Police Life Spring/Summer 2023

Above and beyond

WHEN IT COMES TO CAR CHASES, LOST HIKERS OR SINKING BOATS, GETTING THE AIR WING ON SCENE TAKES POLICE RESPONSE TO NEW HEIGHTS

Show and tell Saltwater support

MUSEUM TO OPEN DOORS

Major moments in Victoria’s history will soon be showcased at the fully redesigned Victoria Police Museum.

The museum will reopen to the public on 25 September with key exhibits on display from Victoria Police’s historically significant collection.

Visitors will be able to experience a completely new space, exploring carefully curated displays on various themes from major investigations to historical and modern policing.

The displays will also showcase the invention of the wireless patrol, a pioneering world-first technology.

Other displays include the much-loved police horse Gendarme’s blanket, sash and bridle, in a section dedicated to police animals.

Specialised museum professionals in the Historical Services Unit designed the space to be an engaging visitor experience that includes interactive displays to touch and explore.

The team worked with more than 20 suppliers to achieve exacting specifications, from temperature controls and museum-grade

materials to customised supports to hold exhibits in place.

Collections manager Claire O’Meara said the team worked with experts during the installation process to ensure each object on display was given individual care and treatment.

“This attention includes specialist preservation treatment to a number of significant objects in preparation for long-term display,” Ms O’Meara said.

“This approach to care has been applied to more than 300 objects.”

Museum curator Amber Evangelista said the museum centres on a story-based approach to exploring significant objects and key moments in time.

“This means including diverse perspectives, with valuable input from former police and experts from other museums, and using the history of policing and the law as a way to examine wider history,” Ms Evangelista said.

Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the museum plays an important part in Victoria Police’s ongoing legacy.

“Understanding Victoria Police’s history is a key part to ensuring we learn from it and continue to evolve,” CCP Patton said.

“The museum details our history and is a great opportunity for visitors to learn and reflect.”

In addition to the many displays, the museum also includes a revamped gift shop offering charity merchandise as well as museum gifts. Entry to the museum at 313 Spencer Street, Docklands is free and visitors are encouraged to check the website for opening times.

Visit policemuseum.vic.gov.au

Image Sneak peek

One of the many displays in the new, redesigned Victoria Police Museum which opens to the public on 25 September.

Editorial: Danielle Ford

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER

Having spent many of my years at Victoria Police in investigative roles, I am always keen to hear about excellent detective work being undertaken by our members.

And while the focus is often on our high-profile crime squads and taskforces in Melbourne, the talent and diligence of detectives at stations right across the state is second-to-none.

This edition of Police Life highlights the commendable work of two detectives from Latrobe Crime Investigation Unit, who left no stone unturned in their bid to solve a 30-yearold missing person case.

I am very proud of their efforts, and the efforts of all our investigators, to solve crime, hold offenders to account and – in this case –give closure to a family after decades spent wondering.

Two of Victoria Police’s youth engagement programs are also highlighted in Police Life

Our updated Schools Engagement Model is helping us strengthen connections with children at primary and secondary schools, while the Embedded Youth Outreach Program is partnering police and youth workers to assist at-risk young people. Both are extremely valuable programs and help to deliver on our key priority of community safety.

Since the Victoria Police Air Wing took delivery of its three new helicopters in June 2020, the fleet has been deployed to more than 30,000 tasks and played a crucial role in more than 3000 arrests and 60 winching tasks.

The volume of work is enormous – be it following stolen cars or erratic drivers, searching for a missing person or flying specialist police to critical incidents around the state.

In this edition, you’ll learn more about the wellestablished link between our eyes in the sky and

police on the ground, along with the exceptional skills and expertise of our Air Wing personnel.

On 29 September, as we do every year, Victoria Police will join members of the community on National Police Remembrance Day to stop and remember our brave colleagues who have died in the line of duty.

This year’s event will have particular significance for our colleagues in the Queensland Police Service, with the loss of Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold in the line of duty at Wieambilla in December 2022, and our colleagues in the Western Australia Police Force, who lost Constable Anthony Woods in the line of duty at Ascot in June this year.

As we pause and reflect at our Victorian remembrance day services, our thoughts will be with the family and friends of those members who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving their communities.

Stay safe.

Commissioner Shane Patton

Chief

"The talent and diligence of detectives at stations right across the state is second-to-none." Keep

DETECTIVE

My dad was also a police officer, and it was a highlight of my time when he was able to attend my graduation and hand me my Freddie. Not only a highlight of my time at the Academy, but still a highlight of my police career.

LEADING

The Academy was 23 years ago for me. I remember everyone had to talk for five minutes in front of the class. My topic was water, and I waffled on for the required time, including a little song. The majority of the class ended up laughing, along with the instructor.

SENIOR CONSTABLE GURPREET KHANGURA State Highway Patrol

Our squad manager asked where everyone wanted to go in policing, and I was the only one who said Highway Patrol. I grew up watching the TV show and the members really inspired me. Years later, here I am doing what I love every day.

WHAT'S YOUR STAND-OUT MEMORY FROM YOUR TIME AT THE ACADEMY?

SENIOR CONSTABLE BREANNA FOWLER Yarra Ranges Crime Investigation Unit

A cold Monday morning parade, someone in the squad forgot their jacket so we all had to wear just our shirts standing in the cold.

INSPECTOR

I have so many great memories of my time at the Academy, surrounded by great people who became life-long friends. Although drill (marching) may sound intense, we shared a lot of laughs as our squad went from a disorganised rabble to a synchronised unit at graduation.

SERGEANT EMILY HUDSON Prosecutions Frontline Support Unit, Legal Services Department

Quickly finding my love for the law which has led to my career in Prosecutions.

CONSTABLE ADELAIDE SHERIFF Sunbury Police Station

The highlight for me was the atmosphere – being in a new environment and going through the same thing with your squad mates. Everyone really rallied behind one another and were super supportive, so it was good fun.

LEADING SENIOR CONSTABLE MICHAEL PEVERILL Mounted Branch

Remedial drills on Friday afternoons, electric typewriter lessons with Miss Dawson, the intimidating glare from the senior sergeant on the parade ground, dining in the mess room and of course our friendly rivalry with Squad 1/2001.

SENIOR SERGEANT PAULA CUTLER

Police Aboriginal Liaison Officer, Wangaratta Police Station

We had to wear baseball caps and one day when I went to the bathroom, I took it off and tucked it in my pocket. Of course, it fell into the toilet. We couldn't walk around without our caps, so I gave it a wash and had to put it back on, soaking wet. It still makes me laugh.

PSO PRASHANT RAVAL Transit West

Sergeant Peter Fraser was my squad manager and from the very first day he was very helpful and approachable. He made complicated things seem easy, and that made him really stand out to me.

TIM HARDIMAN Local Area Commander, Bass Coast

SERGEANT BROOKE MANLEY Armed Crime Squad

SENIOR CONSTABLE ROGER MCCLURE Officer in Charge, Dunkeld Police Station

Hunting

HOLDEN’S

When a story detailing the discovery of a historic Holden hit the national media in May 2011, car enthusiasts were exhilarated and described it as “Holden’s missing link”.

The car’s then-owner Damon Donnelly claimed it was GM Prototype Holden No. 2, the second Holden to ever be created and one of the first three prototypes built in Detroit in the United States in 1946 and shipped to Australia. These prototypes formed the basis of the FX Holden, the first put into production in this country. Unlike Prototype 1, which is one of the centrepiece exhibits at Canberra’s National Museum of Australia, Prototype 2 had been thought long lost until Donnelly went public with it, spruiking it for sale for a whopping $1.2 million.

But when Leading Senior Constable Jordan Brown’s curiosity brought him across the car in 2015, something didn’t seem right.

Working as a detective at the Vehicle Crime Squad (VCS) at the time, Ldg Sen Const Brown combined his investigative skills with his

passion for cars and his vehicle identification expertise from a previous career in automotive sales.

What resulted was a multi-year investigation that would help re-write Australian automotive history.

Ldg Sen Const Brown and his VCS colleagues first became interested in Donnelly in June 2015 over another matter.

While that investigation did not progress, it prompted Ldg Sen Const Brown to do a simple Google search on Donnelly — who had changed his name from Damon Cavalieri after twice being convicted in 2008 for deception offences relating to online marketplace fraud — and discover the 2011 media coverage about Prototype 2.

“Like a person who appreciates art, it becomes a sixth sense to be able to spot a fake,” Ldg Sen Const Brown said.

“And that’s what it was like for me when I was looking at the online article and saw there was a picture of the identification plate on the vehicle that just didn’t seem right.”

Suspecting it may have been an early Holden production car secretly modified to appear like the hand-built Prototype 2, Ldg Sen Const Brown tracked down the new owner of the car, who had bought it from Donnelly for $246,000 about three years earlier.

The owner showed Ldg Sen Const Brown all the documentation Donnelly had provided to him that purportedly confirmed it was the genuine Prototype 2.

This included historic registration records from VicRoads with previous owners' details redacted.

While Victoria Police’s Vehicle Examination Unit took the car in for extensive forensic analysis, Ldg Sen Const Brown took a deep dive into the documented history of the car and its ownership.

Donnelly’s account was that he had bought it in 2009 from the deceased estate of Drouin man and long-time Holden mechanic Gabriel “Victor” Brusco.

Donnelly claimed the name redacted from the registration records was Mr Brusco’s and that Mr Brusco had bought it directly from Holden in 1951.

Based on this origins story, he had the car re-registered by VicRoads in February 2010 under its original Victorian number plates, JP 481, and therefore legally recognised as the long-lost Prototype 2.

But when Ldg Sen Const Brown tracked down the unredacted registration records with VicRoads, it showed the 1951 purchase of the car directly from Holden was actually by a Holden employee called Albert Kleye. Through searching documents at the Public Record Office Victoria, Ldg Sen Const Brown tracked down Mr Kleye’s grandson who was able to turn up a photo of the Kleye family with the car.

Ldg Sen Const Brown dug even further by searching through the engine number cards in a private collection held by the Association of Motoring Clubs, which revealed Prototype 2 had been reregistered in May 1953 to a Maurice Wood with the new number plate of GAB 694.

Mr Wood’s three sons shared stories about the car with Ldg Sen Const Brown but knowledge of Prototype 2’s whereabouts was lost around 1956 when the Wood family got rid of the car.

“Through following every line of enquiry to its nth degree, I was able to prove, through the unredacted documents, that Damon had fabricated a story for his vehicle to try to establish and legitimise it as Prototype 2,” Ldg Sen Const Brown said.

Donnelly’s fake story was further dismantled thanks to the meticulous work done by Forensic Officer Nigel Alves from the Vehicle Examination Unit, who found Donnelly had tried to recreate Prototype 2 by modifying a circa-1951 FX Holden.

“Damon falsified welds along the length of the body of the car to make it look hand-built, but Nigel’s forensic testing showed that these welds had no purpose other than to give the appearance that these panels were handwelded together like with the prototypes,” Ldg Sen Const Brown said.

It was also discovered Donnelly had doctored identification plates on the body and engine of the car, but Mr Alves was able to use restoration methods to recover the original stamped numbers.

Ldg Sen Const Brown’s investigation discovered Donnelly’s car was in fact made largely from parts of an FX Holden he bought in Altona in September 2009.

After more than two years of investigation, Donnelly was interviewed in 2017 and denied any wrongdoing.

Following years of pandemic-related delays, Donnelly was found guilty by a jury at the County Court in August last year of obtaining property by deception.

He was sentenced to three years’ prison, with a minimum of 18 months — one of the longest sentences for a Vehicle Crime Squad case.

Ldg Sen Const Brown said along with exacting justice, he was proud to correct and protect the true history of Prototype 2.

“Damon probably saw it as a chance to make a quick buck, but we're talking about something that is Australia's history, and that’s so important because automotive design and construction in Australia doesn’t exist anymore,” he said.

Images Eye for detail

01 Ldg Sen Const Jordan Brown’s impressive vehicle identification skills came to the fore in this investigation.

02 Welds had been falsified throughout the vehicle to make it appear like a prototype.

03 Ldg Sen Const Brown said the true history of Holden was at stake in this case.

04 Albert Kleye and his family were the first owners of Holden Prototype 2, having bought it in 1951.

Editorial: Jesse Wray-McCann

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann and supplied

VIEW FROM THE TOP

Police are alerted to a stolen car cruising through the crowded streets of suburban Bentleigh on a Wednesday afternoon.

Sergeant Mitch Hawley, the experienced officer leading the police units tracking the stolen Mercedes Benz SUV, carefully considers his options.

“We had the name of a potential suspect behind the wheel so we could have just followed him up later on, but the list of offences to this guy’s name meant we wanted to put a stop to it there and then,”

Sgt Hawley said.

He has a number of units at his disposal — marked police cars if he wants an overt response and unmarked police cars if he wants to sneak up on the Mercedes. Stop sticks thrown on to the road will burst the stolen car’s tyres, but every option comes with a different level of risk.

“If we got too close with any units we could have spooked him and if we threw the stop sticks out he could take off like a cut snake

through a busy shopping strip with lots of people around,” Sgt Hawley said. But there’s another game-changing weapon up Sgt Hawley’s sleeve.

He makes a call to Victoria Police’s Air Wing. One of the Air Wing’s helicopters has just finished refuelling at its base at Essendon Fields Airport and its three-person crew — a pilot and two Tactical Flight Officers (TFOs), one as mission commander and one as systems operator — strides out on to the tarmac.

They fire up the chopper, head south-east and the mission commander TFO radios Sgt Hawley and his ground units to tell them the 25-kilometre trip across metropolitan Melbourne will take them just seven minutes. The systems operator TFO controls one of the most powerful pieces of technology Victoria Police has at its disposal — an interlinked camera and mapping system. While they’re still on their way, many kilometres from Bentleigh, the systems

operator enters into the mapping system the address where the stolen car was last spotted. The camera spins around, instantly locking on to the location and, within moments, the crew spots the stolen car and the people onboard. Using the impressive mapping technology linked to the camera, the mission commander provides constant updates to the ground units. With the chopper now relentlessly stalking the stolen car from the skies, Sgt Hawley can strategise as he watches the camera footage on his iPad.

“Having that aerial platform is key because we’ve got all the time in the world to move our units into the best positions and turn an unplanned situation into a carefully-planned response,” he said.

It’s not long before officers spike the car’s tyres with a stop stick, forcing the suspects on board to soon ditch it and flee on foot.

But with the helicopter watching from above and the ground units all strategically positioned, police quickly have five in custody.

Car chases like this form a large part of the work the Air Wing does across Victoria, with its aeroplane, three helicopters and dozens of drones also doing search and rescue jobs, crime prevention and detection, and rapid deployment of specialist units.

TFO Sergeant Jim Stafford and Chief Pilot Rob Rogel have both been at the Air Wing for more than 20 years and have experienced the full gamut of jobs, sometimes within the span of a single shift.

Sgt Stafford said the tight-knit nature of everyone working at the unit is not by chance, but by design.

“It’s a crew environment where we must have deep trust in the skills and experience of one another, and it’s something we work hard to maintain,” Sgt Stafford said.

“We’ve all got one another’s lives in our hands, especially when we’re doing something like a winch rescue job.”

The different roles of each of the crew members all harmoniously come together as different parts of one body.

The pilot acts as the feet to move them around, the mission commander TFO acts as the voice and ears, and the systems operator acts as the eyes.

Chief Pilot Rogel said seamless coordination both within the aircraft crew and with other police was essential.

“Teamwork between the helicopter and members on the ground, especially during car pursuits, is something we are really getting down to a fine art now,” he said.

“When the helicopter is in the air for one of those jobs, it’s pretty hard for anyone to get away, and it’s really satisfying to play a part in that.”

But by far the best part of the job for Air Wing members are those moments when they find someone during a search for a missing person.

“They’re the jobs that give us the highest satisfaction, not the gung ho jobs, because when you find and rescue someone, it can be a life-changing event for them, their family

and even the community,” Chief Pilot Rogel said.

Former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mick Miller often described a policing career as having a ticket to the greatest show on Earth.

The Air Wing arguably has the best seat in the house.

Images Eye in the sky

01 Taking advantage of the Air Wing's aerial perspective is often the difference in resolving many different kinds of crimes, incidents and emergencies.

02 The Air Wing's fleet of helicopters, aeroplane and drones can handle jobs right across the state.

03 The interlinked camera and mapping system onboard the helicopters and aeroplane means there is very little that can escape the eyes of the Air Wing.

04 TFO Ldg Sen Const Dermot Oakley, who has been at the Air Wing for more than 30 years, carries out pre-flight checks on a helicopter.

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

THE LONG ROAD HOME

While two Victorian detectives were preparing to fly to Western Australia in a bid to find a lead on a 30-plus-year missing person case, they had no clue that a breakthrough was mere days away. Little did they know that, at the same time, police from South Australia were uploading information to a national database that would crack the investigation wide open.

It was early in 1986 when then-35-year-old Robert Mather was last seen by his family. In April of that year, he moved from Morwell to Perth to start a new job after his military career ended due to a knee injury he sustained during service.

In September, he spoke to his mother on the phone, telling her he was heading home to pick up a compensation cheque from the army.

Turning down an offer of a plane ticket, he told his mother he’d make his own way back and that he would see her in a week or so. This would be the last time he was ever heard from or that anyone would know his location — until 2021.

Robert’s missing person case sat unsolved, with next to no leads, for 34 years before Latrobe Crime Investigation Unit Detective Sergeant Mick Van Der Heyden and Detective Senior Constable Michael Fowler picked it up in 2021.

“I was doing admin work and came across the case in our system and saw there wasn’t much recent activity on it,” Det Sgt Van Der Heyden said.

“Both Michael and I had done stints with the Missing Persons Squad and have a passion

for these types of cases, so we decided to look into it.”

Over the years, very little progress had been made on the case, with Robert’s daughter Haley Mather explaining that they would get a routine contact from police every five years or so, but nothing ever panned out.

“I knew a missing person case report had been filed because over the years we’d get an occasional enquiry from different police, but nothing ever came of it,” Ms Mather said.

“I remember the day when Mick and Michael first contacted me about the case, and I recall thinking I didn’t have much hope that anything would come of their queries.”

However, like a dog with a bone, the two detectives were looking at any and every avenue they could to uncover some sort of lead.

“We took familial DNA samples from all of Robert’s known relatives, we spoke to as many people who knew him as we could and we contacted the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to get a hold of any of Robert’s medical records they might have,” Det Sen Const Fowler said.

“Because these records were more than three decades old, this enquiry ended up being a far longer process than we anticipated, because it required ADF employees to manually search through thousands of physical records.”

About eight months after they submitted the request, the ADF sent through Robert’s full intake medical record, including dental records, which were then uploaded to the National Missing Persons and Victim System (NMPVS).

The NMPVS is a national platform for state and territory police and forensic examiners to search and compare long-term missing persons against unidentified human remains.

“From his stints with the Missing Persons Squad, Michael knew just how significant dental records can be, as — along with fingerprints — they are the only completely unique identifiers of a person,” Det Sgt Van Der Heyden said.

“So when we got those records, we contacted the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine to help us put them in the NMPVS on the off chance there was a match.”

While the pair had been waiting for the ADF to provide Robert’s medical records, they had also been following another avenue –Robert’s roommate in Perth.

Thinking that the roommate might have been the last person to see Robert alive, the detectives had built a business case for a trip to Western Australia to follow this hunch.

“We were looking at all possible scenarios at this point, asking ourselves ‘Could it have been a homicide and he is buried under their house in Perth?’,” Det Sen Const Fowler said. “We had actually received approval from our bosses to travel over there about three days before we got a notification through the NMPVS that the dental records were a possible match with unidentified remains from another state.”

While the pair had been right to turn their investigative attention interstate, it wasn’t Western Australia that held the answers to Robert’s disappearance.

Back in 2018, South Australia Police launched Operation Persevere, a project to roll out a new approach to investigating long-term missing persons and managing unidentified human remains.

As part of this operation, all unidentified human remains were audited and, across the span of two years, they were added to the NMPVS.

In a case of chance timing, about a week after the Victorian detectives had Robert’s dental records added to the NMPVS, South Australia Police added records of an unidentified human skull.

South Australia Police Missing Persons

Investigation Section Senior Constable Trevor Schneider said the skull and other human remains had been found in 1995 by a farmer while moving sheep between properties.

“They were under a tree in the middle of roadside scrub about 100 meters from the Eyre Highway, 10km outside of Ceduna — a town on the west coast of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula,” Sen Const Schneider said.

“Initial enquiries were made when the remains were found but nothing came of it, and they had remained unidentified.”

After receiving initial notification of the possible match, further tests were conducted, and it was confirmed in May 2021 that the remains did indeed belong to Robert Mather.

“Due to the location of the remains and how they were found – resting against a tree in the shade – we believe that Robert was hitchhiking back to Victoria and took a break along the way and succumbed to the elements,” Det Sgt Van Der Heyden said.

“It’s sad to think of his life ending in that way but it was a huge relief to have been able to find some answers and be able to bring a little bit of closure to his family.”

Robert’s family was able to have his remains returned to Victoria and, in November 2021, they gave him a burial and proper farewell to his life.

It was closure that was much needed for Robert’s family, particularly his daughter Haley.

She said the outcome of this case had changed her life in ways she couldn’t have imagined.

“To spend my whole life not knowing what happened to my dad or where he ended up to then find out that he actually died heading home to us — it’s really hard to put into words how that impacted me,” she said.

“I’ve had a mix of feelings about my dad and what happened to him for so many years and while we still don’t know exactly how his life ended, we at least have answers about where he was.

“If it weren’t for Michael and Mick’s determination to get answers for us, that wouldn’t be the case, and that’s something I’ll never be able to thank them enough for.”

Images Search across states

01 Det Sen Const Michael Fowler and Det Sgt Mick Van Der Heyden were relentless in their investigation to find Robert Mather.

02 The headstone placed at Robert’s final resting place.

03 Robert in the early 1980s before he went missing.

04 The location in South Australia where Robert’s remains were found in 1995.

Editorial: Danielle Ford

Photography: Danielle Ford and supplied

NATIONAL POLICE REMEMBRANCE DAY

FRIDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2023

On National Police Remembrance Day, police and members of the community across the country pause to remember the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

In Victoria Police’s 170-year history, 175 police officers have died while serving their communities.

Victorians are invited to recognise and pay respects to those officers on Friday, 29 September at the Melbourne service, or one of many to be held across the state. Visit police.vic.gov.au to find out more.

Victoria Police officers who have died in the line of duty

REBECCA CARMICHAEL

Rank: Senior Constable

Graduated: 2016

Station: Maryborough Police Station

Why did you join Victoria Police?

It had been a dream of mine for a long time. My uncle was a police officer and, when I was younger, I wanted to be a mounted police officer because I loved horses. I ended up joining later in life after working in hospitality, running my own café and waiting for my children to leave home, but looking back, I wish I’d joined much sooner. I’ve been in the job for eight years now and I’m absolutely loving it. Can you tell us about your career history?

I was very lucky to graduate from the Academy and land a spot right back in Bendigo, where I’ve grown up all of my life. I really wanted to experience more country towns, so a few years later, I got a position at Maryborough, which is only a 40-minute drive from where I live. Over the journey, I’ve been lucky to act as a sergeant, and in the next few months, I’m planning to get some experience working at one member stations in the area.

What’s it like to be a general duties police officer in Maryborough?

Maryborough is a small rural community, but it’s very hands on. We do a lot of patrolling

around town, a lot of road policing and other jobs like family violence that general duties members across the state deal with. We’re lucky over here that we can really focus on both the jobs we get called out to but also on the community. We have a big farming community and a lot of elderly people, too. Being a small town, everyone comes up to you for a chat when you’re out and about, which is great.

What is your favourite thing about working at Maryborough Police Station?

We have a small station but we’re a very closeknit workplace. Even though it’s a small team, we don’t work with the same person every day and we get to do stints with our local highway patrol and crime investigation unit, so the variety of experience we can get is fantastic. What is a career highlight that stands out for you?

At the end of last year in the peak of the floods happening across the state, I was called to Swan Hill to work for a week. As I was driving to Maryborough to collect my gear, I got flooded in myself. I had to stay in

Maryborough for the night and we ended up evacuating Carisbrook, which is a small local township. The next day, I drove out to Swan Hill and worked the floods, supporting all the senior sergeants and inspectors. It sure was an experience that I’ll never forget.

What’s your advice for anyone thinking about a career in policing?

I would say to anyone thinking about joining later in life like I did, it’s never too late to join. I’m nearly 50 years old now and I can honestly say there’s no reason not to join. This job has so many opportunities, places to go and things to do. Every day is different, and you have the flexibility to focus on wherever your interests lie. My daughter is looking at joining now, so this is the advice I’m giving to her at the moment. I still pinch myself, I’m so happy being here.

Editorial: Cassandra Stanghi

Photography: Brendan McCarthy

Classroom connections

From breakfast clubs and quirky fundraisers to crime prevention sessions and road safety presentations, innovative engagement activities are successfully connecting police and young people in the Wellington Police Service Area.

Led by Youth Resource Officer (YRO) Leading Senior Constable Sarah Reggardo, police in the Sale area regularly engage with about a dozen primary and secondary schools, creating positive connections and delivering important safety messages.

“While we have our more generic crime prevention and safety presentations, I work with some of the schools to tailor presentations to issues they might be facing with their students,” Ldg Sen Const Reggardo said.

“One school had noticed a lot of kids riding without helmets and contacted me to see if we could focus a presentation on riding to school safely to try and combat this issue.”

While she’s the sole YRO in the area, Ldg Sen Const Reggardo often calls for backup from detectives, highway patrol and frontline members.

“The kids get a real buzz out of engaging with members from the different areas of policing and they are able to share their local and policing knowledge with the students,” she said.

Having spent more than 15 years in youth engagement, Ldg Sen Const Reggardo has seen first-hand the impacts of positive relationships between police and young people.

“Some kids have only ever seen police in bad times, which can lead to a negative perception of us,” Ldg Sen Const Reggardo said.

“Getting out and making ourselves available is a great opportunity to show police in a positive capacity and remind them that we aren’t something to be afraid of — instead, we are there to help.

“You can see it at a session when kids are reserved at the start, but by the end, they are chatting with you and eager to ask questions.

“You’ll never win them all over, they are children after all, but you can at least give them a positive interaction so that they feel more comfortable around police in the future.”

Teachers at St Mary’s Primary School in Sale, where Ldg Sen Const Reggardo is a regular visitor, praised the positive impact her sessions have on students.

“The students really engage with Sarah and have a range of interesting and diverse questions on hand for her,” Year 5 teacher Tianna Allison said.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for the children to not only learn valuable safety lessons but to also learn more about the day-today business of police officers.

“It allows them to get a better understanding of the important and, at times, fascinating work police do in our community.”

Connections with schools, like those Ldg Sen Const Reggardo has made, have been in place across Victoria for decades. However, the launch of a new Schools Engagement Model (SEM) in 2021 has helped give police who may not be in a specialist role a better understanding of ways to strengthen connections and even build new ones.

The SEM was developed by Victoria Police’s Priority and Safer Communities Division (PSCD) in consultation with frontline members, educators, youth services providers and young people and helps police support schools in teaching young people about relevant safety issues.

PSCD Superintendent Kelly Lawson said since the SEM was launched more than 1500 school visits had been recorded across the state.

“We know that our members have long been engaging with young people in different ways,” Supt Lawson said. “These are visits to primary schools, secondary schools and kindergartens that range from social events to important crime prevention and safety classes.

“The SEM was designed to encourage this important engagement to continue while also providing consistent oversight of these interactions to ensure they have the greatest impact on our young people.”

Ldg Sen Const Reggardo said the SEM gives members confidence when they first interact with students.

“I know from when I was a young constable going to do my first visit to a school, it can be really daunting getting up in front of a group of kids,” Ldg Sen Const Reggardo said.

“The SEM is great because it allows us to tailor the content of presentations to the needs of our community but gives members a starting structure to follow.”

Supt Lawson said the school visits happening state-wide demonstrated Victoria Police’s commitment to planned and purposeful engagement with children and young people to assist them in staying safe.

“We want to have a positive impact on young people early in their lives — we don’t want our first contact with young people to be when they’re in trouble,” Supt Lawson said.

“Instead, we want our relationships with young people and their families to be based on mutual respect and trust.”

Images Safety sessions

01 Ldg Sen Const Sarah Reggardo has more than a decade’s experience in youth engagement and regularly visits schools in the Wellington area to run safety and information sessions.

02 / 03 / 04 Ldg Sen Const Reggardo and Ldg Sen Const Chris King visit St Mary's Primary School in Sale to chat with students about road safety.

Editorial: Danielle Ford

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

Half a century of history

Today it’s known as the spiritual home of Victoria Police, but in 1973 the Victoria Police Academy was a new addition to the organisation’s physical footprint.

After purchasing the Glen Waverley site from Corpus Christi College, Victoria Police moved all its foundation training from the old St Kilda Road Depot to the Academy in April of that year.

In the five decades since the first recruits took up residence, more than 30,000 police officers, protective services officers (PSOs) and police custody officers (PCOs) have started their Victoria Police journeys at the Academy.

In addition to foundation training, the Academy also houses most of Victoria Police’s specialist and advanced training courses.

As the head of People Development Command

(PDC), Assistant Commissioner Kevin Casey was the custodian of the Academy for the past 10 years, prior to his retirement in August 2023. He likens it to a family home - borrowing some words from the classic Australian film The Castle.

“In the words of Darryl Kerrigan, ‘It’s not a house, it’s a home’,” said AC Casey, who undertook his own recruit training at the Academy 46 years ago.

“It’s more than just a group of buildings. You don’t know where in the state you will end up throughout your career, but the Academy is that one place where every police officer, PSO and PCO will spend time.

“It is also the place where we gather for our proudest, happiest and saddest occasions from awards ceremonies and graduations to

funerals. It’s a place we come back to for many occasions throughout our careers.”

As the Academy itself has developed over the years from a single building to more than 10, so has the type of training offered at the complex.

In 1973, recruits undertook 20 weeks of foundation training solely at the Academy. Now, recruits complete a 31-week course which includes multiple stints at police stations and work units.

The Academy also houses specialised training centres including the Centre for Law and Operational Development; Centre for Operational Safety; Centre for Road Policing Investigation; Centre for Incident and Emergency Management; the Promotional Programs Unit, Centre for Professional Policing; Detective Training School and the

1 April 1973

About 200 staff and recruits moved into the Glen Waverley site, marking the beginning of Victoria Police’s foundation training at the Academy.

7 December 1973

The Premier and Governor of Victoria attended a graduation at the Academy to officially open the site.

October 1979

An Olympic-sized swimming pool was built, allowing police recruits to increase their water fitness during training.

1 September 1986

The newly-built C Block was opened, marking the first major expansion of the Academy’s buildings.

March 1988

The first squad of protective services officers (PSOs) commenced training. The squad of 20 formed the Protective Services Unit.

Centre for Family Violence — to equip members with the skills needed to work in today’s modern policing environment.

To reflect on 50 years of the Academy, Police Life and the Victoria Police Library Service have put together this tribute, which marks significant moments in the complex’s history.

Images Moments in time

01 Recruits assembled on the parade ground.

02 Former Chief Commissioner Mick Miller in the expansive hallway of the Academy's main building.

03 Police practising in the on-site firing range in 1992.

04 An ariel view of the Academy's main building from 1973.

05 The Family Violence Training Centre is the newest addition to the Academy's buildings.

06 Retired AC Kevin Casey pictured in the Academy chapel.

Editorial: Danielle Ford

Photography: Steph Pitts-Clark and supplied

March 2003

An updated Operational Safety and Tactics Training facility opened, housing a shooting range and a purpose-built training village that replicates a suburban area.

November 2011

Following the creation of the Transit PSO role, the first squad began a 12week training course.

May 2013

A mock train platform was built to better enable police and Transit PSOs to hone their operational skills in a real-world setting.

December 2015

The first squad of police custody officers commenced training, with the new role established to support police with custody duties at stations state-wide.

26 April 2019

The specialised Family Violence Training Centre, where police take part in scenario-based training simulating real-life situations, was opened.

TRAINED EYE TO THE

From menacing letters to counterfeit fine wine, Victoria Police’s Document Examination Unit has almost seen it all.

Since its establishment in the early 1960s, the small team has played a vital role in the inspection of more than 50,000 unique items.

But one of the unit’s senior document examiners, Forensic Officer Kylie Edwards, says the team’s name is often misunderstood.

“A lot of people assume we only deal with pen and paper,” Ms Edwards said, “when, in actual fact, we do so much more.”

The Document Examination Unit examines text of all kinds, whether it’s handwritten, printed or digital. It also has the ability to reconstruct shredded documents, uncover markings and reveal hidden messages.

“The unit works with exhibits, usually pieces of evidence, from police officers and detectives,” Ms Edwards said.

“Once an exhibit has been vetted and delivered to our facility, we familiarise

ourselves with the associated case and begin the examination process.”

While the process varies depending on the type of document or item delivered, the main goal is to gather as many facts as possible.

That’s where the unit’s state-of-the-art technology comes into play.

“Our examination tools and equipment are a huge part of what we do,” Ms Edwards said.

“One day we might be using infrared light to look at the differences between inks, and the next we could be using computer software to piece together a bag of shredded documents.”

Despite being a small team, the Document Examination Unit is a powerhouse of knowledge.

Their understanding of complex scientific principles combined with their skill in conducting in-depth forensic examinations is a great asset to frontline members.

Police out in the field, for example, might have a hunch about the author

of a handwritten land title, but for that hunch to mean something in court, a document examiner needs to conduct an independent examination to confirm or refute the theory.

That process can take anywhere from days to months, depending on the type of examination required.

“The time it takes for our team to process an exhibit from beginning to end depends on the complexity of the examination we need to conduct, as well as the number of high-priority cases we’re juggling at the time,” Ms Edwards said.

“Comparing handwritten text on a post-it note to a sample of the suspect’s handwriting may not take too long, but reconstructing a 100-page document is a very different story.”

Then there are ‘connected’ exhibits.

When an exhibit sent in to the unit is linked to tens, or even hundreds, of other items, it often hints at the scale of the investigation at hand.

For many, the thought of having to comb through containers of evidence would be overwhelming.

But for the unit’s longest serving document examiner, Senior Forensic Officer David Black, it’s just another day in the office.

“It’s all part of the job,” Mr Black said. “It’s not unusual for us to receive dozens of notes that were written on the same notepad, handfuls of letters suspected to be written by the same individual, or bags of shredded paper.”

But when Police Life asked Mr Black about the cases that stood out over his career to date, he recalled a time when something a bit different came across his desk.

“I was asked to examine a few bottles of wine,” Mr Black said.

“Counterfeit 1990 Grange Hermitage a very fine, expensive wine produced by Penfolds.” These days, a bottle is worth about $1500. So when police were notified that it was circulating for a whole lot less, an investigation ensued.

“According to the case notes I received with the bottles, the Grange was first identified as counterfeit when it was taken into a collectors wine merchant for evaluation,” Mr Black said. “A man had managed to get his hands on a few dozen and wanted to get one priced by a wine auctioneer, probably thinking he could make a quick profit.”

But what the man didn’t consider was that there could be an error printed onto the label, which would set off alarm bells for the evaluator.

“There was a spelling mistake on the back,” Mr Black said, “and when the man realised the evaluator had picked that up, he made a run for it.”

As Mr Black expected, jumbled up letters weren’t the only reason the bottle had been pinged as counterfeit.

“I compared the labels on the bottles to a label from some real Grange and found that the barcode had been printed in the wrong colour, so it had definitely been forged,” Mr Black said.

“But more importantly, I also managed to find out where the counterfeit wine had come from.”

Using a suite of scientific methods, Mr Black was able to uncover a marking on the bottle which police investigators used to establish where the wine had been produced.

“It was a great result,” Mr Black said. “Police were able to use the findings we presented to take the people behind the whole thing to court.”

In 2023, the unit continues to support police by examining items of all shapes and sizes whether paper-based, digital, or made of grapes.

Ms Edwards, who works closely with Mr Black, said it’s the variety that makes the work so interesting.

“We get to examine all kinds of evidence,” Ms Edwards said, “and we all really enjoy it.”

“At the end of the day, whether we’re looking at counterfeit wine, establishing the legitimacy of a driver’s licence, or studying a document linked to a violent crime, we know we’re doing our bit.”

Images Solving crime with science

01 Forensic Officer Kylie Edwards and her colleagues have access to a wide range of state-of-the-art equipment in their laboratory at the Victoria Police Forensics Centre.

02 Senior Forensic Officer David Black has worked on many memorable cases throughout his career with Victoria Police, but some stand out more than others.

03 It didn’t take long for the Document Examination Unit to determine that this bottle of counterfeit Penfolds Grange was a fake.

04 One of the many high-tech tools at the Document Examination Unit's disposal.

Editorial: Lane Mihaljevic

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann and Scott McNaughton

On-call for life support

couple of hours of her passing to ensure the organs and tissue remained viable.”

In cases where donor organs are flown in from other states, on-the-ground transport is needed to get them from the airport to the hospital and, when the transplant is time critical and needs an urgent, lights-and-sirens convoy, the TSU is called upon for help.

On occasions where they are required, TSU members meet the plane on the tarmac to receive the organ before transporting it to the major hospital where the transplant surgery is being performed.

They also assist with the transport of urgent blood samples from regional hospitals to Melbourne for compatibility testing.

Transport Support Unit Acting Sergeant Marty Challis said it’s a job that the team was extremely honoured to do.

“In 2022, we did more than 30 jobs for DonateLife and it’s amazing to think that’s 30 lives we have played a small part in saving,” A/Sgt Challis said.

The team has a dedicated marked police vehicle for the service but when they can’t assist for any reason, local police are called upon to help with the transport.

“If the TSU is not able to provide a response we can call upon a local highway patrol to perform the transport,” A/Sgt Challis said.

Western Health donation nurse Meaghan Bruns said the transport service provided by the TSU, and other Victoria Police members, was invaluable to the organ recipients and hospital staff.

“Whenever we call them to assist, they are always so willing to do whatever is needed and go above and beyond to make the transport process seamless,” Ms Bruns said.

“It’s such an important part of the process that ensures we are able to get life-saving organs to recipients in the most efficient way.”

When a police car drives by with lights flashing and sirens blaring, it’s not always on its way to a crime scene, accident or major incident.

For members of Victoria Police’s Transport Support Unit (TSU), activating the lights and sirens often means they have life-saving cargo onboard.

The unit provides an urgent transport service to DonateLife, getting donor organs and blood products to wherever in the state they are needed — to people like Aaron Alsop, who received a life-saving and life-changing kidney transplant late last year.

Born with a genetic kidney disease, Mr Alsop had been on dialysis for a year as his kidney health slowly deteriorated into failure, and he was eventually placed on the transplant list. It was 2am in December 2022 when he got the call that a donor kidney was on its way to Melbourne, and he had to get to the hospital for surgery.

“After getting the call, it was all systems go and, by 6am, I was checked and prepped for surgery,” Mr Alsop said.

“I was told afterwards that the kidney had been transported from interstate and I was blown away by how it was timed to get from one part of the country to another in time for my surgery.”

Former police officer Rob Clemmens knows how important the timing of the organ donation process is — however from the other end of the process.

Just hours after his wife Katie was tragically struck by a car, and knowing she wasn’t going to make it, Mr Clemmens made the difficult decision to donate her organs.

“As a nurse, Katie spent her life helping people so I knew she would want to continue doing that after her death,” Mr Clemmens said.

“It was a decision we had to make within a

Images Moving donations

Ldg Sen Const John Clark, Rob Clemmens, Meaghan Bruns, Aaron Alsop and A/Sgt Marty Challis have all been a part of the organ donation process at different stages.

Editorial and photography: Danielle Ford

VICTORIA POLICE BY THE NUMBERS:

$7.3 M

was the original Victorian number plate in the 1950s for the second ever prototype car made by Holden. Read more about a criminal investigation into the historic car on Page 6.

is the sum of the Victorian Government’s recent investment in Victoria Police’s Embedded Youth Outreach Program. Read more about the program on Page 24.

30,000 2021

is the year Operation Soul Surf was launched by Sergeant Barry Randall. Read more about the program supporting the mental health of police on Page 30.

0.05

is the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit for fully licensed drivers in Victoria. Learn more about staying safe while driving at police.vic.gov. au/road-safety

is the approximate number of police officers, protective services officers and police custody officers that have started their careers at the Victoria Police Academy. Read more about the Academy’s 50-year history on Page 16.

764,000 31

people follow Victoria Police on Facebook. For all the latest community safety updates, visit facebook.com/ victoriapolice

is the number of weeks Victoria Police recruits spend training to become a police officer. Find out more about the recruitment process at police.vic.gov.au/policerecruitment-process

HOMICIDE SQUAD

will celebrate 80 years in October. The Victoria Police Homicide Squad, comprising of 76 members, is responsible for investigating suspicious deaths.

COURTING SUCCESS

Learning to fly came a lot easier than learning to swim for Sergeant Khurram Chaudhry, but it was just another problem to be solved on his path to becoming a police officer.

After overcoming the embarrassment of being in the slowest lane at the aquatic centre with the under 10s, it was a driver illegally using his mobile phone that was to be the catalyst for setting the direction of Sgt Chaudhry’s career.

But that’s not where his story begins.

Born in Pakistan, Sgt Chaudhry moved to Santa Monica and later Raleigh, North Carolina in the United States to study mechanical engineering shortly after completing his secondary education.

It was while in the US that Sgt Chaudhry was able to fulfil a life-long ambition.

“Since my early teens, I've had a passion for aviation and being in the US meant I was able to take flying lessons, which was fantastic,” Sgt Chaudhry said.

Sgt Chaudhry returned to Pakistan in 2006 with a degree in mechanical engineering and a commercial pilot’s licence. It was a far cry from the courtrooms of Melbourne.

“In Pakistan, it is very much about following in the footsteps of your parents, rather than following your passions,” he said of his decision to work as an engineer.

The turning point came when Sgt Chaudhry witnessed a violent crime committed on a busy street in Lahore.

“By that time, I was married and our first daughter had been born,” he said.

“Seeing that crime take place in broad daylight, I knew I wanted to bring my family up somewhere safer.”

And so began the search for a new country to call home. The shortlist was the US, Canada or Australia.

Having a friend who was already established in Australia helped him make his decision.

It was a 16-month process, with Sgt Chaudhry, his wife Annam, who was pregnant with their second child Zimal, and three-year-old Zoya arriving in Australia in November 2011.

“I had envisaged that I would be able to get a job in engineering,” he said.

When no opportunities came through, Sgt Chaudhry reflected on what else he would like to do.

“While in the US, I had really liked the idea of becoming a police officer. To do this, I would have had to take up citizenship and give up my citizenship in Pakistan, which wasn’t an option at the time.”

With more than a spark of interest, he started to explore the recruitment process for joining Victoria Police.

“I fell at the first hurdle because I had never learned to swim, which is one of the components of the fitness test,” Sgt Chaudhry said.

Undaunted, he investigated the process of becoming a protective services officer (PSO), graduating from the Victoria Police Academy in January 2013 at the age of 29.

“Becoming a PSO was a great learning experience for me and working closely with police officers gave me a taste of what life could be like.”

And so, he hit the swimming pool.

“I started taking swimming lessons and practised until I could meet the fitness test requirement of 100 metres in under four minutes.”

By February 2016, Sgt Chaudhry successfully completed the bridging course for PSOs to become police officers.

His first posting out of the Academy was at Fitzroy Police Station, which is when he wrote that fateful ticket for a man driving while using a mobile phone.

“It was one of the first infringements I ever issued as a probationary constable,” he said.

“Because the driver decided to contest it in court, I had to appear as an informant.”

It was that day in court that Sgt Chaudhry was introduced to the idea of becoming a police prosecutor.

“The police prosecutor was brilliant that day and I thought, 'This is what I want to do'.”

A little over a year later in 2019, Sgt Chaudhry started with Prosecutions Court Branch, firstly at the Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court and more recently at the Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court. His first crime case was against someone accused of a $94,000 deception.

“I was up against two very experienced barristers, which was really daunting. It was quite a complex case, and it can become quite hostile in the courtroom, so you need to be able to stay calm.”

Sgt Chaudhry was up to the challenge, winning the case for the prosecution.

Along with the theatre that can occur in the courtroom, Sgt Chaudhry said he enjoys the challenge of being up against defence barristers and the technicality of legal arguments.

“There is an art to advocacy, which allows me to use my analytical skills to advantage.”

Last year, Sgt Chaudhry received the prestigious Janelle Tran Award, which recognises a person in Victoria Police’s Courts and Specialist Prosecutions Division who promotes a workplace of respect and embraces the differences of all people through positivity, support and inclusion.

Sgt Chaudhry said the award was the highlight of his career.

“I am so proud to be a member of Victoria Police and to be able to advocate for victims of crime. To receive the award was such an honour.”

Image On the case

Sgt Khurram Chaudhry has found his calling as a police prosecutor.

Editorial: Nadine Lyford

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

Reaching Out

Sixteen-year-old Sam* is an unlikely poster child for Victoria Police.

The teenager had disengaged from school and was struggling with substance use and poor mental health.

Sam’s first encounter with police was when members visited her home after reports of family violence. Sam had been violent towards her father and younger sibling and had damaged family property.

Senior Sergeant Robbie Adams, from Werribee’s Proactive Policing Unit, has seen it all before: a teenager with the potential to repeatedly offend, appear in the courts and be processed in the system.

“We’re very much aware of the patterns that vulnerable young people can find themselves in,” Sen Sgt Adams said.

“A lot of these young people have horrific backstories and are then confronted by

members in uniform. There’s a lot of fear, even if they don’t show it.”

In Sam’s case, Sen Sgt Adams’ unit was in a unique position to offer on-the-spot support from Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS), as part of the Embedded Youth Outreach Project (EYOP).

EYOP aims to reduce youth offending through early intervention by partnering youth workers with police.

The program brings youth workers to police jobs that involve at-risk young people aged 10-24, bringing real-time support to vulnerable youths.

Sen Sgt Adams believes the program is vital to preventing youth crime.

“It's progressive, innovative, but at the same time, it just makes common sense,” he said.

“The police member and the youth worker have very different approaches, but they complement each other and both aim for early intervention.”

Attending Sam’s home that night was YSAS youth worker Luke McConnell, who knows the importance of making a good impression on a young person.

“You have to be very good at building rapport with them within 15-30 seconds, because that small window will determine whether or not they’ll accept your support,” Mr McConnell said.

“When we arrived, Sam was out the front in a heightened state, pacing back and forth. There was still a lot of commotion inside the house, which the police were dealing with.

“I let her know that I understood she’d been going through a lot of stuff and that I was there to support her.

“She then raised her head and her body language changed, which told me she was open to engaging. She felt like someone was genuinely asking her about her circumstances.”

Mr McConnell was able to offer support services on the spot that he hoped would set Sam on a different path and keep her out of the judicial system.

Short-term accommodation was immediately arranged to place her in a more suitable environment away from dysfunctional family relationships.

Ongoing support included a referral to a specialist legal service for adolescent violence in the home, youth drug and alcohol counselling and housing support services.

EYOP has been running in Wyndham, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong, Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia local government areas for nearly five years and has worked with more than 1200 young people like Sam in the past year.

At EYOP’s inception, Victoria Police commissioned the Centre for Forensic

Behavioural Science (CFBS) at Swinburne University to conduct an evaluation of the project.

After two years of data collection, CFBS released a report in 2020 that looked at the journeys of all 784 young people engaged in EYOP.

The evaluation found a 9 per cent reduction in the annual offending rate in EYOP clients with a history of offending.

In comparison, a matched control group of young people not engaged in EYOP displayed an increase in annual offending.

In May this year, the Victorian Government committed a further $7.3 million in funding to expand EYOP to Shepparton, Brimbank and Melton.

Sen Sgt Adams believes the expansion highlights the importance of preventative policing.

“I have seen EYOP in action and am so pleased that other communities will benefit from it,” he said.

“If it wasn’t for EYOP arriving at these jobs, where would the intervention be for that young person?

“What hope would they have that their behaviour will change? With the opportunity to engage young people, there is hope.”

As for Sam, who is working full-time and saving to buy a car, the future is looking brighter.

*Name has been changed to protect identity

Image Prevention better than cure Sen Sgt Robbie Adams and youth worker Luke McConnell are supporting at-risk youths in the Werribee area.

Editorial: Sarah Larsen

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

"YOU HAVE TO BE VERY GOOD AT BUILDING RAPPORT (QUICKLY), BECAUSE THAT SMALL WINDOW WILL DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THEY'LL ACCEPT YOUR SUPPORT."

No wool over Tom’s eyes

A passion for helping his community was the catalyst for First Constable Tom McGrath’s switch from farm life to frontline.

A fourth-generation farmer on his family’s 103-year-old broadacre Wimmera property, Const McGrath grew up helping with planting and harvesting wheat, barley and lentil crops and managing thousands of sheep.

After high school, he was encouraged into the shearing sheds by his father, where he quickly built his skills with a handpiece – and a high tolerance for hard work.

“It was one of the hardest things I can remember doing physically, finding that I couldn't stand after 10 minutes, and then realising there was another seven hours and 50 minutes of the day left,” Const McGrath recalls.

“It was very challenging mentally and physically, although that feeling of pushing your body to the limits is addictive.

“I would work on shearing one sheep every two minutes, which included the catching and dragging of the sheep.

“When you see the sheep come into the shed with their wool on and then see them out the back freshly shorn, that's really satisfying because you can visually appreciate your efforts for the day.”

With a huge shortage of experienced shearers worldwide, Const McGrath travelled around Australia and overseas for work, finding new jobs within minutes through social media groups.

And with the industry paying per sheep shorn, it’s lucrative work for skilled shearers.

But with a strong interest in advocacy work and working towards “the betterment of society”, he knew his true calling lay outside the farm gates.

“Back home in the Wimmera I was involved with youth advisory councils and young farmer councils,” Const McGrath said.

“I get a lot of joy from being able to assist and advocate for people, sometimes people that aren't able to help themselves.

“I asked myself, ‘How can I do this rewarding work while getting paid?’, and I thought ‘Hey, I can join Victoria Police’.

“So, I went through the Academy doors in 2019 and that was my goal, to get into community engagement work.”

Const McGrath admits he found general duties policing a challenge, as he juggled his empathy towards all people, even those who “struggle to make good decisions”, with his duty to enforce the law.

After completing short stints at Preston and Epping police stations along his policing journey, Const McGrath now works in Transit and Public Safety Command's Transit Proactive Unit, which suits him “to a tee”.

His role involves community engagement operations like Safe PL8, where police hand out anti-theft number plate screws while chatting with the community, and discussing rail safety at train stations with kids and adults alike.

“It’s very rewarding being able to help and advocate for others, especially when the outcome will be a positive one,” he said.

While enjoying his current role, Const McGrath said he was a country boy at heart, and the pull to return to his rural roots was strong.

He still helps out on the farm, using his nine weeks’ leave each year to pitch in with shearing and other tasks.

“Ideally, I’ll build my policing skills here (in Melbourne) to be able to transfer to a country station in the next three to four years,” he said.

“I don’t have a specific area in mind, but I would prefer a smaller station where I can really get to know the local community.”

And while his career means he’s now hundreds of kilometres from the Wimmera, Const McGrath said the skills he mastered on the farm have given him the confidence to handle anything that comes his way.

“I’ve wrestled 140kg sheep around the shearing shed and out in the open paddock, so there’s not much that phases me.”

Image Cut above

A desire to make an impact in his community led Const Tom McGrath away from the shearing sheds to a career in policing.

Editorial: Emily Wan

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

Finding her calling

As a teaching graduate, Inspector Amanda Bowden never imagined she would eventually find herself delivering training to a room full of police officers.

Teaching classrooms of teenagers, including a few who had no interest in the English and Indonesian classes she was running, was nearly enough to make the then-21-year-old swear off the profession for good.

“I was academic in school and got a high score at the end of Year 12, but I just didn’t know what to do with it,” Insp Bowden said.

“Teaching was my fall-back and after six months of doing it full-time, I quickly realised it wasn’t for me.”

The decision to change her career path wasn’t an easy one for Insp Bowden.

“When I left teaching, I thought I’d made a mistake — I felt I'd just wasted the last four years of my life and earned two degrees for nothing,” she said.

Insp Bowden then channelled her interest in fitness and helping others into a career as a personal trainer.

Among her many clients was a police officer who, along with two other gym members in the job, inspired Insp Bowden to think about a career in policing.

“These three women were all so intelligent and inspiring. I just thought, ‘I want to be like them,’” she said.

At age 24, Insp Bowden graduated from the Victoria Police Academy, with the three mentors who put her on the path proudly watching on. She went on to enjoy the first couple of years

of her career in general duties at regional police stations, including her native Bendigo, Sunbury, Kyneton and Maryborough before being asked by an inspector if she had considered a role in the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT).

“I hadn’t really thought outside of regional policing, but I ended up spending a day with CIRT and thought I’d give it a shot.”

In her three years at CIRT, Insp Bowden particularly enjoyed the challenge of working as a negotiator and in close personal protection for local and foreign dignitaries.

“It’s a lot of responsibility but also an amazing experience seeing the behind-the-scenes of major events and being directly responsible for someone’s safety,” she said.

From CIRT, Insp Bowden moved on to the highly specialised Chemical, Biological and Radiological and Disaster Victim Identification Unit.

“Whether it’s safely managing suspicious powders, pulling apart a meth lab or training other members on how to deal with hazardous materials, the work is so varied,” she said. Insp Bowden’s philosophy of giving everything a go then saw her take on stints in Transit and Public Safety Command and Road Policing Command, as well as frontline management roles at stations in the North West Metro Region.

Upon landing in her current role as North West Metro Region’s training inspector, the coincidence was not lost on Insp Bowden.

“I’ve come full circle from teaching to now coordinating training for more than 3400 police officers in our region,” she said.

Are you made for more?

Are you looking for a career where you can reach your potential and make a difference?

Ever get the feeling you could be made for more?

Victoria Police is recruiting now for an additional 502 police officers to meet the growing needs of the community.

A career with Victoria Police is made for ambitious people looking for more challenges, more purpose and more possibilities.

The majority of Victoria Police members work as general duties police officers, who are first to respond when community needs arise, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You could be part of the team that makes a difference to the Victorian community every day.

If you’re made for more, apply now. Visit police.vic.gov.au/police

“I have a real passion for member development, so I think it’s a really good fit for me.”

As for what has kept Insp Bowden in policing for the past 15 years, variety is the key.

“Policing is effectively 100 different jobs in one, and for someone like me who enjoys new challenges, the best part about this job is that every two years you get to reinvent yourself,” she said.

“There are just so many opportunities.”

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

Image Teacher by trade Insp Amanda Bowden’s current role as North West Metro Region’s training inspector keeps her busy.

Editorial: Cassandra Stanghi

stalkingStrengtheningresponse

When Jane* met a guy at a bar and, after a couple of hours of casual conversation, exchanged numbers with him, she never could have imagined the terrifying ordeal that would unfold.

In the following days, Jane exchanged a few messages with the man, but alarm bells soon began to ring.

Infatuated with Jane, the man started sending her messages about getting married and having children with her.

When she stopped messaging him, he began contacting Jane’s friends and family through social media, and even went as far as finding her home address and sending a bouquet of 99 red roses to her on Valentine’s Day.

At this point, Jane contacted local police to make a report because the man’s obsession with her was causing stress and taking a severe psychological toll on her.

Police began investigating and accessed the man’s phone, which contained hundreds of screenshots of images of Jane, graphic descriptions of fantasies and messages he had sent her.

Using an evidence-based tool currently being trialled at Victoria Police, investigators were able to assess the man’s behaviours and develop an investigation plan that ended with him being locked up before the offending escalated.

Led by internationally-acclaimed investigative psychologist Cleo Brandt and Senior Sergeant Matthew Flood, a Stalking Project Team was established in 2022 to support the areas trialling the tool, called Screening Assessment for Stalking and Harassment (SASH).

Victoria Police is the first policing jurisdiction in Australia to use the SASH tool.

Using 16 evidence-based risk assessment questions, the tool enables frontline and specialist police to dig deep into the behaviours and psyches of stalkers to predict the likelihood of them escalating to violence.

This information is then analysed by police, trained by the project team, to establish an offending pattern rather than looking only at individual incidents, with the main priority of ensuring the victim’s ongoing safety and stopping the stalking.

Stalkers who are categorised as high-risk or complex are put under close investigation by local detectives, who will regularly engage with the victim and offender to ensure the victim's safety.

Low and moderate-risk stalkers are managed by frontline police, with oversight of detectives.

Ms Brandt, who helped embed the SASH tool in the Netherlands, said the pilot helps police better identify the ‘red flags’ that indicated a victim was in danger.

“When a stalking victim makes a report, it is often for the one thing — the most frightening thing the stalker has done,” Ms Brandt said.

“If police do not know to ask relevant follow-up questions, they can end up charging the stalker with one offence, such as breaching an intervention order or making threats, and not realise it is part of a broader pattern of problematic behaviour that needs addressing.”

The tool and response model are currently being trialled in Stonnington, Latrobe and Geelong police service areas and more than 400 officers have been trained as part of the pilot, which was recently expanded to cover a greater scope of cases.

Initially, the pilot focused just on non-family violence-related stalkers, such as ‘unsuccessful suitors’, like the man in Jane’s case. However, in February 2023, the project expanded to include all cases of stalking, with Family Violence Command Assistant Commissioner Lauren Callaway acknowledging the importance of protecting victims.

“Stalking is stalking, regardless of the relationship to the offender,” AC Callaway said.

“This project will help our police better recognise and understand stalking behaviours, which will improve early intervention and increase safety for any victims.”

*Name has been changed to protect identity

Editorial: Danielle Ford

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Front row seats: Detective Sergeant Amanda Evans, Sergeant Scott Wilkinson and Detective Senior Sergeant Daniel Sirianni on the hallowed MCG turf for Hawthorn Football Club’s Emergency Services Match.

All terrain: Heyfield police visit Howitt Hut in Victoria’s alpine region.

Best foot forward: Chief Commissioner Shane Patton and Sergeant Glenn Holland at the 2023 Angela Taylor Memorial Run/Walk.

Top of the class: First Constable Blake Rhodes at Karingal Primary School for Walk Safely to School Day.

Team effort: Leading Senior Constable Tyneal Lawson and Sergeant Shane Janssen conducting preliminary breath tests.

Like mother, like son: Leading Senior Constable Mandy Baker and Senior Constable Jake Baker at the Mounted Branch.

Making connections: Sergeant Sensible engaging with the community in Benalla.

When it comes to healing the mind, there is no quick fix. But Sergeant Barry Randall has learned that a little saltwater can help.

Sgt Randall describes his policing career as nearly 30 years of “high highs and low lows”.

Just nine months into the job, Sgt Randall attended a fatal shooting incident.

At a time when mental health was rarely acknowledged, he was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and turned to alcohol to manage his anxiety and insomnia.

“I can recall senior members telling me to get back on the horse and that WorkCover would be a black mark on my records,” Sgt Randall said.

“It felt like a choice: look after your mental health or your career, but not both. Thankfully, that’s changed a lot over the years.”

At a crossroads so early in his career, Sgt Randall decided to relocate from his station in Wodonga to the coast.

Born in New South Wales, Sgt Randall grew up by the ocean. He was a member of the local

surf life saving club and an avid surfer. “Water for me is very calming — it resets my brain,” he said.

“I wasn’t too familiar with Victoria, so I opened a Melway and pointed to the Mornington Peninsula.”

Sgt Randall made the Peninsula home and was stationed at Rosebud. He met his wife, started a family and made surfing a weekly ritual once again.

While Sgt Randall knew the benefits of surfing for his own wellbeing, it wasn’t until he watched a documentary on surf therapy that he had a lightbulb moment.

Soon after, Operation Soul Surf was born.

Sgt Randall reached out to East Coast Surf School, local surf outlets and sponsors to set up programs designed for first responders and military veterans.

Each free program includes four twohour lessons and a post-surf meal where participants bond over shared experiences.

“There wasn’t a clear mission at first. I just spoke to some ex-coppers and veterans who said they were keen to have a go,”

Sgt Randall said.

“Learning to surf is very physical, very immersive. They can get out of their own heads for a while, which resonates with so many of us.

“Word of mouth spread and people started asking how they could join. I’ve since taught members from as far as Echuca.”

Acting Sergeant Phil Davis, who recently completed a Soul Surf program, said it gave him time to “get outside of myself and be among the elements”.

“We spend so much of our time trying to control everything around us, particularly on the job,” A/Sgt Davis said.

“The sand and the waves do their own thing and have done for millions of years — being reminded of this helps with anxiety.

“The waves made sure we looked ridiculous, but that was the point. It was about relinquishing control, trying something new and doing it together.”

Since launching in 2021, Operation Soul Surf has supported 120 first responders and veterans impacted by PTSD and trauma.

Sgt Randall said many participants have since incorporated surfing into their lives.

“I always joke I should’ve called Operation Soul Surf ‘Smiles for Miles’ instead. It’s hugely rewarding seeing so much joy brought to these people," he said.

Images When salt heals wounds

Sgt Barry Randall (below left) has supported 120 current and former emergency services members through Operation Soul Surf.

Editorial: Sarah Larsen

Photography: 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

CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT ACADEMY EMPOWERING WOMEN OF COLOUR

More than 30 years have passed since Assistant Commissioner Tim Hansen graduated from the Victoria Police Academy as a fresh-faced constable – and now he’s returned to Glen Waverley in the top job.

AC Hansen has taken the reins of People Development Command (PDC) from Kevin Casey, who retired from Victoria Police after 46 years in August.

Retired AC Casey spent the past 10 years at the helm of PDC, during which more than 10,000 police recruits graduated from the Academy.

AC Hansen (above right) said he was excited to lead the command responsible for the training and development of Victoria Police personnel.

“PDC’s role in guiding people through their very first day of training at the Academy, then through various courses and programs at each level of their career, is the reason the Academy is seen as the spiritual home of Victoria Police,” he said.

“Kevin has been an incredible custodian of PDC for the past decade, so I have big shoes to fill.”

Since joining Victoria Police in 1989, AC Hansen has gained experience in a variety of policing roles including general duties, road policing, investigations, strategy and community.

His most recent role was as Assistant Commissioner of Service Delivery Transformation Command.

Retired AC Casey (above left) was one of two Victoria Police Command members to depart the organisation in winter after many years of service. Former Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent left in July to take up the role of Commissioner at Emergency Management Victoria.

Victoria Police has become the first emergency services jurisdiction in Australia and New Zealand to establish a Women of Colour Network for its employees.

The official launch of the network was held earlier this year, attended by representatives from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, Victorian Public Service Commission and Victorian Multicultural Commission.

The network’s executive sponsor Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam said the group has a strong vision.

“This network is an opportunity to further support women in our workplace and for them to know that they are seen, heard and have executive advocacy,” DC Steendam said.

“We want to break down the barriers for women of colour in policing and strengthen their representation right across the workforce.”

During the launch event, Women of Colour Network chair Tia Pirihi (above left) and deputy chair Senior Sergeant Maha Sukkar (centre, pictured with network committee member Amber Evangelista) spoke about how and why the network was established.

Ms Pirihi said the network would support the collective voices of women of colour, in a culturally safe and inclusive environment across all levels of Victoria Police.

JOURNEY TO POLICE CAREER FAST-TRACKED

Prospective recruits may find themselves at the Victoria Police Academy a lot sooner than expected, with potential barriers to applying removed for some groups.

People under the age of 21 no longer need a formal qualification to apply for the police role, with the Victorian Certificate of Education or equivalent requirement removed.

There is also an entrance exam exemption for applicants with prior policing experience in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom and certain Australian university graduates whose policing or education experience is within the past five years.

Recruiting Services Branch Acting Inspector Mark Chapman said the standard required to become a police officer remains the same.

“We are simply opening doors to people who already meet the standards of the entrance exam and allowing other applicants to apply and sit the entrance exam if they are still required to do so,” A/Insp Chapman said.

Earlier this year, applicants began undertaking several components of the application process concurrently, instead of the previous arrangements, which required each step to be completed before moving to the next.

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