Police Life WINTER 2020

THE VICTORIA POLICE MAGAZINE

WINTER 2020

Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor Senior Constable Kevin King Constable Josh Prestney

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Constable Glen Humphris

Four of the finest VICTORIA POLICE MOURNS THE LOSS OF FOUR OF ITS OWN THEIR SERVICE REMEMBERED > THE COMMUNITY GRIEVES > CHIEF COMMISSIONER REFLECTS

On the evening of 22 April 2020, four Victoria Police officers, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Josh Prestney and Constable Glen Humphris, were killed in the line of duty in a road incident on the Eastern Freeway, Kew. This edition of Police Life is dedicated to the memories of the four officers whose lives were lost. The collective thoughts of Victoria Police remain with the families, friends and colleagues of our fallen comrades.

While their service to the community is now finished, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Josh Prestney and Constable Glen Humphris will always be remembered and will forever be at the heart of Victoria Police.

It’s not about the badge or the uniform we wear, We do it for you and because we care.

We leave our families to protect your home and you, And we do it because we care about what we do.

We do it to serve you and protect you as best as we can, We do it even knowing what risks are at hand.

Our uniforms aren’t strong and they’re not made of steel, Nor are the emotions of how we can feel.

We are human, we feel pain just like you do, We see so many things that you wouldn’t want to.

But tonight we’ve all seen it and felt such a grief, Of losing four lives in circumstances that beggar belief.

Tragically taken while they protected us all, Tragically taken and can protect us no more.

The tears are now flowing and our hearts are aching, For the loss we are feeling and how our hearts are breaking.

Tonight we cry at the loss of family and friends, And the tears will never dry and our thoughts will never end.

You will live in our hearts and thoughts in every way, Of the risks that you took and the price that you paid.

Poem by Leading Senior Constable Shane Hafner written on the night of the tragic incident.

Photography: The Age, Herald Sun, AAP and Victoria Police

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A message from retired Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton The Victoria Police family has been in mourning since the tragic incident in Kew on 22 April, when we lost four of our members.

Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Constable Glen Humphris, Senior Constable Kevin King and Constable Josh Prestney lost their lives when they were undertaking their everyday duties, helping to keep the community safe.

They were members of our Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section and Highway Patrol.

They were our colleagues, our friends, our squad mates, our family. They had different backgrounds, life experiences and had taken different paths to join Victoria Police. But they had a common goal and purpose – to protect and make a difference to the Victorian community.

The decision to commit one’s life to serving and protecting others is a truly honourable and selfless one. It takes a special person to put on the blue uniform and turn up to work each day to respond to those in need.

As many will attest, the everyday nature of police work can sometimes seem mundane, but this event has reminded us of how quickly that can change. No one goes to work expecting not to return home to their loved ones at the end of their shift.

The families of our fallen members have been forever changed by this tragedy. We are providing every support to them and will continue to do so. They will always be part of the Victoria Police family.

mass tragedies and the loss of their colleagues – and rally together to protect and support the community and seek justice on behalf of victims.

There has been an outpouring of community support for the members, their families and the work of police in general during this difficult time.

It has been truly remarkable and moving to see the extended policy family and the Victorian community standing together. On behalf of Victoria Police, thank you for your heartfelt tributes.

Our people have worked incredibly hard behind the scenes so that officers at the frontline are able to do their jobs safely and effectively.

Our program of modernisation over the past five years has delivered new technology, equipment and vehicles. We’ve also added more police, Protective Services Officers, technical and support staff, making Victoria Police the largest police service in the country.

As I step away from Victoria Police, I have been reflecting on what a great privilege it has been to be Chief Commissioner for the past five years.

While the recent months have been incredibly tough, I have been reminded of the quality of the people who currently serve or have served in Victoria Police.

I am so proud of what Victoria Police has achieved over the past five years. Employees from every section of Victoria Police contribute to its accomplishments and play their part to protect and support the Victorian community.

I extend my sincere gratitude to them all for their service and commitment.

Our members do an outstanding job keeping the Victorian community safe: by engaging with the community, responding to calls for assistance, preventing, investigating and prosecuting offences. Time and time again, I have seen Victoria Police’s people face incredible challenges – natural disasters, state-wide emergencies,

As I now become a police veteran, I feel secure in the knowledge that the Victorian community is in very safe hands. You should feel confident knowing you have such a professional, dedicated and well-equipped group of people serving you and working to keep you safe.

– Ret. CCP Graham Ashton

Photography: AAP

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Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor There were many fitting tributes to Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor in the days following her death, but perhaps none were more fitting than one from the heavens.

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On the day of her funeral, torrential rain hit the Victoria Police Academy as Leading Senior Constable Taylor’s casket left the chapel.

But as a lone piper played Amazing Grace in a final tribute and a minute’s silence followed, the rain gave way to sunshine and a rainbow appeared in the dark skies on the horizon. It was a fitting symbol of Leading Senior Constable Taylor’s colourful life, one lived brightly and positively.

Her life was also lived largely in uniform, with the 60-year-old spending 31 years working for Victoria Police after joining the ranks in January 1989.

The job led Leading Senior Constable Taylor to meet her husband Stuart Schulze, a Victoria Police veteran.

The pair first crossed paths in the ‘bowels’ of Russell Street Police Station. Then, late one night in May 1989, they met at the Police Club.

“She wore a long hippy dress, the only police member who wore a dress there. She was interesting, different,” Stuart said.

The pair went on to get married and have two sons, Nathan and Alexander, but their lives were far from what most would consider a traditional family existence.

Having adventured to almost every corner of the globe in her younger years, Leading Senior Constable Taylor passed on her lifelong love of travel to her husband and sons, and the family often embarked on overseas trips.

All trips were expertly planned by Leading Senior Constable Taylor, with the most epic coming after Stuart’s retirement from the force. After four years spent building a yacht, Stuart, Lyn and their two sons eventually set sail on an epic, 12-month voyage through the South Pacific.

The adventure continued when they returned too, as the family continued to live on the yacht, named Sapphire Blue after Lyn’s favourite gem.

The overseas trips provided Leading Senior Constable Taylor a break away from her distinguished police career, where she was recognised by the Chief Commissioner for good work while performing duties at the Traffic Camera Office and was the recipient of National Medal first clasp – 25 years, National Police Service medal and the Victoria Police Service medal fourth clasp – 30 years.

She quickly progressed from general duties policing into traffic and road policing roles early in her career and worked in the Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section (RPDAS) Operations Unit since 2011.

Leading Senior Constable Claire McMorron worked side-by-side Leading Senior Constable Taylor on booze buses for the best part of the decade and was always calmed by her colleague’s positive energy.

“When Lyn came into the room, she would just brighten my day. I knew my day would be better with her around,” Leading Senior Constable McMorron said.

Leading Senior Constable Taylor’s caring nature came to the fore when she mentored and guided Victoria Police's newest recruits when they arrived at RPDAS for their first operational duties.

“She was always there to help the constables, to help them with their paperwork and whatever else.

They come straight to us from the Academy and they’re often nervous, but Lyn would walk them through everything,” Leading Senior Constable McMorron said.

Leading Senior Constable Taylor was carrying out the supervision duties she enjoyed when her life was tragically taken on the Eastern Freeway after she was struck by a truck alongside her three colleagues.

“Lots of people are calling her a hero but she’d be so embarrassed that people thought of her as that,” Leading Senior Constable McMorron said.

“She was very unassuming and just quietly went about her job. But she was always smiling, and she smiled right from her inside out. She spread joy with that smile and her funny little laugh.”

Stuart said his wife’s adventurous spirit and passion for life would live on in her two sons.

“She loved them dearly and only wanted them to get ahead and be happy,” he said.

“She was my wife, my travelling guide and my best friend.

“We shared all life’s rich experiences, especially if it involved good value tasty food, good wine and good travel.”

The pain felt by her family, Stuart, Nathan and Alexander, and Victoria Police colleagues shows that like the appearance of the rainbow in the skies on the day she was farewelled, Leading Senior Constable Taylor’s life was all too brief.

But it’s also clear that like the rainbow, Leading Senior Constable Taylor brightened the lives of all those lucky enough to be in her presence.

Photography: Supplied and Jesse Wray-McCann Editorial: Grant Condon

And like many of his colleagues, Senior Constable King was led to a career with Victoria Police by a caring nature and a want to help people.

“Kevin was a caring, considerate, gentle and kind-hearted person. A big softie who would do anything for absolutely anyone,” Senior Constable King’s wife, Sharron, said.

“He’d always be there. That was who Kevin was and so much more.”

Senior Constable King joined Victoria Police later in life, entering the Academy in his forties.

According to his family, the decision to enter police ranks was a step in a familiar direction for the father of three.

He had spent years working in the clothing industry and later turned his love of fitness into a job, becoming a personal trainer, but yearned for something more rewarding.

Senior Constable Kevin King He laid down his life in service of Victoria Police, but as is the case with all officers, there was much more to Senior Constable Kevin King than the uniform he wore.

“Policing was something Kevin seemed almost destined to do,” Sharron said.

“He was searching for a long time for something that had meaning, and we’d often joke that he seemed like a cop long before he was a cop, it was his nature.

“He was always methodical, very well organised, and loved camaraderie. He loved going to work, it was his home away from home.”

After six years working at various stations in Melbourne, Senior Constable King took the next step in his career and transferred to the Nunawading Highway Patrol in 2018.

Officer in Charge of the Nunawading Highway Patrol Senior Sergeant Bradford Peters said Senior Constable King used his maturity to his advantage when on patrol.

“Kevin was an older head with a lot of life experience. He always made good judgement calls and decisions,” Senior Sergeant Peters said.

“He was a terrific bloke. A lovely, all-round good bloke who took to road policing immediately. He would do anything in his power to not let you down.

“He always just wanted to laugh, have a good time, and talk about footy. It’s just devastating to lose a bloke like that.”

When he wasn’t wearing the police blue, Senior Constable King was focused on all things yellow and black as a lifelong passionate supporter of the Richmond Football Club. He passed on his love for the Tigers to his three sons, James, William and Henry.

“Kevin has always loved football and loved getting outside with his sons most weekends to have a kick of the footy,” Sharron said.

“Our three boys will miss so much about their father, not least going to the football with him, kicking the footy, or just joking with him and listening to his slightly daggy dad jokes.

“They enjoyed watching all of the footy TV shows and matches together.

“He would also watch Highway Patrol and would often tell good stories to us about his colleagues that appeared on the show. They were his mates, part of his family.”

Senior Constable King’s other passion in life was music, something that was celebrated on his 50th birthday in February.

“He loved music, particularly his guitar. He’d be strumming on the guitar at every opportunity; he’d often go outside with his coffee and the guitar in the sunshine,” Sharron said.

“We gifted Kevin a long-awaited guitar amplifier for his 50th birthday to keep feeding that passion, despite the fear that our family room would turn into a music studio.

“There was also the cooking. Kevin loved good food, particularly Italian food, and he’d watch many cooking shows on TV. His regular ‘specialties’ were his pasta dishes and minestrone soup.”

As she so perfectly described her husband’s character, life and legacy, Sharron also offered the clearest insight into the pain his death has caused for his colleagues, friends and family.

“Kevin was from a very close-knit family and this is such a devastating shock for all of us,” she said.

“Our hearts are so broken.

“From the perspective of being Kevin’s partner, my heart is in pieces; I’m totally devastated.

“My beautiful man, my life, my rock and my only love for 35 years is gone, and life will never be the same.”

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Before his life was tragically cut short when he and three of his colleagues were killed in the line of duty in April, the 28-year-old had shown himself to be a natural police officer.

Boroondara Police Station Leading Senior Constable Phil Davis was one of the team showing Constable Prestney the ropes and saw a bright future for his younger offsider.

Constable Josh Prestney Constable Josh Prestney wore the uniform for less than a year, but in that time, it was clear he had found his place at Victoria Police.

“Josh and Alex were only 18 months apart in age and grew up doing everything together. Alex has lost his best friend, big brother and offsider.”

Andrew and Belinda remember their son as a talented musician and avid sports fan with a “genuine soul”.

“I’d taught him how to do vehicle intercepts, and he just absorbed it. He was methodical, he was cluey, he would make a really good detective.”

“For his dad, Josh was a best mate, for his mum, a protector and someone who never ceased to make us smile,” the pair said.

Senior Constable Kimberly McDonald was another who noticed Constable Prestney was made for the job.

“From the start, he was a creative, insightful, loving and a genuine soul.

“Josh was way smarter than a lot of people at his level,” she said.

“I had a few night shifts with him about a month ago and he was so easy to have with me on the van, I barely had to tell him anything.”

Constable Prestney wasn’t the first of his family to show promise in police work, after his younger brother First Constable Alex Prestney paved the way for his sibling to join the force.

Both were stationed at Boroondara, much to the elation of the brothers and the staff.

Constable Prestney had only days earlier been matched permanently to Boroondara Police Station and, with Alex having just transferred to Southern Metro Division 1 Highway Patrol, it meant Josh would truly mirror his brother’s career and the Prestney name would continue to serve the Boroondara community.

“But they really both brought their own personality traits to the job. It was beautiful to see Josh and Alex sitting at the same desk, two brothers working side-by-side.”

The sense of pride in the two Prestney brothers working at the same station was one also intensely felt by parents Andrew and Belinda.

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“The proudest moment of our lives was when Alex presented Josh with his badge at the graduation ceremony in December last year.

“We worked the van together and I could tell he was so keen to learn,” Leading Senior Constable Davis said.

“To stir up Alex, we would refer to Josh as the better Prestney,” Leading Senior Constable Davis said.

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“Josh found his calling with Victoria Police after seeing how much his younger brother Alex loved the job,” Belinda said.

“He was blessed with many talents that he nurtured and developed with persistence and drive.

“Josh was an amazing guitarist who loved hard rock and metal. Music was at the heart of everything he did; it made him who he was in so many ways.”

Constable Prestney was also in a loving relationship with his partner, Stacey.

“They were perfect for one another and had made plans for their future together,” Belinda said.

Despite his time in uniform being cut short in the worst possible circumstances, Constable Prestney’s colleagues say they will always remember the profound impact he left on them and will honour his memory by continuing the police work he was so passionate about.

“Josh, you were and always will be a brother in blue,” Constable Ty Christy said.

“You make me proud to be a police officer and were an incredible man. I’ll miss your cheeky smile and your one-liners.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t protect you.

“Until we meet again, my friend, I will carry you with me everywhere I go and every time I put the uniform on, I will think of you.

“Rest in peace Josh, your watch is over.”

Photography: Supplied and AAP Editorial: Grant Condon

Constable Humphris was then employed by Return to Work, helping people get back to their jobs after injuries or illness.

It was there he met his partner Todd Robinson and after eight months of dating, the pair moved from New South Wales to Victoria due to Todd’s career with the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Weighing up between a career change to the ADF or Victoria Police, Constable Humphris chose the blue uniform over the green.

“He loved it,” Todd said of Constable Humphris’ police career.

“Glen just loved helping people, being there if someone was in trouble, being supportive of the community.

“He knew what was right and wrong, knew how to help people and was very proud to be a Victoria Police officer.”

Constable Glen Humphris Constable Glen Humphris was someone who just wanted to help.

It didn’t matter who the person was or the situation they were in, Constable Humphris wanted to be there to support and assist them. That desire is what drove him to join Victoria Police in 2019. Before that decision, he had left school to become an apprentice carpenter but switched trades and became a personal trainer, helping people to lose weight and get fit.

He took that passion a step further and completed a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science at University of Newcastle and obtained a Masters in Exercise Physiology at the University of Sydney, becoming a sports scientist and exercise physiologist.

Constable Humphris’ caring personality wasn’t lost on his colleagues either, particularly his squad mates at the Victoria Police Academy.

For Constable Jessie George, she knew from her first conversation with Constable Humphris during a run at the Academy why he wanted to be a police officer.

“It was evident straight away that he was in it to help people,” she said.

“Some people get into the job to catch crooks or for a career change, but Glen just wanted to help.

“He saw lots of different people go through lots of different and difficult things in their life and he wanted to make a difference.

“Even though he didn’t spend long in the job, I have no doubt in my mind that he was an amazing copper and he would’ve gone on to do amazing things.”

Constable Humphris’ potential shone through during his time at the Academy. His results in both examinations and assessments were well above average and he narrowly missed out on the Highest Academic Achiever Award for his squad.

He completed placements at South Melbourne and Melbourne East police stations and graduated in March 2020 before a placement in the Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section Operations Unit.

While a high achiever, Constable Humphris was also one to lighten the mood.

“He’d make great jokes at probably not the greatest times, but it made everyone laugh and the situation better,” squad mate Constable Grace McLaren said.

“He was just the type of person you wanted to get to know. When I first met him, I was immediately drawn to him. I thought he was caring in all the right ways; he had that sarcastic sense of humour and was the funniest person I’d ever met.”

Todd said his partner’s ability to bring joy was important in their household as they both worked demanding jobs in uniform.

“We’d just have to look at each other to smile, he had this infectious smile,” Todd said.

“Whatever mood we were in after coming home, after both spending our days in uniform, he’d light up the room with his little smile and his infectious personality.”

Todd and Constable Humphris also loved their time outdoors. Their first date was a 30-kilometre bike ride and they competed in triathlons and enjoyed hiking and mountain biking in their spare time.

Constable Humphris’ love for the outdoors was fostered by his upbringing in Gosford on the New South Wales Central Coast with his parents Katie Tyson and Mark Humphris, and older brother Wade.

Following his funeral, Constable Humphris’ body made the near 1000-kilometre journey to Newcastle, a full police escort leading the way.

At the New South Wales border, Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton presented New South Wales Police Force Deputy Commissioner Jeff Loy the police hat belonging to Constable Humphris and an Australian flag while passing over the repatriation effort.

Throughout the entire journey, police colleagues lined the road and saluted the convoy as it passed.

It was a fitting way to help bring home a man who had helped so many.

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Blackest day turns to blue night

I’m a mother of a police officer aged 30, his name is also Josh, and this is what we as parents fear every day as our children go to work in the police force. I’m absolutely devastated by this news and have been teary all day thinking about those four families whose lives have changed forever.

My heart is with them all right now and also with every police officer out there protecting all of us as we go about our daily lives.

Karen Foster Words will never say enough. As the father of a current Victorian police officer, I find it impossible to comprehend what the four families are going through right now.

Every day our brave men and women put everything on the line to look after our community.

Following the tragic events on 22 April 2020, Victoria Police has been inundated with messages and gestures of support.

The grief was not governed by state or even national borders, as people from across the world passed on their condolences to the colleagues, friends and families of Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Josh Prestney and Constable Glen Humphris.

Then there were cities bathed in blue, as landmarks were lit in police colours as sign of respect to the fallen four, turning Victoria Police’s blackest day into a night of blue reflection.

Finally, there were the fundraisers that involved police and community members alike raising money for the Victoria Police Legacy fund set up to assist all four families.

Some ran, walked or rode set distances, others found different ways to raise money.

No matter how they did it, more than $2,000,000 has been donated so far.

Victoria Police thanks you all for your kindness and support during this difficult time.

*Tributes from the Victoria Police In Memoriam Facebook page or direct mail.

Search ‘Victoria Police In Memoriam’ on Facebook for more information and tributes.

Photography: Stephanie Clark, Grant Condon and Herald Sun

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On behalf of the entire team at Pride in Diversity, and our members, we send our sincere sympathy and admiration to the police, upon hearing the news of this week’s tragedy.

The loss of such outstanding professionals in the line of duty must be an extraordinary burden for the entire police community.

Knowing as we do, how inclusive and engaged the police family is, the hole left will take a very long time to fill.

We just hope great memories, combined with the love of colleagues help a little, the families and teammates affected.

The nation is mourning with you.

Mark Latchford, Associate Director, Pride in Diversity

This tragedy shows how fragile life is. Hoping that you take some comfort in knowing they were out doing the job they loved. May they rest in peace.

As a daughter of two members of the Victoria Police, I am whole-heartedly, so very sorry for the families of the officers who never returned home.

Steve Murphy

Being a family member of police officers not only makes you proud that they serve to make our communities safer, but also leaves you feeling very anxious at the daily risk they face. Countless times have I had nightmares that such a tragedy would happen.

As Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) I want to express our deep shock and sadness at the deaths of four Victoria Police officers last night.

Victoria Police officers are always the first responders at child protection and family violence events, to say nothing of all the other incidents they attend to.

Many VACCA staff work regularly alongside Victoria Police and have the greatest respect for their work and dedication to duty.

The police are a big part of our Aboriginal community lives whether it be in marking significant days or standing with us to address injustice and inequity.

Last night's tragedy should have been a routine in the work lives of the police involved, yet it turned into tragedy.

We pay our most sincere respects and condolences to the officers who passed away and to their respective families and friends.

Our thoughts are also with every other police officer today, who will no doubt be feeling this loss.

Muriel Bamblett

Hence, upon hearing this absolutely devastating news, I felt upset to the point as if I had just lost a family member of my own. So I cannot even begin to imagine what those closely affected would be feeling.

To the families, close and extended, and the friends and colleagues of those involved in this tragedy, I offer my uttermost, deepest condolences. And to the officers lost, your country thanks you endlessly for your services.

You will not be forgotten.

Chloe Maree

I'm proud to be a cop. I never thought I would ever say that out loud. But on Wednesday I lost a good mate in Josh Prestney and three work/family members. Being a cop is hard, but it is the most rewarding job.

You can love us, hate us, or disagree with some stuff we do, but no matter what, we will also be there to help regardless of what the situation is and who you are. Rest in peace.

Trent Robert Call signs Traffic 430 and Nunawading 615 have officially been retired. The last time they were or ever will be used was the night of the tragic incident. Beautiful honour in their memories.

I am recently retired after 25 years in the NSW Police. 23 of those years were in highway patrol.

Many years ago I worked on the NSW-Victoria border and was a special constable in Victoria.

I had to leave the cops due to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Restoring things is helping me with my mental health issues.

I have restored a 70s esky and will send it to Nunawading HWP office so when the time is right the colleagues of Lynette, Kevin, Josh and Glen can have a drink from it and remember them fondly.

May you all RIP. Geoff Barnes

Nic Sangston

I know it's been a week but I can't stop thinking about you!

Just over a week ago on 22 April, I was doing my weekly food shop when I got a Police Remembrance $2 coin for change.

I never met you, and possible never destined to.

However for people I never met, I felt just as sad as if it was my best friend of years I had just lost!

It seemed silly at the time but for the rest of my shopping trip I just couldn’t bear to part with it, I even made my husband break a $10 note because I couldn’t stand the idea of parting with it. It seemed so silly, after all it’s just a $2 coin.

You were only doing your day to day job.

Something you had done many times before!

Nobody goes to work expecting it to be their last, and unfortunately it was this terrible day that your families had to endure that painful knock at the door.

Later that night the news came of the accident and by the next morning the death of four of our amazing officers confirmed Now I know why I couldn’t part with it and why I will always carry it on me; to always remember.

RIP to all of our amazing officers who have passed. Stay safe to all those officers who protect us every day.

Thank you to all those officers who have served, are serving and to those who will one day serve.

Rhiannon Abeling

My heart goes out to not only the immediate and outer families, but to the larger Victoria Police family, and right throughout the Victoria wide family!

Jordan Peterson My son was six months old when I became a blue sister in Victoria Police and now four years on, as I put on my uniform tonight after a week’s leave - and the most heartbreaking week - I will squeeze my son that much tighter while he sleeps and I head off for night shift.

Thinking of the three brave brothers and sister we lost, that never get to squeeze their families that much tighter.

I put on my uniform for the four of you. I am proud to be serving as your blue family.

Thank you for your selfless service Lyn, Kev, Glen and Josh.

Maddy Ellen

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

PATTON TO LEAD POLICE Victoria Police has found a new Chief Commissioner in one of its own.

Shane Patton was announced as the organisation’s new Chief Commissioner and stepped into the top job on 27 June, following the retirement of former Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton.

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Joining the force as a police cadet in 1978, CCP Patton has had an impressive and varied career, rising through the ranks to take on crucial roles in Victoria Police’s Executive Command.

Looking forward, CCP Patton said a key focus during his time as Chief Commissioner will be to continue and strengthen the organisation’s relationship and engagement with the community.

With more than 40 years’ experience across the full spectrum of policing, including general duties, prosecutions, investigations, education and training, the career police officer has a wealth of knowledge to draw upon as he leads the organisation for the next five years.

“We are and always will be about engaging with our community,” he said.

“I understand there are so many demands on police officers because I’ve been privileged to have grown up as one,” CCP Patton said.

“Having been exposed to so many roles in the job, it gives me a really good understanding of their experiences and what they’re going through.

“It is an absolute honour for me to be selected as the new Chief Commissioner and I will do the best I possibly can to lead this organisation and our amazing officers and staff.”

Prior to commencing the Chief Commissioner role, CCP Patton served for five years as a Deputy Commissioner, overseeing several crucial initiatives during this time.

He introduced the force’s hostile vehicle policy following the 2017 Bourke Street attack, allowing police to take direct action if they suspect a driver may use a vehicle as a weapon.

He also led the rollout of firearm prohibition orders aimed at reducing gun crime and oversaw the creation of Victoria Police’s Counter Terrorism Command.

Most recently, CCP Patton was the State Police Commander for the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, overseeing all aspects of Victoria Police’s response. Full details of the response are detailed on pages 14-21 in this edition.

“We work with the community and we are a part of the community because, without their consent and their trust, we can’t do our job.”

Upon starting his term, CCP Patton thanked retired Chief Commissioner Ashton and acknowledged the huge impact his predecessor had made, particularly in the creation and rollout of the organisation’s modernisation program.

“I’ve been a part of a very tightknit, cohesive Executive Command team that has been extremely well led by Mr Ashton,” CCP Patton said.

“He set us on a modernisation pathway, which has positioned us to now reap the benefits of that pathway and take policing to the next step.”

Prior to his retirement, Mr Ashton reflected on his time as Chief Commissioner and spoke about what’s next. Read this story on pages 11-13.

The next edition of Police Life will include an extended feature on CCP Patton, further covering his decorated career and the vision he has for Victoria Police.

Image Taking charge With more than 40 years’ experience across the full spectrum of policing, Victoria Police’s new Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has a wealth of knowledge to draw upon to lead the organisation.

Editorial: Danielle Ford and Jesse Wray-McCann Photography: John Pallot

Having served many years as a Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner with Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police, now retired Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton knows the demands faced by those at the top of policing.

But since July 2015, when he became Victoria Police’s 22nd Chief Commissioner, he has noticed a weight upon on his shoulders in ways he previously hadn’t experienced.

“I’ve been surprised how strongly I’ve felt a sense of responsibility every time a crime befalls our community,” CCP Ashton said.

“Each morning, when I read the daily crime reports, I felt it more deeply than I did as an Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner.

“It’s like it’s happened on your watch, and you feel badly about that – that you haven’t been able to stop that from happening, even though it’s sometimes an inevitability.”

While that sense of responsibility sat heavily, it also drove CCP Ashton to strengthen Victoria Police to become more effective at keeping the community safe.

He spent his five years in the top job developing and leading Victoria Police through a comprehensive modernisation program.

Goodbye Graham

Farewell to a modern-day Chief Commissioner

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Farewell to a modern-day Chief Commissioner

On retiring from Victoria Police, CCP Ashton can look back at those five years as among the most transformative in the organisation’s history.

“Before I started as Chief Commissioner, I felt we had fallen behind in a lot of areas,” he said.

“Up until just a couple of months ago, we were still using fax machines as the main way we communicated our crime reports.

“If you ever needed a sign we were behind the times, you could go downstairs to see a room full of fax machines all buzzing and burring away.

“Whether it was the cars our officers drive, the vests they use, the radios they use, the firearms, the police station upgrades and the education standards, we set out to modernise it all.”

It wasn’t just the modernisation of technology and equipment, but Victoria Police’s culture, too, with the establishment of initiatives such as the Gender Equality and Inclusion Command.

Assistant Commissioner Brett Curran, who worked as CCP Ashton’s Chief of Staff for the majority of his term, said the sheer number of improvements CCP Ashton led over the five years was remarkable.

“If you said at the start of his Chief Commissionership that by the end of it, he would have a Counter Terrorism Command, a new police headquarters, long arms rolled out for members in remote areas, new divvy

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vans, new helicopters, a completely revamped computer system, body-worn cameras, more than 3,000 additional police, and a raft of different things in the policy area, you would say, ‘That just can’t possibly happen’,” AC Curran said.

“We all have the ability to recognise when something is wrong, but Graham’s great ability is to map out how to fix what’s wrong and use every lever available to get there.”

But CCP Ashton was never content with modernisation if it didn’t lead to genuine improvements to policing on the streets and engaging with communities.

“We were once very highly visible, but then we started climbing off the back of horses and got into cars and put steel and glass between us and the community, and that became a real barrier,” CCP Ashton said.

“We now have technology that means officers can get out of the cars and we need to take advantage of that.

“The future, I think, is being out of the cars and on foot to be accessible for a conversation.

“When you have officers getting involved in things that build their communities and prevent crime in the first place, that’s where you tend to find the best police.”

CCP Ashton said one of the many inspiring examples of this kind of policing is Sergeant Andrew Neil, who worked for years as the lone police officer in the town of Cohuna on the Murray River.

“The work Andy did with initiatives in his community to build a resilience to the drug ice was remarkable,” CCP Ashton said.

“He was also really involved in the cricket club and footy club.

“They had a special event in the town hall where they surprised him and the whole town was there to say thank you with a special award and standing ovation.

“He’s a great example of how someone can embed themselves in a community and, because of that, they are able do a lot of good.”

For all the many achievements of CCP Ashton’s time at the top, perhaps the single most significant difference he has made for both current and former police has been in mental health.

His devotion to improving his colleagues’ wellbeing and support has been unparalleled.

After personally knowing of too many police experiencing mental health issues inflicted by the job, CCP Ashton was determined to create meaningful and lasting change when he started as Chief Commissioner.

“If you’ve worked in a police force for any length of time, you will have worked with or know very well, people who have self-harmed,” he said.

“I wanted us to be leaders in the area of mental health, not just continuing to pick up the pieces.”

Under CCP Ashton, support and treatment for mental health issues within Victoria Police has been significantly revamped and enhanced.

But it was the organisation’s culture and the negative views towards seeking help that most needed overhauling.

“It used to be that going to the psychologist had a stigma to it,” CCP Ashton said.

“You just would never volunteer to go and talk to a psychologist, ever.

“And if you were made to, you would do it secretly.

“Whereas now, it’s a mandatory part of doing business and very few people have qualms about dealing with psychologists.”

“I told the Chief, ‘We’ve got former police, who were high-functioning police and did their job really well, but since they left, they’re now homeless.

At the age of 58, he believes he still has plenty to contribute, perhaps in the areas of his interests of mental health, sports integrity or wildlife conservation.

“Graham sat there with his mouth wide open.

He just looked at me and asked, ‘How can that happen? We’ve got to do something about it.’

And he might also dive more into his hobbies such as vegetable gardening, fishing and horse racing.

“I think that really shook Graham to the core and he truly understood and believed in what we were trying to achieve and said he’d do whatever was needed to support us.”

Or he could continue to perfect his position as lamb specialist in the award-winning competitive barbecuing team he is a member of.

Upon starting his mental health mission, CCP Ashton quickly learned many former police officers desperately needed help.

Just one of the many ways CCP Ashton supported the program was by raising money and awareness for it through the Head to Head walk in October 2018.

“When you started looking at mental health and safety, you could see in the veteran community that we had broken a lot of people and we needed take some of the responsibility for that and address it,” he said.

The three-week walk involved CCP Ashton and The Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt walking a combined 1,000km from opposite corners of the state to raise more than $600,000 for the cause.

Vicki Key, a retired police sergeant, met with CCP Ashton early in his tenure as Chief Commissioner to discuss her efforts to establish the Retired Peer Support Officer Program.

But it was in late 2017 that CCP Ashton made his most telling move to improve the culture around mental health at Victoria Police.

The program connects former officers with other retired police who are trained in supporting people with mental health issues.

The meeting proved pivotal.

“I was explaining the types of problems retired police were facing like grief, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse,” Ms Key said.

It wasn’t planned, it wasn’t a specific initiative or a funding announcement, but it was personal.

CCP Ashton had driven himself into the ground with work and was mentally and physically spent.

He took six weeks sick leave to recover.

He could have told the organisation he was simply going on leave, but after months of imploring his troops to seek help when struggling, CCP Ashton wanted to lead by example.

CCP Ashton’s executive assistant Cassie Stephens and AC Curran remember clearly when they were called to CCP Ashton’s home early in his sick leave.

With the constant demand of the job now no more, CCP Ashton will enjoy more time to spend with his wife Liz and their two teenage girls.

Though, he’s never been “Mr Chief Commissioner” to his daughters, and not even “Dad” or “Graham”.

“They call me Lenny,” he said.

“My middle name is Leonard, so they’re always saying, ‘G’day Lenny. How ya goin’, Len?’ “They’re always hanging it on me over something or other.

“Whatever I happen to be doing always seems to be a subject of humour for them.”

As someone who naturally prefers that others enjoy the limelight, hanging up the Chief Commissioner’s uniform will help him hide from the persistent threat of praise he shies away from.

AC Brett Curran said CCP Ashton’s shoes will be large ones to fill.

“He is utterly authentic and he takes his role very, very seriously, but he doesn’t take himself too seriously,” AC Curran said.

“He is a rare combination of genuine humility and incredible ability, and that kind of leadership has served Victoria Police brilliantly well over the years.”

“I’ll never forget what he said to us, that he owed it to the families of officers who had suicided to be open about the reasons for his time off,” Ms Stephens said.

“He told us, ‘I need to send a message to the organisation that even the highest rank feels these things and does what needs to be done to get well’,” AC Curran said.

Senior Police Psychologist Dr Alex West then worked with CCP Ashton to address his burnout and develop a healthy pace for work and life.

As CCP Ashton now joins the ranks of veteran police officers, he is keen to see what the future holds.

Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann

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

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Policing in a pandemic Even in the midst of a deadly pandemic, Victoria Police’s top priority stays the same – community safety.

But what did drastically change during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was what police had to do to ensure community safety.

The virus outbreak threw the entire world into unchartered waters, and then-Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton – the man who led Victoria Police’s response to the pandemic as State Police Commander – said police were no exception.

“If anyone had said we’d be sending our constables out to make sure people don’t go down to the local park and tasking patrols to supermarkets to stop people fighting over toilet paper, you’d think they were kidding,” DC Patton said.

“You couldn’t possibly envisage that happening, but that’s exactly what we had to do.”

As the virus began to spread, fear and uncertainly began to take hold.

But, just as it did during the summer bushfire crisis just a mere few months earlier, Victoria Police stood up to help lead Victorians safely through the emergency.

Beginning in earnest in mid-March, Victoria Police’s role was to support the Chief Health Officer (CHO) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to help flatten the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on the state and its health system.

As the evolving stages of the CHO restrictions were rolled out, Victoria Police implemented its tried and true emergency management structures and processes.

As always with major emergencies or incidents, Victoria Police’s response to the crisis was managed out of the State Police Operations Centre – a centralised command post staffed by police, Victorian Public Service employees and personnel from other agencies such as the DHHS, Australian Federal Police, Australian Defence Force (ADF) and Australian Border Force.

The complex and ever-changing nature of the coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency required an agile approach from Victoria Police, which began to initiate several different operations.

It began with Operation Sentinel, which was used to directly enforce the CHO restrictions, such as checking businesses were complying with patron limits and ensuring people who had returned from overseas were self-isolating at home for two weeks.

Then followed Operation Shielding, which diverted Protective Services Officers and Transit police from the near-empty public transport network to important shopping strips and hubs.

Operation Soteria police helped with the moving of returned travellers from airports to quarantine in hotels and Operation Ribbon addressed the concerns for possible higher rates of family violence during isolation.

ADF personnel assisted with the huge volume of PAL calls by triaging coronavirus-related reports.

Lance Corporal William Paffrath from 8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victorian Regiment was among those who were on the phones at PAL. “The Victorian Police and the ADF share a very similar work ethic, and that was the bond that enabled us to adjust to the task quickly and efficiently,” LCPL Paffrath said.

"To know that we were contributing to the health and safety of the community was in itself a rewarding experience".

Brigadier Matt Burr, Commander Joint Task Group 629.2 (Operation COVID-19 Assist) said the ADF’s role was part of the whole-ofgovernment approach to the pandemic.

“We were trained and ready to respond and support, and the ADF’s relationship with Victoria Police made this operation even more successful,” Brigadier Burr said.

DC Patton said the response to the pandemic was a reminder that dealing with emergencies requires a combined effort, not just from government agencies and authorities, but from the public as well.

“The main lesson this has reinforced is that we must have the community onboard to achieve our goals,” DC Patton said.

As the state continues to work its way through the coronavirus crisis, DC Patton said Victoria Police can be proud of its part in combating the pandemic.

“Unfortunately, in the beginning, people just weren’t paying attention to that messaging.”

“The fact that we have had such a pivotal involvement and responsibility in ensuring compliance, our officers and staff have undoubtedly saved lives,” he said.

“There’s surely no greater example that people weren’t paying attention and treating things seriously than a traffic jam at a brothel,” DC Patton said.

“So, necessarily at the start, we went out reasonably hard in issuing infringements because people weren’t complying.

“And then we saw compliance change and behaviour change, people were doing the right thing.

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Early in the pandemic, the Ballarat-based call centre was receiving a couple of hundred coronavirus-related calls a day but it grew to a peak of more than 11,500 per day.

“In emergencies like this, you need to have clarity of mission and objective, and we made it perfectly clear that the objective was to save people’s lives,” DC Patton said.

In early April, a Geelong brothel operating in breach of the restrictions had become so popular among people willing to flout the rules that it created a traffic jam.

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The Police Assistance Line (PAL) through that period saw an explosion in calls, with people phoning in to report breaches of the CHO restrictions.

“If we hadn’t enforced the restrictions, if we hadn’t kept people at home, we might be having temporary mortuaries set up like we’ve seen overseas.

“Our officers and employees will probably never really know how many lives they’ve saved by their direct conduct.”

“And then with that change, we applied a lot more discretion.

Images Controlling COVID-19 The Police Assistance Line, where Australian Defence Force personnel helped manage calls, and the State Police Operations Centre were two locations crucial to the pandemic response.

“We didn’t want to be in the business of giving people tickets for things they previously were doing every day, but we needed to keep people safe.”

Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann Photography: Australian Defence Force and John Pallot

Crafting a shield During an emergency such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with its uncertainty and stress, the public looks to the likes of Victoria Police for safety and reassurance.

To answer the community’s call, Victoria Police was able to redeploy one of its most effective tools for public reassurance – Protective Services Officers (PSOs).

“So having the ability to move those PSOs and that ethos of community engagement into other areas, it was very beneficial.”

Up until mid-May, Operation Shielding officers had spoken to more than 7,300 people, which included shoppers, retailers and even suspects.

“Through these interactions, we a had really positive impact on the community and were able to put people's minds at ease, which was important because they were already dealing with the uncertainty that came with COVID-19,” Supt Felton said.

“That will sit well with our Transit police and PSOs for a long time and they should be proud of the work they have done and continue to do.”

Not only was the general community reassured through Operation Shielding, but also business owners and operators.

Usually limited to the public transport network, many PSOs found themselves patrolling empty train stations as people heeded the restrictions and advice to stay home.

When venues like bars and pubs first had to shut their doors, many placed signs up to let would-be thieves know there was no alcohol or cash kept inside.

So while some PSOs continued to provide a presence on the public transport network, 160 other PSOs were combined with 80 transit police to form Operation Shielding.

The Operation Shielding teams were an effective crime fighting tool, arresting more than 400 people throughout the pandemic, many for drug offences such as trafficking.

Shielding teams spent afternoons and evenings patrolling the streets in important locations such as Melbourne’s CBD, South Yarra, St Kilda, Geelong, Dandenong, Box Hill and Doncaster.

On once such occasion on 14 April, Shielding PSOs were patrolling a south-eastern suburbs shopping centre when they spotted a man known to them in breach of COVID-19 restrictions.

Their task was twofold – ensure the safety of those who were still going about their business and help prevent crimes like commercial burglaries.

Transit Superintendent John Felton said PSOs were well-suited to the role.

“The role of PSOs on public transport is to provide community reassurance and support community safety through their presence,” Supt Felton said.

The 30-year-old was seen meeting with another man in what appeared to be a drug deal, so the PSOs arrested him and found he was carrying a white crystal substance and an imitation firearm.

Then-Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said Victoria Police had anticipated a spike in commercial burglaries due to the many dormant businesses across the state.

But the Operation Shielding patrols were so effective that preliminary statistics instead showed a significant reduction in commercial burglaries in April.

“Overall, we recorded the lowest daily average of offences in the month of April since 2014,” DC Patton said.

“It certainly was a real advantage for Victoria Police to have the flexibility to take the PSOs off the public transport network.

"We really enjoyed the benefits of utilising PSOs and Transit police out in those key hubs, and that is evident in the figures."

Images Pandemic patrols Police and Protective Services Officers combined forces to patrol shopping centres and community hubs during the pandemic.

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

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On lookout in a It’s a cold Tuesday night in April. In a Melbourne home, seven women gather together for a dinner party.

In another house, three mates come together to play video games.

In ordinary times this is normal behaviour, but on this night in April, these 10 people are breaking the law and putting themselves and others in danger.

Under the directions of Victoria’s Chief Health Officer (CHO), gatherings of more than two people who don’t live together are no longer allowed both indoors and outdoors.

It’s a strict measure, but one that is essential to stop the spread of the insidious coronavirus (COVID-19), a deadly pandemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives across the world and plunged countries into lengthy lockdowns.

By this stage in April, it is known the virus is highly transferrable and a person showing no symptoms can unwittingly give the virus to another, who could then go on to give it to another, and so on.

The devastating impact of the virus is also known too, with the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions at most risk.

What’s not known at this stage is how far the virus could spread in the community, with some estimates suggesting 150,000 Australians could die as a result of the pandemic.

By this night in early April, the virus has already taken the lives of 11 Victorians.

As result, Victorians have been told to only leave their homes for essential purposes such as going to work, buying food or seeking medical attention.

Socialising is off the cards.

That’s why the women at the dinner party and the mates playing video games have come to the attention of one group that is allowed to move through the streets at night – the officers that make up Victoria Police’s Operation Sentinel.

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Established in the early days of the pandemic in Victoria, Operation Sentinel was created to ensure the directions of the CHO, legally binding under the declaration of a State of Emergency, were adhered to.

In total, 500 police officers were assigned to work solely on the operation while police across the state also continued to ensure compliance with the new restrictions, patrolling streets, parks, beaches and other places people usually gather.

Then-Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said pulling up people for otherwise ordinary occurrences presented a challenge for Operation Sentinel officers.

“Our officers on the street were operating in such an area of ambiguity, because the restrictions could never be prescriptive for every situation they would encounter,” DC Patton said.

“So they were there always trying to determine, ‘Is this infringeable? Should I be giving an infringement? Would a warning suffice, and how would I get that message across?’”

DC Patton said that while the punishment for breaching the restrictions – a $1,652 fine for individuals and $9,913 for businesses – may seem harsh, it pales in comparison to the deadly consequences of spreading the disease.

“Our mission was simple – to save lives,” DC Patton said.

“And we needed to do that by enforcing the Chief Health Officer’s restrictions.

lockdown Our officers were applying a commonsense approach, but we needed the public to be on board in those efforts, too.

“When we knocked on their front doors to check on them, a lot of people just wanted to chat,” Const McIntosh said.

“For some people, we were among the only people they had seen in person for days or weeks, so they understandably just wanted that interaction with us.

“Some were keen to chat for a bit too long, but there were others who we knew we needed to be there for.

Operation Sentinel began on March 21 and by the end of June, its officers had conducted 83,578 spot checks on people and businesses to ensure compliance with the restrictions.

“I remember we knocked on this one elderly man’s door in South Yarra and he told us how his wife had just died from coronavirus and he hadn’t been able to visit her in the hospital because of the lockdown.

They had given 1,399 official warnings to people and handed out 5,185 fines.

“He was grieving on his own and doing it really tough.

In the first few weeks of the operation, police were kept busy checking on people who were required to be self-isolating after returning from overseas.

"We knew it was a time to be there for him and to try to find him the support he needed."

Then they also contacted and checked on people who the Department of Health and Human Services believed may have come into contact with someone with the virus.

Images Lockdown laws Operation Sentinel police knocked on doors and maintained a presence at parks, beaches and other public areas to ensure people were adhering to the Chief Health Officer's directions.

And then as restrictions eased, Operation Sentinel police ensured reopened businesses were abiding by patron limits and other directions.

Editorial: Grant Condon and Jesse Wray-McCann Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

But their role wasn’t always about enforcement.

First Constable Cameron McIntosh was part of Operation Sentinel in Melbourne’s inner-south suburbs and said he noticed a common theme with many people in isolation.

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Protecting at home and away With the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic effecting almost every aspect of daily life, Victoria Police worked hard to ensure it identified every possible way to ensure the safety of the community.

One area viewed as a priority for the organisation to provide community reassurance in was family violence, leading to the creation of Operation Ribbon.

“It showed the community that the Victoria Police response to family violence was maintained during the pandemic. More importantly, it showed we are committed to that response at all times,” AC McWhirter said.

“Operation Ribbon requires us to centrally report all the work we are doing,” Det Sen Sgt Turner said.

While Victoria Police ran several of its own operations to enhance community safety during the pandemic, it also played a part in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) led Operation Soteria.

Launched on April 13, the operation involved members of dedicated Family Violence Investigation Units (FVIUs) reaching out to Victorians who were deemed to be at risk.

“Every day of the year, members of our team are doing the same work, but during the isolation period Operation Ribbon provided a well-structured, centralised reporting framework that allowed a greater oversight of cases at a state level.

The operation was shown to be of incredible value, with more than 6,300 checks conducted between 13 April and 31 May, resulting in the identification of about 2,300 criminal offences.

Of these offences, more than 1,800 were family violence-related.

“Jobs are allocated to individual members who then conduct face-to-face visits with affected family members or respondents to engage with them and work with them to ensure they are connected with the support services they need for their particular situation.”

This led to 1,182 intervention order (IVO) contraventions being detected by police, 250 people being remanded in custody, 96 summonses issued and 116 people being placed on bail.

Family Violence Command Assistant Commissioner Dean McWhirter said the work of all members of FVIUs across the state is outstanding and the added emphasis Operation Ribbon placed on their role is something that cannot be undervalued by the organisation or the community.

Family Violence Command Inspector Tim Tucker said the numbers show the high level of engagement during the COVID-19 response.

“The idea behind Operation Ribbon was to provide the community reassurance that police are out there ensuring an increased focus on the safety and wellbeing of affected family members and vulnerable families,” Insp Tucker said.

“What it has also done is show how hard the members of our FVIUs are working each day. The operation has put in place a reporting structure that is able to capture and record these high numbers of checks and engagement with the community that are happening every day.”

Detective Senior Sergeant Andrea Turner is a member of one of these dedicated units.

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Working in the Bendigo FVIU, Det Sen Sgt Turner said the reporting structure Operation Ribbon enabled shone a light on the vital work of family violence investigators and how prevalent the crime is in the community.

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Soteria was the multi-agency operation that facilitated the return of people from overseas and oversaw the 14-day quarantine period they were to undertake at hotels.

In the first two months of the operation, which started on 29 March, about 13,000 travellers were transported from the airports to hotels for quarantine.

Victoria Police provided about 30 officers from the North West Metro Region (NWM) each day to the operation, who provided support during the transport and the check-in and check-out process for travellers in hotels in Melbourne.

NWM Specialist Operations Superintendent Richard Paterson said officers tasked to the operation were also assigned to respond to any criminal incident that occurred at the hotels.

Halting the spread

Supt Paterson praised the operation, which continues to run, as a great example of effective collaboration between government departments.

“The operation was led by DHHS but involved Victoria Police, the Department of Jobs Precincts and Regions and the Department of Transport, to list a few,” Supt Paterson said.

“We met a few times a week as part of the operation and each department knew their role and executed it extremely well.

“The quarantining of people returning from overseas was a huge factor in Australia’s success in flattening the curve and being a part of this operation means Victoria Police played a big part in that, which is something we can be really proud of.”

Images Travel checks Police helped escort more than 10,000 travelers into quarantine during the first two months of Operation Soteria.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Grant Condon

While Victoria Police’s dedicated team of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and support staff that make up the Custodial Health Service (CHS) provide a round-theclock service every day, things became significantly busier for them as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The team is responsible for ensuring the health of people detained in police custody, along with providing expert health advice to police officers and Police Custody Officers (PCOs) managing cells around the state.

With their job involving a significant amount of close, face-to-face contact with members of the public, Acting Chief Custodial Health Officer Dr Michael Wong said it was vital the team quickly and effectively adapted to a new way of working during the pandemic.

“Nurses in management roles returned to the frontline to better support the team through the unfolding unprecedented event,” Dr Wong said.

“Pharmacy staff took on the responsibility of maintaining supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) and test kits.

“From the information collected from these calls, we were able to improve our decisionmaking processes and procedures to ensure we took every precaution to reduce the risk of coronavirus being transmitted in custody facilities.”

The team also developed a set of screening questions, which were added to the existing assessment done on each person entering police custody.

These questions helped nurses work closely with custody staff to identify and isolate more than 420 potential cases as of 7 June.

Victoria Police worked closely with Corrections Victoria, Justice Health and prisoner transport provider G4S to minimise the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak within the prisoner community.

Dr Wong said the success of these partnerships was evident, with no cases of coronavirus recorded in any juvenile or adult correctional facilities.

“Our CHS team plays a vital role in keeping it that way,” he said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has really demonstrated the importance of the work this team does and the commitment we have to ensuring the health and wellbeing of people who come through custody and our staff.”

Image Caring crew Custodial Nurse Clare Allen (front) and G4S employees Kate Grant and Jodie Wyatt are part of the dedicated team that has been working around the clock to ensure the safety of people in custody and staff working in the facilities.

Editorial: Danielle Ford

“Our clinical administration team prepared and created systems for recording and tracking suspected cases among people in custody and employees and ensured this information was communicated with partner agencies when needed.

“All of this was done in addition to the regular clinical services the team provides to people in police custody across Victoria each day.”

CHS nurse manager Emily Armstrong said the team was extremely experienced in managing communicable diseases and caring for unwell people, but had never faced a challenge quite like what was required for this pandemic – a challenge they rose to.

“Our nurses manage a Custodial Health Advice Line for police and PCOs and calls to this line increased dramatically during the pandemic,” Ms Armstrong said.

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Flying start For a unit that has only been operational for less than six months, Victoria Police’s Remote Piloted Aircraft and Systems (RPAS) Unit, better known as the Drone Unit, has had a busy start to working life.

acting as a communication tool in emergency management situations or providing police with a better angle when monitoring public order.

From helping Victorian firefighters battle an underground fire over summer, to providing valuable eyes in the sky to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the unit and its battery-powered quadcopters provide a valuable 24/7 resource.

“When the drones are deployed, the camera on them has a 3km total reach,” Insp Shepherd said.

The unmanned aerial drones can support a wide range of police operations, including forensically documenting crime scenes,

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Being these extra eyes in the sky is how the drones proved to be helpful during Victoria Police’s coronavirus response.

With the Chief Health Officer (CHO) restricting gatherings of people to different sizes at different stages of the pandemic, the Air Wing, which consists of police helicopters and the Drones Unit, was tasked to patrol popular locations for unlawful gatherings.

Police Air Wing Inspector Craig Shepherd said having the Drone Unit meant more areas were able to be patrolled each day, assisting in breaking up large gatherings and helping slow the spread of the virus.

“This meant we were able to task a drone to the St Kilda pier and from that one drone we had a view all the way up to Station Pier in Port Melbourne and then down to Elwood Beach.”

According to Insp Shepherd, the ability to have a drone operator from the squad working in the local area, accompanied by frontline police, meant they were able to quickly identify and talk to people breaching CHO directions.

“Whenever the drones were out, the operator was accompanied by members from the Public Order Response Team or the Mounted Branch,” Insp Shepherd said.

“These officers were able to look at the footage and then head down to areas where large gatherings or breaches were identified and ask people to move on.”

During the bushfires earlier this year, the unit also proved to be of great assistance to other emergency services.

When an underground fire was threatening to destroy a major gas pipeline into New South Wales, the Drone Unit was able to help Victorian firefighters assess the blaze.

RPAS Acting Senior Sergeant Adrian Morley said the blaze would ordinarily have taken days – if not weeks – to assess, but the unit was able to make the process simpler.

“The fire agencies had to dig trenches either side of the pipe and flood them to make sure the peat fire didn’t come into the pipe.

This was while they had hectares of land burning around the pipe,” A/Sen Sgt Morley said.

“To save them basically walking every metre and checking the temperature every single day, we would go there and map the whole scene for them in two hours.

“The firefighters loved it; they absolutely loved it. It saved them a massive amount of time and money.”

As well as mapping out peat fires, the drones were used to seek out wildlife and tour fireravaged sites to assess any damage to areas of cultural significance, such as the Buchan caves.

Being able to provide aerial oversight of emergencies is a major role of the drones, but the realm of possibilities for these high-flying gadgets moving forward grows as the unit does.

A/Sen Sgt Morley said the situational awareness the drones provide is a major benefit.

“If things turn pear-shaped in the public, we can get drones up and go, ‘Okay, what is actually occurring?”

“Police on the ground can only see what their eyes can see, but we provide a different perspective.”

The drones can also aid search and rescue efforts when scouring tricky terrain for a missing person, saving hours of work on foot.

They can be used to drop off essential items such as communications, hydration, food and medication to those waiting on rescue.

Then there’s the advantage of relieving pressure on the police Air Wing, which may be tied up at other jobs or unable to respond due to unconducive weather.

As A/Sen Sgt Morley said, the drones can go “wherever your imagination takes you – as long as it fits in with the regulations and governance of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)”.

These restrictions have required Victoria Police to apply for several exemptions through CASA, and to have additional certificates of qualification, A/Sen Sgt Morley said.

The unit is still developing since its launch in July last year but operates on a hub-andspoke model.

“Let them dictate to you what they need to know.

The hub is responsible for governance and compliance, which means any flights coordinated by the spokes – which can include regional and specialist units – must be ticked off through a job safety assessment.

Typically, drones cannot be flown within three nautical miles, or 5.5km, of an aerodrome, within 30m of a person, or at night.

There’s still work to be done, but there’s no doubt the Drone Unit will provide a tool like no other going forward, whether it’s to map the scene of a crime or major collision, or to respond during public order events and emergencies.

“We’re a tool for other police to use,” A/Sen Sgt Morley said.

“The general line for my people is, ‘Don’t try to tell them how to do their job’.

“If our drones can go there, we’ll get them the information they need.”

Images Police pilots A/Sen Sgt Adrian Morley and A/Sgt Eleshia Ajani are two of the specially-trained officers that make up the Remote Piloted Aircraft and Systems Unit, which has been kept busy since launching in July 2019.

Editorial: Danielle Ford and Natalie Butler Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann and John Pallot

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HQ VICTORIA POLICE’S NEW

FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER A CONCEPT FOR A MODERN AND UNITED PRECINCT WAS FIRST DRAWN, VICTORIA POLICE WILL FIND ITS NEW HOME IN 2020.

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“The police that work in the precinct won’t be the only people to see the benefits, the public will too.”

The new tower stands on the site of the old Australia Post Melbourne Mail Centre and more than two million working hours went into its construction.

When launched in 1995, the World Trade Centre VPC spruiked its two billiard tables and two automatic teller machines in a canteen area as key modern features, however the new tower has facilities more befitting a 2020 police force.

The total floor space of tower one is a staggering 65,000 square metres, bringing the total size of the complex to 94,000m2 when including the second 313 tower.

The first of an eventual 5,000 staff have begun migrating to the new Victoria Police Centre (VPC) in Melbourne following the completion of the project to consolidate the force’s CBD operations into one highly-secure location.

The state-of-the-art 39-storey skyscraper at 311 Spencer Street, developed by Cbus Property, is the final piece of the new centralised precinct, following the 2015 opening of the 313 Spencer Street Police Complex, home of the Crime, Intelligence Covert Support, Counter Terrorism, North West Metro and Forensic commands.

The new centre is the first purpose-built police headquarters in the state since the iconic Russell Street building was constructed in the 1940s.

Victoria Police vacated Russell Street in 1995, shifting close to 2,000 employees to a renovated World Trade Centre.

The three-tower World Trade Centre succeeded in bringing together divisions and departments dotted across Melbourne under one roof, but 25 years on, Victoria Police has outgrown the Docklands complex.

We’ve changed a lot in 25 years and this purpose-built modern facility will mean our frontline resources and support services will be better placed than ever before to serve the community,” said Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton, who officially opened the new VPC before his retirement from Victoria Police.

Included in this is the 24-hour Melbourne West Police Station and custody operations, now the largest facility of its type in the southern hemisphere.

Security has also been considerably upgraded in the new facility, with layered security zones, blast and ballistic treatments, increased surveillance and facial recognition technologies integrated into the build.

Other specialised operational facilities have been included to ensure an improved critical response, along with a media centre and a brand new Victoria Police Museum.

A total of 600 car parks have also been included and a helipad crowns the five-star energy-rated building, offering the police Air Wing a secure landing area, centrally located within Melbourne’s CBD. While the new VPC will serve as a meeting place for police across the state with extensive collaboration and conference spaces, stations outside of Melbourne will also receive additional equipment as office furnishings and technology from the old building are repurposed and distributed across the organisation.

Information Technology and Infrastructure Services Deputy Secretary, Scott Arbuthnot said all 26 Victoria Police commands and departments that will come to call the new VPC home had their say in the design.

“We wanted to foster a culture of collaboration and excellence through improved integration of the various commands and departments.

Through more effective usage of shared facilities, I think we have achieved this,” he said.

“There are five bridges and pathways connecting the two buildings, so while there are two separate towers, it’s truly one effective police precinct.”

Mr Arbuthnot said while most members of the public will never see inside the building itself, the community will still feel its benefits.

“Aside from the operational benefits the precinct provides to police, a new media centre will help police get important messages to the community faster, the improved facilities will allow our first responders to attend incidents sooner and a brand new museum will help bring the history of Victoria Police to the public in a modern way,” he said.

With Victoria Police occupying the building on a 30-year lease, CCP Ashton said he hoped the new headquarters will contribute to the legacy of the organisation.

“It was important we commemorate Victoria Police’s rich history throughout the precinct,” CCP Ashton said.

“There is memorabilia and dedications throughout the building to inspire a sense of pride and help employees connect with, and honour, the significant sacrifices and contributions of past and present generations.

“While the past is acknowledged, this new centre will also allow our force to grow and modernise as needed.

“I hope when Victorians see the tower in the heart of the city and the illuminated police signs high in Melbourne’s skyline, they’re reminded and comforted by the fact that Victoria Police is always here, working hard to protect the community and uphold the law.”

Editorial: Grant Condon Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

“Along with exponential growth in our software and computer intelligence capability, our physical presence has swelled.

“Protective Services Officers, the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), the Public Order Response Team (PORT) and the many investigative roles that exist in the online space, just to name a few, all didn’t exist 25 years ago, yet many of these units that come with staff and equipment operate and deploy out of our headquarters.

“By being in a modern facility, these units will have more space to work and a central CBD location in Melbourne will cut down our response times. Incidents that CIRT and PORT have attended in the city have shown every second can be vital.

“There is also a demand on our State Police Operations Centre that we’ve never experienced, with our response to events such as 2019-20 bushfires and the coronovirus (COVID-19) pandemic showing how important these facilities are. Upgrades to this centre are going to improve our oversight and response to large scale events.

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A historic move When moving to a new home, it’s almost guaranteed something’s going to be missing when the boxes are unpacked.

It’s usually something small, like a remote control, a photo frame or a book.

But what do you do when your ‘home’ is in fact a museum and you’re moving more than 10,000 precious items that all play a part in telling the storied history of communities, policing and crime in Victoria?

That’s the daunting task the team behind the Victoria Police Museum faces as they prepare to move to the force’s new headquarters in Spencer Street, Melbourne.

Fortunately, a team of trained experts is putting every item of the extensive collection through a methodical and painstaking moving process to ensure all pieces make it to their new home.

The collection ranges from small rare medals and buttons, important books and documents, motion film, motorcycles and bomb suits, to almost every style of uniform and communication device ever used by Victoria Police.

Then there are the items that sit at the heart of some of the state’s most defining events, like two sets of armour belonging to the infamous Kelly Gang and the car used in the bombing of the Russell Street Police Headquarters.

The museum’s collection spans more than 13,000 individual physical objects, but when digital archives are considered, the number of items swells to more than 200,000.

“Because most of our collection is something one-off that can’t be replaced, we take great care with it,” Museum and Historical Services manager Laura Miles said.

“Victoria Police was established in 1853 so we have a lot of really old and fragile objects from that time.

“We assess each item before we pick it up, to see if it needs special cleaning and stabilisation. After that, we take measurements and photographs, and design special packaging ready to be moved into storage. This could range from small supports like padding and foam inserts up to custommade crates.

“It’s then packed and tracked so we know where it is every step of the way.”

The process will be worth it, though, with a state-of-the-art museum being built at the new Victoria Police Centre ahead of a 2021 opening.

“The new museum is on the street level so it’s a high-profile part of our new headquarters,” Ms Miles said.

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“This space has given us freedom to design something really special and deeply engaging, both for employees and the public.

“There will be things to look at but also things our visitors can interact with, which will create a more dynamic and memorable experience.”

Before the new museum launches, a temporary display at the 311 Spencer Street police complex is on show.

Appropriately, it details the history of the

“Because most of our collection is something one-off that can’t be replaced, we take great care with it.” force’s previous headquarters and features photographs and descriptions of key buildings alongside precision scale 3D models of the St Kilda Road Police Depot and Russell Street headquarters as they looked in the 1930s and 1950s – police cars and horses included.

Established in 1987 as a historical unit, the move is a significant step in the history of the Victoria Police Museum, which is one of fewer than 100 museums nationwide to be officially accredited.

“The museum holds items that are significant in some form or another as they offer a gateway to telling our stories as an organisation and placing those stories in the broader context of the Victorian community,” Ms Miles said.

“Along with material from major events, we hold objects from the everyday work police do.

“The day to day routines that might have seemed average way back in history are now viewed with fascination by our visitors.”

Images Moving parts Museum and Historical Services staff Silvi Kadillari and Jennifer McNair prepare some of the museum's 13,000 items for the big move.

Editorial: Grant Condon Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

BEHIND THE BADGE

ROD MACDONALD Rank: Sergeant Graduated: 1974 Unit: Police: Assistance Line

Why did you join Victoria Police?

Because Brett did. My school mate Brett and I mucked around and failed form 4 (year 10), we repeated it and then did form 5 (year 11).

At the end of form 5, I was not sure what to do and Brett said he was joining the police force. I had done my six years at secondary school so it sounded like a good idea. He joined through recruits, I joined through cadets. He ended up being senior to me, but I stayed in longer.

Tell us about your career.

I started off at Russell Street uniform just after Cyclone Tracy, then went to Sunshine and Ballarat uniform, Ascot Vale Crime Cars, Brunswick Crime Investigation Unit, Major Crime Squad (where I was once at the wrong end of a gun going off), was a sergeant at St Kilda then at the Detective Training School before resigning from Victoria Police after 15 years in the job. I was then out of the force for more than five years before I started again from the constable rank in 1995. I got back to sergeant in two years, went to the Youth Advisory Unit, High Challenge Program, Ballarat D24, Melbourne D24 and finally the Police Assistance Line (PAL).

Tell us about your role at the Police Assistance Line.

At the moment, there are over 2,500 calls to PAL each day. As sergeants, we assist the

call-takers. When we get calls or enquiries that are complex or unusual, we often take over those calls and give advice.

What’s one of the more interesting jobs you’ve worked on at PAL? We once had two New South Wales detectives staying in a motel in Melbourne who rang us wanting to speak to the Melbourne Custody Centre to arrange the collection of a criminal that had to be extradited back to New South Wales. They had hired a rental car and were going to take him to the airport themselves.

Having been involved with extraditions as a detective, I knew there was a proper way to do it, so I arranged with the local divisional supervisor for proper escorts and assistance for them the next morning. It was a call I would not have expected to come through to PAL, but I was glad I was able to help them.

What is the most rewarding part of your work?

Over the years, I think the High Challenge Program gave me some of the most rewarding experiences. It was a three-day camp where we would bring in at-risk young people and team them up with police to break down barriers. I remember debriefing an exercise where police and young people had to lead each other around blindfolded. A police member said that the exercise had really moved him because it helped him understand what life must be like for his young daughter, who had been born blind. I’m also proud and pleased to see what is being done for the mental health of serving police and police veterans. I hope we can continue with that focus into the future. Often we only see the outside of people, we don’t know what is going on the inside, so we need to look after each other.

What was it like working at PAL during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic?

It was incredibly busy with COVID-19 events.

We were being swamped with the volume of information. There were more than 70,000 reports of COVID-19 breaches during the Chief Health Officer’s restrictions. It was great to have Australian Army personnel on the phones here with us to assist and triage most of the calls we had. I don’t see how we would have coped without their assistance.

Image On the line Sgt Rod MacDonald is putting his extensive policing experience to use at the Police Assistance Line.

Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann Photography: Acting Senior Sergeant Tony Creanor

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TRUE CRIME

Unmasking a

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POLICE LIFE | WINTER 2020

The hard work and dedication of the Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) has led to a serial paedophile being handed the largest sentence ever handed down in Australia for child sex offences.

JACET is a team comprised of Victoria Police and Australian Federal Police officers, who work to investigate cases of child exploitation.

The team also works proactively in the online space to reduce child exploitation offences by identifying potential perpetrators before they strike.

In late January, Australian national Boris Kunsevitsky, 53, was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 28 years for sexually abusing 44 children over a period of 16 years, as well as possessing thousands of images and videos of child exploitation material.

It’s the longest sentence in Australian legal history for this type of offending without being dictated by mandatory sentencing requirements.

It was a case that started on the other side of the world in 2010 when images of an unknown male child who appeared to be the victim of sexual abuse were located by German Police and uploaded to the International Child Sexual Exploitation database.

These images were found to have been taken in Australia and were forwarded to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Victim Identification Team (VIT).

It was found that the possible victim resided in Victoria and subsequently the case was taken over by JACET, with Detective Senior Constable Shaun Livori taking lead as the informant on the case.

The team was able to identify the male victim and obtain a statement which identified Kunsevitsky as the offender.

A case was established and an arrest warrant was issued for Kunsevitsky, who was living and working in Singapore at the time.

About a year after the warrant was issued, Kunsevitsky was intercepted by Australian Border Force (ABF) officers in Sydney while travelling back to Australia and a hard drive he was carrying was seized as evidence.

With this, authorities were able to repatriate Kunsevitsky to Melbourne, where he was arrested and presented to the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court to face 18 child abuse related charges.

Kunsevitsky was released on bail and JACET investigators got to work on further building their case.

The team obtained the hard drive but wasn’t able to access all the material it held due to high-level encryption.

Victoria Police’s E-Crime Squad, which provides a specialist capability in the analysis of digital evidence, was enlisted to help break through the encryption.

E-Crime Squad digital forensic analyst Andrew Marriott spent weeks working on accessing a hidden section of the hard drive.

“The level of encryption on the device was fairly advanced,” Mr Marriott said.

“It ended up being a process of listing every strategy we use to break through software encryption and going through them one-byone to find the one that would work on this particular device.”

After more than 170 hours of active work on the device, Mr Marriott finally gained access the hidden section, uncovering a staggering 2,800 images and 490 movie files of personally produced child abuse material.

Det Sen Const Livori then spent more than 900 grueling hours reviewing evidence extracted from the hard drive.

“The offender’s face wasn’t clearly identified in the a large amount of the footage, so it was a process of reviewing every frame to identify objects and items in the room being filmed and matching them to items we had located in a shipping container Kunsevitsky had imported to Australia,” Det Sen Const Livori said.

The images and footage revealed Kunsevitsky sexually offending against male children across several South East Asian countries over a 16-year period between 2002 and 2017.

Det Sen Const Livori, assisted by Detective Senior Constable Monica Hogan, spent several weeks compiling a summary of evidence, which totaled almost 100 pages.

In July 2018, the evidence brief was served, all offences were tallied and a total of 59 charges relating to 44 victims were laid against Kunsevitsky. He pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced in the Supreme Court in January.

JACET team leader Detective Sergeant Neville Major said the level of commitment and work put in by all involved in the investigation was to be commended.

“If it weren’t for their tenacity and dedication to gathering the best case, the length of the sentence against him wouldn’t have been quite as significant,” Sgt Major said.

“It’s not an easy job having to investigate such horrendous crimes, but it’s an important job.

“All the detectives here are extremely experienced and resilient, as you need to be in this field of policing.”

Det Sen Const Livori said the work JACET does exposes members to horrific things, but what keeps him going is results like this, where the work put in leads to justice for the victims.

“Nothing will ever take away the pain and trauma these children experience, but we put everything we have into all investigations so we can get people like this locked away and stop them from committing further offences,” Det Sen Const Livori said.

Image Team effort Det Ldg Sen Const Shaun Livori, AFP Det Sgt Judy Goldsmith and Det Ldg Sen Const Monica Hogan spent hundreds of hours working on the case, which resulted in the largest sentence ever handed down in Australia for child sex offences.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

POLICE LIFE | WINTER 2020

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CAREER IN FOCUS

HEAVY HITTER

For families heading north on a holiday in the 1980s, driving the Hume Highway between Seymour and Wodonga could be a scary gauntlet to run.

Bad behaviour from truck drivers had reached its peak and everyday road users and holidaymakers were often left white-knuckled as they dealt with semi-trailers capable of reaching 160km/h barrelling down the busy two-lane route.

Many truckies were known for speeding, tailgating, drug use, driving over double lines, cargo overloading, insecure loads and travelling together in long, nose-to-tail convoys along the stretch of road.

The community was fed-up.

So the Victorian Government gave Victoria Police the tough task of taming the Hume.

In September 1985, a trucking industry police taskforce was established – the first of its kind in Australia – and among its founding officers was Leading Senior Constable Laurie Carter.

Ldg Sen Const Carter worked in the taskforce – now named the Heavy Vehicle Unit (HVU) – for almost 35 years until his retirement in March this year brought an end to his 50-year career with Victoria Police.

Prior to joining the then-unnamed taskforce, Ldg Sen Const Carter had cut his road policing teeth during several years at the Traffic Operations Group and on a secondment with the Country Roads Board.

It was there he learned important and difficult lessons about road safety that would be formative for his work in policing the trucking industry.

“One of the crashes that stuck with me was a triple fatality in Sunbury,” Ldg Sen Const Carter said.

“A little aluminium ladder somehow jumped out the back of a plumber’s ute.

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“The car that was following swerved to avoid the ladder and crashed head-on with a car coming the other way.

“There was a mum, a daughter and a grandma going to the pictures on a Friday night when they were killed – all because a ladder came off a ute.

“It showed me how important it is for loads to be properly secured.”

The truck taskforce was only planned to last for three months, but such was the impact of Ldg Sen Const Carter’s and his colleagues’ work, it was soon made into a permanent unit.

The unit’s work during patrols and investigations influenced, and was eventually the catalyst for, the introduction of transport industry regulations such the strict enforcement of logbook rules, speed limiting of trucks, banning the use of radar detectors and drug testing.

Other states followed Victoria’s Police’s lead and eventually the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator was established.

“In the early years, we knocked heads with a lot of truck drivers because it was us against them,” Ldg Sen Const Carter said.

“The transport industry has come a long way since then, but unfortunately a small rogue element still exists.

“It doesn’t matter what’s in place, some operators still won’t comply.

“They’ll try to get around things and do things they shouldn’t be doing.

“And when they get caught, they spit the dummy.”

Ldg Sen Const Carter built a name for himself as a firm, fair and effective police officer.

His undercover patrol car even became wellknown among truck drivers.

Upon seeing his car on the roads, they would sometimes dryly greet him over the CB radio.

“Good morning Mr Carter,” they’d say.

His policing efforts earned him the Australian Police Medal in 2008.

But his effectiveness also made him a target for rogue truckies.

“You can still prosecute a guy, prosecute him hard, and the majority of truck drivers will respect that, as long as you’re being fair and respectful.

“I’ve knocked heads with a lot of truck drivers over the years, but I’ve also made a lot of good acquaintances with truck drivers by being fair.”

On one occasion, Ldg Sen Const Carter pulled over and fined a driver who had recently bought a truck from a rogue company.

In the early 1990s, one of Ldg Sen Const Carter’s bosses was driving on the Hume when he overheard two unknown truckies on CB radio conspiring to plant $2,000 cash in Ldg Sen Const Carter’s patrol car if they were pulled over by him and then accuse him of soliciting a bribe.

It was overloaded, un-speed limited and breached other regulations.

“These were a couple of guys who thought, ‘We’ll stitch Carter up, get him off the road’,” Ldg Sen Const Carter said.

In retirement, Ldg Sen Const Carter is looking forward to driving north on a now much safer Hume Freeway for his own holiday with his wife Margaret in their four-wheel-drive and camper trailer.

“The idea was they’d ring up my superiors and say, ‘We’ve just had this copper pull us up. He’s gone easy on us, but it’s cost us $2,000. Go and search his car’.”

The HVU began making real inroads into policing the industry when it gained the support of, and collaborated with, transport industry associations and even truck driver unions.

“The cowboy influence in the industry is now a lot less,” Ldg Sen Const Carter said.

But the veteran policeman says good people skills still lie at the heart of the job.

Part of that is understanding the time and job pressures truck drivers face.

“My job is about being fair with a truck driver and having respect for the work he does,” he said.

“He and I are now actually very good friends,” Ldg Sen Const Carter said.

“But he never lets me forget about the day I cost him a lot of money.”

“I’m lucky I have a wife who loves a campfire, a glass of red and the solitude of the bush,” he said.

As he hits the retirement road, Ldg Sen Const Carter can do so knowing he has the admiration of his colleagues, the respect of the trucking industry and even the ire of rogue drivers for a job well done.

Images Laurie and lorries Ldg Sen Const Laurie Carter has been at the forefront of trucking compliance in Victoria, and indeed Australia, for more than three decades.

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

POLICE LIFE | WINTER 2020

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g in n a e m h t wi h c t a Am 01

02

When stumps were called at the end of this game of cricket, the scoreboard showed a winning team and a losing team.

But in this special match, it was not the result that was important, but rather the resulting impact it has on so many.

The annual Luke Batty Memorial T20 match sees the Victoria Police Cricket Club play an all-stars team from the Tyabb Cricket Club for the Luke Batty Memorial Shield.

The event was initiated in 2015 by Victoria Police Cricket Club captain Sergeant Steven Oates in honour of Tyabb youngster Luke Batty, who was tragically killed by his father in 2014.

“The idea was to honour Luke and support his mother Rosie, along with the Tyabb Cricket Club and wider community. It also helps bring more awareness to family violence issues,” Sgt Oates said.

Luke’s mother and prominent family violence campaigner, Rosie Batty, attends the match each year and said the police and community support displayed at the event makes it something she looks forward to.

While the match is regarded as a special tribute each year, the 2020 contest held a bit more significance, with the creation of a manof-the-match shield dedicated to and named after Leading Senior Constable Paul Topham.

Ldg Sen Const Topham worked at Hastings Police Station and was involved in the initial police response and coronial inquest into Luke’s death.

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03

He is credited by Ms Batty as having been a huge help during some of her darkest days.

Ldg Sen Const Topham sadly died in January 2019, following a struggle with mental health issues.

“With the shield being presented in Paul‘s honour this year, I really wanted to be here as he was such a huge support for me in a terrible time. It was very special to be here with his family for this occasion,” Ms Batty said.

Ldg Sen Const Topham’s wife, children, parents, sisters, nieces and nephews were also in attendance at the match and said it was heart-warming to see the respect and love there was for him.

Sgt Oates said the support for the match from within Victoria Police, along with the Tyabb community, is amazing, with many players travelling from far and wide to attend.

“This year, former Australian cricket player Brad Hodge played on the Tyabb team. It was a huge boost to have someone of his profile come along and show their support for our event,” he said.

04

“Some of our Victoria Police members who played came from hours away, with one member driving from Sale every year to play this match.”

Images United for awareness 01 Members of the Victoria Police Cricket team and the Tyabb Cricket Club all-stars team gather before the match.

02 Rosie Batty, who presented the Luke Batty Shield at match, is pictured with Victoria Police Cricket Club members Adam Drinkwell (left) and Sen Const Greg Todd.

03 Ldg Sen Const Paul Topham’s wife and children were joined by Southern Metro Region Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill before the match.

04 Ldg Sen Const Topham’s parents are pictured with the man-of-the match shield, which was named in their son’s honour.

Editorial and photography: Danielle Ford

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

"The idea was to honour Luke and support his mother Rosie, along with the Tyabb Cricket Club and wider community."

Wellearned rest for Sergeant Sleep During his 44-year career with Victoria Police, Sergeant Trevor Sleep worked on many criminal cases, but one in 1982, involving the attempted bribery of a Catholic priest, taught him a valuable lesson that he’s never forgotten.

“We convinced the priest to set up a meeting with this chap from Sydney who was trying to bribe him at a bank on the corner of Collins and Spencer streets in Melbourne, where he was going to pay him the money,” Sgt Sleep said.

“We sidled into the bank and as soon as we sprung the guy, he was out the door and we were after him. There was a big chase on foot right down Spencer Street through the traffic. We finally got him on one of the train platforms.

“I learned a lot from that job – don’t give a crook the opportunity to run!”

Sgt Sleep’s days of chasing criminals through the streets are now long behind him however, as he has just retired from Victoria Police at the age of 78.

The retirement ends his incredible stint as the force’s oldest serving member, a title he has held for at least the last decade.

“I’ve had an interesting career and covered a wide range of different duties. Not many members have done as much as I have,” he said.

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Working across different departments over the years allowed Sgt Sleep to cross paths with both admirable and unscrupulous people.

“Geoff was looking for a different aspect of life and he loves it. He reckons joining the job is one of the best things he’s done,” he said.

“When doing bodyguard duties in the Protective Security Unit, I escorted former Prime Minister Bob Hawke to the 1990 AFL Grand Final when Collingwood beat Essendon,” he said.

Sgt Sleep is now enjoying his retirement after leaving Victoria Police, but after a literal lifetime in uniform, it’s unsurprising he still holds on to some behaviours developed through events like that 1980s chase through the streets of Melbourne.

As part of the Witness Security Unit, Sgt Sleep looked after high-profile individuals as Crown witnesses. Some were entangled in Victoria’s most significant crimes, including the Walsh Street police shootings and Russell Street police station bombing.

Receiving a Valour Award is Sgt Sleep’s proudest career moment, but one that is also bittersweet. While working as a constable in Broadmeadows in 1979, he responded to a “pretty traumatic” family shooting involving a nine-year-old female victim. Sgt Sleep himself was shot at that night and received the Valour Award for his bravery.

Proud moments have come in the later years of Sgt Sleep’s career too, and he highlights being invited to lay a wreath at the National Police Remembrance Day Service in 2016 as a privilege.

“I still walk into a shop and suss it out straight away,” he said.

“Sometimes I’ll think, ‘That’s interesting, what’s that guy doing over there?’

“You can’t help it because once you’re a copper, you’re always a copper.”

Image Journeyman Sgt Trevor Sleep is retiring after 44 years in the job. At 78, he was Victoria Police's oldest current serving officer.

Editorial: Emily Wan Photography: Grant Condon

Although no longer in the force, Sgt Sleep still has a close connection with the job after he helped recruit his son-in-law Constable Geoffrey Ward less than two years ago.

WINTER 2020 Police Life is produced by the Media & Corporate Communications Department, Victoria Police, GPO Box 913, Melbourne, 3001, Fax: 9247 5982 Online police.vic.gov.au/policelife facebook.com/victoriapolice twitter.com/victoriapolice Email policelife-mgr@police.vic.gov.au Managing Editor Superintendent Jo Dolan Editor Grant Condon

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VICTORIA POLICE LEGACY

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YEARS OF CARING FOR POLICE FAMILIES

 (03) 9663 4280  Toll free 1800 065 999 (country areas)  info@policelegacyvic.org.au  victoria police legacy  policelegacyvic.org.au