4 minute read
Behind the badge: Steven Willer
Editorial: Emily Wan
Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann
How do you uncover the truth about what really happened at a scene when all that remains is charred, damaged, or completely destroyed? Has a crime even occurred?
An Arson and Explosives Squad detective tells Police Life you need a well-trained eye and analytical mind to separate fact from fiction, because things aren’t always as they appear.
When I left school, I went to university and ended up becoming a high school teacher but joining Victoria Police, more so as a detective,
was always in the back of my mind. It was something that interested me in terms of the challenges of policing and the types of crime investigations that occur.
Being a detective meant I would still be working in a field where you can give back to people and help people, which is what I wanted in a career. So, after teaching for 10 years, I joined Victoria Police.
The variety and the diversity of work the squad covers. We investigate bushfires, fires involving fatalities, or arson-related fires suspected of involving criminal offences. Jobs could also be related to explosives, so someone actually building a complex explosive or someone who is found playing with explosives or fireworks.
You get to learn a lot of different skills and be involved with many different organisations like the Victorian fire services and State Emergency Service, and Victoria Police units like the Major Crime Scene Unit, Bomb Response Unit (BRU), and the forensic chemists.
We’re a squad that covers the whole of Victoria, so you get to travel across the state for work which I also enjoy.
My role is to investigate anything that falls into our squad criteria and also to assist divisional Crime Investigation Units and divisional policing units with their investigations of lower-level fires and explosives incidents.
I investigate fatal fires, whether they be bushfires, structural or car fires, and arson, which can be deliberate or accidental. I also investigate jobs relating to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and leads that we receive about someone who holds an IED or has access to one, and army ornaments if someone’s in possession of them.
With most investigations, you don’t know what you’re walking into, so you don’t know at the start if it’s actually a criminal investigation or if it’s going to end up being a coronial matter. It’s not cut and dry when you first turn up, so it takes a lot of investigation to work out what has actually occurred.
A very simple job could be solved within one day. Some jobs can literally take years or decades to solve purely because of the complexity of them.
As a squad, we also educate our police colleagues and the community by conducting lectures, courses, and workshops with fire services like the Country Fire Authority or local police units. Prior to the Victorian fire season, we run a roadshow and visit all the regions and divisions to talk about the upcoming fire season,
do briefings, and conduct debriefs. We also help with running the arson courses held at the Victoria Police Academy.
Det A/Sgt Steven Willer enjoys the challenges that come with the Arson and Explosives Squad's intricate investigations.
A lot of the jobs I investigate are interesting, but more so regarding the challenge aspect. One of the most interesting challenges is the scene itself. There was a job where an IED was detonated in a south-eastern suburbs park in the middle of the night. The park area exposed to the explosion was more than 10,000 square metres. Identifying the area where the IED was detonated, the type of device it was, and the possible area fragments could have travelled to was challenging. We were looking for evidence and fragments which could be smaller than a five cent piece. Deciding what was rubbish and what was connected to the incident was difficult because devices often involve everyday items in their construction.
We used line searches to find evidence and fragments, and drones to identify fragments that had landed in nearby backyards and on top of house roofs.
We worked closely with BRU and the explosive chemists to ensure the scene was safe and there was nothing dangerous still out there, while still preserving as much evidence as possible. Luckily no one was injured.
Most of the time I’m fairly involved in indoor hockey and field hockey, because I play and coach both. I’ve been the Australian men’s indoor hockey coach since about 2016. There’s a Men’s Indoor Hockey World Cup which is held every three years. The last one was in 2018 in Berlin where we finished fourth, which was our best ever position. The next World Cup is planned for February 2021 in Belgium. Hopefully we can do a bit better and get onto the podium with a medal this time.
