The glass shard
“He just looked at it, went white, and said: ‘I cannot believe I’ve just pulled this out of your head!’ ”
“The most memorable moment I’ve had in my 17 years of service is delivering a baby. I had no idea what I was doing but it was 2:10am so I just put my gloves on and told her to push. Not many people can say they’ve done that.”
– Margaret Little, Constable, Tasmania Police
“Asan older female recruit, and at a time when there weren’t a lot of women in the service, it was incredible to find myself in a situation early in my career that called for my maternal instincts. My male partner wasn’t game enough to come into the birth room. Being a mother myself, I just tried to keep her calm. I got to hold this beautiful baby girl and even guessed the weight.
“They certainly don’t teach you how to deliver a baby at the academy.
“Out in the community, there’s no rhyme or reason. This is both exhilarating and exhausting but being able to come home to the support and safety of my family makes it possible. I met my husband while I served in the army reserves for 12 years. We have three wonderful daughters, all who encouraged my dream to transition into the police service.
“When I became a police officer, I welcomed a second family into my life. If anything happened, my blue family was there for me – a death in the family, multiple knee surgeries, and supporting my foster son who has complex needs. They’re the scaffolding behind everything that makes me a good police officer.
“Police Health are an extension of my blue family. To have Police Health put my foster son as a dependent on our policy and to be recognized as a member of the family is the best way to describe
the level of personal support. He’s already had two operations in his life, both of which were covered by Police Health, no questions asked.
“Due to wear and tear, years of physical work and getting older, my knees have suffered. I’ve had 17 operations across both of my knees. My body rejected the first implant in my left knee. My right side has a crater in it, so I’m mentally preparing for the operation and recovery.
The Little family has received more than $235K in benefits from their Police Health policy.
“There are a lot of opportunities to stay in the service, which I’m thankful for. I’ve been moved from the front line to Radio Dispatch Services.
“Because it’s a state-wide service, we never know what calls we’re going to take. Much like any other policing role, it’s about forging a community connection. It’s not just sending a car, but more, making someone feel like they’re not alone. Sometimes, I’m the only person they talk to all week. The role has taught me the value of compassion, patience, and the power of listening.
“I’m able to open my heart and time to these people, because my blue family and Police Health have got my back. When I joined Police Health, I never expected to have issues with my knees. You never know what’s around the corner. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been in hospital. Police Health has always been there for me.
“As officers, we’re exposed to situations the general public isn’t. It’s comforting to have Police Health as a support that’s always there, in what’s a very unpredictable field.”
EDITOR
It isn’t so unusual to see a recruit collapse on the parade ground after standing motionless for long periods during graduations and other ceremonies But few of us ever expect to hear about a strong, able-bodied cop, under no apparent pressure, passing out at home.
It happened to Southern District brevet sergeant Brett Harrison in his bathroom almost 10 years ago. And it might never have been such a big deal had he not done so much serious, life-threatening damage to his body in the fall.
In a special interview, he relives the morning of his collapse and explains how some of his injuries went undiscovered until a week later He also goes deep into his past from which he brings up a painful story of abandonment
Water Ops sergeant Kevin Doecke was delighted to see his son graduate last month, particularly after watching his daughter do the same in 2018 Keon and Georgia explain why they followed their dad into policing and whether Water Ops will ever figure in their careers
Probationary Constable Rosalyn Smith also graduated last month and, for her, it was both a joy and a relief She had endured a lot of hardship to remain unvaccinated in 2020-21 and could barely believe her day had come.
Police Association assistant secretary Steve Whetton takes another look at the SAPOL district policing model and the critical, obvious need for a review.
Police Association president Mark Carroll outlines the purpose of the Premier’s Taskforce and its importance to police
Brett Williams
brettwilliams@pj asn au
Publisher: Police Association of South Australia Level 2, 27 Carrington St, Adelaide SA 5000 T (08) 8212 3055 F (08) 8212 2002 www.pasa.asn.au Editor: Brett Williams (08) 8212 3055 Design: Sam Kleidon 0417 839 300 Advertising: Police Association of South Australia (08) 8212 3055 Printing: Finsbury Green (08) 8234 8000
The Police Journal is published by the Police Association of South Australia, 27 Carrington St, Adelaide, SA 5000, (ABN 73 802 822 770). Contents of the Police Journal are subject to copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the Police Association of South Australia is prohibited. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editor. The Police Association accepts no responsibility for statements made by advertisers. Editorial contributions should be sent to the editor (brettwilliams@pj.asn.au).
August 2022
14 The glass shard
It was a simple fainting spell but it left Brevet Sergeant Brett Harrison lacerated, broken, and with his life in danger.
22 Police work a family affair
Since Keon Doecke has followed his dad, Kevin, and sister, Georgia, into policing, almost every member of the family is now a cop
24 The mandate controversy finally behind her
Getting to graduation day after months of employment uncertainty and isolation, Rosalyn Smith could not wipe the smile from her face.
COVER: Brevet Sergeant Brett Harrison. Photography by Steve McCawley.
Julian Snowden
Chris Walkley
Darren Mead
Michael Kent Treasurer
Bernadette Zimmermann Secretary
COMMITTEE
Wade Burns Deputy President
Daryl Mundy Vice-President
Leonie Schulz
Trevor Milne
Police Association of South Australia
Level 2, 27 Carrington St, Adelaide SA 5000 www.pasa.asn.au
P: (08) 8212 3055 (all hours)
E: pasa@pasa.asn.au
Membership enquiries: (08) 8112 7988
Samanda Brain
Anthony Coad
Brett Williams Editor Nicholas Damiani
Mark Carroll Andrew Heffernan Member Liaison Officer
Nadia Goslino Grievance Officer INDUSTRIAL PRESIDENT
Steven Whetton Assistant Secretary
Anne Hehner Andrea Mather Sarah Stephens EXECUTIVE SECRETARIES
Wendy Kellett Finance Officer
Shelley Furbow Reception
POLICE A S S OCIATION OFSOUTH AUSTRALIA
Police Association of South Australia
REPRESENTATIVES
Superannuation
Mark Carroll and Michael Kent
Police Dependants Fund Bernadette Zimmermann
Leave Bank
Andrew Heffernan
Country housing Andrew Heffernan
Commissioner’s Office Health Safety & Welfare Advisory Committee Steven Whetton
Legacy Julian Snowden
Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Intersex members
DELEGATES & WORKPLACE REPRESENTATIVES
Metro North Branch
Elizabeth Nick Sipovac
Gawler
Golden Grove
Andrew Wearn
Darren Quirk
Henley Beach Sean Hobbs
Holden Hill
Cameron Scott
Northern Prosecution Tim Pfeiffer
Parks
Nadia Goslino and Andrew Heffernan
Metro South Branch
Adelaide Paul Blenkiron
Hindley Street Dick Hern
Netley
Norwood
Matthew Sampson
Salisbury Stuart Smith
Country North Branch
Ceduna Anthony Taylor
Coober Pedy
Clinton McClure
Kadina Gavin Moore
Nuriootpa Andrew Dredge
Peterborough Nathan Paskett
Port Augusta
Port Lincoln
Port Pirie
Paul Clark
Jason Griffin
Southern Prosecution Sallie McArdell
Southern Traffic Joshua O’Dwyer
Sturt
Country South Branch
David Handberg
Adelaide Hills Joe McDonald
Berri
Mount Gambier
John Gardner
Robert Martin
Naracoorte Michael Hutchinson
Renmark
South Coast
Peter Hore
Mark Heading
Gavin Mildrum
Whyalla Paul Velthuizen
Crime Command Branch
Adelaide Alex Grimaldi
Forensic Services
Kristin Enman
Fraud Sam Agostino
Intel Support Robert Alderson
Major Crime Alex McLean
Port Adelaide Scott Mitchell
South Coast Scott Milich
James Bentley
Andrew Bradley
Operations Support Branch
Dog Ops Bryan Whitehorn (chair)
Academy
Band
Melanie Smith
Adam Buckley
Comcen Vilija Sabeckis
Human Resources Eugene Wasilenia
Mounted Ops Sonia Wellings
STAR Andrew Suter
State Tac/Op Mandrake Duncan Gerrie
Traffic David Kuchenmeister
Officers Branch Les Buckley
Women’s Branch Kayt Howe (chair) (no delegates)
Premier’s Taskforce to address numbers, recruitment, planning
The Police Association proposed the creation of a premier’s taskforce as a major, ongoing solution to the SAPOL staffing crisis
Our proposal came before the March state election, and the state government has since confirmed the creation of this body
This is an outstanding outcome for members
I will lead the association representation on the taskforce along with Deputy President Wade Burns. Other representatives will include Commissioner Grant Stevens, Police Minister Joe Szakacs and other key members of SAPOL and government
The purpose of the taskforce is twofold:
• Review and make recommendations on increasing the number of sworn police officers and protective security officers recruited over the next decade
• Assist SAPOL’s planning in respect of ever-expanding populations and districts
Premier Peter Malinauskas has indicated that the taskforce will provide him with reporting that addresses the need for resources to “ensure that SAPOL can meet its legislated responsibilities and deliver community safety through the next 10-15 years”
It is also clearly evident that the extra 168 PSOs need to become a permanent fixture within SAPOL. The association will push this proposition when the taskforce convenes.
PRESIDENT
Mark Carroll
The introduction of protective security officers was also an initiative we worked on last year to address chronic staffing shortfalls at the height of the COVID-19 response
Along with committing to the creation of the taskforce, the government is conducting a review into extending the funding for the existing 168 PSOs.
I have also raised with Grant Stevens the possibility of streamlining the recruiting processes to ensure SAPOL is not unnecessarily turning away potential recruits
We will continue to work with the government and, indeed, on the taskforce to ensure these sorts of positive outcomes continue for members.
In the meantime, we have suggested other shorter-term solutions to Commissioner Stevens to implement for the current shortages
Rolling out the response extended-hours roster and combining the district policing teams with the response teams are both long-overdue solutions
SAPOL is yet to proceed with the extended-hours roster despite huge support for the model which it first trialled in November 2020.
The overwhelming majority of members endorse the roster.
It is also clearly evident that the extra 168 PSOs need to become a permanent fixture within SAPOL The association will push this proposition when the taskforce convenes
None of the movement on these issues would have come about were it not for the intervention of the association
But the work desperately required in this area cannot be left entirely up to us. SAPOL must acknowledge how widespread these problems are and commit to working with us on the solutions we have put forward
Age of criminal responsibility
The SA Greens recently introduced a bill designed to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibly in South Australia from 10 to 14
The Police Association has publicly opposed this action.
The Queensland Police Union has already undertaken some excellent work on this issue.
A Queensland parliamentary committee did not support a similar bill and concluded that there is more work to be done before raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility
We hold the same view
Mechanisms already exist within SA law and set an extremely high bar of criminal responsibility for 10- to 14-year-old children. Incarceration of young people in this age bracket is hardly at endemic levels.
Raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 will merely increase the catchment group of potential recruits to organized criminals
In all probability, it will condemn these recruits to a lifetime of crime and the consequences that will inevitably flow to the individual, to victims and to society
Our state needs improved earlyintervention strategies aimed at addressing the core reasons young people commit crimes.
And we fully support sophisticated and co-ordinated responses aimed at addressing the factors that characterize many young offenders
These are all issues which require an urgent, concentrated, properly funded and co-ordinated national response
They will not be substantively addressed through simplistic standalone measures such as those proposed in the recent bill.
Just imagine it’s a young child who gets hit in the head with a flying beer can, seriously injured, and hospitalized. How will SAPOL, the government and the SMA then justify their approval of this totally unnecessary safety risk?
Sale of cans at Adelaide Oval
The SAPOL decision to support the Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority’s recent amendment to its liquor licence is a staggering about-face
The SMA sought the amendment to enable it to recommence selling cans of beer at the stadium.
The debate over the safety risk posed by the sale of cans at stadia was, in reality, settled a long time ago
Everyone involved in this decision knows as an absolute matter of fact that drunks, thugs and others at sports grounds have used full cans of beer as projectiles, both in Australia and around the world
This is why cans have been banned in Australian stadia for years
Despite all this, Commissioner Grant Stevens simply dismissed member concerns about their safety and instead sided with the SMA .
The ugly incidents of the past — when drunkards pelted full cans of beer at police officers, players, patrons and officials — are bound to happen again
In fact, the SMA even warns patrons at the ground not to use dangerous projectiles So it is fully aware of the risks
Just imagine it’s a young child who gets hit in the head with a flying beer can, seriously injured, and hospitalized How will SAPOL, the government and the SMA then justify their approval of this totally unnecessary safety risk?
The SMA has never appeared to be upfront about the real reasons it sought the adjustment to its liquor licence. It claimed that selling cans would be more environmentally friendly. But this surely is not the full story
Frankly, I doubt that many South Australians buy the SMA proposition that this action is about saving the environment
And the SMA has not adequately answered questions about whether the action is a marketing decision designed to increase revenue
So, it should be up front about the real reasons for the amendment
In the meantime, the Police Federation of Australia has written to the major sporting unions around the country to seek their support in opposing any return to the sale of beer cans in Australian stadia.
PRESIDENT
Mark Carroll
“He just exuded strength and calmness, and that’s what got me through that situation.”
A police ray of light
“I have always had a profound respect for the work of police, I do hope my story goes some way in explaining how their support, care, and dedication can literally change the course of someone’s life, as it did mine.”
Letter to the President
Dear Mark
Thank you so much for your recent letter about my contribution to the Police Journal (A police ray of light, June 2022). Your words meant a great deal to me, I am quite frankly humbled by your praise. When I chose to take the plunge and draft this book (A dolphin called Jock) after so many years, I was terrified of “putting it all out there ” People told me that I should consider my reputation and my employability before sharing intimate details of my life I knew though, I had to write my story and be transparent and unflinching when describing the raw, painful, often ugly truth I couldn’t sanitize it or filter it – I was not prepared to sugar-coat my experiences for the sake of making the book more “comfortable” to read. I am fully aware of the pitfalls associated with exposing my life this way, but I have always been an “all or nothing” kind of gal and never afraid of taking a risk I genuinely hope the resulting book resonates with others trapped in the nightmare of domestic violence and offers some hope about moving forward, finding joy and purpose
I am so proud that I could acknowledge Peter Dunstone’s amazing role in helping me through the most horrific part of my life He had such an impact on me at the time and I hoped that one day I would be able to thank him properly. I just didn’t realize it would be 35 years later! He deserves every bit of positive feedback he receives In my mind he is a hero I am privileged to now consider him a friend
I am also delighted that, in some small way, I’ve been able to convey to your members just how important their work is particularly with victims of crime who are at their most vulnerable I have always had a profound respect for the work of police, I do hope my story goes some way in explaining how their support, care, and dedication can literally change the course of someone’s life, as it did mine.
I also want to acknowledge the remarkable work of Brett Williams. He has been a joy to engage with . While interviewing me for the article he showed enormous empathy, sensitivity, and emotional intelligence. He is such a professional and quite the perfectionist – a critical quality when putting together such a publication Brett wrote his article with his audience in mind, which is always the first rule of exceptional storytelling He was kind, thoughtful and, at times, even funny! I loved presenting the promotional (Facebook) video with him
Brett’s thoughtful and thorough article caught the attention of many of my colleagues including a man I consider to be one of the best writers in Australia, Brad Collis. Brad has authored Snowy and The history of the CSIRO, he was also the person I chose to quote on the cover of my book Brad said of Brett’s article – “The best spread yet! Different angle So impressive!” That is high praise coming from Brad Collis
Now my memoir has been released and the publicity drive is winding back, I am considering what the next phase of my life holds Regardless of where I land, should you ever need me to assist in the future, please don’t hesitate to contact me. If my story can be of further help in raising the issue of domestic violence and the importance of police in this space, please let me know. Again, thank you for your letter, for Brett’s significant work, understanding and professionalism and, importantly, your continued support for your members who contribute so much value to the SA community
Kind regards Melody
Horrill
The glass shard
As a seasoned cop and accomplished martial arts fighter, Brett Harrison had an air of invincibility about him. It just never seemed possible that he would ever faint and end up horrifically injured.
By Brett Williams
BREVET SERGEANT BRETT
Harrison lay flat on his broken back on the tiled floor of the small bathroom in his suburban home He was just now waking from unconsciousness Dazed, vomiting and in pain, he had inexplicably passed out on that May morning in 2013
His fall to the floor had left him with compression fractures to four of his vertebrae His head had smashed into and shattered one of two closed glass doors in a vanity unit
And he was not yet aware that a shard of glass, still firmly attached to that unit, had punctured, and penetrated deep into, the back of his head. In fear of passing out again and choking on vomit still in his mouth, Harrison thought to roll away from the vanity unit.
But that was a move with a serious risk The vanity unit door – and the glass shard holding him to it – might simply move with and restrain him Or the glass might break off and remain in his head
Still, it was likely an even bigger risk to lie there on the floor and do nothing So, in desperation, Harrison did try to roll away, to his right And, sure enough, as he made his first slight move, the vanity unit door opened and did indeed restrain him.
He moved back to his original position and, as he did, the door closed. Harrison gave it a few more attempts but the door simply opened
and closed with each of his back-and-forth movements.
So, the glass had not only skewered but also trapped him. And, up to that point, Harrison had no grasp of what was happening He simply thought: “Something’s stopping me (from rolling away)”; and he could feel that his back “would just not work”
But Harrison was not short on mental strength or self-discipline He was a karate master and former soldier who understood self-preservation And, in a gutsy move, he decided to initiate the fiercest roll of his body and just break whatever had hold of him.
So, he braced himself, rolled, and snap went the glass shard. The move had worked – at least to an extent. It had freed him from the vanity unit door but a length of the shard remained buried in the back of his head
“I just rolled into a foetal position but on my hands and knees,” he recalls “Blood was just streaming from the back of my head ”
The pain in his back had risen to an excruciating off-the-chart level And try as he did, Harrison could not yell out to his wife, Jane, or sons Kieran and Liam, for help His ability to speak had abandoned him, at least temporarily.
“I tried to call to someone and I was doing the movements,” he says, “but there was no voice-box action.
“And then I heard them getting ready to go to the car They were all about to go off to school, and I thought: ‘If they get to the car (before I can alert them), I’m buggered.’ ”
But, with his broken back, bleeding head and sheer disorientation, Harrison somehow managed to bang his fist on the bathroom door The sound alerted his son who responded Kieran Harrison found his imperilled father, who exclaimed: “Call an ambulance! Call it now!”
His other instruction to Kieran, then 18, was not to let their wife and mother see inside the bathroom Harrison feared that she would “freak”
But Jane in any case found her way into the bathroom where she saw her battered, immobile husband in the fight of his life.
“She did a bit of screaming and lots of crying,” Harrison says “She was trying to talk on the phone to the ambos but, in the end, she wasn’t getting the words out so Kieran took over
“I just said to them: ‘Look, just stay out of here (the bathroom) until the ambos come I’m not moving I’m just staying in the position I’m in ’ ”
Paramedics soon arrived but found the “tiny” bathroom instantly problematic. Getting the severely injured Harrison out of such a tight space seemed a near impossible task .
So, despite his suffering, Harrison got himself up on hands and knees, crawled
“I just said to them: ‘Look, just stay out of here until the ambos come.’ ”
his way out of the bathroom, and lay on the paramedics’ spinal board.
And then came a 10-minute ambulance ride to the Flinders Medical Centre Harrison would later describe it as “the most painful 10 minutes of my life”
The paramedics had applied a brace to his neck but did not then know that deep in his skull sat a shard of glass
“The neck brace was just pushing it further and further into my skull,” Harrison recalls “I just said to him (one of the paramedics): ‘Mate, you have to take this off.’ He said: ‘No, no, we have to have it on. ’
“I said: ‘Mate, my neck's fine. Trust me You need to take this off There’s something not right with the back of my head ’
“And he was really good He actually took it off and cupped my head in his hands the whole trip But I vomited in excess of a dozen times on the way ”
The first issue once Harrison arrived at hospital was his low body temperature, which had come about from blood loss and shock . Hospital staff used air blankets to get his temperature back to normal. They also worked hard to stop him from lapsing back into unconsciousness
“I was getting (necessarily) slapped 24-7 to try to keep me awake,” he says. “I found it extremely hard to stay awake ”
And still to come to light was the embedded glass shard and the four fractured vertebrae No one had yet twigged to them
Harrison next wound up flat on his broken back on a CT scan table
The pressure from the weight of his body bearing down on his back and head wound was excruciating And he had to hold himself perfectly still in that position for 20-odd minutes. He courageously fought the pain but also continued to vomit, despite massive doses of anti-nausea medication
Of course, the crash of his head into that vanity unit door had left Harrison with many small glass fragments lodged in his scalp After the CT scan, a doctor set about removing them
But the glass shard jammed inside Harrison’s head was not about to come out easily.
1. The vanity unit with its smashed glass door after Harrison’s fall.
The doctor got to draw it out, but only partially – before it broke. That left Harrison with a portion of the shard still stuck in the back of his head He remembers the doctor saying: “This just isn’t coming out ”
“He said he was going to get some pliers and see if he could get it (the shard) out,” Harrison says “He said: ‘I’ll give you a local anaesthetic ’
“He went to get someone else to help and, when he came back to pull it out, it just kept coming He just looked at it, went white, and said: ‘I cannot believe I’ve just pulled this out of your head!’
“He called the whole neuro team down and I remember them saying: ‘That came out of where?!’ He just looked at me, shook his head, and said: ‘If it was just one or two mil lower and to the right, it would have been the perfect sniper kill You would never have woken up ’ ”
The shard turned out to be six centimetres long And it had been even longer before the other portion had broken off in the first attempt to extract it.
Today, it sits within a frame along with small separate plate which reads: “Whatever doesn’t kill you… Love Troy & Clae”
AFTER a few days in hospital, Harrison left for home. Swelling of his brain, picked up by the earlier CT scan, had reduced enough to allow his discharge But still no one had detected his fractured vertebrae
That discovery came a week later when, barely able to walk, Harrison attended a medical centre to have stitches removed from his head His wife, Jane, went with him She was deeply concerned about the pain he was still suffering, and so asked for someone to X-ray his back
One of the medical centre staff agreed to Jane’s request and indeed took some X-rays, before something prompted her to take even more.
After she did just that, a doctor approached Harrison and struck fear into him
He asserted that it was just not possible for anyone to walk into his surgery with spinal injuries like the ones the X-rays showed
“He looked at me,” Harrison recalls, “and said: ‘Mate, all four of these vertebrae are displaced They’ve all pushed to the left You need to go straight to hospital. Don’t go anywhere else and walk carefully.’ ”
The Harrisons went straight back to Flinders Medical Centre where, after more X-rays, there came confirmation of severe spinal damage
Harrison appeared to have lost more than 50 per cent of his L1 (first lumbar vertebra) and up to 30 per cent of L2, L3 and L4
A neurosurgeon assigned to his case advised him against surgery His preference was to allow the body time to realign the vertebrae He also assured Harrison that were it not for his size and back strength, he might well have ended up in a wheelchair.
And Harrison had not helped himself in the week between his discharge from hospital and the discovery of his spinal damage He had been lugging nine-kilo watering cans around his home as he tended his beloved bonsai and other trees
But now, he would stick to the advice of the neurosurgeon That meant a two-kilo limit on anything he lifted and X-rays every three days to check on the realignment –or non-realignment – of his vertebrae
“The body actually pushed the vertebrae back into line,” Harrison says. “It was remarkable watching how the body mended itself. I was so lucky through the whole process ”
“It’s the unknown. If I got hit from the side, I’d be in a wheelchair. I’ve no doubt about that.”
But, luck aside, Harrison still had to face up to certain downsides The loss of so much of those four vertebrae meant the loss of a chunk of his physical height It also meant that his lower internal organs now had less space in which to function
And his surgeon warned him to expect incontinence and, within a few years, the inability to get in and out of a car. So far, neither of those neurological problems have beset him
Harrison took six weeks off work to undergo his recovery The first walk he took was just 80 metres with his wife holding his arm for support “That was a big thing,” he says
“The surgeon said that, as the vertebrae repaired, I’d get some of my height back but I’d never get all of it
“I’m a fairly positive person but I went into a bit of a dark place for a while, sitting at home thinking: ‘Wow!’ I’ve had a lot of injuries through the martial arts and the military but nothing’s ever stopped me This stopped me dead in my tracks – for months ”
But luck never abandoned Harrison He got back to work after his six-week recovery and never had to undergo any surgery And, in May 2017, the police medical officer cleared him to return to full operational duties
However, knowing how vulnerable he would be on the street, he was content to remain attached to Southern District Intel.
“It’s the unknown,” he says. “If I got hit from the side, I’d be in a wheelchair. I’ve no doubt about that ”
PERHAPS mental toughness was the personal trait which best helped Harrison get through his ordeal. Standing up, as he did, to major challenges in his early childhood and teens was always likely to make him mentally tough
He was just a three-year-old when his father, a singer and entertainer, walked out on him and his three brothers The task of raising the four boys, all then under eight, fell to their mother, although she later remarried
One job she took to support her sons was on the front gate of a public swimming pool.
“She did her best to support us,” Harrison says. “But she had a lot of health problems and there were times when she went to hospital
“He took me aside and said: ‘Mate, you’re not going to last. You’re just not going to make the distance.’ ”
and we were left on our own
“We were placed with other families and went to seven different schools. It was tough going. ”
Later, as a 15-year-old who had not even finished Year 10, Harrison joined the Australian Army in 1982 There, too, he found life hard, at least at the outset
He still remembers one night when he copped “a massive hiding” It was a classic blanket bashing, and it came as he was suffering bronchitis
“The whole place ran on bastardization,” he says
The first two of his 10 years in the army were his toughest. He was around 188cm tall but weighed less than 60kgs.
But another member of the Army Apprentices School, a year or two older than Harrison, stepped in to help him
5. Harrison as a 16-year-old corporal in 1983.
6. Graduation parade in 1983.
7. With 8 Platoon C Company at Balcombe in 1982.
8. In the bear pit at Cunungra training camp in 1982.
9. At Cunungra training camp in 1982.
“He took me aside,” Harrison recalls, “and said: ‘Mate, you’re not going to last. You’re just not going to make the distance. ’
“He’d done martial arts all his life. We trained seven days a week and he showed me everything, from how to eat properly to how to work out in the gym
“In that second year I went home and walked straight past my mother at the airport She didn’t even recognize me I’d put on 20 kilos and was now six-foot-three (190cm) ”
So, now a skilled fighter with a bulked-up frame, Harrison continued on in the army. He even rose to the rank of corporal at the age of 16 and took charge of a whole unit.
After his time with the Army Apprentices School in Victoria,
“… I went home and walked straight past my mother at the airport. She didn’t even recognize me. I’d put on 20 kilos and was now six-footthree (190cm).” 9
he served with Adelaide Workshop Company, 101 Field Workshop Company (NSW), and Adelaide Logistics Battalion.
But, in his personal life, Harrison never reconnected with his father, despite an attempt he made by inviting him to his 21st birthday party His father spoke of how he could not believe his son had invited him and insisted that he “wouldn’t miss it”
“I watched that gate all day,” Harrison remembers, “and he never walked through And that was it That’s when I cut him off from there ”
HARRISON
left the military in 1992
By then, he and Jane had married and started a family. He hoped not to work for a boss in civilian life and so took on a VIP franchise.
Later, however, he went to work for a local lawnmower business as a small-engines mechanic So, he ended up with a boss after all but stuck with the job until he was 30 It was then 1997 and five years had passed since his separation from the military Policing was a job he had wanted since his childhood Indeed, he had applied to join SAPOL a few years earlier and figured that now was the time to try again
But his incomplete schooling would prove a major obstacle for him. Recruiters rejected Harrison “straight up” but he pleaded for at least a shot at the entrance exam – and got one
He passed the exam but more discussion was to come about his suitability for the job. His then lack of writing skills was a concern but the recruiters recognized that he excelled when it came to reasoning, verbal communication, and learning ability
So, the Recruiting Section gave him a chance and, in 1997, he and others formed Course 6 at the police academy By the end of his training, he had achieved a high academic result, won several awards, taught drill, and re-choreographed the graduation parade
After his 1998 graduation, he served with Sturt patrols and later joined a tac team focused essentially on drug crime. Then, after two years with Glenelg bicycle patrols, Harrison scored a Hindley St senior constable position
“Investigations led me to arrest a man ... for the offence of threats against aviation.”
Sturt Intel became his next post in 2006 before he wound up seconded to the AFP in 2010 There, he was to serve as a team leader with the Aviation Security Enhancement Program.
And, on one occasion, at Adelaide Airport, he got word of bomb on a plane and a description of an offender. Harrison, backed up by a baggage handler on a tractor, charged onto the tarmac
Ultimately, he stood in front of the suspect outbound plane and called on the pilot to shut down his engines And to deal with a critical incident like this, Harrison had only weeks earlier undertaken his training at the AFP College in Canberra
After a subsequent check of the passengers against the description of the offender, the plane was on its way.
“I was very relieved when the flight landed safely at its destination,” Harrison says “Investigations led me to arrest a man later that day for the offence of threats against aviation ”
As he moved through his police career, Harrison never lost touch with his karate He competed in the art, won heavyweight and other titles, established his own school, and rose to the teaching rank of kyoshi
As the co-founder and chief instructor of Zanshin Freestyle Karate, he taught thousands of students, many of whom won state and national titles. He ran his school, which continues to this day, for 29 years
10. Harrison (centre) with his AFP colleagues at Adelaide Airport. 11. Making an arrest with colleagues in Hindley St in 2005.
12. As a bicycle patrol member in 2003.
13. Harrison (far right) during the Adelaide round of the Supercars Championship in 2003.
NO
ONE ever established for certain why Harrison collapsed in his bathroom back in 2013. One suggestion was that he had suffered a bout of vasovagal syncope, a sharp drop in blood pressure which leads to fainting Among its triggers is stress
And daily life for Harrison had been extremely intense just ahead of his collapse He was visiting and teaching at other karate schools connected with his own school
There were the home renovations he was undertaking, his three sons living at home, the care of his bonsai trees, a training schedule he was preparing for his godson.
There was an ear infection he kept ignoring, and his insufficient sleep of just five-odd hours per night His days were lasting 18-plus hours owing to 5am starts with the AFP and evenings at his school instructing students
It was clear to his wife that, despite his ability to stand up to pressure, his lifestyle would come at a cost
“It would only have been a month or two before (my collapse),” he explains “She just said: ‘You cannot keep running at this pace. You just can’t sustain that.’
“I just kept saying to her: ‘I haven’t got time.’ I was trying to cram everything I wanted to do into a day, and the body just shut down ”
And Harrison was to suffer a second collapse a few weeks after his first Again, he fainted in the bathroom and “opened up” the front of his head
“But I felt this one coming and got lower to the ground,” he says “I woke up, was vomiting into a bucket, and went back down to Flinders Medical Centre.
“They still couldn’t find anything wrong. Nothing to tell why I should be fainting. So, no one’s really got to the bottom of it ”
“I was trying to cram everything I wanted to do into a day, and the body just shut down.”
Harrison well understood that he could end up paralysed were he to cop any further damage to his back And that understanding compelled him to step away from his involvement with the karate schools.
“I was never the same fighter again,” he says. “I could only fight in a straight line, and I thought: ‘It only takes one fall If I fall over, or fall on the floor…’ ”
But stepping away from his great passion came with an upside Harrison had never known the joy of overseas travel So, with his life schedule eased, he and his wife took multiple trips through Europe and Japan
Now 56, he expects to do more travelling after he retires at around age 60. Until then, he intends to remain at Southern District Intel.
He accepts that spinal surgery might one day become necessary. Indeed, his last CT scan showed six bulging discs
“There’s nothing you can do about that,” he says “The space where those discs used to live, between the vertebrae, is gone
“I won’t ever stop doing martial arts, to the extent that I can I can train on days when I feel good but I can’t train on days when I don’t
“I’ll definitely be into the world of bonsai, I want to speak Japanese, and I might end up doing self-defence sessions. I won’t be bored. ” PJ
14. Teaching self-defence to international students at Blackwood. 15. Harrison executing a martial arts throw. 16. Harrison (left) with Gima Tetsu Sensei, Kinjo Tsuneo Sensei and brother Justin Harrison at the Jundokan Okinawa.
Police work a family affair
By Brett Williams
Water Operations sergeant Kevin Doecke and his wife, Jill, have now contributed the second of their two greatest assets to SA policing Mother and father beamed with pride as they watched 22-year-old son Keon graduate with Course 52/2021 at the police academy last month
And in November 2018, it was their 19-year-old daughter, Georgia, who filled them with pride as she graduated with Course 30/2017.
Georgia, now 23, was the one whose decision to take on a police career came as a complete surprise to her parents
“I always thought she’d make a good police officer,” Kevin says, “but she showed no inkling until her last couple of months in Year 12 She said: ‘I’m going to join the police ’
“This came out of the blue She had never mentioned it before, and the day she turned 18 she applied for the police
“Keon probably always wanted to join but he went overseas when he turned 18. He got work in Texas Lions Camp with disabled kids, travelled Central America, worked in snowfields in Canada, and then came back and settled down ”
Keon and Georgia did think briefly about, but decided against, alternative careers For Georgia it was environmental science and, for Keon, the military Kevin, 56, stressed to both his children the value of the experience of country policing Georgia took his advice and began her career in the Far North local service area where she has served for almost four years
“I’ve really enjoyed it,” she says “I’ve been at Port Augusta since graduating and it’s been really good working up there. I’ve had a lot of opportunity to relieve in places like Marla, the APY Lands, and Oodnadatta, so it’s been great. ”
During one weekend relief at Oodnadatta, Georgia wound up dealing with a female troublemaker whom her dad had regularly dealt with decades earlier Keon, who moved to his first post of Port Lincoln last month, clearly took his dad’s advice on country policing as well
“Dad always encouraged Georgia and me to go country early in our careers and explore” he says “He said the best years of his (working) life were in the country
“But he’s not a pushy parent He never overinfluenced me (to join) and there was not one point where he discouraged me (from joining).
“Mum and Dad have been very supportive. They’d be happy with whatever (career) I chose but I’m sure he was really happy when I chose the police ”
Beyond his advice on postings, Kevin also told his children how best to respond, or not respond, to critical incidents on the front line And his key point was never to panic – in any circumstances
But neither parent is overly worried about the safety of Keon and Georgia as they respond to incidents which could endanger their lives
“I’m satisfied that they’ve received adequate training,” Jill says. “They’re both measured kids and I’m sure they’d call upon that training to look after their safety and the people they’re working with
“My hope is that they wouldn’t bat an eyelid to draw on a tactical option to save their lives and their partners’ lives ”
What Kevin believes will also help keep his children safe is their ability as communicators and their capacity to assess situations logically
The bigger threat he sees to his children is the burden of shift work and its impact in the form of serious illnesses.
But the concern of the father cannot curb the enthusiasm of the son, who received the RPOA Operational Safety Award on his graduation day
“I’m just so keen to start the next chapter now at Port Lincoln and enjoy my career over there,” Keon says “For the next, I hope, four years at least And if that expands out to the next 10 years, I won’t be fazed by that ”
Keon does plan to return eventually to the city and try to follow the same career path his father took – STAR Group and, ultimately, Water Ops.
“I’ve just grown up around the beach and my mates got me involved down at the surf lifesaving club,” he explains. “I love being around the water, and Water Ops is a very specialized role which really appeals to me ”
Kevin likes the plan his son has laid out but knows that, as Keon learns about policing, his workplace preferences might well change
Water Ops is in no way an option for Georgia
“No, thank you,” she says. “I enjoy the water in summer but I’m not a big fan of diving in the pitch black and freezing cold looking for bodies. ”
Georgia prefers to remain in country policing with an eventual move to Yorke Mid North Were she to take on a role in a specialist field, it would be CSI
“That’s what I’m thinking at the moment but, obviously, it can change,” she says
But after the next 10-odd years, Georgia in any case expects to take a serious look at other career options
“I wouldn’t rule out doing something else,” she says. “But it’s nice to have this (policing) as a full-time job and know that you can take a year off to explore other options ”
“I’m glad I got in before dad finished up and retired, and that I’m sort of following in his footsteps.”
1. Keon, Jill, Kevin and Georgia Doecke on Keon’s graduation day last month.
2. Keon and coursemate Ella Menzies just before the start of their graduation parade. 3. Kevin and Georgia on her graduation day in 2018.
Keon, on the other hand, feels certain that he will stick with his police career until he retires He hopes to move some way up the ranks, perhaps to sergeant level, but always remain operational
Naturally, the first of the Doecke trio to go will be Kevin, who expects to retire around the 40-year mark in 2024 Until then, however, the whole family can continue to enjoy its two generations of simultaneously serving cops.
“It does feel really good knowing that I’ve got close family members in
the job,” Keon says “I’m glad I got in before dad finished up and retired, and that I’m sort of following in his footsteps. And having my sister in the job, I know she’ll be by my side. ”
But if one person deserves the credit for getting father and children into and through policing, it is wife and mother Jill Keon describes her as “the backbone of all the family”
“She’s been great in supporting all of us,” he says, “ever since we were kids, when Dad was working long hours and shift work We wouldn’t have been able to do it without her ”
And Jill is still intensely proud of her family.
“It’s a good journey that Georgia is on, and Keon is about to go on,” she says. “They’re both keen and both eager to learn I’m just so happy for them ” PJ
By Brett Williams
The mandate controversy finally behind her
ONLY ONCE HER FEET TOUCHED THE PARADE GROUND ON GRADUATION DAY LAST MONTH DID PROBATIONARY CONSTABLE ROSALYN SMITH TRULY BELIEVE SHE HAD MADE IT. Right up until her first step onto that expanse of green ceremonial turf, graduating had simply not struck her as a reality
But she had good reason to think that one obstacle or another would stand in her way So many of them had confronted her in the previous nine months, as she explained to the Police Journal in April (On what basis the mandate? )
One was an agonizing, involuntary, fourmonth-long exile from SAPOL . That was because she and others had taken a stand against the controversial COVID-19 vaccination mandate Commissioner Grant Stevens imposed on police last year
Police who, like Smith, exercised their right to remain unvaccinated, wound up banished from their workplaces.
Smith, 47, clearly had the courage of her convictions but it left her cut off from her original coursemates and barred from graduating with them
And, stripped of the right to work for SAPOL, she suffered extreme financial hardship She also endured a drawn-out Supreme Court judicial review of the Stevens mandate
Then, after Stevens rescinded the mandate, Smith had to make a nervous return to the police academy to complete her training But with Course 50 gone and its members out in the field, she had to join up with Course 52 .
Her supporters, those who had seen her despair, understood why she struggled to see that she was indeed about to graduate
“I don’t think the reality has quite settled into my brain yet that this is actually my job. I think in time I’ll begin to realize how absolutely blessed I am...”
“Once I got out there and was actually walking on the parade ground that day, the reality kind of set in,” she says “At that point, I thought: ‘Okay, this is going to happen ’
“So, it was a huge relief It was the culmination of a 30-year dream and it’d been such a rough time getting to that point.
“My kids were there and I think it was quite a thing for them as well, seeing their mum in that position. They were beaming (with pride) almost as much as I was, and I know that I couldn’t stop smiling that day ”
Smith found no awkwardness in the moment she stepped up to receive her graduation certificate from Stevens and exchange a salute with him
“He just said congratulations, Rosalyn, and that was it,” she says “I’ve always been able to separate the position I’ve taken (on the vaccination mandate) from the person.
“I’ve always had great respect for the fact that he is a police commissioner And to have him there was a nice surprise because I wasn’t expecting him to be there ”
Smith was also grateful to her Course 52 colleagues who made her welcome right from the first day she returned to the academy She speaks of them, her mentors, and the entire academy staff as “phenomenal”
“I never felt any judgement from anybody,” she says. “Everybody within the academy was incredibly supportive. ”
And Smith has emerged from all the adversity she suffered without any
bitterness Rather, she takes a philosophical view of the past nine months and suspects that “everything happens for a reason”
“It wasn’t an ideal situation but I think I can benefit from what happened,” she explains “I’ve established relationships which I wouldn’t (otherwise) have established with people, so I think I’ve almost got an advantage in a way. ”
SAPOL posted Smith to Eastern District where she reported for duty the day after her graduation Based at Norwood patrol base, she had already worked four shifts on the road when she spoke to the Police Journal last month
She explained that she had seen and dealt with the disorder, assaults, drunkenness and drug abuse that come with city policing. But she spoke of her teammates as “wonderful” people from whom she felt no judgement.
“They’ve just accepted me as the new member of the team and have offered a lot of support to settle me in,” she says
“I don’t think the reality has quite settled into my brain yet that this is actually my job I think in time I’ll begin to realize how absolutely blessed I am to be able to do this after everything that’s happened ”
Smith has not changed her position on the COVID-19 vaccinations. She has had the virus, from which she recovered with ease, and will not submit to any vaccination against her will
Now, after immigrating to Australia five years ago, South African-born Smith can simply get on with the police career she has aspired to for three decades
“The element of policing that really appeals to me is that you’re working for the people,” she says, “you’re working for the community.
“To me, it’s such an honour to be in a career like that, where you have the ability to impact a person in a lifechanging way ”
Smith is for now content to immerse herself in patrol work which she intends to stick with for as long as she can But she expects to decide at some point on a specific direction in which to take her career
“The investigation side of police work does appeal to me a lot,” she says, “as does the role of victim contact officer. But my intention now is to treat every day as though (policing) is going to be my career for the next 20 years. ”
LETTERS
Letters to the editor can be sent by:
Regular mail Police Journal, PO Box 6032, Halifax St, Adelaide SA 5000
Email editor@pasa asn au Fax (08) 8212 2002
Internal dispatch Police Journal 168
Thanks for the memories
On June 21, it was 50 years since Course 29 graduated from the police academy. To celebrate, the course held a reunion lunch at the Police Club. It was attended by the well-aged group (pictured).
The Police Club was having its last few days before closing which added to the time to share memories
The diversity of the postings course members served in covered the full SAPOL range and ranks We, the course members, accept full responsibility for training Gary Burns to become the first locally grown police commissioner to have gone through the academy
Our training was guided by many well-known names such as Walsh, Harcus, Tennant and many others
We became extraordinary horsemen (perhaps tolerable), we walked, ran, push-upped, skipped, marched, canoed, polished, cleaned and studied our way into a group of mates who graduated and spread out into the four corners of SA and wider afield.
The three-year training bonded us, and the evidence of that is in our always well attended get-togethers over the years
Mike Fitzpatrick comes from Melbourne and Steve Charles from Katherine, NT Mark Ward and Andy Lott always travel down from the Riverland
Sadly, we have lost our three Johns – Parkes, Newman and Hissey Paul Greathead was unwell and joined us via modern technology
The memories may get distorted, stretched and reshaped but the times spent at the academy can always bring a laugh and the intro: “Do you remember when…” Thanks for the memories
Trevor Haskell Senior Sergeant
(ret)
Group Life Insurance Beneficiary Nomination Forms
Owing to a Supreme Court decision, the Police Association no longer uses the GLI beneficiary forms Existing forms held at the association have been destroyed
Now, in the case of the death of a member, the GLI benefit (currently $300,000) will be paid to his or her estate
Accordingly, the association’s strong advice is that you ensure that your estate is well-administered This is best achieved by having a valid will
Tindall Gask Bentley Lawyers provides a free legal advice service to Police Association members and their families, and retired members To make an appointment to receive free preliminary legal advice covering all areas of law, particularly families and wills, members should contact the Police Association (08 8212 3055).
Change of Address
The Police Association of South Australia needs your change- of-address details
If you have moved, in either the recent or distant past, please let the association know your new address Its office does not receive notification of changed addresses by any other means
The association will need your new address, full name, ID number, telephone numbers (home, work and/or mobile) Members can e-mail these details to the association on pasa@pasa asn au or send them by letter through dispatch (168)
ROMEO’S
Going overseas? Your coverage may be affected
The group life insurance cover provided by the Police Association covers members 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of the cause of death while members remain in Australia
The insurer may specify certain geographical exclusions and restrictions on the coverage due to increased risk
If members travel to areas of the world considered to be at increased risk, an increased insurance premium may apply or coverage may cease entirely
Members who intend to go overseas for six months or longer, or who are travelling to or via a war zone are advised to contact the association beforehand to confirm whether or not coverage will be affected.
INDUSTRIAL I
Steve Whetton Assistant Secretary Police Association
District policing model a major fail
The inadequacies of the SAPOL district policing model are now well known The model has failed to live up to public expectation and compromised the workplace safety of front-line police officers
In its advocacy for those officers, the Police Association has continually engaged with SAPOL
In a letter to the association in May, SAPOL conceded that the strength of a response team was down 60 per cent. It asserted, however, that the relevant patrol sergeant was “responsible” for allocating patrols and had the option to move staff on that shift from another police station
That assertion glosses over organizational responsibility
In its letter, SAPOL conceded that, in some instances, demand for police services had outstripped its response capacity But SAPOL refuses to attribute this failure to the DPM
In a letter to the association in June, SAPOL indicated that:
• Since 2016, population growth had driven an increase in police demand, with calls for police assistance increasing by around 20,000 per year over the same period
• Responding to complex issues, such as mental health, also consumed police resources (between 2017 and 2021, for example, a 59 6 per cent increase occurred in mental-health taskings, each averaging six hours and 33 minutes)
• The police establishment has not increased since Recruit 313 while the SA population has continued to grow by an average of 12,000 per year
The model does not –and cannot –provide sufficient resources, address members’ work health and safety issues, or meet the demand for services which continuously exceeds capacity.
• SAPOL is currently 90 below its recruiting target
• The transmission of COVID-19 created staffing pressures for SAPOL owing to absences
SAPOL contends that it has not yet been able to run the DPM as intended because of the burden of its response to COVID-19 But its contention comes in the knowledge of chronic staff shortages and members’ multiple sacrifices over the past two-and-a-half years.
COVID-19 remains in the Australian community. It also remains a SAPOL go-to excuse which becomes ever more flimsy
The DPM was a failure well before the COVID-19 pandemic The Western Australia Police Force implemented a similar model in 2014 Chris Dawson axed it in 2017 after his appointment as WA police commissioner
The association has continuously lobbied the SA government and, as per the state budget outcomes (2022), the government has agreed to form a premier’s task force. It will be the purpose of the task force to review the recruitment of sworn police officers and police security officers over the next 10 to 15 years and make recommendations on increasing the numbers
The association lobbying follows the Recruit 313 campaign of 2016 when the government provided SAPOL with $4 1 million to fast-track recruiting The idea was to achieve a level of 4,713 active, sworn, full-time equivalent police by June 30, 2018. The association achieved a strategic outcome for SAPOL .
At an emergency delegates meeting on June 22, 2022, I provided samples
of written remarks received from frontline officers Their exact words were:
• “We are at a ‘breaking point’ which has resulted in an increase in members taking sick leave, requests for transfers from DPT and increased negativity ”
• “We are not providing any kind of decent service to the public ”
• “The disparity in work/responsibility/ work life balance and stress is more than significant. ”
• “Don’t care what anyone says there is no way to fix the numbers in MOS in the short to medium term – couple this with the expected 700+ that will be retiring in the next three years –think it’s a perfect storm now!”
• “Sensible rostering is the only way to address morale and staffing shortfalls across MOS; it is essential for the retention of good, experienced people, their welfare and their quality of life ”
• “Our good people are walking out the door to jobs that are flexible and family friendly – they are not tied to the old pension. ”
SAPOL must now adhere to its corporate risk management framework if it is to identify, analyse and evaluate the risks
Under general orders is a risk management framework which reflects the international risk management standard in the Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZ ISO) 31000:2018
The order stipulates that employees are responsible for identifying risks to SAPOL’s core business and contributing to the reduction of those risks.
Wade Burns Deputy President Police Association
INDUSTRIAL
Members to benefit from expert review
No task is impossible simply because of the challenge it presents In fact, with challenges come opportunities This is overwhelmingly clear to me after 25 years in policing
Individuals and organizations choose how to respond to challenges In the ones that are difficult, they can see opportunities or, in the opportunities, see only difficulty
Challenges abound in the modern business environment of today. They are far greater and more complex and confront organizations more often than ever before, according to the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD)
AICD publications indicate that organizations, particularly their directors, face such challenges as climate change, environmental and social responsibility, sustainability, use of technology, organizational trust, and governance
The publications also indicate how organizations are best placed to operate at peak performance in a dynamic and rapidly changing environment.
A robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy is increasingly important So, too, is the way in which a mature, well-founded strategic approach can assist businesses to overcome critical issues and enhance their ability to continuously improve
The Police Association is no different It is not immune from business challenges Nor is it impervious to a changing external environment. It does not exist in a bubble.
The association exists to protect members, create a stronger future, and deliver the best outcomes for members
Organizational designs often have a use-by date, particularly if the structure served a strategy whose time had passed. Arrangements for managing, doing and delivering work need to adapt to reflect evolving conditions, strategies and priorities.
Critical, therefore, is for the association to be always relevant to its members And self-reflection is a key component to individual and organizational growth
The Police Association provides important services to its nearly 5,000 members So, it has to be certain that its operations reflect today’s best-practice ways of working
We have to ensure that contemporary structures – insofar as people, processes, and technologies – underpin our strategic pillars, as defined in the Police Association Strategic Plan 2022-2025.
With the 2021 election of the new committee of management came a commitment to undertake an independent external review of the association’s business operations
Accordingly, the association has engaged the expert services of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct a root-and-branch review
The association aims to reposition itself strategically to ensure it can react and adapt to changes in the current business environment and deliver on the objectives of the strategic plan.
PwC will conduct its review focused on the corporate and functional key pillars of governance, organization, business process, technologies, and people and behaviour
This will enable PwC to assess the capability of the association to deliver on its 2022-2025 strategy (and beyond) and its agility in responding to change and accommodating continuous improvement.
Harvard Business School professor Alfred Chandler identified in the 1970s that “unless structure follows strategy, inefficiency results”
In a modern business context, the phrase “strategy before structure” has become a business mantra that has stood the test of time
Organizational designs often have a use-by date, particularly if the structure served a strategy whose time had passed Arrangements for managing, doing and delivering work need to adapt to reflect evolving conditions, strategies and priorities.
After the review, PwC will provide insights that incorporate best-practice methodology. The Police Association welcomes the research, assessment and problemsolving which are the strength of the PwC review The outcome will be compelling recommendations to address issues and capitalize on opportunities
MOTORING
Jim Barnett
Model Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV.
Powertrain DYNAMIQ RWD – 160kW/350Nm rear electric motor, TECHNIQ
AWD – 155kW/350Nm rear motor plus 70kW/255Nm front motor.
Range Range up to 481km DYNAMIQ RWD, 430km TECHNIQ AWD.
Charging 10% to 80% – between 18 minutes (ultra-fast 350kW DC charging) and six hours, six minutes (AC charging station or wall box) Full charge using 10amp household socket is 31 hours
Safety Seven airbags, advanced multi-view camera system, full suite of driver-assistance and crash-avoidance technologies, front and rear parking sensors .
Equipment Leather trim, heated and cooled 10-way powered front seats, high-powered Bose audio with DAB+ radio and head-up display
Storage Cargo space between 547 and 1,587 litres
Mazda CX-8 Touring
DESIGN AND FUNCTION
The Mazda CX-8 might, for some families, be a better option than the larger CX-9 With recent tweaking, CX-8 is available in six trim grades with a choice of petrol FWD (only) or diesel FWD or AWD drivetrains.
All models feature seven seats across three rows with the exception of Asaki LE, which comes with two captains’ chairs replacing the 60/40 second-row seats
Prices range between $39,990 and $69,920 (plus ORC)
CX-8 Touring FWD ($46,790) offers families plenty of comfort, safety and luxury at a reasonable price. It represents a classy package for the budget-conscious family which still wants luxury. Inside is leather trim and dualzone climate control with separate controls for second-row passengers
Touring also gets DAB+ radio, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto The cabin features plenty of storage options and four USB charging ports
Front seats are very comfortable Each features power adjustment and threestage heating Comfy second-row seats feature slide and recline functions A onetouch operation tumbles the second row to provide access to the third row which folds flat in the cargo floor. Third-row seats are surprisingly roomy and can accommodate adults
Rear cargo space varies between 209 litres (all seats in use) and 775 litres (third row dropped) This increases substantially when the second row is dropped There’s also a 33-litre storage tray and an emergency spare wheel under the floor.
DRIVING
Push-button entry/start and walk-away auto locking feature All-round visibility is excellent except for when the third row’s large headrests are in use
The triple-gauge layout is neat
The right-hand gauge offers trip-computer and driver-assistance information A headup display provides a digital speedo along with road-sign, sat-nav and safety info
The central eight-inch screen is operated via an ergonomically placed rotary dial on the console where there’s also a handy audio control knob.
The 2 . 5-litre, four-cylinder, petrol engine offers ample power for any
Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV
DESIGN AND FUNCTION
The multi-award-winning Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV (electric vehicle) will stand out in any car park among a heap of latemodel SUVs It’s a stunner to look at, sit in and drive
Its design is low, sleek and futuristic while its grille, front and rear LED lighting assemblies, alloy wheels, and flushmounted pop-out door handles are unique.
It is built on a new dedicated EV platform which results in a longer wheelbase, shorter overhangs, more interior space, and a flat floor
Ioniq 5 is available in two highly equipped spec levels: DYNAMIQ RWD ($69,990) or TECHNIQ AWD ($77,990) Both feature a 72 6kWh lithium-ion battery and a rear electric motor with single reduction gear
The more powerful TECHNIQ AWD adds a smaller electric motor to the front axle providing combined outputs of 225kW and a massive 605Nm of torque.
A standout
This car’s interior is also unique: a sliding “island” console features with large trays, drink holders and armrestcovered storage bin A practical, large sliding drawer replaces a conventional, hinged glove box
Analogue gauges are gone – two 12 3inch screens provide all the information and entertainment and replace much of the switch gear for car functions. Quality materials feature throughout and Ioniq 5 delivers on ergonomics, function, ambience and comfort. It has numerous charging options as well as Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) capability One can effectively charge another EV or run/charge 240-volt appliances from its charging port or internal 250-volt socket
DRIVING
Walk up with the key in your pocket and the car’s mirrors and door handles pop out. No surprise there’s push-button
start but unexpected is the stalkcontrolled gear selector
TECHNIQ’S small thick leatherbound steering wheel, comfy heated and cooled 12-way powered seat, and superb multi-view camera system will all appeal to drivers
We might not believe it can be exhilarating if it’s not a big V8 But, with its 605Nm of torque available virtually from standstill, TECHNIQ AWD is spectacular. Acceleration from any speed is super quick, particularly in Sport mode Hyundai quotes 0-100km/h in just 5 2 seconds
It’s the same when pulling out to overtake: super-fast without any engine noise or gear-change shock Paddle shifters provide three levels of regenerative braking and i-PEDAL mode: the ability to accelerate, decelerate and stop only using the accelerator pedal. Ride and handling are spot on.
situation Driving the front wheels through a six-speed conventional auto with paddle shifters, the engine never feels stressed. It readily copes with hills and highway speeds and is generally smooth and quiet When pushed into the higher rev range engine noise can be a little intrusive
The transmission delivers smooth changes, and the whole driving experience is pleasant. CX-8 Touring FWD is no athlete but it’s a pleasant vehicle to drive.
Model Mazda CX-8 Touring seven-seat SUV
Drivetrain 2 . 5-litre (140kW/252Nm) four-cylinder petrol, six-speed auto with paddle shifters, FWD. Optional (plus $7,000) 2 . 2-litre (140kW/450Nm) diesel, six-speed auto AWD.
Safety Six airbags, front and rear parking sensors, reverse camera, lane-departure warning with steering assistance, blind-spot monitor, emergency brake assist, rear-cross-traffic alert and adaptive cruise control with limiter. Fuel Petrol 91-RON unleaded, 8 1 litres/100km, diesel 6 0 litres/100km (combined test)
Warranty Five-year unlimited-kilometre warranty and roadside assistance
Is my best buy a new or used car?
It’s never been quite so challenging to buy a new car as it is right now With current demand very high, and supply at an all-time low, many Australians who have bought a new car are waiting, on average, three to 14 months to get behind the wheel
This shortage is showing no signs of ending any time soon. According to data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, in April this year, car sales dropped 12 . 2 per cent from sales in the same month last year Reportedly the worst result since the COVID-19 lockdown back in 2020 and a direct result of the current stock shortages sweeping the automotive industry
So, what does this mean if you’re in the market for a new car but you don’t have the ability to wait for supply to increase? The used-car market could be your best bet. While you do need to be prepared that demand, and therefore prices, for used cars have increased over the last two years, it could be the perfect time to sell your current car for a higher price and try to nab yourself a bargain
In positive news for buyers in the used-car market, a Moody’s Analytics report showed prices are predicted to only increase by a small 3 9 per cent in 2022 before slipping back to normal in 2023
With all this in mind, the decision to wait for a brand new car, or turn to the used-car market, is entirely dependent on your personal circumstances . For those who need a new car right now,
the used car market is likely your best option
To help you find the perfect pre-loved car to suit your needs, CarSales has broken down which cars could be the best bang for your buck in its Best Used Car Awards for 2022 . These annual awards assess and rate used cars up to six years old across a range of categories to find the best in the market This year, Mazda, Ford and Toyota each took out two category wins, making them the standouts in the current market
Cars which won the title of best used car across 10 categories were:
• SMALL CAR
2015 Mazda3 Neo Hatchback
• MEDIUM CAR
2015 Skoda Octavia Ambition 110TSI.
• LARGE CAR
2015 Ford FG X Falcon XR6.
• SMALL SUV
2015 Honda HR-V VTi
• MEDIUM SUV
2015 Mazda CX-5 Maxx
• LARGE SUV
2015 Subaru Outback 2 5i
• SPORTS CAR
2015 Toyota 86 GT
• LUXURY CAR
2015 Mercedes-Benz S 300h
• DUAL-CAB UTE
2015 Ford Ranger XL 2 . 2 4x4
Double Cab.
• OFF-ROAD 4X4
In positive news for buyers in the used-car market, a Moody’s Analytics report showed prices are predicted to only increase by a small 3.9 per cent in 2022 before slipping back to normal in 2023.
When it comes to finding your ideal pre-loved car, make sure you do your research It’s important in this current market to compare prices, makes and models to make sure you find the right car at the right price.
Once you do find that car, meet the seller face to face and take the car for a spin to ensure you’re aware of any potential issues If all goes well and you’re interested in moving forward, have the car checked by a mechanic or request information on the last car service from the seller
Also, acquaint yourself with the car’s history Jump online and check the car’s registration history to see if there are any outstanding finances on it
Once you’ve found the car right for you, you need to move quickly. That’s where Police Credit Union can help for a new or used vehicle. Apply for a car loan with Police Credit Union by 10am and you could get your money by 5pm the very same business day*
Our car loans have won Mozo and RateCity awards in the used-car category over multiple years, and we offer one of the lowest loans you’ll find for a used car Plus, as a Platinum member you’ll receive $0 package fees across all our loans
2015 Toyota LandCruiser Prado GX Continued
Sparring Partners
John Grisham Hodder & Stoughton, $32 99
In Homecoming, Jake Brigance is back but he’s not in the courtroom. He’s called upon to help old friend Mack Stafford, a former lawyer who stole money from his clients, divorced his wife, filed for bankruptcy and left his family, never to be heard from again.
Now Mack is back and he’s leaning on his old pals, Jake and Harry Rex, to help him return
In Strawberry Moon , young death-row inmate Cody Wallace is three hours away from execution. His lawyers can’t save him, the courts slam the door, and the governor says no to a last-minute request for clemency. As the clock ticks down, Cody has only one final request
In Sparring Partners, the Malloy brothers, Kirk and Rusty, are two successful young lawyers who inherited a once prosperous firm when its founder, their father, went to prison
Kirk and Rusty loathe one another and only speak to each other when necessary As the firm disintegrates, the fiasco falls into the lap of Diantha Bradshaw, the only person the partners trust
Win a book or in-season movie pass!
For your chance to win one of the books or an in-season pass to one of these films (courtesy of Wallis Cinemas) featured in this issue, send your name, location, phone number and despatch code, along with the book and/or film of your choice to giveaways@pj.asn.au
The Registrar
Neela Janakiramanan Allen & Unwin, $32 99
Dedicated and ambitious, Emma Swann is about to start a gruelling year as a surgical registrar at the prestigious Mount teaching hospital. She is to join her brother, Andy, in pursuing the same career as their father, an eminent surgeon who made his name at The Mount.
But it’s an arduous, unremitting slog of 20-hour days, punishing schedules, life and death decisions – and very little support from her superiors, who waste no time pointing out just how superior they are
And Swann is subjected to other, more insidious, kinds of male attention.
She battles overwork, exhaustion and increasing disillusion She has less and less ability and time to care for her patients’ welfare
Is it possible for her to be the doctor, wife, sister and friend she aspires to be in such a broken hospital system? Can she salvage her own life while she’s trying to save others’ lives?
Black River
Matthew Spencer Allen & Unwin, $32 99
Armored
Mark Greaney Sphere, $32 99
Joshua Duffy is a close protection agent, a professional bodyguard, and he’s one of the world’s elite operatives That is, he was, until his last mission in Lebanon Against all odds, Duffy got his primary out alive but lost his lower left leg in the process
There’s not much call for an elite bodyguard with such an injury So, Duffy has to support his family working as a mall cop in Jersey For a man like him, this is purgatory on Earth, but even in Paramus miracles occur
A lucky run-in with an old comrade promises to get Duffy back in the field for one last job. The UN is sending a peace mission into the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico, an area so dangerous it’s known as Espinazo del Diablo or The Devil’s Spine.
Only fools would think they could broker peace between the homicidal drug cartels in the region and only a madman would sign on to keep those fools alive
A city in fear A long, burning summer in Sydney. A young woman found murdered in the deserted grounds of an elite boarding school. A serial killer preying on victims along the banks of the Parramatta River
The river holds a secret
Adam Bowman, a battling journalist who grew up as the son of a teacher at Prince Albert College, might be the only person who can uncover the links between the school murder and the “Blue Moon Killer”
But he will have to go into the darkest places of his childhood to piece together the clues
Detective Sergeant Rose Riley, meanwhile, is part of the taskforce desperately trying to find the killer before he strikes again
Bowman’s excavation of his past might turn out to be Riley’s biggest trump card, or it might bring the whole investigation crashing down and put her own life in danger.
Lying Beside You
Michael Robotham Hachette Australia, $32 .99
Cyrus Haven’s family was murdered 20 years ago. Only he and his brother survived Cyrus because he hid Elias because he was the killer
Now, Elias is being released from a secure psychiatric hospital and Cyrus, a forensic psychologist, must decide if he can forgive the man who destroyed his childhood
As he prepares for the homecoming, Cyrus is called to a crime scene in Nottingham A man is dead and his daughter, Maya, is missing Then a second woman is abducted
The only witness is Evie Cormac, a troubled teenager with an incredible gift: she can tell when you’re lying.
Both missing women have dark secrets that Cyrus must unravel to find them – and he and Evie know better than anybody how the past can come back to haunt you
Betrayed
Sandi Logan Hachette Australia, $32 99
In 1977, Vera “Toddie” Hays and Florice “Beezie” Bessire thought they were about to embark on the trip of a lifetime when Vera’s nephew, Vern Todd, offered them a campervan to drive from Germany to India.
Little did the women know that Vern and his accomplices would secretly pack two tonnes of hashish into the vehicle along the way
This shocking inside story chronicles Toddie and Beezie’s wild ride across continents and oceans to our shores, their arrest by Australian Federal Bureau of Narcotics agents, and all that the women faced in the aftermath
On the ground at the time, journalist Sandi Logan draws from his interviews with those attached to the events, and accounts in the women’s diaries, to tell the incredible tale of two women who become infamous and their fight for justice.
Ticket to Paradise
September 15
Georgia and David are exes who find themselves on a shared mission to stop their lovestruck daughter from making the same mistake they once made
Ticket to Paradise , filmed on location in Queensland, is a romantic comedy about the sweet surprise of second chances
Cast: Julia Roberts (Georgia), George Clooney (David), Kaitlyn Dever (Lily), Billie Lourd (Wren Butler)
See How They Run
September 29
In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered.
When world-weary Inspector Stoppard and eager rookie Constable Stalker take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theatre underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.
Cast: Saoirse Ronan (Constable Stalker), Sam Rockwell (Inspector Stoppard), Adrien Brody (Leo Köpernick), Ruth Wilson (Petula Spencer), David Oyelowo (Mervyn Cocker-Norris)
Beast
August 25
Sometimes the rustle in the bushes actually is a monster.
Dr Nate Daniels and his two teenage daughters find themselves hunted by a massive rogue lion intent on proving that the savannah has but one apex predator
Recently widowed, Daniels returns to South Africa –where he first met his wife –on a long-planned trip with their daughters to a game reserve managed by Martin Battles, an old family friend and wildlife biologist But what begins as a journey of healing jolts into a fearsome fight for survival when a lion – that has survived blood-thirsty poachers and now sees all humans as the enemy – begins stalking them.
Cast: Idris Elba (Nate Daniels), Leah Jeffries (Norah Samuels), Sharlto Copley (Martin Battles), Iyana Halley (Meredith Samuels)
Good Luck to you, Leo Grande
August 18
Nancy Stokes is a 55-year-old widow who is yearning for some adventure, human connection and some sex . Good sex .
While her husband, Robert, provided a home, a family, and something resembling a life, good sex was never on offer But he’s gone now, and Nancy has a plan: she will find adventure with a sex worker named Leo Grande
In an anonymous hotel room, Nancy greets Leo. He looks every bit as good as his picture, but Nancy wasn’t expecting conversation as well as fornication Nancy finds she likes him And he likes her With growing sexual confidence, Nancy starts to relax Over the course of three rendezvous, the power dynamics shift and their well-worn masks begin to slip
Cast: Emma Thompson (Nancy Stokes), Daryl McCormack (Leo Grande), Isabella Laughland (Becky)
INDUSTRIAL I
From page 28
Let’s say the employer recognizes that the demand for police services exceeds operational capacity. The application of a risk matrix in such cases would reaffirm the risks to members and the public as “almost certain” (expected to occur several times a year)
The association considers that the consequences of insufficient front-line resources might be “catastrophic” As per the general order risk table, the risk is classified according to:
• Safety – fatality
• Reputation – widespread news profile
– public outcry – changes to police operations.
• Corporate – sustained inability to achieve goals/strategies of corporate business plan.
• Operational – sustained inability to achieve outcomes, failure of operation/ project/case
The association suggests that, as per the risk matrix, the overall risk-priority action is “high” (must be dealt with immediately)
General Order 8540 (Work health, safety, welfare and injury management, Hazard and incident reporting/resolution) indicates that:
“SAPOL is committed to ensuring all hazards and risks in the workplace are promptly identified and measures taken to minimize hazards and risk to ensure the health and safety of workers and other persons in accordance (with) the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 ”
The inadequacy of front-line response resources since the implementation of the DPM has been undeniable. Members’ repeated submission of hazard and incident reports has made that clear. The need to review the DPM is as critical as it is obvious The model does not – and cannot – provide sufficient resources, address members’ work health and safety issues, or meet the demand for services which continuously exceeds capacity
BANKING B
From page 33
In even more great news, a Police Credit Union car loan can be used to purchase any registrable vehicle including a motorcycle, caravan, boat or trailer.
Our Police Credit Union relationship managers are dedicated to your banking needs and available to help find the right car loan for you Glenn Lewis and Ryan Mountford have years of experience and are happy to visit you to personally discuss your car loan options
Get in touch with them today at platinum@policecu com au, or call Glenn on 0421 243 741 or Ryan on 0437 286 804
Police Credit Union Ltd (PCU) ABN 30 087 651 205 AFSL/Australian Credit Licence 238991. Terms, conditions, fees, charges, lending and membership criteria apply. Full details upon request. All information is correct and current as at 01/07/2022 and are subject to change. *Conditional approval and funding valid business hours only Monday to Friday if applications are submitted prior to 10am with required identification and information documents. The information provided herein does not take into account your personal needs, objective and financial circumstances. Please consider your circumstances before deciding if the product is right for you. PCU reserves the right to withdraw offers or amend product features at any time. Information provided in this article is designed to be a guide only and was believed to be correct at time of publication and derived from various media sources. In some cases, information has been provided to us by third parties and while that information is believed to be accurate and reliable, its accuracy is not guaranteed in any way. Any opinions expressed constitute our views at the time of issue and are subject to change. Neither PCU, nor its employees or directors give any warranty of accuracy or accept responsibility for any loss or liability incurred by you in respect of any error, omission or misrepresentation in this article.
D.I. RAY
Four 60-minute episodes
When DI Rachita Ray (Parminder Nagra), a British Asian policewoman new to homicide, is assigned to investigate the suspected honour killing of a young Muslim man, she quickly realizes the suspects can’t be guilty.
The evidence against the two brothers from a British Hindu family is flimsy at best but her attempts at conveying this to her superiors and her colleagues fall on deaf ears
Hidden biases and a keenness to wrap the case up mean no one is listening to her until her probing leads the team to a much more sinister crime.
As she uncovers a complex web of deceit within organized crime, she also lays bare the wounds deep within herself that she’s spent a lifetime ignoring – wounds that are born from a desperate desire to “fit in”, despite not looking the part
Win a copy of D.I. RAY
The Police Journal has five copies of D.I. RAY for giveaway. For your chance to win one, send your name, location, mobile number and despatch code to giveaways@pj.asn.au.
SNACKS
Farmers Leap Wines
Padthaway, South Australia farmersleap com
Farmers Leap 2020 Chardonnay
RRP $25
Aromas of citrus blossom, stone fruits and lemon curd complexed with notes of oatmeal and almond
The palate shows fresh peach and ripe citrus fruits, cashew and hints of spice. A creamy texture is balanced with a fine line of acidity and minerality.
Matured in French barriques (20 per cent new) for seven months and lees regularly stirred to add texture to the wine
Farmers Leap 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon
RRP $25
Aromas of cherry fruit, flowering thyme and violets along with hints of dried mint and cocoa
The palate shows fresh cherry and blueberry, floral characters, woody herbs and background oak spice with fine elegant tannins. Matured for 18 months in 100 per cent (20 per cent new) French oak barrels.
Brian 2018 Shiraz
RRP $70
Selectively harvested from a few small sections of the vineyard within larger block site.
Complex aromas of dark brambly and blackberry fruit with savoury, earthy spice and flowering thyme
The palate is complex yet elegant Dark berries and savoury flavours of earth, toast and tar spice Rich and full-bodied with fine tannins for a lingering finish.
Matured for 22 months in French Oak 500-litre and 300-litre hogsheads The pinnacle expression of Padthaway Shiraz
This wine can drink now and will also reward careful cellaring
The Last Shift
For the full version of The Last Shift, go to PASAweb at www.pasa.asn.au
Stephen Andrews
Neil Bailey
Kym Foster
Mark Golding
Sheldon Lovell
Paul Miller
Brett Peterson
Ric Schultz
Andrew Tossell
Mark Williams
Dave Zeitz
Senior Constable 1C
Neil Bailey Gawler
43 years’ service Last Day: 01 07 22
Comments…
“I thank the Police Association for the great work it does for all members and the assistance it has provided me.
“To my coursemates from 68: we have had a long journey and created some legends. It seems like yesterday that we walked through the gates at Largs
“Thank you for the camaraderie, fun times and support Living together for two years made for some interesting stories and memories
“I have had the opportunity to work with a vast variety of people To all those I have had the privilege of serving with: thank you.
“I would encourage anyone to take up the challenge of moving to a country posting. Being part of country communities, interacting with people on a personal level, and making an actual difference to those towns at each posting has been the highlight of my career
“To my wife and children: thank you for supporting me over our journey Moving from posting to posting and upending your lives to support my career was not simple for you.
“To those I have worked alongside: thank you for your support. To the next generations of torchbearers: hold the thin blue line ”
Sergeant Kym Foster
Community Engagement
36 years’ service Last Day: 01 07 22
Comments…
“I thank the Police Association for the excellent working conditions that we all enjoy
“As operational police, we never know when we might need to call on the association to assist in disputes with SAPOL due to either legal, physical, or mental-health issues I urge any member not in the association to join
“I have had very fulfilling and enjoyable career positions working under some great senior sergeants
“My first posting was to Operations Support Group at Thebarton Barracks under Snr Sgt Hank Swalue, then to Plympton patrols under Snr Sgt Des Jones
“From there to Multi-Cultural Section under Snr Sgt Peter Moller, then to Aboriginal and Multicultural Section under Snr Sgt Ken Smith. Then as the Drug Action Team sergeant Adelaide under Snr Sgt Ken Jaensch and, last, to Community Engagement Section, Sturt, under Snr Sgt Adrian Jones
“Senior Community Constable Juma Abuyi was a pleasure to work with It was a great seven years working with Juma establishing and implementing his role as the African liaison officer assisting both operational members and the African community.
“The role was then expanded for Juma, George Fomba, Jemal Mussa and Reedah Zaffar (Afghani ) to be included in the Community Constable programme ”
Sergeant Sheldon Lovell
Major Crash Investigation Section
22 years’ service Last Day: 25.04 . 22
Comments…
“It is with a great deal of regret that I leave SAPOL after 22 years of service, including 17 at the Major Crash Investigation Section
“I have been fortunate in meeting and working alongside some incredible people, seeing amazing places and completing important work The memories I’ve gained will keep me up at night forever.
“I’m leaving SAPOL to explore other avenues that now appear more in line with my personal beliefs, but I don’t leave angry
“Thank you, (President) Mark Carroll and the Police Association for your tireless work in looking after your members ”
Senior Constable 1C
Brett Peterson
Port Pirie
35 years’ service Last Day: 01 .05. 22
Comments…
“I thank the Police Association for its continual service to members and the improved conditions and wages it strives for
“There are too many people I would like to thank after 35 years on patrols but they will know who they are
“Most important, I thank my wife, Cherie, for her endless support throughout everything and my four incredible kids (although they are not kids anymore), Hollie, Maggie, Gracie and Will. I do not know where I would be without them.
other because each other is sometimes all you have to get through the challenging times.
“It certainly has been an experience through the good and bad times. I would certainly recommend a career in policing ”
Sergeant Stephen Andrews
Prosecution
35 years’ service Last Day: 02 .05. 22
Comments…
“It was not my intention to retire this early but, unfortunately, health issues have ended my career prematurely I am a bit sad to have left but it is time to concentrate on myself and my family
“I had the privilege of undertaking (what was at the time) the last of the six-month courses (Course 148) at the old academy.
“Looking back, I can honestly say this was one of the best experiences of my life The camaraderie, and starting in a career for life, was truly ingrained from a very early stage
“My time has been divided evenly between operations (both country and metro) and Prosecution (17 years thereabouts in each)
“I also sat aside our current commissioner in a patrol car on occasion.
“Seventeen years on the road presented some extremely interesting, confronting and challenging experiences, many of which I will never forget
“The second half of my career at Prosecution was equally challenging My first trial was against a very experienced Adelaide QC, a real baptism of fire For a Smithfield Plains High School scholar, prosecution was a huge intellectual challenge.
“Police work brings out some amazing qualities in people and I have met and worked with some truly great people over the years.
“I can honestly say that I would go back and do it all again (well, most of it) Although, I don’t know if I would be so eager to start a police career in this current era
“I pass on my recognition and appreciation to members (both civilian and sworn) of the Employee Assistance Branch who have supported me through the last two years of treatment and operations.
“I also acknowledge the great work of Jarrad at SA Police Super for his guidance and assistance as I negotiated my way through the early retirement process
“Last, I acknowledge the great work of the Police Association I have not only benefitted from the conditions and remuneration it has fought for over the years but having the association in your corner in times of adversity is very reassuring ”
“I wish everyone employed by SAPOL good health Look after each Continued…
“I was very fortunate to have started my patrol career at Para Hills on a very experienced team My first partner was an FCC with 13 years’ operational experience. He was an excellent copper and a great bloke, who taught me so much as my first long-term partner Thank you, Lee
THE LAST SHIFT
Sergeant Ric Schultz
Western District Custody
36 years’ service Last Day: 01 .07. 22
Comments…
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my 36 years of service with SAPOL From the first posting at Hindmarsh to the Port, Plympton, Glenelg, Sturt and back to the Port to finish off the circle To everyone I’ve worked with in those locations over the years: thanks for the memories
“Special thanks to Mark Williams and his team at Sturt station You made me feel so very welcome. You made it a place with plenty of laughs and fun.
“Same goes for Port Adelaide. Thanks to the management there who totally supported me during my time there I never thought I’d enjoy working in the cells but I don’t think it’s all about the work It’s the people who make the job what it is
“Big thanks to Jo Davey and her team You were all so welcoming when I arrived and I really did feel part of your team
“And, of course, the Port cells staff Thanks to my right-hand man, Sean.
Always quiet but tons of experience that helped me so much, plus he’s a great guy. Thanks so much to everyone I worked with there. It was a great place to finish my career. ”
Senior Constable
Dave Zeitz
Rural Highway Patrols
45 years’ service Last Day: 05 07 22
Comments…
“I thank the Police Association for its work and assistance over the years in making conditions and pay better.
“The years have seen significant changes to policing.
“Pay and conditions have greatly improved but so has accountability and workload, particularly with the newer laws and the volume of required reporting and greatly increased data entry
“The memories for the most part are good and the professionalism of workmates has always been good with most members being practical and willing to work and be there to get the job completed.
“There are still issues for the safety of members on the road They need to stand up and ensure they submit HIRs as required and forward the e-mail copy to the association. This is so the association is made aware of the issue and it is addressed for workplace safety in a timely manner
“The 25 km/h speed limit past emergency vehicles is just too slow In the city, a patrol car or fire truck can be parked across several lanes to restrict traffic to lower speeds but, on higher speed-limit roads, this is not possible
“This situation is compounded with a traffic stop where some drivers do not slow, or even when it’s just a marked patrol car parked on the side of the highway with no lights activated as some drivers still slow to 25km/h and create a dangerous situation
“Some drivers slow hundreds of metres before the patrol car to 25km/h as no proper advertising action has been given to educate drivers about the law
“This has been an ongoing and dangerous issue for too long It can only result in a tragedy for members or innocent road users.
“I have seen too many near misses and crashes on the freeway and having been in the position of watching a semi or B double sliding towards you out of control is not something I wish on anyone. ”
Senior Sergeant 1C
Paul Miller
Mount Barker Police Station
43 years’ service Last Day: 14 07 22
Comments…
“I thank the association for its efforts throughout my time. It is of great comfort to know a strong organization is prepared to stand by police officers to safeguard their welfare and relentlessly promote their interests
“I am most grateful for the 43 years I have had in SAPOL It has been an honour to serve in such a dedicated family of the finest people imaginable
“I thank all those I have worked among for their commitment, compassion and camaraderie It was a pleasure to share the journey. ”
Detective Senior Sergeant 1C Mark Golding
Western District CIB
38 years’ service Last Day: 16 07 22
Comments…
“Thank you to all the fantastic, dedicated, loyal, kind and funny people I have had the privilege of working with during my 38 years in SAPOL . You are all without doubt the best thing about this job. It is you who I will miss.
“Thank you also to the Police Association for your continuing work to protect your members and their working conditions
We are all beneficiaries of your ceaseless efforts
“I am looking forward to a happy, exciting and relaxing retirement I wish you all the very best and I hope our paths cross again in the future. ”
done differently.
Senior Constable
Andrew Tossell
Road Policing North
35 years’ service Last Day: 31 .07. 22
Comments…
“I offer my sincere gratitude to members of the association, both past and present, for their support and service provided throughout my career
“Thank you to the people I have worked with over the years and shared the journey with There have been so many laughs along the way and memories to hold onto ”
Sergeant Mark Williams
Sturt Police Station
46 years’ service Last Day: 11 .07. 22
Comments…
“I have seen many changes over the time, both good and bad, but I leave with fond memories
“I can honestly say it was the people I have worked with that made me enjoy the later years of my service I thank them all “I wish members all the best for the future. ”
CEO Brett Schatto, former SA police officer and Police Association member
(11 years).
1. (Back) Tanya and Steve Jacquier, Fiona, Andy “Macka” and Keelan McClean, (Front) Cody Manning, Kyall McClean, Carol and Ian Delbridge
2. Andrij Onishko
3. Andrea Garde
4. Julie Brown
5. Jessica Adamson
6. Ashley, Peter, Karren and Samantha Loch
7. Mark Hay, Ian Talbot, Leonie Schulz, Rick Fielder
8. Harry, Sue and Dennis Lock
9. Jayne and Gavin Mildrum
10. Georgie, Anna, Jim and Claire Davis
11. Members of the Band of the SA Police
12. Retirees (standing) honoured
13. Lyn and Michael Prescott, Paul and Belinda Burrough
14. Tom and Megan Duval, Lisa, Mick, Anna and Jason Abbott
Graduation: Course 52/2021
Police Academy July 20, 2022
1. Rosalyn Smith and Sandra Schneidau
2. Graduates on the parade ground
3. Tom Woods, Keon Doecke
4. Leah Rountree, Lachlan Potter, Georgia Cummins
5. Sam Keys, Eliza Collett
6. Graduates pose for last photo after the parade
7. Andrew Stehbens, Ella Menzies
8. Amit Kumar, Cody Palumbo
9. Leah Rountree, Amit Kumar, Emily King
Jobs you never forget
Hundreds of members attended the asylum-seeker protest at Woomera detention centre on the Easter weekend of 2002. One day, about 4:30pm, the protestors came in big numbers, flattening cyclone fences as they marched on the outer fence of the centre We began to fight them off as they tried to break out the detainees We had to watch out for detainees stabbing at us through the fence with knives attached to broom handles Some detainees and protestors used metal fence posts to break the outer fence down STAR members tried to grab detainees as they jumped over our heads and into the crowd . Finally, about eight police greys came thundering through, scattered the protestors and we got control again . I’d never been so happy to see police horses .
At the Royal Adelaide Show in 2014, my crews and I responded to the incident involving the death of eight-year-old Adelene Leong who was thrown from the AirMax 360 carnival ride. Police assisted with first aid, comforted the mother, and dealt with shocked members of the public My crews split up and immediately started moving the crowd back and canvassing witnesses Minutes later, paramedics arrived and began working on Adelene When they transported her, one of my members went in the ambulance with the mother to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital I too went to the hospital and found that member in a room with Adelene, who had died, and the mother. It was a confronting scene with such raw emotion. It hit home with me and I’ll never forget it .
SERGEANT STEVE WINTER
(Operational Safety Training)
In May 2017, a male Coober Pedy resident had abused and threatened an off-duty police officer outside his home with two of his children. The man owned numerous firearms My team and I attended his address to arrest him and seize five registered firearms We found the front gate locked and spoke to a woman who refused to open it My concern was that the longer she refused us entry, the higher the risk of the male occupant arming himself against police. I gave approval to force entry, members jumped the fence, forced entry to the premises, arrested the woman for hinder and located and arrested the man We located two rifles, one shotgun, two pistols, around 7,000 rounds of ammunition, 30 knives, two swords and two axe-style weapons
“We had to watch out for detainees stabbing at us through the fence with knives attached to broom handles.”
Free Legal Service for Police Association Members, Their Families & Retired Members.
Leading Adelaide law firm, Tindall Gask Bentley is the preferred legal service provider of the Police Association, offering 30 minutes of free initial advice and a 10% fee discount.
DISCIPLINARY & ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
• ICAC
• Coroner's Court
• Criminal Law
INJURY COMPENSATION
• Motor accident injury compensation
• Workers compensation
• Police Complaints
• Equity & diversity
• Public liability
• Superannuation claims (TPD)
FAMILY & DIVORCE
Matrimonial, De Facto & Same Sex Relationships
• Children’s Issues
• Child Support matters
BUSINESS & PROPERTY
• General business advice
• Real estate & property advice
• Property Settlements
• “Pre Nuptial” style Agreements
• Business transactions
• Commercial disputes & dispute resolution
To arrange a preliminary in-person or phone appointment contact PASA on (08) 8212 3055
WILLS & ESTATES
• Wills & Testamentary Trusts
• Enduring Powers of Attorney
• Advance Care Directive
• Advice to executors of deceased estates
• Obtaining Grants of Probate
• Estate disputes
Rosemary Caruso
Michael Arras
Barker • Murray Bridge Gawler
Pt Lincoln
Whyalla
Perth (WA)
Darwin (NT)
Gary Allison Amber Sprague
Luke Officer
Wendy Barry Dina Paspaliaris
John Caruso
Giles Kahl
Dan Weekley
