Closing complex cases

Editorial: Danielle Ford

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

It was early in the morning of 25 February 2003 when two armed men broke into a travel agency on Burke Road in Kew.

After locking three female workers in a toilet, the men forced a fourth woman, at gunpoint, to unlock a safe that housed thousands of traveller’s cheques in mixed foreign currency.

Still holding the worker at gunpoint, one of the men stuffed almost 2000 cheques, totalling $250,000, into his backpack and forced the worker into the toilet with the other women before fleeing on foot.

At around the same time, Inspector Leigh Howse, then a constable just three years into his policing career, was working as a general duties officer at Richmond Police Station with no idea that a decade later he would be part of the team that would bring these men to justice.

In 2008, Insp Howse (pictured above) was a detective senior constable working in the Armed Crime Squad and was assigned the job as part of a cold case review.

“I was working through the file data and conducting checks to see if we could find any links between this offence and any persons of interest (POIs) in a few other cases around the same time,” Insp Howse said.

Cross-referencing these other cases, he was able to identify two POIs who could be placed in the Kew area around the same time the armed robbery took place.

Using other evidence, including phone records, travel documents, CCTV and multiple search warrants on banks, Insp Howse and his Armed Crime Squad colleagues were also able to place both POIs in Perth at the same time as some of the stolen cheques were cashed.

This kicked off a chain of events that would eventually result in a four-year jail sentence for each of the two men, just days before the 10th anniversary of the terrifying event.

“Thinking about all the cases I’ve investigated throughout my career, this is one that sticks out to me,” Insp Howse said.

Not only was it a complex investigation that took years of meticulous interviewing, evidence gathering and puzzle piecing, but it was a case where I think the victims had lost hope of an answer.

“It was a really significant moment when we got the outcome in court and were able to provide a bit of comfort and closure for the four women.”

It’s a theme that comes through strongly when Insp Howse reflects on his career to date — no matter how horrific or complex the case, it’s the outcome and answers for victims that seem to mean the most.

In 2011, while still with the Armed Crime Squad, Insp Howse was assigned a case where two young teenagers had broken into a 63-year-old-man's house in Shepparton and stabbed him 17 times.

“He was close to dying and was ultimately flown down to the Alfred Hospital,” Insp Howse said.

“I remember turning up to the hospital and speaking to his partner and the very first thing she said to me was, ‘please find who is responsible’.

“You instantly build a close connection with the victim and their families and that makes you want to run a thorough, strong investigation so you can get those answers and find out who is responsible for them.”

In this case, Insp Howse recalls that while investigators were able to identify the offenders and build a solid case, a Supreme Court jury ultimately found one of the accused not guilty of the attempted murder charge despite significant forensic evidence and a statement from the co-accused.

“It’s a case that, while we didn’t get the whole outcome we wanted in court, it sticks with me because the victim and his partner were so thankful we found who had done it and got a conviction for something,” he said.

“I still receive phone calls from him every now and then, almost 15 years later.”

In a 24-year career, most spent investigating armed crimes, homicides, and outlaw motorcycle gangs, you’d expect there to be standout jobs and cases.

But as he’s risen through the ranks and moved into management positions, Insp Howse said some of the highlights in recent years have been playing his part in establishing innovative new teams and taskforces.

In 2020, as a detective senior sergeant, he was part of a two-person team that set up Victoria Police’s Illicit Firearms Squad, the first dedicated firearms investigation unit in Australia.

Two years later, he was part of a three-person team that established VIPER Taskforce, a tactical and investigative unit focused on preventing, detecting, deterring, disrupting and dismantling the criminal activities within crime gangs.

“Helping put these teams into place that support our frontline members to be able to better serve the community and respond to crime is something that really stands out as a highlight of my career,” Insp Howse said.

He said providing support for colleagues — for both work and personal issues — has also become a high priority since his progression into management roles.

You’re trying to find answers for people in their worst times, putting in really long hours as an investigative team, hours spent away from your families, and it can generate a lot of pressure.

“While you remember the jobs over the years, you remember the people you worked with just as much — people who support you not only with the work, but also with personal things.

“So looking after our people has become a big focus for me.”

Having recently become an inspector in Victoria Police’s Legal Services Department, Insp Howse said his move away from crime investigation aligns with his view on “good policing”.

“Being a good police officer isn’t just about chasing and catching crooks,” he said.

“It’s about engaging with people, whether that’s the general community, victims, witnesses or even the offenders, and being able to build the connections to get all the information you need to complete your job.”