The Victoria Police Magazine
August 2011
AUGUST 2011
INSIDE
CONTENTS REGULARS 05 BEHIND THE BADGE 06 ODD SPOT 27 PICTURE THIS
TACTFUL TALK The skills of a negotiator
35,17 3267 $33529('
TEXTING & DRIVING
29 WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
A YOUNG MAN’S STORY HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE
FITNESS TEST
PLUS > MOUNTED BRANCH > TRUE CRIME > POLICING FAMILY
31 NOW AND THEN
COVER: VICTORIA POLCE NEGOTIATORS wear uniforms or plain clothes depending on the situation. Photograph: Shane Bell. POSTER: COUNTRY POLICING Policing in Bairnsdale offers variety. Photograph: Shane Bell. Police Life is produced by the Media & Corporate Communications Department, Victoria Police, GPO Box 913, Melbourne, 3005. Fax: 9247 5982. Online www.facebook.com/policelife www.police.vic.gov.au/policelife Email policelife-mgr@police.vic.gov.au Editor Janae Houghton Journalists Maria Carnovale Blue Taylor Graphic Design Vetro Design Pty Ltd Subscriptions 9247 5419 ISSN 0032-2598L Crown Copyright in the state of Victoria. For permission to reprint any part of this magazine, contact the editor. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Victoria Police.
COVER STORY Police negotiators are crucial when it comes to critical incidents. See story on page 8.
08 CONNECTING THE COMMUNITY 12 Spending time in Bairnsdale. 18 Preparing for the police fitness test. 22 Out on patrol with the Mounted Branch.
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18 A SAFER VICTORIA
VALUING OUR PEOPLE
10 The dangers of texting and driving.
26 Chief commissioners’ driver retires.
20 Peninsula sex offender caught.
28 Meet a policing family.
24 Police get tough on hoons.
29 A Homicide detective turns superintendent.
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MESSAGE FROM THE ACTING CHIEF COMMISSIONER A
major Victoria Police priority is to make our railway station precincts safer for commuters. Local police stations have ramped up patrols around these transport hubs and we have introduced a dedicated Transit Team, which is doing a great job keeping commuters safe. To add to this, Victoria Police is about to start recruiting and training 940 Protective Service Officers (PSO) to patrol train platforms at night. A big part of the transit PSOs’ job will be to improve the public’s perceptions of safety around train stations. I am confident that for commuters using our rail system after dark, getting off the train and knowing there will be two armed PSOs there will give them confidence and a sense of security.
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AUGUST 2011 POLICELIFE
The PSOs will not only make people feel more protected, but along with the other police responses, will work to reduce crime and make our transit system safer. For many years, PSOs have worked hard to keep public buildings and our courts secure. This broadened role will make them even more important as we all work to ensure our community is a safer place. As you will read on page 3 of this edition of Police Life, applications for these significant jobs have opened and I look forward to welcoming the new PSOs into our organisation. KEN LAY, APM