires were taking hold in trees along the road that would be their escape route back into Buchan.

“The fire was licking the side of the house and he was there with just a little garden hose. I couldn’t believe it,” Sen Const Moreland said.

They all made it to the safety of Buchan’s footy oval, thankful they made it out with their lives.

The two officers started running towards the house but were knocked back by a wall of extreme heat and thick smoke.

The Strobridges’ house was discovered the next morning fully destroyed by fire, one of 24 razed homes in Buchan and the greater area Ldg Sen Const Moreland covers.

When Ldg Sen Const Moreland watches the video he took of the incident, tears fill his eyes.

“It makes me realise how close Stroey and Gwen came to being killed and how close Andy and I came to being killed,” he said.

Having made it through the fires, Ldg Sen Const Moreland is now focused on helping his town recover.

“I’ve got to be strong for the town so I can support those who have lost everything,” he said.

“It’s all about keeping our close-knit community close together.”

Ldg Sen Const Trace said he was in awe of the way Ldg Sen Const Moreland has served the people of Buchan.

“The way that town rallied together during and after the fires, it was incredible to see,” Ldg Sen Const Trace said.

At the centre of that community spirit is Ray and his big heart for everyone.

“I know the town of Buchan is just so proud of Ray and they talk about how lucky they are to have him."

Images Lifesavers 01 Ldg Sen Const Ray Moreland has become a pivotal part of the Buchan community over the past 18 years.

02 Footage taken by Ldg Sen Const Ray Moreland as he and Ldg Sen Const Andy Trace rescued an elderly couple from their burning home, including an image of their destroyed house the next day.

Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann Photography: Bairnsdale Advertiser and Ldg Sen Const Ray Moreland

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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Through their simple and significant acts of kindness, police played an important part in the recovery and healing process for people who had lost homes, possessions, farms and livestock.

Constable Ebony Nixon, who is usually based at Boronia Police Station, was originally rostered to be on leave in mid-January but put her hand up to help with the policing effort in fire-affected areas.

She was deployed to Corryong in the state’s north east and was struck by the attitudes and resilience of the community.

“Policing teaches you that there are some incredible people out here, but nothing I’ve seen could ever equate to what I saw up there,” Const Nixon said.

They worked long shifts to keep the community safe through the bushfire crisis, but it was the off-duty efforts of police that made some of the longest lasting impacts.

“The people there have strength that I don’t think I could ever have.”

Wanting to give back to the people of Corryong who had so warmly welcomed the police and emergency services, Const Nixon was part of a team of police who organised cricket and basketball matches for the community and emergency services to play together.

Const Nixon said the “Corryong Clash” helped strengthen the community spirit and connection with the police and emergency workers.

“It was nice for the locals to be able to forget all that happened for a couple of hours and just have fun with the emergency services,” Const Nixon said.

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“We wanted to really connect them with the people who were working there with them.”

Elsewhere in the north east, police helped farmers feed struggling cattle, cooked dinner for volunteers at relief centres and more.

Bairnsdale Highway Patrol’s Sergeant Dwayne Morrison and Leading Senior Constable Veronika Forai spent their spare time in the weeks after the fires delivering animal feed throughout East Gippsland.

Ldg Sen Const Forai said they were pleased to see donated hay and feed making it through to livestock, and they were working behind the scenes to organise and distribute food for wildlife.

“We had a lot of farmers saying they had wildlife that desperately needed a hand, so we tried to do our part in helping them out,” Ldg Sen Const Forai said.

“We were doing mega hours, but it’s one of those things where you just do what you can to get the job done,” Sgt Morrison said.

Sgt Jason Photis and his team of four other officers from the Critical Incident Response Team were relieving local police in Corryong by carrying out divisional van duties in mid-January when they got a report of a cow on the road at nearby Nariel Creek.

“When we got out there, we weren’t prepared for the level of destruction we saw,” Sgt Photis said.

“The farmer said he was really sorry about the

“He and his parents had also lost their homes, so we said to him that we had nothing else to do when we were off duty up there, so we would come back and help rebuild his fences.” loose cow but couldn’t do much because all his fences had gone in the fires.

“He and his parents had also lost their homes, so we said to him that we had nothing else to do when we were off duty up there, so we would come back and help rebuild his fences.”

Over the following three days, the CIRT crew spent several hours before each of their shifts building hundreds of metres of fencing for the farmer.

For a specialist unit more accustomed to providing a tactical response in dangerous incidents, the farmer’s gratitude left a lasting impression.

“We’re usually so task-focused in the work we do that it was totally different for us to create the kind of connection we did with him,” Sgt Photis said.

“To be there for someone who has gone through something so traumatic and show him he is cared for, and to see him so emotionally thankful, it was pretty incredible.”

Sgt Photis said it was one of the most rewarding and proudest moments in his 25 years of policing.

“Really, it wasn’t about rebuilding a fence,” he said.

“It was more that we had helped in a small way to help rebuild his life.”

Images Community spirit 01 Sgt Dwayne Morrison (middle) helps deliver animal feed in Buchan.

02 The emergency services played basketball against one another at the Corryong Clash.

03 The Corryong Clash gave a chance for the community to have fun and mix with emergency services personnel.

04 Members of the Critical Incident Response Team helped rebuild fences at Nariel Creek before starting their shifts.

Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann, Australian Defence Force, Sergeant Jason Photis POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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OPERATION GENESIS LEADS TO SAFE EXODUS

WHILE THE WORLD WATCHED ON IN HORROR AT THE APOCALYPTIC IMAGES OF PEOPLE IN MALLACOOTA BEING FORCED TO THE BEACH BY FIRE, EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES STARTED WORKING ON A RESCUE MISSION.

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The fearsome fires descended on the East Gippsland town about 8am on 31 December, turning skies black, then red, cutting off the lone road out of town and driving people from their homes and holiday accommodation to the foreshore.

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Seeing that thousands had been pushed to the very ends of their patch of the Earth, authorities knew a massive evacuation by sea and air was needed.

When the State Government enlisted the help of the military for the evacuation, the commander of Victoria Police’s Air Wing Inspector Craig Shepherd met with Emergency Management Victoria’s (EMV) Director of Operations Geoff Colsell in an East Melbourne conference room on 1 January to work out how they might manage the huge task.

Within just 24 hours, that same room had been transformed into a bustling control centre that was packed with people furiously working to coordinate what had become known as Operation Genesis, the mission to rescue people out of Mallacoota and more than 20 other isolated communities in Victoria’s east and north east.

Insp Shepherd said the Operation Genesis nerve centre in East Melbourne involved the combined forces of Victoria Police, EMV, the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Australian Army, the State Emergency Service, the Red Cross and the Department of Health and Human Services.

“It went from being just myself and Geoff in a room together, to having 30 people working away just 24 hours later, with touchpoints into every one of our assets and leaders in the field across the state,” Insp Shepherd said.

our assets to Omeo for the evacuation there,” Insp Anderson said.

“That swung into action extremely fast and we were able to airlift people out of there.”

The Water Police, busy delivering vital supplies, were also called into evacuation action, not only in Victoria, but over the border in New South Wales.

“It was the first time in Australia’s history a multi-agency group had been formed for an operation like this.”

In the dark and trapped by fire on a wharf near Eden, a group of 10 local residents made calls for help about 2.30am on 5 January.

Inspector Randy Anderson, one of the commanders at Genesis headquarters, said he was impressed with how quickly and effectively the team worked together.

The Water Police, who had been helping out in southern New South Wales, raced to action and were confronted with extremely poor weather and visibility.

“Considering we had never worked together and didn’t have a set game plan when we started, it worked like a very well-synchronised machine,” Insp Anderson said.

The smoke haze was so thick they had to use their thermal imaging cameras to dock their vessel and save the residents.

By 3 January, Operation Genesis had mustered the might of Australia’s military, and the navy’s HMAS Choules and MV Sycamore had arrived in Mallacoota to sail people to safety.

Later that day, the evacuation of Mallacoota rolled on, with more than 400 people airlifted to safety across 18 flights from Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters and a C-27J Spartan aeroplane.

In what would be the beginning of the largest ever maritime evacuation in Australia, about 1,200 people boarded the two ships and arrived safely in Hastings the next day.

Operation Genesis continued to help move residents, tourists and emergency personnel in and out of fire-affected towns, but it was often hampered by bad weather.

On that same day, those in charge of Operation Genesis were planning further evacuations – as well as food and water and satellite phone drops into struggling communities – when the East Gippsland town of Omeo came under fire threat.

Police Air Wing helicopter pilot Tim Ferguson said the smoke haze made for the worst visibility conditions he’d encountered in 20 years of flying.

“We were working on our other tasks when we had to drop everything and redirect all

“Our guys were launching in conditions that were very dangerous and they pushed hard to do the best they could to get to people who needed help,” Captain Mitchell said.

“So when we had aircraft sitting on the ground not doing much, it was very frustrating.

“When they would finally be able to get airborne, there’d be a low-key cheer around the room, because we knew there were people out there who needed us.

“The process of recovery will continue for months and years, and we hope we have been part of at least starting that process.”

Images Saving the stranded 01 Water Police officers survey the scene at Eden in New South Wales, where they saved people at the wharf from fires in the middle of the night.

02 The Operation Genesis control centre in East Melbourne coordinated rescue efforts across the state.

03 The Victoria Police Air Wing was tireless in helping evacuate communities and deliver supplies.

04 People in Mallacoota make their way to the Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Choules to evacuate the isolated town.

05 The Water Police make sure Mallacoota is stocked with food and water shortly after fires swept through the area.

Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann Photography: Tim Morgan, Jesse Wray-McCann and Australian Defence Force

Australian Army Captain Shane Mitchell, based at Operation Genesis headquarters, said the conditions often left aircraft grounded.

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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Keeping things shipshape As people fleeing the fires in Mallacoota boarded the HMAS Choules, Senior Constable Trent Montgomery expected to see relieved faces, but he instead encountered people in shock.

Sen Const Montgomery from the Melbournebased Public Order Response Team (PORT) was one of a team of four police assigned to the naval warship for the evacuation of more than 1,100 people from the East Gippsland town, which had been stranded by fire.

tracker recorded him as having climbed 175 floors’ worth of stairs – the equivalent of more than two trips to the top of the Eureka Tower, one of Melbourne’s tallest buildings.

With the vessel’s Australian Navy personnel guiding the ship through the Bass Straight and ensuring the complex logistics of the trip, Sen Const Montgomery, Sergeant Mark Jarski, Sen Const Anastasia Papageorgiou and Sen Const Rebecca Rose helped maintain order onboard.

“They were extremely well trained and whenever they were given a task to do, they would just get on with it and do it so smoothly,” he said.

“Their strengths complemented our strengths in managing crowds and we worked well together.”

The team started helping with the long boarding process about 8am on 5 January and didn’t clock off until almost a day and a half later, when the evacuees had safely arrived in Hastings, a 21-hour trip through the Bass Strait away.

to ensure people’s emotions onboard didn’t spill over.

Sen Const Montgomery said the voyage was the hardest he has had to work as a police officer.

Long queues for food and toilets and showers that were pushed to their limits also tested people’s patience.

“It was non-stop from start to finish and intense work all the way through,” Sen Const Montgomery said.

Not wanting to add to the stress of the situation, Sen Const Montgomery and his colleagues decided to go without their firearms and lock them away in the ship’s armoury.

“I started off by walking around and engaging with the evacuees and most people seemed as though they were in shock, rather than relieved.

“It was quite confronting seeing how affected they had been by the whole fire ordeal.”

The heightened state of stress of the evacuees meant the four officers needed to work well

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Sen Const Montgomery was impressed by the way the navy operated.

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

“We continued to have access to them, but we wanted to make sure we didn’t come across as confronting or intimidating,” he said.

Patrolling the ship to ensure people didn’t access restricted areas was an important task and meant Sen Const Montgomery’s fitness

Although it was a challenging 35 hours, Sen Const Montgomery said the mission to evacuate the town of Mallacoota was “one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen”.

“In PORT, we help out at a great variety of different jobs, but this one was special,” he said.

“So many Australian agencies – the Australian Defence Force, Victoria Police, medical personnel, Red Cross and even media – working so fluidly to assist in rescuing that many people was truly a feat of Australian strength and something to be proud of.”

Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann Photography: Australian Defence Force

Farming through fires The moment Bairnsdale Constable Greg Coates finished work the evening of the fires, he raced home to his wife and two young children to defend his own house.

Having grown up in the East Gippsland town and on his family’s farm at nearby Buchan, Const Coates was all too aware of the fire threat this summer posed.

“Coming into the fire season, we had one of the driest three-year periods on record in East Gippsland, so everyone was more aware than usual that it could be a tough year,” Const Coates said.

“I worked up to about 5pm when the fires came through on 30 December and myself and my shift partner both had to go home to defend our own properties.”

“

The donations have been an absolute godsend and we can’t thank those people enough.

Const Coates was thankful his home wasn’t impacted, but his concern shifted to his parents John and Janice Coates in Buchan, who were facing fire threats from all sides.

“The last contact I had with them that night was a picture message showing the fire crossing the mountains on both sides of their house,” he said.

“Then telecommunications dropped out and I didn’t hear from them until my brother and I went up there the next morning.

“It was a massive weight off our shoulders when we saw they were okay.”

While his parents and their house made it through, their beef farm had been hit badly.

Const Coates was due to work three more days before going on planned leave but was allowed immediate time off to help on the farm.

For days on end, Const Coates, his brother and parents worked long hours to save cattle, fix fences and clear roads.

“To get access to our property and cattle over near the Snowy River, it took two days of my brother and I on chainsaws and tractors just to cut a track through the bush,” he said.

“We were able to get those cattle back and muster them with horses to the Buchan property.”

Crucial to their recovery efforts were the donations of hay and feed from across Victoria.

“All the pastures we had planned to get us through summer got completely wiped out,” Const Coates said.

“The donations have been an absolute godsend and we can’t thank those people enough.”

He also praised the support of police from around the state who were deployed into the area to give local police a hand and a break, as well as those from the Heavy Vehicle Unit who provided escorts for convoys of trucks delivering hay and feed.

“They’re out of their comfort zone, obviously away from their own families,” Const Coates said.

“It means a hell of a lot that they’ve come up here to help us.”

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

“

Helping the helpers While police worked long hours for days on end during the bushfire disaster, community groups and businesses generously supported them along the way.

Hundreds of extra police flooded fire-affected areas of Victoria’s east and north east, keeping people safe and helping with the recovery efforts.

Residents and organisations in these areas went out of their way to express their gratitude for the work of the emergency services, displaying the best of country kindness and community spirit.

Bairnsdale Police Station was the local hub for hundreds of police working in East Gippsland during the fires, and local pie producer Patties Foods had taken notice.

Site manager of Patties’ Bairnsdale plant Michael Hall said the business helped fuel the police efforts by temporarily providing the station with a large pie warmer and plenty of pies and sausage rolls.

“Quite often the people who look after us can be the ones we forget, so we wanted to make sure that wasn’t the case with the police,” Mr Hall said.

“The last thing we want the police to have to worry about while they’re working so hard is how they’re going to get some food while on the go.”

Bairnsdale RSL was also getting behind the recovery mission, giving meals to all emergency services personnel.

The town of Corryong benefitted from the generosity of Warrnambool Central Rotary Club on the other side of Victoria donating $2,000 to the eatery Maccas Takeaway to cover the cost of giving away free coffees and milkshakes.

The shop’s owner Louisa McFarland said they used generator power to open in the days after the fires affected the small town.

“The police we’ve had out here have been such a great team of people, and there are so many,” Ms McFarland said.

“We just want to thank the police and other emergency services who have come up and helped us out.”

At the other end of the generosity spectrum, global oil giant Esso donated the use of two of its oil rig supply ships and their crews to care for people stranded in Mallacoota.

From ships to sausage rolls, it all made an important difference.

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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CHANGING LANES IN THE FIRST MONTH OF 2020, 17 PEOPLE WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED ON ROADS IN THE MITCHELL POLICE SERVICE AREA (PSA).

As members of Seymour Highway Patrol Unit, one of the two highway patrol teams in the PSA, Leading Senior Constable Libby Garbutt and First Constable Monica Lock take this statistic seriously.

“You read the statistics about the number of offences committed on the roads, but I still found it confronting just how many people engage in reckless behaviour every single day,” Const Lock said.

Having worked across different highway patrol units for several years, Ldg Sen Const Garbutt said she’s seen nearly every road offence imaginable.

Changes in society have altered people’s behaviour on the roads and Ldg Sen Const Garbutt said technology advancements had led to one of the biggest challenges.

“Every day I continue to pull people over who have consciously chosen to speed, not wear their seatbelt or drive under the influence of drugs and alcohol,” Ldg Sen Const Garbutt said.

“Mobile phone use is probably the biggest change I’ve seen in my time,” she said.

“It’s not just the incidents that result in horrific crashes that I consider terrifying; any action that’s reckless and has the potential to cause a serious accident is terrifying.”

However, it’s not just the job and driver behaviour that have changed over the years, according to Ldg Sen Const Garbutt.

“When I first joined a highway patrol unit, I was one of very few women in road policing in any capacity, and that was less than 10 years ago,” she said.

“Now we have women coming up the ranks at all levels of road policing.”

Changing lanes Const Locke has been at Seymour Highway Patrol for just a few months but has been shocked by the range of offences she's already witnessed.

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POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

“The number of people using their phones while driving is a huge issue that was nowhere near as bad 10 years ago.”

Being able to work in a unit and help mentor other females taking the road policing path is something Ldg Sen Const Garbutt really values.

“I was the only female when I first joined highway patrol, so to be here when Monica started in our unit and to help mentor her, it's fitting,” she said.

“The fact we are able to have two women out in a highway patrol car is great. Women use our roads every day, so why shouldn’t we have women out policing them every day?”

When Const Lock joined Victoria Police three years ago, her desire was always to work in road policing.

“So many people use our roads every day, often without a second thought, yet the roads are also where a lot of the biggest tragedies occur every day,” Const Lock said.

Const Lock echoed Ldg Sen Cost Garbutt’s sentiment about women in road policing, stating that a strong police force is one that represents the community it serves.

02

“No matter what aspect of policing it is, Victoria Police should reflect who it serves,” she said.

It’s not just in the local highway patrol units, which sit within Victoria’s four police regions, where more women are starting to take the road policing wheel.

Victoria Police’s Road Policing Command, which provides state-wide support to the regions to achieve desired road safety outcomes, has experienced a noticeable increase in the number of females in the command.

In the last year and a half, the number of females working in the command has grown by nearly two per cent.

Leading Senior Constable Lisa Bolton works in the Heavy Vehicle Unit, a specialised team within Road Policing Command tasked with reducing heavy vehicle-related road trauma.

While she said the number of females working in the field isn’t something she thinks about during her everyday work, it is something she believes is vital to the progression of the organisation.

“Road policing in general can be seen as ‘boys and their toys’, especially the Heavy Vehicle Unit,” Ldg Sen Const Bolton said.

“But there is so much more to the field than just cars, motorbikes and trucks. It’s quite a research and investigation heavy area that could use diverse points of view to help progress strategies and operations aimed at reducing road trauma.”

Newly-appointed Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Libby Murphy said Victoria Police has always had a strong Road Policing Command and the growth of women in the field is a great complement.

“Road policing is just one example of the great strides Victoria Police has been making towards it’s goal to have more women in policing,” AC Murphy said.

Images Eyes on the road 01 Ldg Sen Const Libby Garbutt and Const Monica Lock keep a watchful eye over the roads in the state's north as part of the Seymour Highway Patrol Unit.

02 Heavy Vehicle Unit Ldg Sen Const Lisa Bolton plays a part in ensuring the trucking industry operates as safely as possible, even right up to Victoria's borders.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Grant Condon

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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DAY IN THE LIFE 01

G N I K R WO

y a d & night 9:45AM

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03

8:15AM

10:30AM 18

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

Images Patrolling PSOs 01 PSOs Katherine Salik, Natasha Hynes and Brian Murray patrol a tram stop in St Kilda while working an ITSM shift, which allows the officers to board moving trams and trains.

02 PSO Michael Murray talks with business owners while patrolling in St Kilda.

03 PSO Brian Murray checks in with an Authorised Officer at Southern Cross Station to make sure there are no issues with commuters.

04 PSOs Katherine Salik and Brian Murray chat with a commuter while onboard a tram heading back to Melbourne's CBD.

04

“But we maintain a separate role. We aren’t at stations, or on-board trains or trams, to check tickets or hand out fines.”

“Our role is all about safety and deterring and responding to crime and anti-social behaviour.

It's not about checking tickets.”

After the peak-hour rush period ends, the team boards the 96 tram to St Kilda.

“Being able to board trains and trams really allows us to engage with a wider range of people across a large portion of the public transport network,” PSO Salik says.

12:30PM

THEY’VE BEEN A CONSTANT FIXTURE AT TRAIN STATIONS DURING THE DARK OF NIGHT, BUT NOW PROTECTIVE SERVICES OFFICERS ARE SEEING THE LIGHT OF DAY ACROSS THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM. Daytime shifts and adaptable patrols for Protective Services Officers (PSOs) are a cornerstone of Victoria Police’s Integrated Transport Security Model (ITSM).

Launched in February 2018, the ITSM enabled PSOs to undertake flexible, intelligence-led patrols across the public transport network, allowing them to be in areas where police intelligence shows there is a need for the safety boost.

So while 1,202 Transit PSOs cover 216 metropolitan train stations and four regional rail hubs in Bendigo, Traralgon, Ballarat and Geelong from 6pm until the last train, ITSM PSOs can be deployed to any transport station or major event as needed.

In the lead up to the 2019 Australian Open tennis tournament, the powers of ITSM PSOs were expanded, allowing them to patrol tram stops and bus interchanges and board moving trams, in addition to their existing capabilities of being able to patrol train stations and onboard moving trains.

One year on from this expansion, Police Life walked alongside a team of these adaptable PSOs while on shift to discover how their everexpanding footstep is making an impression on safety in the city.

At 7am on a Monday morning, a time when they would usually be winding down after a regular night shift, a team of PSOs is gearing up and getting ready to start their day.

The team, consisting of PSOs Michael Murray, Brian Murray, Katherine Salik and Natasha Hynes, are one of two ITSM units rostered on for a day shift, covering Melbourne’s CBD and surrounding suburbs.

“The number of ITSM units we have working changes depending on the day, what events are on and the number of stations or routes

intelligence data is showing as current hotspots for crime and anti-social behaviour,” First Class PSO Michael Murray says.

The first stop for this team’s shift is Southern Cross Station, a sprawling transport hub welcoming trains from metropolitan railway lines, as well as regional centres across the state.

In addition to trains, Southern Cross Station is also home to a major coach terminal, with buses from across the state and country coming and going.

Arriving just after 7.30am, the peak morning rush is in full swing and thousands of people are moving through the station.

“A lot of people think the night is the main time for incidents to happen, but things can happen at any time,” PSO Salik says.

“When you’ve got thousands of people moving through a station in a short period of time, it’s important to have measures in place in case anything happens.

“It gives people that extra sense of safety and that’s what we are there to do.”

As the PSOs patrol the station, a team of Authorised Officers responsible for ticket compliance on the public transport network is situated at platform exit gates, checking commuters’ tickets.

While PSOs can assist Authorised Officers in their role, PSO Brian Murray said his team’s job isn’t to hand out fines to passengers for not having a valid ticket.

“All PSOs work closely with Authorised Officers and provide support if they need it should a person become irritated or aggressive while being issued a notice,” he says.

“It gives people that sense of safety, not just at train stations, but wherever they travel because they know we could be onboard anywhere, at any time.”

The 96 route is one PSOs have been tasked to travel during the shift due to a recent spike in reported crime on it.

“We use data from our partner agencies along with internal data to pinpoint where our ITSM PSOs are most needed,” Transit Safety Division Acting Senior Sergeant Wes Pinchen says.

“This allows us to reallocate them at any time to meet real-time demands.”

This flexibility proves useful for the team on this particular Monday morning, when a call from security at Southern Cross Station comes through regarding a suspicious person.

The team boards a tram and heads back to investigate.

“We work to ensure there’s a strong relationship between ourselves and security at Southern Cross,” PSO Michael Murray says.

“Issues can arise at any time, so we work with them to make sure they can contact us quickly so we can get there to help as soon as possible.

“We also work to build a strong relationship with not only the specialised transit police we work with, but also the local police in areas we travel to.”

It’s not just being mobile that is helping people feel safer on public transport, according to PSO Michael Murray.

The former police officer said the expansion of hours at certain train stations is also a huge benefit.

“The ITSM has allowed for the expansion of hours worked by PSOs at these stations and has resulted in a reduction of offenses at most of them,” he said.

The launch of the ITSM was the result of the recruitment of more than 100 additional transit PSOs, funded through the State Government Community Safety Statement.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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LEADING SENIOR CONSTABLE BRETT SHEEHAN

PUTTING

BEST 01

AS A MEMBER OF VICTORIA POLICE’S SOLO UNIT FOR THE PAST NINE YEARS, LEADING SENIOR CONSTABLE BRETT SHEEHAN HAS SEEN HIS FAIR SHARE OF FUNERALS.

“Being a typical male, I hadn’t had a health check for several years and I decided in that moment to get myself checked.”

The specialist motorcycle unit of the State Highway Patrol, which operates patrols on both sealed and unsealed roads throughout Victoria, often conducts motorcades at high-profile funerals and the funerals of police.

“I had 12 months off work and, during that time, I did nine months of chemotherapy, six weeks of daily radiation and had 20 surgeries,” Ldg Sen Const Sheehan said.

This duty means Solo Unit members may sometimes escort people they knew and worked with to their final resting place.

It was during one of these moments that Ldg Sen Const Sheehan had a startling thought that forced him to take stock of his own health, despite being fit and active and having no specific health concerns.

“The majority of the funerals we escort are fellow officers or their families,” Ldg Sen Const Sheehan said.

“I was in a funeral escort for a police officer I had worked with. He was diagnosed with cancer and died very unexpectedly.

“The thought suddenly hit me that the next funeral escort could be for me.

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POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

That spur-of-the-moment decision would end up completely changing, and ultimately saving, Ldg Sen Const Sheehan’s life.

On 7 May 2017, Ldg Sen Const Sheehan was diagnosed with bowel cancer after three malignant tumours were located during a colonoscopy.

During the next two-and-a-half years, he endured extensive treatments and surgeries.

Throughout all his treatment, the 49-year-old said he was determined to stay strong, for his family and friends who rallied around him.

“I’ve been a police officer for nearly 31 years and have been in some pretty tough situations, but nothing has ever tested me more that battling this cancer,” he said.

Almost three years later, Ldg Sen Const Sheehan has a clean bill of health and is using what he calls his ‘second lease on life’ to try and give back and make a difference.

He is in the final stages of training to run his first ever marathon.

In addition to helping ease some of the side effects of chemotherapy, running is also an opportunity for Ldg Sen Const Sheehan to raise awareness of bowel cancer and money for cancer research charities.

“No one should have to endure what I have,” Ldg Sen Const Sheehan said.

“Running helps with the stimulation of damaged nerves in my hands and feet, which are the result of the chemo, so I’ve been running a lot in the last couple of years.

“I signed up for the Run Melbourne Marathon as a challenge for myself and mostly because I want to help. I want to be able to give to cancer research and I want to raise awareness.

“I also want to reach out to my fellow police officers and their families. Our personal health can become a low priority in this job.

We are constantly working to help others, so we can neglect ourselves at times.

“I want to show people how important it is to get regular health checks. It doesn’t matter what age you are, your level of fitness, your diet or your lifestyle – you need to get regular health checks.”

Images Ready to run 01 Ldg Sen Const Brett Sheehan is trading his riding boots for running shoes to raise awareness of bowel cancer, a disease he battled for nearly two years.

02 Ldg Sen Const Kylie Jane will take part in the London Marathon in April, running the event in a Victoria Police Fighting PTSD singlet to help raise awareness for police mental health.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Grant Condon

LEADING SENIOR CONSTABLE KYLIE JANE

THEIR

FOOT FORWARD 02

WHEN SHE IS IN THE COURTROOM, POLICE PROSECUTOR LEADING SENIOR CONSTABLE KYLIE JANE IS PREPARED, FOCUSSED AND ALWAYS AFTER THE BEST OUTCOME. THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR WHEN SHE IS RUNNING A MARATHON. What started as a way to get fit when she decided to join Victoria Police 25 years ago, has become a passion for the leading senior constable and a way for her to test herself.

“When I first started running, it was just short distances like 3 or 4km,” Ldg Sen Const Jane said.

“Over time, I started running a bit more and in 2001 my husband and I decided to train for a half marathon so we could say we’d done it.

“When we finished, my husband made a joking comment about doing a full marathon and we stuck to it. The next year, I completed the Sydney Marathon. From there, I also did the Melbourne Marathon and the Great Ocean Road Marathon shortly after.

“I love the challenge of them. It tests you not only physically, but mentally. It’s a great way to see what your body and your mind can really handle.”

After a 10-year hiatus from running when she had her children, Ldg Sen Const Jane

got back into running in 2015, deciding to run the New York Marathon to celebrate her 40th birthday. The celebration reignited her passion for running.

“The time I ran in New York gave me automatic qualification to the Boston Marathon, which is quite a prestigious marathon to qualify for, so I decided to sign up and ran it in 2017,” she said.

Ldg Sen Const Jane credits running as a form of therapy for her – a way to release the stresses of work and life.

“I find that if work or a particular case is getting to me, going for a run helps me process everything, reset and feel mentally refreshed,” she said.

“We are quite lucky in prosecutions, in the way that we aren’t seeing incidents first-hand and attending jobs.

“But you still have cases that get to you, that impact you simply from hearing about them.

“When you’re dealing with cases regarding sexual or brutal assaults, it’s going to impact you just reading about them. It’s important to find a way to deal with that stress and for me it’s running.”

The Geelong prosecutor also uses her running to inspire others and to highlight causes close to her heart.

Having lost two close friends to breast cancer in the same year, Ldg Sen Const Jane ran the Berlin and Chicago marathons in 2019 in honour of them, with previous run times qualifying her for the two events.

“I had a breast cancer awareness singlet designed with their initials incorporated into it,” she said.

“You don’t know what’s around the corner and I wanted to use their memory during those runs to inspire myself and others to do everything we can to enjoy life and look after our health.”

Ldg Sen Const Jane will lace-up for her next marathon in April when she tackles the London Marathon, the fifth of the World Marathon Majors she has taken part in.

The majors are considered the pinnacle for marathon runners, with those who complete all six awarded a Six Star Finisher medal, something only a few thousand people in the entire world have achieved.

To be awarded the medal, runners have to qualify for and complete six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world: Boston, New York City, Chicago, London, Berlin and Tokyo, the latter of which she hopes to run in 2021.

Ldg Sen Const Jane will use the London event to raise awareness for another cause close to her heart, mental health.

“During my career, I’ve worked with several people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and seeing the impact it has had on their lives is hard,” she said.

“Victoria Police has lost a lot of people in recent times due to mental health and I want to be able to do my bit to shine more light on the issue.”

Ldg Sen Const Jane will run the London Marathon in a Victoria Police Fighting PTSD singlet, in the hope that people will ask her about the cause.

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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CAREER IN FOCUS

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KISSING A LOVED CAREER GOODBYE There are a lot of lessons that can be learnt during a 39-year policing career, but for Sergeant Peter, Lukaitis there’s one lesson that stands out above the rest.

That night, the then Bendigo-based leading senior constable had just finished responding to a young drink driver who was threatening suicide when he got a call over the police radio that would cement his important life lesson.

Four police officers were shot that night; Senior Detective Craig Miller, Senior Constable Peter Eames, Inspector Ulf Kaminski and Sgt Lukaitis.

“I said, ‘You have to and when I say one, two, three, you need to go and I’ll stand in front of you’,” Sgt Lukaitis said.

“Always kiss your partner and family goodbye when you leave the house,” Sgt Lukaitis said.

At the time, it was the worst police shooting in Victoria’s history.

“We did it and we went behind a tree, which looks pretty small when you’re getting shot at.

“I was standing right next to Ulf when he was shot,” Sgt Lukaitis said.

“He hit the ground right beside me. That shot could have hit me or him … it hit him.

“I was pretty scared myself at that stage because I could still hear the firing and we were still exposed. I knew we had to get out – we couldn’t stay where we were.”

“I could hear the gunshots still coming, so I dropped to the ground beside Ulf.

Insp Kaminski’s deteriorating condition and the size of the small tree acting as his cover

It’s a lesson the Castlemaine sergeant, who retired in December, had to learn the hard way.

On 31 October 1990, Sgt Lukaitis and his wife had a small argument over something he now can’t even remember. He then headed off to work without giving her a kiss goodbye.

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POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

Two police officers had been shot at Kangaroo Flat after a local resident had reacted badly to an ambulance being called to his home, firing several shots into the night.

Sgt Lukaitis recalled rushing to the scene with several thoughts running through his head, the main one being concern for the safety of any officers at the scene.

“While I was trying to push Ulf toward a car for cover, another shot came through and got me in the foot, just missing my head by millimetres.”

Despite his bullet wound, Sgt Lukaitis knew he had to get Insp Kaminski to safety.

Backing his protective vest to withstand a shot, Sgt Lukaitis moved back into the line of fire and put himself between Insp Kaminski and the gunman to make it easier for Insp Kaminski to get to cover.

“Ulf had been shot in the stomach and was saying he couldn’t move,” he said.

“I rang my wife after I’d been shot to tell her what had happened, and I remember saying to her, ‘I knew I should have kissed you goodbye’.” prompted Sgt Lukaitis to move himself and his fellow officer to a concrete bus shelter, where paramedics were waiting.

The four injured police officers were taken to Bendigo Hospital for treatment. All survived.

The siege continued throughout the night, coming to an end early the next day when the gunman’s body was found in the house with self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

“I rang my wife after I’d been shot to tell her what had happened, and I remember saying to her, ‘I knew I should have kissed you goodbye’,” Sgt Lukaitis said.

“That was a big learning for me and since that day, I give her a kiss whenever I leave the house, even if it’s just to pop down the street.”

This lesson wasn’t the only thing to come out of the horrible events of that night.

For his efforts in getting Insp Kaminski to safety, Sgt Lukaitis was awarded Victoria Police’s highest bravery honour, the Valour Award, along with a National Bravery Award.

“They may have come out of bad things, but getting the awards was a huge honour,” he said.

The events of that night changed how Sgt Lukaitis looked at a lot of things, including his job as a police officer, but he said it never once crossed his mind to leave the force.

“After the shooting, everyone really banded around the four of us and that idea of the policing family really came through,” he said.

“While the shooting never made me think about leaving, it did change the course of my career a bit.

“I set two goals when I joined. I wanted to become a detective and I wanted to become a sergeant.

“I did both those things and I could have moved the goal posts and aimed for more, but after going through something like the shooting, you reassess your life and decide to focus on all the good things you’ve got, rather than where you want to go.”

Sgt Lukaitis is a believer that every police officer has their niche – a field or type of policing that suits them.

For him, it turned out to be country policing.

After working in various suburbs in Melbourne-

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based detective roles, Sgt Lukaitis said once he got his sergeant position in Castlemaine, he wanted to stay.

“You really get that sense that you’re doing something meaningful for the community as a police officer and that feeling is especially strong in country communities,” he said.

“You get to know your local community really well in a place like this.

“When you go to the local supermarket, everyone says hello because they know who you are. I really enjoy that, and I think it’s a big part of why I stayed out here for the last 19 years of my career.”

When he talks about his career, the passion and joy Sgt Lukaitis has for the job is obvious.

It’s a passion that has rubbed off onto his daughter.

In October last year, Sgt Lukaitis was joined in Victoria Police by his daughter, Constable Harriette Lukaitis, who now works at Southbank Police Station.

Harriette said while her father was initially shocked at her decision to join, he had been nothing but supportive the whole way through.

“I’d just finished an education degree at university, and he thought I’d go into teaching,” she said.

“But I had always thought I’d go down the policing path. I’d grown up seeing Dad as a police officer and saw the benefits as well as the bits that are tricky.

“I also saw the way he dealt with everything in his career. He’s got a lot out of the job by playing a positive role in the community and I want to have that same impact.”

During Sgt Lukaitis’ last week at work in December, the father-daughter duo were able to share a special moment when they worked a shift together in Castlemaine.

“Being able to spend a day watching how he works and seeing him in action first-hand, it was really special,” Harriette said.

“I’m starting the job as he’s leaving it and being able to spend that shift together was a kind of changing-of-the-guard for us.”

Sgt Lukaitis said of the many moments and achievements his career produced, seeing his daughter follow in his footsteps stands out above the rest.

“I was flattered when she chose the same career as me,” he said.

“I am extremely proud of her and it was such an honour to be able to give her badge to her at graduation. Then to be able to share a shift together just before I retired is something I’ll look back on in years to come and cherish.”

For 24/7 crisis support or suicide prevention services, please call 13 11 14. If life is in danger, call Triple Zero (000). Current and former Victoria Police employees and their families can also access wellbeing services via bluespacewellbeing.com.au

Images Lessons and a legacy 01 As Sgt Peter Lukaitis prepared to retire, he looked back at his 39-year policing career and recalled the many lessons he learned along the way.

02 During his last week as an officer, Sgt Peter Lukaitis was able to spend a shift working with his daughter Const Harriette Lukaitis, who joined Victoria Police just two months before her father retired.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Brendan McCarthy POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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g n i k r Wo

s y a d i ho l For most, summer is a time to take a break from working life, a chance to put the feet up and maybe head to the beach.

“We deal with a significant amount of stolen and lost property and property being handed in,” Sgt Walkley said.

divisional van as they try to catch up with people breaking the law.

However, Sgt Walkley has a solution to this unique problem – his police bicycle, equipped with special large tyres if he needs to take to the sand.

“Everything is within walking distance here, so the majority of our road offences are bicycle based,” said Sgt Walkley, who’s qualified to conduct the specialised bike patrols.

But for Sergeant David Walkley and his team at the Port Fairy Police Station, a holiday is the furthest thing from their minds over the warmer months.

“Unfortunately gone are the days when you could leave things in a caravan park unlocked and unattended. We have eskies of alcohol and bicycles stolen every night as people move around caravan parks.

From late December through to the end of January, the usually sleepy coastal village of 3,500 people in Victoria’s south west experiences a population boom like few other places in the state when more than 25,000 tourists arrive en masse.

“We have a 95 per cent recovery rate of these items and while it may sound like minor offending, it’s a big inconvenience to the owners and takes up plenty of our time investigating.”

“When I’m on bike patrol, I intercept every rider I see committing an offence. While I fine some, I’ll mainly talk to them and try and educate.

I’ll even visit the caravan park to talk to parents if I see a child doing the wrong thing.

“It’s bedlam,” Sgt Walkley said with a laugh.

A drawcard of Port Fairy’s is its bevy of historic buildings and streets, remnants of a timeline stretching back to its whaling settlement beginnings in the 1820s.

“Word then gets out around town and the caravan parks that we’re cracking down and then the community ends up self-regulating.

The Station Commander has just ended his first summer at Port Fairy, having arrived at the station in June 2019 when the town was a cold and wet place, buffeted by icy winter winds whipped up in the mighty Southern Ocean it overlooks.

But in the summer, the town’s Norfolk Pine-lined streets are an idyllic setting and cafes and beaches are choc-full of holiday makers.

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However, as the tourists settle into the more than 12,000 campsites, five caravan parks and hundreds of holiday homes for lengthy stays, they let their guard down, allowing criminal behaviour to seep in.

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

Narrow streets, boardwalks, footbridges and alleyways criss-cross the town, particularly around the beachfront and Moyne River, which splits the town in two.

While a charming feature, the thoroughfares can pose a problem for police in a bulky

“We see a lot of cyclists with no helmets, no lights at night and mobile phone use while riding is also a massive issue.

“We haven’t had a cyclist fatality in my time here and we don’t want one. But, considering 80 per cent of the town is getting around on bikes at times, the potential is there.”

The boom in tourist numbers and growth in Port Fairy’s population is no surprise.

RT FAIRY PO 02

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" In 2012, Port Fairy was named the world’s most liveable small community for towns with a population of under 20,000 in the United Nations-recognised LivCom awards and the town is considered an exclamation mark to the world-famous Great Ocean Road, just 40 kilometres away.

Throw in a world-class tuna fishing season in the winter, the popularity of short-stay private rental properties and the renowned Port Fairy Folk Festival, which brings 40,000 visitors over the Labor Day long weekend, and it’s clear that “down time” for local police doesn’t really exist.

And while support comes from the three-person station of Koroit and the much larger 24-hour Warrnambool Police Station, Sgt Walkley knows the four-man team is largely responsible for maintaining Port Fairy’s safe and welcoming reputation.

“You’ve got to be a jack-of-all-trades working in a coastal tourist town,” he said.

“We patrol beaches on the sand in our divisional van, check vessels and their safety equipment and registrations at the boat ramp, or look for offences involving jet skis from the shore all in one day. That’s while we balance our regular duties as well.

“Tourist accommodation ranges from $50 a night to $1,500 a night here, so that also brings

in a variety of people, which means there will be a variety of offences.”

As they deal with plenty of visitors, the officers at Port Fairy could be considered by some rusted-on locals as visitors themselves.

In the past year, there has been a changing of the guard in Port Fairy, with three of the four staff positions welcoming new faces following the retirements of some police who had worked in the community for almost two decades.

Sgt Walkley said building and maintaining a relationship with the town’s mainstays is key to his new team’s success.

“Our crime statistics are rising and, while we believe that’s due to a shift away from a culture of under reporting crime, we’re not immune to the problems. We deal with family violence, drug use and issues common in other towns,” he said.

“Until recently, there was a really bad culture of drink driving and alcohol-fuelled violence offences.

“In the last six months, we’ve worked hard on this and have detected significant numbers of drink drivers, most of who were locals, and impounded their cars.

“Those offences are dropping off now and we know that’s because people have not only seen us working, but they’ve gotten to know us as well.

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e w , y a d e h t f o d At the en ple o e p r o f n w to e f a want a s wn to e f a s a d n a n i e to liv e h t d n a t i s vi to e for peopl set s a t s e b r u o is y t i commun is. h t e v ie h c a s u p l e to h “At the end of the day, we want a safe town for people to live in and a safe town for people to visit, and the community is our best asset to help us achieve this.”

As he clocks off for the day, it’s clear that what keeps Sgt Walkley and others working at the station and so keen to stay and make a difference in Port Fairy, is exactly what draws in so many visitors.

“We face the same on-the-job challenges police across the state face, but no matter how bad our day is, we can finish work and be walking along the beach in five minutes. It’s a very calming place.

“And we need that, because working in Port Fairy can be very busy.”

Images Coastal constabulary 01 Sgt David Walkley and Sen Const Lachlan Dickson are part of the team of police keeping the coastal town of Port Fairy safe.

02 Bicycle patrols are an important part of policing in the popular tourist town.

03 Sen Const Lachlan Dickson and Sgt David Walkley keep an eye on traffic down at the foreshore.

04 There are plenty of events and activities that bring the crowds flocking to Port Fairy.

Editorial and photography: Grant Condon

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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The news that a motorcyclist aged in their 20s had become the first Victorian road fatality of 2020 less than six hours into the new year cut Leading Senior Constable Grant Healy to his core.

The news that a motorcyclist aged in their 20s had become the first Victorian road fatality of 2020 less than six hours into the new year cut Leading Senior Constable Grant Healy to his core.

Not only did the thought of another rider needlessly losing their life sadden Ldg Sen Const Healy, but it brought back memories of his own motorcycle accident that occurred exactly one year and one day earlier.

The lone officer at the one-person Elmhurst Police Station rang in 2019 from a hospital bed about 200km from home after he came off his Harley-Davidson motorcycle during a group ride on 31 December 2018.

“There was a large rock that had somehow ended up in the middle of the road. I didn’t notice it until I was nearly on top of it,” Ldg Sen Const Healy said.

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POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

“By that time, I had about two seconds to make the choice to try and swerve to avoid it, or just hit it and try and take the force.

I ended up hitting the rock and lost control of my bike.

“This caused me to come off the motorcycle and because of the momentum, I skidded on my back over dry grass and gravel for about 100m. I came to a stop after hitting a tree at a pretty high speed.”

The accident left Ldg Sen Const Healy in a bad way. His injuries were so severe he was airlifted to the Alfred Hospital Emergency and Trauma Centre in Melbourne.

With a severely broken ankle, dislocated shoulder and broken front and back ribs, Ldg Sen Const Healy spent the next five months off work recovering.

Despite the immense pain and long recovery he endured, the experienced rider knows things could have been much worse had he not been wearing proper protective gear.

“I didn’t lose a drop of blood in the accident because I was wearing leather gear from head to toe,” Ldg Sen Const Healy said.

“The 100m skid over grass and gravel probably would have skinned me alive if I was wearing just a t-shirt.”

Ldg Sen Const Healy also counts himself lucky to not have become part of the ‘lives lost’ statistic.

2019 was a horror year on Victorian roads, with 266 people losing their lives, compared to 213 in 2018.

Motorcyclists were a key driver in this almost 25 per cent increase in road fatalities, as 44 were killed, seven more than in 2018 and the second highest annual total in the last five years.

In his role at Elmhurst, a rural station situated in the middle of the scenic Pyrenees and Grampians regions in central Victoria, Ldg Sen Const Healy has seen his fair share of motorcycle accidents.

“It’s a really popular area for riders because of the open, winding roads and the great scenery,” he said.

“On a Saturday morning, you can hear the bikes starting to roll through town from the police station. There would be hundreds of riders passing through the town each weekend.”

It’s not just the sealed roads that draw large motorcycle crowds, with Ldg Sen Const Healy able to recall just as many accidents on off-road tracks in surrounding state forests.

He said no matter where a person is riding, it’s important to always prepare for anything and stay alert.

“As a rider myself, I know no one goes out there deliberately to come off their bike, but things happen and the situation can change in a split second,” Ldg Sen Const Healy said.

“When you go paragliding or horse riding, you don’t do it without the proper safety gear.

The same thing applies to riding a motorcycle.

You don’t get on and go for a ride without all the proper safety gear to protect you in case the worst happens.”

Going through the experience of a traumatic accident hasn’t curbed Ldg Sen Const Healy’s love of riding, but he said it has made him ride with added caution and changed the way he operates as a police officer responding to any motorcycle incident.

“There’s a vast difference between riding on city roads and country roads,” he said.

“The speeds are generally faster on country roads and, while it’s vital to be alert no matter where you are riding, on these country roads you need to be even more alert.

“The same goes for all road users, no matter what vehicle they are driving.”

Images Riding the right way When Ldg Sen Const Grant Healy is off duty, he loves nothing more than riding his cherished motorcycle.

The avid rider knows first-hand the importance of wearing proper riding gear, having been in a horrific motorcycle crash at the end of 2018 (inset above).

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Brendan McCarthy

POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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Kicking life go als For 19 years, the Victoria Police Soccer COPPS program has been kicking goals by teaching sporting skills and life lessons to more than 13,300 children.

Created by Detective Leading Senior Constable Vince Manno, the fun program involves police devoting their spare time to running soccer clinics for kids across Victoria.

Det Ldg Sen Const Manno’s own love of soccer inspired him to use the sport as a way of sharing important lessons about safety and bullying.

“It’s been special to get out to some rural communities where some kids have never had any interaction with police.”

“I think it’s really important because we’re trying to provide life skills through sport,” Det Ldg Sen Const Manno said.

“The sport itself takes second place to the messages we’re trying to convey.

“Part of that is to help the kids understand what to do if they find themselves in harm’s way.

“We also talk to them about taking care of themselves, of each other and also to be mindful of some of the pitfalls related to social media and how dangerous that can be to young children, including the aspect of bullying.

“We want these young people to be connected — connected to their families, to their friends and their community.

“So it’s great seeing the officers not only playing soccer with the kids, but interacting with them and sometimes just sitting down and having a chat.”

Constable Catherine Elliott is one of the police from all across the state who volunteers for Soccer COPPS (which stands for Choices, Opportunities, Partnerships and Participation = Success).

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POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN SUMMER 2019-20 2020

“I think the program is a fabulous opportunity for Victoria Police to get involved in the local community,” Const Elliott said.

The school’s principal Alan Smith said it was important for children to have a good relationship with police.

“It gives us a chance to get involved with kids from all walks of life in a fun situation, as opposed to when they’re involved in a crisis.”

“This program has allowed the children to see that the police are human, community orientated and are giving back to our community,” Mr Smith said.

Det Ldg Sen Const Manno said the program has had a particular focus on regional areas over the years.

“We are one of the most disadvantaged areas in the state, so to have the police put on an event like this and join in with our community, it’s just amazing.”

“It’s been special to get out to some rural communities where some kids have never had any interaction with police,” he said.

One of the most recent Soccer COPPS clinics was held in the northern Melbourne suburb of Dallas for students at Holy Child Primary School.

Images Caring COPPS Not only have thousands of children had fun while trying out their soccer skills as part of Soccer COPPS, the program has also taught them important lessons on staying safe and other life skills.

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

In her role as a member of the Central Victoria Sexual Offences and Child abuse Investigation Team, gathering all available information for a job comes naturally to First Constable Hannah Pentreath.

“I’ve always been someone who likes to be overly prepared for anything I do,” Const Pentreath said.

For this reason, Const Pentreath said it was a shock to her family, friends and even herself when she blindly applied to be a contestant on reality TV show Survivor.

“I had barely watched the show and didn’t know that much about it,” she said.

“My husband is a superfan and had already put an application in. He said something to me one night about applying, so I did.

“Next thing I know, I got a call saying I’d been selected and I’m making plans to have a couple of months off work to head to Fiji.”

Having gone into the competition with no game plan, Const Pentreath managed to ‘survive’ 22 days on the Fijian island before being voted off by her fellow contestants.

“The only tactical move I made was to hide the fact I was a police officer,” she said.

Despite being voted off far earlier than she’d hoped, Const Pentreath said she was excited to get home, eat proper food and get back to work.

“It was a little disappointing to have to ring my boss and ask to come back to work early, mostly because they were so supportive and hopeful I’d win.”

“It was a little disappointing to have to ring my boss and ask to come back to work early, mostly because they were so supportive and hopeful I’d win,” she said.

the Centre for Crime Investigation to become a detective.

“But I was really excited to get back to work and get busy with cases and jobs.”

“Detective work is what I’m passionate about,” she said.

Unlike applying to be on Survivor, being a police officer is something Const Pentreath had put plenty of thought into, having decided in high school that she wanted to join Victoria Police.

“I enjoy being able to work with victims, gather information and build a case to get a result for the victim.

“In high school, we did a career day and had some local detectives come out and I remember listening to them and thinking, ‘That’s what I want to be’ and I never shifted from it,” she said.

“I told the other contestants I was a hairdresser to try and make myself less of a threat.

After graduating from the Victoria Police Academy in 2015, Const Pentreath managed to get posted in Bendigo, just half-an-hour away from Castlemaine, her home town.

“It ended up backfiring because being a police officer is a big part of my life and identity and I found it hard to build any strong connections with people because I was hiding this big part of me.”

Working general duties there for two years, Const Pentreath got a position in the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team and said she now plans to complete an Advanced Diploma of Police Investigation at

“Being able to work a case from the start and see it through to a resolution is the most satisfying part of the job for me.”

When asked whether her job as a police officer or being on Survivor is tougher, Const Pentreath was quick to answer.

“Survivor for sure. Police work is tough, but it’s so rewarding, which makes it all worth it at the end of the day,” she said.

Images She's a survivor Const Hannah Pentreath swapped a police station for a Fijian beach and investigations for tribal councils last year when she competed on TV show Survivor.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Brendan McCarthy POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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When most people think of Blue Light Victoria, the first thing that comes to mind is discos, not dirt bikes. But in the small town of Beaufort, that’s exactly what the local Blue Light branch is helping kids enjoy.

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POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

“As the local Youth Resource Officer, I was asked by management to engage with the school to establish a program to get students positively engaging with local police, while improving their physical fitness.

“A boxing program was chosen because it’s a sport that has been shown to instil discipline, self-belief and a sense of belonging in people. Those are all things we want to help young people develop.”

The program initially ran as a trial for the last four weeks of school in 2017 before being instated as an official Blue Light program in February 2018.

“To date, we have now run 43 sessions, which have been attended by 67 different students,” Ldg Sen Const Parissis said.

“The sessions run weekly during the school year at a local boxing gym, with an instructor from the gym conducting the exercises.

“We have at least two police attend each session and 32 different officers have been along since the program began.”

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The Beaufort Blue Light Motorcycle Club gives underage riders a place to enjoy riding in a supervised environment.

Club president Inspector Steve Towers is one of six local police who volunteer their time to facilitate and supervise the club’s monthly riding meets.

An avid rider since his childhood, Insp Towers said he knows how important it is for young people to have a place to securely enjoy riding.

“I rode bikes a lot as a kid and I know being able to hang out with friends and ride in a proper situation kept me out of trouble,” Insp Towers said.

While the club has been running for more than 10 years, participation has risen significantly in the past 12 months, with close to 60 children between the ages of five and 17 attending the monthly meets.

“Because the events are supervised by police, safe riding practices are always at the forefront while riding,” Insp Towers said.

“It’s a great way for kids to learn from an early age how to ride carefully.”

Insp Towers said while riding motorcycles around a dirt track is exciting, the club is about more than just having fun on two wheels.

Having grown up in Melbourne’s outer-west, in an area he said was “a bit rough”, Insp Towers knows first-hand the positive impact a good connection with police can have on a young person.

“The local police where I grew up made a big effort to engage with young people and tried to build connections with them,” he said.

Something as simple as spending time with these kids can help change their life and potentially avoid them going down the wrong path.

“Being able to provide a place for kids to safely do an activity they love, while also allowing them a chance to engage and connect with each other, their community and their local police is what it’s all about at the end of the day,” Insp Towers said.

“You can see the difference in the kids who are part of the club. Once they’ve been coming for while, they start to get comfortable and open up to you and the other volunteers and riders.

“You really build a connection with them and that makes them feel more comfortable talking to you about whatever might be going on in their life.”

The same thing is evident at the Preston Blue Light Branch.

“Because of that, I got to know a few of them quite well and that played a big part in a lot of the choices I made growing up.”

Leading Senior Constable Jo Parissis has been involved with the branch for about 16 years and helped establish a boxing program two years ago for at-risk youth attending The Pavilion School.

It was the memory of this that led Insp Towers to get involved with the motorcycle club nearly three years ago, to help get young people interacting with police.

“The Pavilion School is a unique school, which aims to educate young people that are disengaged from mainstream schooling for various reasons,” Ldg Sen Const Parissis said.

Much the same as the Beaufort club, Ldg Sen Const Parissis said she notices the change in the young people who attend the program, particularly in how they respond to police.

“We’ve had some children come through the program who didn’t really want to be there at first, and really didn’t want to interact with the police volunteers,” she said.

“But over time, you see them start to enjoy the activity and start to build connections with the police.

“Something as simple as spending time with these kids can help change their life and potentially avoid them going down the wrong path.”

Passionate about getting young people engaged with police and their community, Ldg Sen Const Parissis said the benefits of Blue Light branches and events cannot be overlooked.

While the partnership with The Pavilion School has seen great results, Ldg Sen Const Parissis said changes were underway to expand the reach of the program.

“We are in the process of opening the program up to young people in the wider community,” she said.

“This way, we are able to engage with more youth who are identified as at-risk.”

Blue Light Victoria has 35 branches across metro and rural Victoria, covering 16 of the 21 Police Service Areas. All branches run programs aimed at their individual community’s needs.

Images Bikes and boxing 01 Beaufort Blue Light Motorcycle Club volunteer Ldg Sen Const Melissa Peters and club president Insp Steve Towers are two of the six police officers who help run the monthly riding events for local youngsters like Hudson Craig-Peters (middle).

02 Ldg Sen Const Jo Parissis (left) established the Preston Blue Light branch’s boxing program, which has been attended by more than 60 school students.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Grant Condon POLICE LIFE | AUTUMN 2020

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WHEN YOU , NEED US BUT NOT THE SIRENS

There’s now a new way to contact Victoria Police for non-urgent matters.

Call the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or for online reporting go to police.vic.gov.au