In Brief

New top cop in Road Policing Command

The new head of road policing in Victoria, Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir has a simple vision for keeping people safe on the roads.

“There are three parts to it: drive road trauma down, encourage people to self-regulate their behaviours on the road but, if they don’t, the last part is to hold them to account,” AC Weir said.

Educating and empowering the Victorian community to make better decisions on the road is a high priority for AC Weir in his new role at Road Policing Command.

After more than 40 years of policing experience, it’s a message he is keen to drive home by capitalising on Victoria Police’s strong relationships with external road safety partners.

“There’s a saying we hear often, that we can’t enforce or arrest our way out of a problem, and I think that’s certainly true in the road policing space. I’d rather people self-regulate their behaviour than us having to do it for them,” he said.

In the immediate future, AC Weir’s priorities lie in reflecting on how the coronavirus pandemic has changed the road policing operating model and considering how Victoria Police can enhance road safety in a COVID-normal environment.

“Let’s reflect on what we’ve done, whether it worked, why or why not and use those reflections to drive an operating model that keeps Victorians safe on our roads in a new-normal environment,” he said.

As the public campaign for the Police Assistance Line and Online Reporting platform relaunches, Victoria Police is hoping to see significant behaviour shift in the community

The 131 444 number and online reporting service allow you to report non-urgent crimes or events 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Superintendent Mark Porter said the channels provide the community with an alternative and convenient way to contact police.

“We want people to save the 131 444 number in their phone and make sure the online reporting website is bookmarked on their devices, so in the event of a non-urgent crime they are prepared,” he said.

“This media campaign is about ensuring the community know which channels to use when making a non-urgent report – similar to how they would think of calling Triple Zero (000) in an emergency.”

For more information, visit police.vic.gov.au/palolr.

Criminal Proceeds Squad makes record seizure of cryptocurrency

Earlier this year, Victoria Police seized almost $8.5M in cryptocurrency as part of an ongoing investigation into online drug trafficking.

Detectives from the Criminal Proceeds Squad seized cryptocurrency valued at $8.498M at the exchange rate at the time, which is an Australian law enforcement record.

The seizure was made during the execution of several search warrants at properties in Kinglake, Preston, Prahran, Dollar and South Yarra with assistance from East Gippsland Crime Investigation Unit and Bass Coast Crime Investigation Unit.

A number of items were seized from the addresses including drugs believed to be cannabis, Psilocin (magic mushrooms), MDMA, prescription medication and white powder and crystals.

Police also restrained two properties in Kinglake and Dollar valued at about $2M, as well as vehicles including a Toyota Prado and VW T-Cross valued at about $100,000. The total value of the seized assets as part of this investigation so far is believed to be $13.1M.

The arrests and seizures form part of an investigation by the Cyber Crime Squad and Criminal Proceeds Squad into drug trafficking on a dark web platform dating back to 2012.

The Victoria Police investigation commenced in early 2021 after information was provided to police by a federal agency. The investigation remains ongoing.