Police Journal October 2020

OCTOBER 2020

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1920 – 2020

Please remember to adhere to social distancing rules between dining groups.

Hand sanitizer is available for use by all patrons.

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EDITOR

The Police Journal has this month turned 100 years old. So, October brings excitement, pride and a celebratory mood to the Police Association and everyone involved in the production of the journal.

This issue marks the centenary precisely, as the association published the very first Police Journal in October 1920.

It’s perhaps fitting that the centenary falls in the year of COVID-19 upheaval.

That’s because production of the journal has continued, just as it did through the war years and during other crises throughout the last century.

In this issue, you’ll discover, among other things, exactly how the journal came into existence 100 years ago.

We go right back to its 1920 beginnings, through to the recent years of international awards and recognition for journalism, publishing and design.

Section by section – in this issue and the next – we look back at the all the stories, from cops and their working animals through to major investigations.

We also present messages of congratulations the Police Association has received from rank-and-file police officers up to Premier Steven Marshall.

This true showcase of the history and success of the Police Journal makes the October and December issues two of the most special ever published.

The Police Association thanks its members for their stories and all journal readers for their support.

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).

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Police Association

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President 10

Delegates endorse enterprise agreement unanimously Industrial 44

Police special leave – getting it right/ Extended-hours roster Health 47

What value the discovery of COVID in waste water?

Motoring 48

Subaru XV, Forester L and S/Nissan Leaf Banking 51

Why you’re better off with Platinum Legal 53

Amendment bills important for cops

Entertainment 54

The Last Shift 58

35 years on 62

COVER: Images from 100 years of the Police Journal.

Image by Steve McCawley.

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Police Journal thriving at the 100-year mark

The journal has undergone such massive change since its 1920 beginnings that, today, it holds a place on the international publishing landscape.

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The award-winning stories

With two more international awards this year, the journal now boasts a total of 10, the latest for Post-crash indecision and Pursuing justice‌ for four decades.

24 Issue one It all started with a motion at a special general meeting to explore the possibility of establishing a monthly union publication.

26 Industrial action: the campaigns How the Police Association puts the journal to critical use in all its campaigning.

30 The crime stories A guarantee of truth and realism has always come with the criminal investigation stories the journal has told.

36 Under attack However serious the assaults on cops, the journal has always gone beyond the physical impact and explored the psychological.

40 High praise and congratulations The premier, current and former government ministers, journalists, business leaders, publishers‌ their regard for the journal is unmistakable.

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INDUSTRIAL Andrew Heffernan Member Liaison Officer

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Nadia Goslino Grievance Officer

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COMMITTEE Steven Whetton Assistant Secretary

Michael Kent Treasurer

Allan Cannon Vice-President

Police Journal

Bernadette Zimmermann Secretary

Police Association of South Australia Level 2, 27 Carrington St, Adelaide SA 5000 www.pasa.asn.au

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Mark Carroll President

P: (08) 8212 3055 (all hours) F: (08) 8212 2002 Membership enquiries: (08) 8112 7988

Trevor Milne Deputy President

POLICE JOURNAL

MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS

Brett Williams Editor

Nicholas Damiani

EXECUTIVE SECRETARIES

Sarah Stephens

Anne Hehner

FINANCE Jan Welsby

Tegan Clifford Assistant Finance Officer

OFFICE

Wendy Kellett Finance Officer

Shelley Furbow Reception

Caitlin Brown Executive Assistant

POLICE CLUB Bronwyn Hunter Manager

COMMITTEE Daryl Mundy

Mick Casey

Chris Walkley

Brett Gibbons

REPRESENTATIVES Superannuation Police Dependants Fund Leave Bank Housing

Samantha Strange

Mark Carroll and Michael Kent Bernadette Zimmermann Andrew Heffernan Andrew Heffernan

Julian Snowden

Alison Coad

Commissioner’s Office Health Safety & Welfare Advisory Committee Steven Whetton Legacy

Julian Snowden

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Intersex members

Nadia Goslino and Andrew Heffernan October 2020

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DELEGATES & WORKPLACE REPRESENTATIVES Metro North Branch

Metro South Branch continued

Gawler

David Savage

Norwood

Rebecca Phillis

Golden Grove

Darren Quirk

South Coast

Andrew Bradley

Northern Prosecution

Tim Pfeiffer

South Coast

Phillip Jeffery

Northern Traffic

Michael Tuohy

Southern Prosecution

Sallie McArdell

Parks

Matthew Sampson

Southern Traffic

Heath Suskin

Port Adelaide

Paula Hammond

Sturt

David Handberg

Salisbury

Tanya Leonard

Country South Branch

Country North Branch

Adelaide Hills

Joe McDonald

Ceduna

Chris Lovell

Berri

John Gardner

Coober Pedy

Glenn Batty

Millicent

Nicholas Patterson

Kadina

Gavin Moore

Mount Gambier

Stephanie Rickard

Nuriootpa

John Tonkin

Murray Bridge

Stephen Angove

Peterborough

Nathan Paskett

Naracoorte

Grant Baker

Port Augusta

Peter Hore

Renmark

James Bentley

Port Lincoln

Mark Heading

Port Pirie

Gavin Mildrum

Operations Support Branch

Whyalla

Les Johnston

Dog Ops

Bryan Whitehorn (chair)

Academy

Paul Manns

Academy

Darren Curtis

Alex Grimaldi

ACB

Tania Sheldon

DOCIB

Jason Tank

Band

Andrew Ey

Elizabeth

Mark Shaw

Comcen

Brenton Kirk

Forensic Services

Adam Gates

Comcen

Allan Dalgleish

Fraud

Sam Agostino

Mounted Ops

Sonia Wellings

Intelligence Support

Kevin Hunt

STAR

Andrew Suter

Major Crime

Alex McLean

State Tac/ Op Mandrake Mark Buckingham

Port Adelaide

Scott Mitchell

Traffic

David Kuchenmeister

South Coast

Sasha Leitch

Officers Branch

Les Buckley

Women’s Branch

Kayt Howe (chair) (no delegates)

ATSI Branch

Brendan White (chair) (no delegates)

Crime Command Branch Adelaide

Metro South Branch

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Adelaide

James Cochrane

Hindley Street

Dick Hern

Netley

Paul Clark

Critical Incident Response Industrial staff on call 24/7 and ready to support you

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POLICE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Working for you P: (08) 8212 3055 (all hours) www.pasa.asn.au

P President

Mark Carroll

Delegates endorse enterprise agreement unanimously N

egotiations undertaken on a new enterprise agreement are now completed.

Throughout the process of enterprise bargaining I am always impressed by the way our delegates rally around the various workplaces, developing new initiatives and allowances for different sectional groups when the need arises.

A genuine feature of these initiatives over time has been the support our delegates have provided for them – even if those initiatives occur in areas different from the ones the delegates represent.

Perhaps not broadly understood is that the conditions of an existing agreement don’t just automatically roll over into the new one.

Every single aspect of the existing agreement must be re-negotiated.

I trust members will be pleased with the result, particularly in light of the local and global disruptions of 2020.

Association delegates have fully backed the proposal. They met this 10

Police Journal

month to unanimously endorse the agreement.

The offer is now contingent on the development of formal EA terms.

We are currently working toward this outcome with SAPOL and the government.

As we get closer to finalizing the agreement, we will provide more information to explain it. At that point, members will have the opportunity to vote on whether to accept the new EA. Under the agreement, we will receive a minimum of four pay rises of two per cent in 36 months, with the first on January 1, 2021.

The rises will take the base pay of a constable from $70,249 to $76,040 on January 1, 2024, a senior constable from $84,053 to $90,982 and a sergeant from $101,958 to $110,363 – with penalty rates and allowances on top.

Some other proposals in the agreement include: • Existing allowances increase by two per cent annually.

The offer is now contingent on the development of formal EA terms.

We are currently working toward this outcome…

• Flexible working arrangements, including compressed weeks, split shifts and part time positions.

• Purchased leave arrangements, annual leave in single days or up to 80 hours on an hourly basis.

Significantly, the first instalment of two per cent will still be applicable for members who retire between July 1, 2020 and the date of the first salary increase in the proposal (January 2021).

Other new initiatives include allowing a portion of long-service leave to be cashed out and increasing time-off-in-lieu provisions.

Police Journal centenary This month, October 2020, the association’s flagship publication, the Police Journal, turns 100 years old.

It’s an extraordinary achievement for the Police Association, longstanding journal editor Brett Williams, and everyone involved in the production of the publication.

The Police Journal coverage of these campaigns helped make them all the more effective and, ultimately, successful.

I’m often asked this question about the journal: “Why continue to publish a hard copy when you can just direct readers online?”

The answer is that members still love getting the journal delivered directly to their homes. (It is also available online, for readers who prefer that option.) And I’ve always believed a publication loses something special when it stops production of hard copy.

In today’s feverish 24-7 online news cycle, there is something unique about a tactile publication.

And although there is a heavy member focus, it is not just a publication for police officers. The SA public and, indeed, national and overseas audiences from many professions and walks of life, enjoy reading the journal.

The fact the association published the very first issue of the Police Journal in October 1920 makes it one of the longest-running publications in the state.

It has also been so instrumental in many of our campaign successes. The 2015-16 Protect Our Cops campaign and the 2019 push for stronger laws and harsher penalties (covering assaults on police) are two recent examples.

Some of the Protect Our Cops journal coverage even became a catalyst in state parliament during debates on our push to regain lost entitlements.

And the coverage of our public rally – featured in the December 2015 issue – will forever serve as a historical reminder of exactly what we achieved that day.

The Police Journal coverage of these campaigns helped make them all the more effective and, ultimately, successful.

I hope our members and other readers thoroughly enjoy this commemorative issue.

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Police Journal thriving at the 100-year mark The Police Journal has entertained and informed its readers, helped win industrial battles, and won multiple awards. Now, as

By Nicholas Damiani

it turns 100, it makes the Police Association a very proud publisher.

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t was the talk of the publishing industry, both locally and nationally. A little-known trade union publication, rather than a long-established mainstream magazine or newspaper, had won two coveted journalism awards in seven days.

The Publishers Australia Excellence Award for Single Article of the Year had gone to the SA Police Journal. So, too, had the SA Press Club Award for the Best Feature in Print in November 2011.

Each prize was recognition of one of the most compelling magazine cover stories in Australia at the time.

Told from the perspective of two police investigators, Uncovering the children’s

horror (Police Journal, August 2011) had clearly stood out to the respective judging panels.

And for its national win in Sydney, the exclusive feature had been up against stories submitted by Marie Claire magazine, National Geographic, the Women’s Weekly and Cosmos magazine.

Its rival finalists at the SA Press Club Awards were stories published by newspapers The Australian and The Advertiser.

As its publisher, the Police Association of South Australia had shown itself capable of producing content to rival that of ACP Magazines, News Corp and Pacific Magazines.

And some of the publishing elites were asking: “Who wrote the story? What exactly is the Police Journal? Where’s it based?

Who’s the publisher?”

The awards had come just three weeks before the Police Association celebrated its centenary, on December 7, 2011. And it was the first time in those 100 years the union had won an award, or in this case two plus a commendation, for journalism.

Not that the association had ever before tried to win awards for writing, editing or magazine design. This was its first shot at competing for journalism awards.

It struck some observers as extraordinary that an organization in the business of industrial relations had excelled in the seemingly unrelated field of publishing. But the Police Association had, at that stage, published the Police Journal for 91 years.

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Through most of those years, the magazine had served as a traditional trade journal. But, in the mid-1990s, the association had begun to transform it into a modern, mainstream-style publication focused on the work and working lives of its members.

The transformation gathered speed under association president Mark Carroll, who had come to office in 2008. He had brought his vision of performance excellence, not only in but beyond industrial relations.

Each arm of the association – such as media and communications, marketing and, of course, publishing – was to operate at the cutting edge.

“I had observed and contributed to the journal myself since the early 1990s,” Carroll says. “So I well understood its value to the association, and its need to evolve.

“It was, of course, a powerful political and industrial tool, and an avenue through which to insert our voice into relevant public discourse.

“But there was so much scope to focus our content on members, and in a much more entertaining style.

We could tell the world, in a way no one else ever did, about the realities of police work.

“I just knew that, with proven performers in place – for writing, editing, graphic design and photography – we could be the best in our field.”

The success Carroll envisioned echoed the way in which the Police Association had seen the journal 100 years ago. In fact, the union made its view clear in the very first issue of the magazine in a column on page 5.

It read: “… as you will see, by even the first issue, that it is the most progressive and up-to-date Police Journal issued throughout the whole Commonwealth … South Australia now leads the way with its production…” (October 1920).

The state, national and international accolades the journal has drawn since 2011 have proved Carroll right.

Trade, Association and Business Publications International operates out of Ohio in the United States and runs the Tabbie Awards.

The association first submitted some of its journal content for the

Tabbies in 2014. So, too, did publishers from the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The outstanding result for the journal was a silver award for Best Single Issue and a bronze for Opening Page or Spread. And more Tabbie awards were to come, in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2020, allowing the Police Journal now to boast three gold, two silver and three bronze.

Other work the association submitted was to the International Creative Media Awards (ICMA) in Germany.

These awards recognize corporate, book and magazine design work.

On the judging panel are design professionals from Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Brazil.

In 2014, the panel awarded the journal gold in the Front Pages category and silver for Cover and Cover Story.

And, in the following years, up until 2019, the journal had received the ICMA Award of Excellence five times.

Police Journal editor Brett Williams, whose feature stories have twice won the Publishers Australia Excellence Award, has led the journal to its success of the last decade.

“Like Mark Carroll, I’d contributed to, and closely studied, the journal in my police days,” he says. “And I could just see the ways in which we could give it so much more impact and take it to great heights.

“It’s been a process of hard work, gradual change, and ongoing focus on the goal. And the goal has always been to produce a world-class product for our members, and to spell out the realities of police life to others.

“Naturally, I’ve had my sources of inspiration along the way. One of them has been the committee of 1920, with its visionaries who, with little or no expertise, created the journal all those years ago.”

Authority for that creation came at a special general meeting of the Police Association in the Adelaide Co-operative Society Hall in Angas St on June 29, 1920.

Run by executive committee members Naylon (president), Neave (vice-president), Healey (secretary) and Kain, the meeting drew 50 association members.

“Naturally, I’ve had my sources of inspiration along the way. One of them has been the committee of 1920, with its visionaries who, with little or no expertise, created the journal all those years ago.”

Facing page: Two pages from the minutes of the June 1920 special general meeting, where the motion to “go into the matter” of a monthly journal won unanimous support (relevant text begins at the sixth last line of page 162).

The critical issue under discussion was that of “a deputation … of 12 (association) members” to front Commissioner Sir Raymond Leane over workplace grievances.

But, later in the meeting, came a now historic proposal. Association secretary RR Healey spoke of “… the necessity of the publication of a monthly journal …”

Foot Constable Concannon moved that “the executive be empowered to go into the matter” and report back to the next general meeting.

Foot Constable Chilman seconded the motion, which won unanimous support.

So, in October 1920 came the now equally historic publication of the first issue of The Police Journal, known then as The Police Review.

Under its masthead sat the subtitle The Official Organ of the South Australian Police Association.

Its purpose was as the subtitle suggested: chiefly to cover workplace issues, expound on grievances, and provide relevant industrial relations information to association members.

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“Were they here today, however, I expect they would approve of and endorse the direction in which we’ve taken the journal and acknowledge our success.”

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Far left: the front page of the first issue of The Police Review (later the Police Journal) in October 1920; left: page 5 of the first issue describing, in the far left column, the magazine as “… the most progressive and up-to-date Police Journal issued throughout the whole Commonwealth…”; above: page 3 of the first issue.

That first issue, published on newsprint in October 1920, featured 16 pages with thousands of words in fine print within copious columns of justified text.

Most of the content covered the formation of the then nineyear-old Police Association and its constitution, rules and election process.

The only photo – of six rows of country police officers assigned to duty during a royal visit – appeared on the front page.

Local business clearly supported the first issue, which featured 26 advertisements, two with text and illustrations but the rest with text only.

Just 542 men and women made up the police force in 1920, and 566 in 1921, so the Police Journal readership started out accordingly small.

But that limited circulation did not deter businesses from buying space to advertise. Among them were hotels, department stores, jewellers, printers and milliners.

The fledgling journal soon added to its core content with articles of human interest, criminal investigations, court proceedings, and brief reports on police actions interstate and overseas.

In August 1921, after its first 10 issues, the magazine underwent its change of name to The Police Journal. Although the Police Association was then a publisher of only months’ experience, it had begun a publishing journey set to last at least 100 years.

In March 1925, the name changed again, this time to South Australian Police Journal.

That name would stick for 43-anda-half years. In August 1968, the future award-winning magazine took on the simple, dignified title of Police Journal.

And the Police Association appears never to have suspended production of the journal – even during wartime or other crises.

Its appearance and style evolved slowly from 1920, with only subtle tweaks up to the 1960s. The most dramatic advances have come in

the last 25 years with the gradual move away from amateur publishing to a completely professional model.

And under that model has come the introduction of full colour, a modern aspect ratio, and award-winning writing, editing, photography and design.

“The Police Journal is the leading and most awarded police magazine in Australia, and now enjoys an international reputation,” Mark Carroll says.

“Our team has achieved that status with not only its professionalism but also the support, trust and direct input of our members.

“They’ve helped make the journal so effective as a campaign instrument. The cover story we ran during our Protect our Cops campaign, Injured and abandoned (2015), is a good example. It had a presence, and became a force, during debate on the workers compensation issue in state parliament.”

Not lost on Carroll, however, as the association celebrates the Police Journal centenary, is the wisdom of the association committee members of 1920.

“With their intellect and vision,” he says, “they clearly saw how a union periodical could benefit the association and its members – then and in the future.

“They might never have expected that, 100 years later, their magazine would be a competitor on the international stage and win awards for journalism.

“Were they here today, however, I expect they would approve of and endorse the direction in which we’ve taken the journal and acknowledge our success.”

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The awardwinning stories Uncovering the children’s horror (2011) • WINNER: Publishers Australia Excellence Award for Single Article of the Year • WINNER: SA Press Club Award for Best Feature in Print • FINALIST: SA Media Awards for Best News or Lifestyle Feature

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etective Sergeant Erin Vanderwoude and now former brevet sergeant Kerstin “Kaz” Wojciechowski investigated the infamous House of Horrors case with their colleagues in 2008.

Five of 21 children living in squalid conditions in a rundown Parafield Gardens house with five adults had suffered beatings, starvation and, ultimately, torture.

The atrocities shocked not only the public but also the police and members of other responding agencies.

In interviews with the Police Journal, Erin and Kaz spoke of their personal reactions to the offences and explained how their long, complex investigation led to arrests.

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“It wasn’t just that they weren’t feeding them (the children), they were actually torturing them.”

“I’d never seen a child like that … other than on a World Vision commercial. There was nothing to prepare you for that.”

“When they (doctors) looked in it, they pulled this little thing out of his ear. It was a dead cockroach.”

“You could smell it (the house) from the road. It was worse than I’d ever dealt with. There were faeces on the floor; flies and maggots; and I’d never seen so many cockroaches in my life. Every corner of every wall had cockroaches, just swarms of them.”

Detective Sergeant Erin Vanderwoude

“It (the house) was putrid. As we walked up the path to go to the front door, the stench had already hit us.

When we walked in, it was like the walls were moving, because they were infested with cockroaches and flies.

The smell was absolutely horrific.”

“He was like a little skeleton on a bed.”

“The children had sores all over them. When the ambos pulled the quilt off them and lifted up their shirts to listen to the chests of these children, they looked like something from a prisoner-of-war camp.

But the worst thing was their faces.

They were dead inside.”

“I couldn’t believe that, in this day and age, you could find children in that condition.”

Former detective brevet sergeant Kerstin “Kaz” Wojciechowski

“… they looked like something from a prisonerof-war camp.

But the worst thing was their faces. They were dead inside.”

Now retired senior sergeant Martin Hawkins

“… he (the shooter) had taken his own life with a shotgun blast to the head…”

The lead centurion (2015) • WINNER: Gold Tabbie Award for Focus/Profile Article (USA)

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Former detective brevet sergeant Kerstin “Kaz” Wojciechowski and Detective Sergeant Erin Vanderwoude

“It was quite a drastic measure to take and almost resulted in injury or death to two police officers.”

n the lead-up to his retirement, when he spoke to the Police Journal, STAR Ops senior sergeant Martin Hawkins was the longest-serving tactical copper in Australia.

He had responded to thousands of high-risk jobs. Among them was the 1994 Nuriootpa siege, in which one of his colleagues suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

Martin gave a particularly upfront account of his life, from his migration to Australia as a Ten Pound Pom to the closest calls he had had in policing.

Martin Hawkins

“If we went into some premises and were at ultra-high risk, Marty was at your shoulder. You had confidence in him: he was a competent operator.”

“If you were going to put this (his STAR journey) into Roman times, he would now be the lead centurion.”

Former chief inspector Kym Zander

Former commissioner Gary Burns

“And sure enough, he (the shooter) had taken his own life with a shotgun blast to the head, and that was the end of the job.”

“We locked up about 15 people for fighting, disorderly and all sorts of offences; and that was my first look at STARies. I thought: ‘I want to be party to this. That (kind of work) appeals to me.’ ”

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“We talk about bikies (eliminating witnesses).

She wouldn’t have thought twice about doing it…”

Unforgettable (2016) • WINNER: Publish Awards for Single Article of the Year • HONOURABLE MENTION: Tabbie Awards for Feature Article (USA)

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ix police officers gave full accounts of the most memorable jobs of their careers. For two Major Crime detectives it was their investigation into the 2008 murder of Vonne McGlynn.

Two Mounted Ops members told how they responded to protesters

Senior constables Trevor Hood and Carly Duykers

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targeting the then-prime minister, Tony Abbott.

Other cases involved the complicated extradition of two suspects from Malaysia, and the crazed knife attack by a son on his own parents.

“There was a big army of Interpol and Royal Malaysia Police surrounding them, and they walked them (the deportees) through into the airport police station.”

Detective Senior Sergeant 1C Ash Grant

“The dad was on the ground trying to clamber back up again. Then the son came in behind him, and you could clearly see him stabbing (the father) to the head, neck and shoulder. I think he was just stabbing wherever he could.”

Brevet Sergeant Sid Leavold

Memories of Meagher (2016) • WINNER: Bronze Tabbie Award for Feature Article (USA)

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ormer high-profile Homicide Squad detective senior sergeant Ron Iddles (Victoria Police) had led the investigation into the 2012 rape and murder of Jill Meagher.

He made a special trip to Adelaide in 2015 for an interview with the Police Journal.

Ron explained the intricacies of the case and exactly how he and his colleagues had brought rapist, killer and parolee Adrian Bayley to justice.

Detective Sergeant Matt Fitzpatrick and Detective Sergeant John Schneemilch

“Gillian was only about 300 metres from home; and there were about eight people who heard screaming.”

“By that stage we were confident.

We had his car, we had the phones together (his and Meagher’s), and we had him in a hoodie four days before at a bank. It was looking pretty good.”

“And then, slowly but surely, he (Bayley) went on and confessed. He broke down but I don’t think it was about what he’d done.

It was about him.”

Former detective senior sergeant Ron Iddles

“Gillian was only about 300 metres from home; and there were about eight people who heard screaming.”

“But to comprehend that she likely dismembered Ms McGlynn in her (Gavare’s) backyard while her children played inside… That’s cold, calculating, bizarre and difficult to comprehend.”

“I think she thought she could talk her way out of it (the charge), and that she’d done everything she needed to do to distance herself from (the murder).”

“We talk about bikies (eliminating witnesses). She wouldn’t have thought twice about doing it if it was going to benefit her.”

Detective Sergeant Matt Fitzpatrick

Ron Iddles

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The killing of Ting Fang (2018) • WINNER: Silver Tabbie Award for Feature Article (USA) • FINALIST: Australian Magazine Awards • FINALIST: SA Press Club Awards • FINALIST: Publish Awards

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ajor Crime detective brevet sergeant Damian Britton and his colleagues had investigated the 2015 murder of Sydney sex worker Ting Fang in an Adelaide hotel.

He recalled his first exchange with killer Chunguang Piao, whom he ultimately arrested, and the ways in which the murder might have played out.

Major Crime detective superintendent Des “Doc” Bray spoke of the anguish of the Fang family and an assurance he gave Ting’s mother.

“All the work we’d done to put together what was a purely circumstantial case had paid off, and the jury’s decision validated that.”

“So I had the interpreter say to the mum: ‘We’ll treat this as if it’s my own granddaughter who died.’

And she just burst out crying, put her hands together, and bowed her head, saying: ‘Thank you, thank you.’ ”

“It was just a ruse to cover any other clients coming in at 1 o’clock in the morning and finding her dead.”

Detective Superintendent Des “Doc” Bray

“There were blood spatters here and there, and Fang had some injuries to her head that were consistent with the stiletto heel being used as a club.”

“He peers around the corner and just sees a body on the ground.”

“I don’t think there was any chance she would’ve been able to put up a fight against him.”

“All the work we’d done to put together what was a purely circumstantial case had paid off, and the jury’s decision validated that.”

Detective Brevet Sergeant Damian Britton

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Detective Brevet Sergeant Damian Britton

Post-crash indecision (2020)

Senior Constable 1C John Hirst

• WINNER: Gold Tabbie Award for Feature Article (USA)

S

enior Constable First Class John Hirst suffered horrific injuries, including the loss of his right eye, in an on-duty crash on his motorcycle in 2017.

His recovery process, which he undertook in the hope of returning to motorcycle duty, was long and arduous.

Over several interviews with the Police Journal, he explained his frustration with the way in which SAPOL had responded to his plight.

“A normal kind of assessment says that, with that sort of injury, someone’s going to be dead, or never function again. Then, not only are they functioning but they actually seem to get back to normal levels (of health).”

Dr Rod Pearce

“(I remember) lying on the road and looking up at the Frederick Road sign, and a lot of voices yelling.”

“It didn’t feel like I’d lost an eye.

I just couldn’t recognize the fact that there was no eye there.”

“That was when they did all brain and maxillofacial work.

So, basically, they pulled my face off and put in multiple plates and screws.”

“I couldn’t talk properly because of the brain injury. I couldn’t read.

I couldn’t do a whole lot of things.”

Senior Constable 1C John Hirst

“It dawned on me that there was every potential that I could have been shot…”

“So, basically, they pulled my face off and put in multiple plates and screws.”

Pursuing justice… for four decades (2020) • WINNER: Bronze Tabbie Award for Focus/Profile Article (USA)

A

s he approached his retirement, after 44 years in policing, Senior Sergeant First Class Fred Wojtasik gave the Police Journal the story of his professional and personal lives.

As a particularly highprofile police prosecutor, he was known to all other prosecutors, the broader police community, the ODPP, and the SA magistracy.

“… it dawned on me that there was every potential that I could’ve been shot or, alternatively, I would’ve shot the other person.”

“In my view, he (the magistrate) had a dislike for police. And, from time to time, I felt he had a dislike for me.”

“We had young children who were still at school and the illness was such that I needed to refocus on what was important in life.”

“What concerns me about what I see these days, and what I’ve seen in the past, is the amount of violence I’ve prosecuted.”

Now retired senior sergeant first class Fred Wojtasik

Fred Wojtasik October 2020

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October 1920

October 1930

October 1940

October 1960

October 1970

October 1980

October 1950 October 1990

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Issue one I

October 2000

October 2010

t was a time the 20-somethings of today would no doubt call primitive. No internet, no credit cards, no mobile phones and certainly no Ubers or electric scooters on city footpaths. Even the inventions of stereophonic sound and the television were still yet to come.

The world was still adjusting to life after World War I, which had wound up only 19 months earlier. Australia had not yet reached 20 years as a nation, and the next world war was 19 years away.

Billy “The Little Digger” Hughes was the prime minister of Australia, but no woman had yet been elected to any Australian parliament.

It was the winter of 1920 down under and the Police Association of South Australia was just short of nine years old.

In the afternoon of June 29, the association held a special general meeting in the Adelaide Cooperative Society Hall in Angas St. Presiding over the meeting, which drew 50 association members, was the executive committee of Sergeant Joe Naylon (president), Mounted Constable Neave (vice-president), Foot Constable Healey (secretary) and Mounted Constable Kain.

On the agenda were items on which the association was to take particularly strong positions.

One was the issue of workplace grievances and reforms, and a plan for 12 association members to discuss them directly with Commissioner Sir Raymond Leane.

Another item was the opposition of the “SA Police Force as a body” to the appointment of Leane as commissioner.

Foot Constable Kromer moved motions on both items and won

By Brett Williams

unanimous support. The result was a direction to Secretary Healey to write to Leane to: • Request that he receive that deputation of association members.

• Assure him that, despite opposition to his appointment, Police Association members would “stand loyally behind him in maintaining law and order …”

News of such important industrial matters was ripe for disseminating through a member publication.

And the association committee knew it. Indeed, the creation of a flagship publication was an item coming up on the agenda.

After another motion, in connection with the death of Victorian police commissioner Sir George Steward, Secretary Healey spoke on the proposal.

The original handwritten minutes of that June 29 meeting outline his address: “The secretary then explained the necessity of the publication of a monthly journal, in connection with this association, which was supported from all over the hall. FC Concannon moved: ‘That the executive be empowered to go into matter of the publication of a monthly journal and submit a report to the next general meeting.’ Seconded by FC Chilman.

Carried unanimously.”

So, the executive committee had its instruction and the meeting adjourned at 4:45pm.

With no publishing expertise, and only 10 days to research the means of creating a flagship publication, the committee set about its task.

And, at the next special general meeting, on July 9, 1920, Secretary Healey was ready to report to the 160 members in attendance.

The minutes indicate that he

provided “quotes etc as to the cost of printing” and made “recommendations from the executive as regards the necessity of a journal”.

Also indicated in the minutes is that, in “large number”, the assembled members “heartily supported” the proposal.

Then came a motion from Foot Constable Schumann: “That the executive be instructed to make arrangements and publish a monthly journal.”

Mounted Constable Woodland seconded the motion, which won unanimous support.

And, three months later, the Police Association members of 1920 received the first-ever copies of The Police Review. Some of those members would have seen themselves in the front-page image of mounted officers assigned to duty during a royal visit.

In that 16-page October issue, they were an unknowing but extremely special part of another story: the beginning of a century of association publishing. A feat President Naylon and his committee might never have predicted.

Police Association president Mark Carroll speaks of a special affinity with Naylon.

“It was a gutsy decision, particularly in the struggling economy of the time, to commit to the production of a monthly magazine,” he says.

“But, ultimately, Naylon and his committee showed leadership.

They did the research, made their decision, and acted.

“That’s been the way of the association for more than a century, and it’s how we’ve achieved our many successes.”

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Industrial action: the campaigns T

he Police Journal has long served as the best adjunct to any campaign the Police Association has ever run.

Clearly, when it comes to enterprise bargaining, a demand for legislative change, or funding for extra recruitment, the association has its industrial adversaries.

The journal has always reported on, and kept, those adversaries – and their resistance to association lobbying – in the spotlight.

And, with its reach, popularity and credibility, the journal has provided its readers with a clear picture of who exactly opposes the association’s advocacy and why.

During the 2015 Protect our Cops campaign, then-Family First MP Robert Brokenshire went into parliament armed with a Police Journal.

As he spoke in favour of the association campaign on workers compensation, he held up and referred to the August 2015 issue (cover story: Injured and Abandoned).

Ultimately, the association won back the workers compensation entitlements the government had stripped away.

The most recent association campaign ran in 2018-19. It was for stronger laws against assaults on police.

The Police Journal was critical to the campaign with a series of interviews with front-line cops who had been victims of serious assaults on duty.

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Injured and abandoned (2015) (On the campaign to win back workers compensation entitlements) “We live in a great democracy. And the association, along with Family First MLC Robert Brokenshire, is engaging in the democratic process in order to bring about those amendments.

“We’re determined to achieve them for, and in the interests of, our members.

“I know our members and their families support our objective, and I have no doubt the public would back a fair deal for injured cops as well.”

Police Association president Mark Carroll

“Both the government and the members of parliament equally have a duty of care to those men and women.

And, at the moment, that duty of care is clearly failing (in respect of) the basic rights and expectations of police.”

Then-Family First MP Robert Brokenshire

“I know our members and their families support our objective, and I have no doubt the public would back a fair deal for injured cops as well.”

Senior Constable Alison Coad and Senior Constable 1C Brian Edwards who featured in the story Injured and Abandoned.

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How deep the mental suffering (2018) “I let out a pretty big scream and pretty much fell to the ground on my hands and knees. It turned out that he’d hit me with a solid steel pole about two feet long.”

Senior Constable Tash Smith

Death the expectation (2018)

“I lay there holding the gun, holding my head, and waiting for help. That’s basically what it came to.

It was just survival. You do what you do to survive…”

Senior Constable Paul Jelfs

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Belief in the justice system gone (2019)

“And, as I’m trying to get to my feet, he’s now the one just doing the punching – punching me to the face.”

“I found it incredibly hard to get past the whole disappointment and feeling like the system had let me down.”

Sergeant Andrew Goldsmith

Kicked into helplessness (2019)

“I didn’t realize what had happened. It was just kick and bang!

My legs just collapsed, and I toppled over onto the road.”

“It seemed to me he wanted to inflict as much carnage as he could.”

Brevet Sergeant Jason Smith

October 2020

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The crime stories T

he realities of criminal investigation work have featured prominently in the Police Journal over the past 20 years. Be it a sexual assault, a drug operation, an armed robbery, a kidnapping or a murder, the journal has told the story based on direct input from investigators.

Rare insights have come from members of the CIB and specialist investigation fields such as homicide and sex crime.

Among the stories these members trusted the Police Journal to tell were the murders of Sydney sex worker Ting Fang (2015) and three-year-old Imran Zilic (2008).

There were the investigations that led to the arrests of the North Adelaide rapist in 2015 and the kidnappers of pharmacist Lily Do in 2004.

Also detailed for the journal were the Operation Scarlet raids which smashed a drug syndicate with an annual turnover of $40 million. And detectives also told the journal how they investigated an armed robbery they found to be an inside job on a suburban hotel.

In 16 other candid interviews in 2009 and 2015, CIB and Major Crime detectives spoke not just of their cases but also life as investigators.

“You want to be able to solve it … because, without it being solved – or an arrest made – it’s a story without final chapters.”

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Detective Brevet Sergeant Chay Summers and Detective Brevet Sergeant Michaela Tiss

How persistence defeated the (On investigating the series of rapes in North Adelaide) “We started reviewing every sexual assault or robbery or act of violence, or attempt violence, against the lone female in North Adelaide for 15 years.

“We went through every single report there was.

“Ultimately, we discovered another two attacks we believed to be linked.”

Detective Sergeant Matt Lyons

Resolved! (2016) (On suspects’ response to simultaneous multi-state drug raids) “They didn’t say much at all. They were all pretty stunned. They had no idea it was coming.” “… it was a case of identifying all these houses and all the players that were actually growing for the syndicate, and the cash coming back as well.

“These people were making $40 million with relatively little risk, compared to (the production of) other drugs – the heroin and the meth.”

Detective Sergeant Phil Neagle

Detective Sergeant Phil Neagle

“I think he’d been preparing himself for that one day when police might come (for him).

And this was the day.” predator (2018) (On arresting North Adelaide rapist Patrick Perkins) “When we first got up to him, he just had a look that (said) he was expecting this day to come. I think he’d been preparing himself for that one day when police might come (for him). And this was the day.”

“… I was really sick that day.

I should’ve been home in bed, but there was no way I was missing out on that arrest.”

Detective Brevet Sergeant Michaela Tiss

Detective Brevet Sergeant Chay Summers

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Detective Sergeant Cameron Georg, Detective Sergeant Justin Ganley, Inspector Campbell Hill, Detective Superintendent Des “Doc” Bray, Detective Sergeant Erin Vanderwoude, Detective Brevet Sergeant Rod Huppatz and Detective Chief Inspector Greg Hutchins.

“I’ll sit there at home, or lie there at night, wondering: ‘How can we get around this (problem) and get that evidence?’ ” Homicide (2015) (On the burden of investigating murders) “It’s not the sort of thing you switch off just because you’ve gone home. You need the maturity to get the work-life balance right. Home life is just so important but, when the job’s on, you have to be there.”

Detective Superintendent Des “Doc” Bray

(On investigating a murder) “You want to be able to solve it … because, without it being solved – or an arrest made – it’s a story without final chapters.”

Detective Chief Inspector Greg Hutchins

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“You don’t have confessions to double murders very often. When he made his confession, it came out of the blue, and there were a million things going through my mind.”

“I’ll sit there at home, or lie there at night, wondering: ‘How can we get around this (problem) and get that evidence?’ ”

Detective Sergeant Justin Ganley

Inspector Campbell Hill

“While you’re in the hot phase of an investigation – when the murder’s just occurred – your mind’s ticking over 24-7.”

(On investigating cold cases) “What was the same for all of them was that investigators had exhausted all avenues (of enquiry).”

Detective Sergeant Cameron Georg

“I talk to my family about my work without giving away too much. That’s just so they’re not completely isolated from what I do…”

Detective Brevet Sergeant Rod Huppatz

Detective Sergeant Erin Vanderwoude

Marked with an X (2012) (On the killing of three-year-old Imran Zilic by his father) “It wasn’t just a slit. It was a significant injury to the throat (with) a serrated-edge steak knife.

“It’s beyond comprehension how you’d do that to your child, but that’s what he said happened.”

(On discovering Imran’s body in a Coober Pedy mineshaft) “They (police) went out there and looked down a number of holes.

“Then it wasn’t very long before they came back to us and said: ‘Yeah, we’ve discovered him – the body of a child in one of the holes.’ ”

Detective Senior Sergeant Mark McEachern

“There was definitely a feeling of sadness.”

Now late retired detective senior sergeant Mike Eichner

“He was quite, in a sense, cold about it.

WA Major Crime detective Glenn Savage-Morton

“Things like that are always quite sombre, but this was particularly so.

It was a pretty quiet mood amongst all of us (journalists), too.”

Former Sunday Mail reporter Kate Kyriacou

Detective Brevet Sergeant Michael Newbury

Inside Job

(2014)

(On the hotel manager who played the victim of the robbery she had planned) “We could see quite clearly that her story was a fraud because she’d essentially not followed the script she was meant to follow. It had fallen apart.

“But we also had to disprove the traumatized-victim story.

That was always going to be the key.” “… you’ve got this sobbing victim about whom you’re thinking: ‘You’re a liar, and you’ve actually endangered your colleagues.’ ” Detective Brevet Sergeant Michael Newbury

Detective Senior Sergeant Mark McEachern and now retired Forensic Response Section brevet sergeant Steve Tully.

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Kidnapped! (2010) • HIGHLY COMMENDED: SA Press Club Awards, Best Feature in Print

“I could hear birds outside, chirping, and I thought we were in the forest or the bush.

“I was trying to give him options as to what he could do with me, and I kept on saying: ‘Don’t kill me. Don’t kill me.’ ” “They took the beanie off me and told me to phone my dad. They told me to say: ‘I’ve been kidnapped.

Don’t call the police. They want a $100,000 ransom and they want it today, this afternoon. If you do try to call the police, they’ll kill me.’ ” Kidnap victim Lily Do

Lily Do Danny Smalbil

Answer in the dead man’s DNA (2011)

No job for the faint-hearted (2009)

“Obviously, knowing what he’d done in the past, he declined to do that (supply a DNA sample). It was very frustrating.”

“We crashed through the front door and found him lying face-down on a bed with a knife in his hand, ready to go.”

“There was always the potential that, down the track, somebody was going to be arrested and have DNA taken which would be linked back to the alleged stranger rapes.”

(On personality types unsuited to detective work) “You can’t be a timid type of person. If they sense fear, criminals of the calibre we deal with will walk all over you.

“They’ll walk all over you, and you may as well just go home because, once they get that over you, your life will be a misery as a detective.”

“One (victim) in particular felt that she was now vindicated because she had had a hard time convincing relatives and friends that the rape was genuine.”

Now retired senior sergeant first class Danny Smalbil

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Detective Senior Sergeant 1C Peter Hore

“… I don’t like them (autopsies) and certainly don’t look forward to going to any of them.

“But … we’ve got to be there.

We have to see these things from the investigation point of view so that we know exactly how the victim was struck and how the offence took place.”

“When you have kids, and you investigate offences that involve kids, it sticks in your mind. The (Carolyn) Matthews murder certainly sticks out in my mind as the most callous crime that I’ve investigated.”

Detective Sergeant Roger Kern

“This type of criminal enterprise is very rare. And it is well known that the likelihood of recovering the victim alive is also extremely rare.”

“We all believed that Parker was involved in the kidnapping and, more important, that he knew the whereabouts of Lily Do.” Now late retired detective senior sergeant Mike Eichner

“And there was an offender out there (Lam) who we didn’t know and who could have already killed her.”

Now late detective sergeant Dave Thomas

“The job at Major Crime is such that, once you get a murder, there’s no walking away from it. You’ve got to finish that job.”

Now retired detective sergeant John Keane, now late retired detective senior sergeant Mike Eichner, retired detective sergeant Bryan Mitchell and retired detective sergeant David Sheridan.

Detective Senior Sergeant 1C Peter Hore, Detective Sergeant Roger Kern, Detective Brevet Sergeant Rebecca Stewart, Detective Sergeant Kym Wilson and Detective Brevet Sergeant Peter Gladigau.

Murder on their minds (2009) “I’m still working on the Corinna Marr investigation, and that’s been 12 years (since her murder).”

“The Corinna Marr investigation is, to me, very frustrating – very frustrating.”

“They dumped the torso out at Port Parham, and she (Casagrande) took us up to where they’d dropped the legs…”

Detective Senior Sergeant David Sheridan (ret)

Detective Sergeant John Keane (ret)

(On the killing of John Lillecrapp

by Nicole McGuiness and Donna Casagrande) “It was just a bizarre murder, how they chopped up this bloke and drove around the whole day dropping off bits of body. We found the head and arms down at Wingfield eventually.

“The job at Major Crime is such that, once you get a murder, there’s no walking away from it. You’ve got to finish that job.”

Now late retired detective senior sergeant Mike Eichner

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Under attack T

he Police Journal has never taken its eye off the plight of cops who fall victim to the worst kinds of attacks in policing.

Threats come from so many quarters.

It could be the criminal who knows only violence, the uninhibited drunk, the drug addict high on ice, or the maniacal driver ramming a patrol car.

It could otherwise come from an offender with a history of mental instability.

Guns, knives, bottles, spears, machetes, cars and even petrol have been among the weapons of the hardcore attacker intent on avoiding apprehension.

Cops like now-retired Kadina sergeant Jim Tappin and EPSB senior constable Brett Gibbons were lucky to survive rifle fire and a shotgun blast respectively.

In 1985, now-retired senior sergeant first class Adrian Burnett also survived a bullet wound inflicted by a gunman with a rifle.

All three officers, along with others, have told the Police Journal their stories and helped highlight the dangers long inherent in police work.

“You still play the thing over in your mind.

It’s something you never get rid of.”

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The miracle survival

(April 2015)

“As soon as he threw the liquid, I recognized the smell of petrol.

It covered me on the left-hand side of my shirt, pants and body.

“The top half of me was coated in it.”

“As his arm came up, I could see something in his hand.

As soon as it got to about eight or 10 inches from my chest, I could see it was a cigarette lighter!

“And I knew that, if he struck that lighter, I was done.”

Sergeant Matthew Hill

Sergeant Matthew Hill

“And I knew that, if he struck that lighter, I was done.”

Brevet Sergeant Travis Emms, Rika Watson and Senior Constable Brett Gibbons

Shotgun slaughter – the survivors

(August 2012)

• HIGHLY COMMENDED: SA Media Awards, Best News or Lifestyle Feature • HIGHLY COMMENDED: SA Press Club Awards, Best Feature in Print

“And then the (shotgun) pellets came straight after that and shattered their way up into my face, and then there was this burst of pressure on my jaw. Everything just went dead quiet and there was just this darkness and pain.”

“You just couldn’t believe it in your wildest dreams.

“If you saw it in a movie, you’d probably think it was pretty far-fetched, that it would never happen. I still can’t believe it, and I was there.”

“The blood was starting to drip down. I put my hand up (to my face) and it came away all bloody.”

Brevet Sergeant Travis Emms

Senior Constable Brett Gibbons

“Everything just went dead quiet and there was just this darkness and pain.”

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“… my shirt was covered in blood. Even all the edges of my notebook (in my shirt pocket) were all soaked in blood.”

Bodies on the line (June 2009) “And, as I fell, he put the rifle down and shot me in the chest, from about 12 to 14 inches away.”

“And, sure enough, four o’clock the next Sunday morning (in the hospital), I went downhill – quicksmart. They called Mum and Dad and (my then wife) Karen, and said: ‘Look, this isn’t good.’ ” “You still play the thing over in your mind. It’s something you never get rid of.”

Now retired sergeant Jim Tappin

(On the injury he suffered from a gunshot wound to his face) “I stuck my fingers in my mouth and there was nothing. It was just all gone.

“It (the gunshot) was like a sledgehammer hitting you in the face.

It was that hard that I back-flipped over, onto my back, on the ground.”

“I’d got up onto my knees, and he was still firing over the top of me.”

“I … saw my teeth in front of me (on the ground) and the blood squirting out of my mouth as I tried to talk on the radio. That is vivid.”

“For years I woke up screaming, yelling and fighting.”

Brevet Sergeant Mathew Stock

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Now retired senior sergeant first class Adrian Burnett

Jim Tappin

“He just raised the spear and I lunged towards him, so he swung the spear down and came up underneath, and just speared me straight up in the stomach, below the navel.

“He just kept jabbing at me, further and further in. Then I grabbed him. I had managed to get a hand around, and I pulled him towards me so he couldn’t thrust…”

(On his profuse bleeding after an offender struck him to the face with a bottle) “… my shirt was covered in blood. Even all the edges of my notebook (in my shirt pocket) were all soaked in blood.”

“It was a pretty big bottle, so it was lucky I didn’t get knocked out.”

“I’d had other cuts from them (spears) before. You just have to leave the wound open and let it weep, bleed and heal up on its own. That is so it’s open to the air and the infection doesn’t get into your bloodstream.”

“On the way to hospital in the ambulance, all I could think about was (my partner) Keturah.”

Brevet Sergeant Shane Wisseman

Brevet Sergeant Mathew Stock

“I just remember her coming in and the look on her face, and she just started crying straight away. She couldn’t even talk.”

“And, as I fell, he put the rifle down and shot me in the chest, from about 12 to 14 inches away.”

More on the journal centenary in the December issue: cops’ survival stories, the interviews with high-profile Aussies, sports stories, and other special features.

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High praise and congrat A remarkable feat I commend the Police Journal and its staff on a fantastic 100 years of publication!

Many people work hard behind the scenes and deserve to be acknowledged for their efforts.

The very first issue of the magazine rolled off the print press and into the hands of South Australian police officers in October 1920.

To know this process continues today is a remarkable feat that warrants praise and applause on this special occasion.

It speaks to the quality of the publication and the support it provides to police officers, who are faced with difficult and dangerous situations each day.

Congratulations to all involved and I look forward to seeing the journal’s success for many years to come.

Steven Marshall, MP Premier of South Australia

An important campaigner Congratulations to everyone at the Police Association of South Australia on the 100th anniversary of the Police Journal.

From your very first edition published on October 6, 1920, known as The Police Review, to this edition marking the 100th anniversary, the Police Journal has made an immense contribution towards supporting, advocating and keeping members of South Australia Police informed on issues that matter to them.

For a century, the Police Journal has played an important role in campaigning on issues as diverse as better pay and conditions to law changes to better protect members.

The Police Journal has a proud tradition in supporting the work of the Police Association of South Australia and there is no doubt this has helped make it one of Australia’s most effective trade unions.

My best wishes to the Police Journal for its next 100 years.

Peter Malinauskas, MP Labor Leader

Heart and soul in the stories It is with great pride that I congratulate South Australia’s Police Journal on its centenary.

It is an extraordinary milestone for the magazine.

The journal has continued to be a reliable and trustworthy source of information for sworn members of South Australia’s dedicated police force since its inception 100 years ago.

While it highlights important industrial and police-related issues, for me, the publication’s heart and soul lives within the stories told by the hardworking men and women who serve on the front line.

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They vow to protect and serve the community at the risk of their own safety – and often without recognition.

The Police Journal is an incredible snapshot into the lives of everyday heroes who walk amongst us.

Vincent Tarzia, MP Police Minister

atulations Still the benchmark I am proud to see the South Australian Police Journal reach the 100 years of publication milestone.

This is a well-deserved achievement and comes about because it is a stand-out, quality informative journal.

As a former police minister, and having represented police issues in parliament for 23 years, the journal has been integral to my knowledge and understanding of the real situation police and their families constantly face in protecting our community.

The graphic and transparent feature articles are always compelling and put the facts on the table as to the challenges and risks our police face.

That is why I was pleased to quote and highlight the journal when we fought for the Protect our Cops campaign with the Police Association.

I have received hundreds of industry and association publications and the Police Journal remains the benchmark for the rest to try and match, and that could take another 100 years.

Robert Brokenshire Former Police Minister (Liberal Party)

One of the most honoured in the world The fact that Police Journal is marking its centennial this year is an impressive feat, indeed.

This year, the magazine has been recognized with a Bronze award in the Focus/Profile Article category, as well as notching impressive wins in our two most competitive categories: a Gold in Feature Article and an Honourable Mention in Best Single Issue.

When we started the Tabbie Awards back in 2004, we did so because we believed that, across the globe, business-to-business and association publications were doing some really great work — and they needed to be recognized for their excellence.

One of the standout publications over the years has been Police Journal.

In fact, since 2014, the magazine has been one of the most honoured in the world, taking home eight medals and 13 Honourable Mentions.

Brett and his team run an amazing publication, one that the Police Association of South Australia should take great pride in. Here’s to another 100 years of success.

Paul J Heney President Trade, Association and Business Publications International Ohio, USA

Magnificent century of service The Police Journal has been a must-read all of my working life.

It always gives a special insight into how officers deal with the everyday trials and trauma of policing, which many of us take for granted.

The journal gives the ups and downs of policing a human face in a way no other publication can.

Its numerous awards over the years are testament to the quality and integrity of journalistic excellence and supporting PASA members.

In increasingly tough times, long-live the Police Journal and everything for which it stands.

Congratulations on a magnificent century of service.

Mike Smithson Chief Reporter/Sport Supervisor Seven Network

October 2020

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What an achievement!

The Police Journal is a hugely important storytelling platform in South Australia. Officers are limited in what they can say to mainstream media, so the journal provides its readers the opportunity to see a different side of the women and men who spend their days protecting South Australians.

Whether it’s the interviews with long-serving and outstanding officers, or the often-gruesome details in cases of neglect and abuse, the Police Journal has always given its readers something to think, and care, about.

This is proven in the many awards earned by the journal, and its contributors. One hundred years in publication – what an achievement! I look forward to continuing to read the journal over the next 100.

Stacey Lee State Political Reporter ABC News

Long may the journal continue Congratulations to everyone involved on a magnificent milestone!

The Police Journal is a quality publication, much sought after and fought over in Adelaide newsrooms.

The stories told about our men and women in blue are brave, inspiring and, in many cases, eye-opening.

From serious assaults and bushfire survival stories to mental-health issues within SAPOL and domestic violence in the community – no subject is ever too difficult to tackle.

The stories are a true record of the challenges our police officers face on a daily basis. If only these remarkable tales of survival, persistence and success could be told more often in the mainstream media.

Long may the journal continue.

Jess Adamson Journalist and former 7 News presenter

Partnership of two-plus decades Finsbury Green and the Police Association enjoy a great partnership that has continued for more than 21 years and is built on reliability, creativity and passion – all the qualities of a strong and successful relationship.

Throughout the journey, the Police Journal has been a very important communication vehicle for SA police, who tirelessly support our community, particularly at this time in our world.

All of us at Finsbury Green congratulate the SA Police Journal on 100 years in print, a significant achievement, along with Brett Williams and his team for making this publication and our partnership a great success, and look forward to many more years as your print partner.

Peter Orel Executive Chairman Finsbury Green

The most reliable source A century ago, the wise men running the Police Association saw there was a need to keep its membership informed of workplace issues, primarily concerning pay and conditions.

In 2020, despite the immediacy of the online environment, that need still exists.

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Police Journal

The Police Journal has and always will be the most reliable source of industrial and workplace information available for members. That is unlikely to change.

Nigel Hunt Senior Journalist and Author of The First Police Union the Police Association of South Australia – 100 years

Repeatedly awarded The ICMA – International Creative Media Award – is a worldwide design competition, (in which) 427 publications from 26 countries took part in the 10th competition.

In recent years, the Police Journal has been repeatedly awarded by the jury. These are the reasons: • Front pages: The photographs are always highly professional, but also the image editing and the placement of the typography.

• Cover stories: They are an example of in-depth information for members. Image editing, image sizes and the page layout form a very good unit.

• Service for the members: The Last Shift and photo articles about the police academy show the Police Journal accompanies the members throughout their professional life. It is therefore a flagship of the entire organization.

Congratulations and all the best for the future.

Norbert Küpper Organizer ICMA Award Meerbusch, Germany

Active voice of influence As we celebrate our own 50-year anniversary this year, Police Credit Union understands that major milestones are achieved through a great deal of commitment and ongoing hard work.

That’s why the Police Credit Union board, management and staff extend our warmest congratulations to the Police Journal team on its 100-year milestone.

The journal has cemented its reputation as an active voice of influence on behalf of SA police officers.

Not only does it make politicians and media sit up and take note, its ability to provide interesting and relevant content showcases the excellence of our state’s finest investigators.

Special mention goes to award-winning editor Brett Williams who achieves his own personal milestone with the journal as one of the best operators in the publishing business.

For over a quarter of a century, Brett has dedicated his work to sharing impactful stories with the police and wider community.

Costa Anastasiou Chief Executive Officer Police Credit Union

Police Journal never more important The mark of a person and an organization is their ability to adapt to and embrace change. For a beloved journal to be still around after 100 years of publication is testament to good management, exceptional loyalty and relevant, contemporary and provocative content.

Police employees see the best and the worst of society, they experience extreme highs and devastating lows. This service to the community often comes at a cost, but it also provides a perspective that ensures the community is protected to the fullest extent.

The Police Journal is the exemplar of that perspective and provides the conduit to both the policing and the broader community.

The Police Journal has never been more import, nor more relevant. Congratulations on your centenary, mother journal, and may you continue to provide perspective and leadership into the future.

Peter Shanahan Chairman Police Health

PJ

October 2020

43

I

Bernadette Zimmermann Secretary Police Association

Industrial

Police special leave – getting it right T

he Police Association started to hear rumblings from its women members late last year about a possible miscalculation of their entitlement to police service leave (PSL). This was believed to be linked to having taken various forms of special leave, as either maternity or parental leave.

Enquiries got under way to attempt to ascertain exactly what the problem was. That process shed light on what was quite a complex problem.

Members indicated that they believed the problem to have originated from the wrong leave code being applied to their records at the time they applied for their respective leave. Some of that leave dated back many years, to 2011 in some cases.

Further compounding the problem was the suspicion that the miscalculation might still have been occurring, with current applications being progressed

by SAPOL for leave of this type.

This was not intentional on the part of SAPOL. It became evident the problem was multifaceted and seemed to hinge on a leave code incorrectly applying a policy.

It did not seem to be a case of SAPOL intentionally going against its own policy with respect to PSL accrual and how that was applied when a member had applied for leave of this kind.

After advice from Shared Services that members had less PSL than they believed they had accrued, I wrote to SAPOL. 44

Police Journal

I explained that several members had indicated that their maternity leave (which was taken at either full or half pay, affecting women officers only) and unpaid parental leave (affecting both male and female officers) had been incorrectly recorded by SAPOL. A direct result of this was that imprecise dates of entitlement for police service leave had subsequently been recorded for these members.

We informed SAPOL that this particularly disadvantaged women members.

The association requested that SAPOL conduct an audit of all members who had taken maternity leave and unpaid parental leave since 2011 to ascertain if their entitlement date for police service leave was correctly recorded.

The timing was unfortunate, especially given the impost to SAPOL regarding staffing resources across the entire agency owing to the COVID-19 emergency response.

The association understood the significance of the problem facing SAPOL, but it was a problem that could not be delayed, given the negative impact the incorrect PSL date was causing to important leave applications members had submitted.

SAPOL agreed that its sworn officers had discovered an anomaly, which was negatively impacting on their access to PSL leave.

… it was a problem that could not be delayed, given the negative impact the incorrect PSL date was causing to important leave applications members had submitted.

Industrial Relations Branch members set about identifying the extent and depth of the problem. They tried to identify other members who might have been affected by the incorrect policy being applied to PSL accrual.

The points below, accurately identified

by SAPOL, explain the complexity of the issue.

• HR21 recognizes parental leave (special leave without pay) is the same across the public sector and has a rule that does not count special leave without pay as service.

• Up to 52 weeks of parental leave per child counts as service for the purpose of police service leave as per SAPOL EA 2016. (The HR21 rule for special leave without pay has not been adjusted to accommodate this entitlement.)

• As a result, employees who have taken parental leave since 2014 (when police service leave was established) might have had their police service leave dates erroneously pushed out.

• This has been raised with Shared Services SA by IRB and, as a result, a solution is being progressed as a matter of priority. (IRB currently has a list of employees who have possibly been affected and will be working with Shared Services SA to determine those with police service leave dates that have been incorrectly adjusted.)

• IRB confirms this does not impact members long-service leave dates and only pertains to police service leave.

• In addition to the HR21 rule error, other issues have arisen that relate to PD45s.

(IRB is looking at remedies to address this part of the problem.)

• IRB and Shared Services are working closely with employees who have been affected by this issue to ensure accurate employee balances are available on return from maternity and parental leave.

Continued page 57

Steve Whetton Assistant Secretary Police Association

Extended-hours roster T

he Police Association and SAPOL have consulted on agreed protocols in the extended-hours roster (EHR) trial, as per clause 28 of the South Australia Police Enterprise Agreement 2016.

In October 2017, the trial was placed, and was to remain, on hold until the March 2020 implementation of stage two of the district policing model. The COVID-19 pandemic and the Emergency Management Act declarations lengthened that delay.

SAPOL indicated that it had previously presented three options for extended hours to the Western District work group. The work group supported the six-on, four-off rapid-rotation roster.

The trial, within the Western District (response teams), begins on November 5, 2020 and runs for 30 weeks (three full rotations of the 10-week roster).

The trial roster has a 23 per cent flexible shift allowance (FSA), unlike the current response roster which equates to around 21.05 per cent based on variable shift penalties. A minimum 10-hour break between rostered shifts applies, as does a paid meal break.

The roster does not attract programmed hours off per month as it does not represent 40 hours per week.

It does, however, average around 30 additional days off per year.

The EHR provides members with consistent wage payments while overtime and public holiday rates still apply.

Accordingly, members should inform the association and SAPOL of any issues that arise so as to enable a later, comprehensive review.

Unlike the traditional shift allowance, the EHR allowance continues while members attend court or training or undertake time off in lieu of overtime.

The allowance continues in respect of such paid leave as: • Care of sick children.

• Urgent pressing necessity.

• Compassionate leave.

• Family carers’ leave.

• Prenatal leave.

• Maternity/adoption leave.

The association clarified points with the SAPOL Industrial Relations Branch, which indicated that: • Rosters can still be flexible to ensure adequate handover without the accrual of time off in lieu of overtime.

• Annual leave is allocated in hours and will be taken in hours.

(The annual leave deducted will correspond to the number of hours rostered to work for each day annual leave is taken during the roster cycle.)

• Long-service leave is allocated and taken in calendar days.

• Police-service leave is allocated and taken in calendar days of no more than one week.

Professor Drew Dawson will oversee the trial. He is internationally recognized in the fields of sleep and fatigue research, organizational psychology and human behaviour, and the human implications of hours of work.

The trial roster is not fully compliant with the Police Officers Award and the enterprise agreement, but the association accepts that members wanted to test this particular roster.

Accordingly, members should inform the association and SAPOL of any issues that arise so as to enable a later, comprehensive review.

Section 47: transfers Section 47 (1) of the Police Act 1998 stipulates that: The Commissioner may, without conducting selection processes, transfer a member of SA Police from the member's current position to another position (and such transfer may be for an indefinite period or for a specified term).

Members previously applied for specific positions within a police station or section under the local-service-area model. Rosters allowed members to plan for their family and other personal commitments well in advance.

SAPOL implemented the district policing model in 2018 with the division of metropolitan Adelaide into four districts (Eastern, Northern Western and Southern).

The commissioner then delegated his authority to the officers-in-charge of the districts for the purpose of internal transfers.

The districts are expansive. Southern District, for example, includes Netley, Sturt, Christies Beach and Aldinga police stations. Glenelg police station lies within Western District.

The district policing model stage two document (June 2019) stipulates that sworn members who occupy positions within response, district policing teams, police station and custody management are expected to undertake duties across all roles in line with their positions.

SAPOL implemented stage two on March 26, 2020, at the height the COVID pandemic. Members changed rosters, teams and locations within their districts to meet the SAPOL organizational change while additional pressure attached to members and their families owing to Emergency Management Act declarations and the COVID pandemic.

Continued page 57 October 2020

45

Now covering more of the police family By popular demand our eligibility criteria has been expanded to include more of the family — like mum and dad, as well as brothers and sisters!

Get in touch to check the eligibility of your close relations!

joinus@policehealth.com.au policehealth.com.au 1800 603 603 Police Health Limited ABN 86 135 221 519 A restricted access not-for-profit Private Health Insurer

H Health

Dr Rod Pearce

What value the discovery of COVID in waste water?

S

ome parts of the world have increasing numbers of COVID-19 infection but, in Australia, there is generally less and less. Isolated outbreaks, or “hot spots”, might become the new normal as we wait for a vaccine.

Even with a vaccine, it will be important to be able to detect outbreaks early as we don’t have effective treatments for the virus. So, we want to contain and limit the spread.

One way of finding out if a community has had any COVID-19 infection is to detect the remnants of the virus in the waste-water system.

We have the technology to do this but still don’t really know what it means to have virus particles in the sewage.

Every week, workers are taking samples of waste water in sewage treatment plants and pumping stations around Australia. These vials are analysed for traces of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The ultimate goal of the Water Research Australia project, ColoSSoS (Collaboration on Sewage Surveillance of SARS-COV-2), is to detect accurately the presence of the virus in sewage and, ideally, provide early warning before people notice symptoms and come in for testing.

We test for COVID-19 by finding parts of the essential growing virus.

Humans and animals have DNA to code for our genetic make-up.

COVID just has RNA, which is a less stable but quick way of storing genetic information.

The test for COVID-19 does not detect the whole virus but rather the RNA particles. Just consider that, if we found dinosaur DNA, it would not mean that we could breed a dinosaur. Finding RNA does not mean that we can breed a COVID-19 virus.

When we test sewage for coronavirus SARS-2, we test for any RNA. The more sophisticated the test, the more likely we are to determine that it once was a SARS-2-like virus in the sewage but get no clue as to when it was alive, or its origin.

In theory, we can test the sewage for SARS-2 virus to detect recent infection in the community.

The Netherlands is the world leader in sewage surveillance for the virus that causes COVID-19, with a public dashboard showing the current rate of virus detection in sewage water from 80 locations around the nation.

Waste-water testing has proven its worth in the decades-long global fight to eradicate the poliovirus, with testing required even in polio-free nations like Australia.

Sewage testing has been going on behind the scenes for decades for viruses like adenoviruses, the bacterium that causes typhoid, and we did test for the first SARS coronavirus.

In early September 2020, South Australia reported finding the virus in its sewage, and we know there was a case in South Australia already in quarantine.

This seems to show the testing works but how it helps us manage any outbreak remains to be seen.

Early fears about the safety of sewage workers – or people swimming in beaches near to where treated sewage is released – have eased.

The virus is very fragile in sewage – and that’s not true of polio, for instance.

Once it is in water or sewage, all that’s left after a day or two is just the fragments, such as the RNA. So, it is not seen as a waterborne virus.

If it gets into disinfected swimming pool water, the virus is dead within seconds owing to chlorine.

These tests have the same limitation if done on someone without any symptoms. We might just be detecting that the virus was present at some stage recently but is not alive and so cannot cause the spread of an infection.

We know that soap and chlorine (bleach) kill the SARS-2 virus almost instantly. The virus is not going to live in the toilet system and, so far, we don’t think any of the virus that is in faeces can actually start a fresh infection.

COVID-19 is an infection that can only bind to certain parts of our bodies. If you swallow a live SARS-2 virus there is no way it can attach itself. It needs to attach itself to receptors only found in the respiratory tract. That is why it remains crucial to stop droplet spread and avoid breathing in the virus or touching our faces and noses with infected hands.

In early September 2020, South Australia reported finding the virus in its sewage, and we know there was a case in South Australia already in quarantine.

This seems to show the testing works but how it helps us manage any outbreak remains to be seen.

Stopping respiratory spread, physical distancing and handwashing remain our best defence while we wait for effective treatments and a vaccine.

October 2020

47

M Motoring

Jim Barnett

Model Subaru XV, Forester L and S Hybrid.

Price $35,580 to $45,990 plus ORCs. Drivetrain 2.0-litre 110kW four-cylinder (Boxer) petrol engine coupled to a 12.3kW AC motor; seven-step CVT with paddle shifters; AWD. Fuel Standard unleaded (91RON); 48-litre tank; 6.5 (XV) to 6.7 (Forester) litres/100km (combined cycle).

Cargo XV 345 to 919 litres; Forester 509 to 1,779 litres; tyre-inflation kit in lieu of spare wheel.

Safety Five-star ANCAP; AWD; tyre-pressure monitor; multi-angle cameras; seven airbags; Subaru advanced Eye-Sight and Vision-Assist technologies.

Warranty Five-year unlimited kilometre; eight-year 160,000km on lithium battery.

Model/Price Nissan Leaf EV $49,990 plus ORCs. Drivetrain AC synchronous motor driving front wheels through reduction-drive transmission.

Power/performance 110kW power at 3,283-9,795rpm; 320Nm torque at 0-3,283 rpm; 0-100km/h in 7.9 seconds.

Battery/charging 40kWh laminated lithium-ion battery (charging from empty warning to 100 per cent: around 24 hours from 10Amp home socket, 7.5 hours 32A home option, or within 60 minutes from 50kW public fast charger).

Driving range 270km (real-world standard), which can be higher or lower depending on driving conditions.

Cargo Between 405 and 1,176 litres.

Spare wheel Emergency-style max 80km/h.

48

Police Journal

Nissan Leaf DESIGN AND FUNCTION The second-generation Nissan Leaf arrived last year with a single variant priced at $49,990 plus ORCs. Leaf is a compact hatchback of similar proportions to a Corolla Hatch. With a modern, youthful design, the only hints it’s an electric car are its flip-up charging panel between the headlights, the lack of an exhaust, and its zero-emission badges.

Powering Leaf is an AC synchronous electric motor, which delivers 110kW of power and 320Nm of torque. Drive is to the front wheels through a reductiondrive transmission. A 40-kWh/350-volt laminated lithium-ion battery, situated under the cabin floor, powers the engine.

Inside is room for four adults in comfortable leather-accented seats, all of which are heated. Prominent in the dash is an eight-inch colour touchscreen with sat nav, birds-eye and rear-view camera, DAB+ radio with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto hooked to a seven-speaker Bose audio system.

DESIGN AND FUNCTION The first Subaru hybrid (petrol/ electric) comes in the form of an XV and two Forester (L and S) models. Common to all is a 2.0-litre (110kW) four-cylinder (Boxer) petrol engine coupled to a small (12.3kW) electric motor driving all four wheels through a seven-step CVT transmission with paddle shifters.

While fuel-efficiency improvements on the urban cycle are claimed to be as much as 19 per cent, the combined-cycle improvement is less impressive (seven to nine per cent). The extra-urban (highway) test of fuel efficiency shows the hybrids with negligible improvement over the equivalent petrol-only models.

As with their petrol stablemates, all hybrid models offer excellent interiors with modern dash layouts constructed

of quality materials. Fit and finish is superb, and all three models come with plenty of standard equipment.

The 6.5-inch infotainment screen in XV and Forester L, however, is considered small these days. Forester S scores a bigger eight-inch unit and all have Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and DAB+ radio.

They each score well in terms of safety with seven airbags, all-wheel drive, X-Mode (for mild off-road driving) and Subaru Eye-Sight and VisionAssist systems (a comprehensive suite of driver-assistance and safety technologies).

DRIVING XV and Forester have undergone improvement over the years, and all hybrid variants deliver the same look and feel as their petrol-only siblings.

Three separate screens offer drivers a myriad of information, including trip computer, energy usage, and tyrepressure monitoring. Keyless pushbutton entry and start makes life easy.

All score comfortable front seats and

Enough incentive to switch?

Subaru XV, Forester L and S

provide excellent visibility and decent driving positions.

Performance is generally good. All hybrid models boast long highway legs and plenty in reserve for safe overtaking.

Their decent suspension provides good ride comfort on all surfaces and their AWD systems inspire confidence on wet, winding or rough roads.

The hybrid system automatically changes between three driving modes: electric-only at low speeds, petrolelectric power (for most situations), and petrol-only for high-speed driving.

These new hybrids – backed by Subaru’s reputation for building strong, safe, reliable cars – are excellent to sit in and drive.

However, their price premium, modest fuel-efficiency gains and lack of a spare tyre might not be enough to sway some loyal customers away from petrol-only XV and Forester variants.

The nearest opponent is Toyota’s RAV4 hybrid. Competitively priced, it offers more power (160kW), better fuel efficiency, and comes in 2WD or AWD.

Leaf comes with an extensive list of safety features, including driverassistance technologies, and is otherwise well equipped as well.

Soon Nissan will introduce V2G (vehicle-to-grid) technology, which will enable Leaf to power a home or supply energy back to the grid.

To bypass the service station

DRIVING Drivers will have many reasons to smile in a Leaf. Planting your foot to experience the seamless, quiet “hush power” of an electric car and bypassing every service station are just two.

But, at times, the smile might turn to anguish. “Range anxiety” is when you realize the nearest charging point is almost out of range.

Jumping out of any petrol-powered hatch into Leaf is fairly seamless.

It has brake and accelerator pedals, a modern dash layout and a small leather-bound heated steering wheel.

Its console-mounted gear selector has a press-button for P (park). Flick to the right and back for D (drive) or B

(regenerative braking), or to the right and forward for R (reverse).

Underway, this car is a delight. It offers superbly smooth, stunningly quiet and seamlessly quick acceleration (0100km/h 7.9 seconds), all without any gear changes.

Engaging the E-Pedal button supplies extra regenerative braking to the point

at which the footbrake is almost obsolete.

This supplies additional power to the battery during deceleration.

Disappointing is the absence of reach adjustment on the steering wheel, singlezone climate-control only, and a footoperated park brake. Leaf, however, comes with plenty of pluses and even scores an emergency-style spare wheel.

October 2020

49

Tame your home loan

with a Platinum Member special NO PACKAGE FEE Saving you $420 Lock in our lowest ever 3 Year Fixed Rate, it’s easy to apply and you could save thousands!

Call 1300 131 844, email us at platinum@policecu. com.au, head online to policecu.com.au/platinum or visit a branch.

Police Credit Union Ltd (PCU) ABN 30 087 651 205 AFSL/Australian Credit Licence 238991. Maximum Loan to Valuation Ratio is 80%. Owner Occupied and New lending only with a minimum amount of $150,000. Excludes Business Banking &/or Commercial loans and loans to a Trust or Self Managed Super Fund. Terms, conditions, fees, charges and lending criteria apply. Interest Rate reverts to the Discount Variable Rate after the fixed rate period. Full details upon request. *This rate includes a 0.10% discount off the regular rate – No further discounts apply. Interest rates current as at 14/09/2020 and subject to change. Comparison rate is based on a secured $150,000 loan over 25 years. WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees and other loan amount might result in different comparison rate. PCU reserves the right to withdraw or amend product features at any time. Please consider if the product is right for you.

B Banking

Paul Modra, Executive Manager – Member Value and Distribution, Police Credit Union

Why you’re better off with Platinum P

olice Credit Union turned 50 at the start of this year and that gave us a big reason to celebrate. And what better way to celebrate than to give even more back to you, our core bond.

Whether it’s through providing exclusive benefits and discounts on our products or giving you doughnuts as a thank you for all that you do, we want to show you that we recognize your support.

And, as we have been for the police from day one, you continue to be our driving force to keep on giving back.

There are seven reasons you will love our Platinum membership even more.

Rebate Get more with your rebate. Platinum members will receive a transaction fee rebate of $30 per month. That’s a saving of $360 in fees per year, regardless of the products held. Plus, you won’t pay the $10 card issue fee for the MyLimit Visa Prepaid card which allows you to access unlimited fee-free Visa transactions.

No package fees on loans This is here to stay. That’s $0 package fees on home, investment, car or personal loans. And, with no monthly or annual fees, that just means more money in your pocket over the life of your loan.

Whether it’s through providing exclusive benefits and discounts on our products or giving you doughnuts as a thank you for all that you do, we want to show you that we recognize your support.

Discounts on rates Did you know that you also get a further discount on our home-loan, car-loan and personal-loan interest rates?

Get a 0.10% discount off home-loan interest rates1 and a 0.25% discount off car- and personal-loan interest rates.

Our rates are already bank-beating and these additional discounts represent big savings. If you’re unhappy with your current loan or lease, let us know – we can help you make the easy switch.

Better term deposit rates

Giving back We like to find different ways to give back, especially during these difficult times with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Be it with delicious doughnuts or cookies, we hope these gestures give you that welcome break from your work and put a smile on your face.

Supporting the Police Association of South Australia We are long-time supporters of the Police Association of South Australia and we will remain committed to that support well into the future.

This means you’ll find us featured in the Police Journal, attending association events, and across the association website and social media. It’s just another way that we stay connected to you.

If you want to experience the free benefits of our Platinum membership, you now know to call our relationship manager, Glenn Lewis. He will be happy to talk you through your banking needs so call him on 0421 243 741 to find out more.

Earn an additional 0.10% on our standard term deposit rates2 . Just another win for your bank account.

Glenn the legend Have you had the pleasure of meeting Glenn? He’s the friendly face you have probably seen at stations around Adelaide. Sometimes with doughnuts in hand and a great story to tell, but always with helpful advice when it comes to your financial needs.

As a part of the Platinum membership, you get access to Glenn to help you with anything from refinancing your home loan to organizing payroll splits or opening up a term deposit.

Police Credit Union Ltd 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 correct as at 16/09/2020 and subject to change. Police Credit Union reserves the right to withdraw or amend product features at any time.

1 Excludes Business Banking &/or Commercial Loans and loans to a Trust or Self-Managed Super Fund.

2 Does not apply to special offers.

October 2020

51

Free Legal Service for Police Association Members, Their Families & Retired Members.

To arrange a preliminary in-person or phone appointment contact PASA on (08) 8212 3055

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.

INJURY COMPENSATION • Motor accident injury compensation

• Public liability

• Workers compensation

• Superannuation claims (TPD) Gary Allison

Amber Sprague

Wendy Barry

Dina Paspaliaris

John Caruso

Giles Kahl

Rosemary Caruso

Michael Arras

FAMILY & DIVORCE Matrimonial, De Facto & Same Sex Relationships • Children’s Issues

• Property Settlements

• Child Support matters

• “Pre Nuptial” style Agreements

BUSINESS & PROPERTY • General business advice

• Business transactions

• Real estate & property advice

• Commercial disputes & dispute resolution

WILLS & ESTATES • Wills & Testamentary Trusts

• Advice to executors of deceased estates

• Enduring Powers of Attorney

• Obtaining Grants of Probate

• Advance Care Directive

• Estate disputes

Adelaide • Reynella • Salisbury • Mt Barker • Murray Bridge Gawler • Pt Lincoln • Whyalla • Perth (WA) • Darwin (NT)

tgb.com.au • (08) 8212 1077

L Legal

Amber Sprague, Partner Tindall Gask Bentley Lawyers

Amendment bills important for cops T

wo bills presently before the SA parliament have the potential to benefit many police officers and other emergency-services workers if the parliament passes them and they come into effect as law.

The first is the Return to Work (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) Amendment Bill 2020 which is due to go before the Legislative Council.

This private member’s bill, introduced

by SA Best MLC Frank Pangallo, proposes an amendment to the Return to Work Act 2014 to include a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder as a “presumptive injury”.

This means that certain classes of workers, if diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder, will be presumed to have sustained this injury as a result of their employment, unless there is proof to the contrary.

This reverses the burden of proof, essentially placing the onus on the insurer/employer to disprove a claim for PTSD. Not all workers would fall within the class of workers to benefit from this amendment.

Specifically, those to be covered include police officers, ambulance officers, firefighters, nurses, medical practitioners, members of SACFS or SASES, and any other person for whom

Much like the PTSD bill, this bill operates to reverse the burden of proof, essentially placing the onus on the insurer/ employer to disprove a claim for COVID-19.

the Crown is the presumptive employer and in the course of that employment has dealt with emergencies.

In my opinion, this would be an excellent step forward in the recognition of the often traumatic work that police officers and others do and the often tough test that they have to satisfy to prove their workers compensation claims.

The second bill is the Return to Work (COVID-19 Injury) (No 2) Amendment Bill 2020. This bill was introduced by Shadow Attorney-General Kyam Maher MLC and has been passed by the Legislative Council and is set to go before the House of Assembly.

This bill provides that workers in certain types of employment, if diagnosed with COVID-19, will be presumed to have contracted this injury during the course of their employment, absence proof to the contrary.

Much like the PTSD bill, this bill operates to reverse the burden of proof, essentially placing the onus on the insurer/employer to disprove a claim for COVID-19.

However, not all workers would be covered. The class of workers includes: • Police officers.

• Emergency-services workers.

• Passenger-transport workers.

• Air passenger-service workers.

• Workers at a hospital or private day-procedure centre or residential aged-care facility.

• Pharmacy workers.

• Childcare or kindergarten workers.

• Workers at schools, supermarkets, grocers, delicatessens or convenience stores, petrol stations and the like.

This too is an important proposed change to the Return to Work Act to ensure that those workers who are able to continue to work through this pandemic, and in doing so put themselves at a heightened risk, are properly and quickly compensated for weekly payments and medical expenses if they contract the disease, without having to jump through hoops to prove that their condition arose out of or in the course of their employment.

Both these bills would bring welcome changes to the return-to-work legislation and would benefit police officers and many other workers in South Australia.

While they are not law yet, and might not ever be, it is hoped that the parliament will see fit to pass these proposed amendments as soon as possible.

I encourage Police Association members to contact their local MPs and express their support for both proposed amendments so we can help protect those who are keeping us safe.

October 2020

53

E Entertainment

The Dead Line Holly Watt Raven, $29.99

They take the girls. The frantic message will propel investigative journalist Casey Benedict on a breakneck race to find those who have been taken – and those who are taking.

Can she uncover the truth without betraying the trust of those who will be destroyed if this story is made public?

A Bangladeshi camp. A British ambassador. A Harley Street doctor.

Benedict is used to working on stories that will take her from the bottom to the top of society – stories with huge human cost. And her latest case is no different.

A critical message is found hidden in clothes manufactured for the British high street.

Benedict and her team at the Post know they are on the brink of a major exposĂŠ but identifying the factories in which the clothes have been made is one challenge, following the trail of those taken is another.

Their attempts to find the girls will take Benedict from her London newsroom across the world and into the very heart of families who will be destroyed if what she uncovers is ever revealed.

Win a book!

For your chance to win one of the books featured in this issue, send your name, location, phone number and despatch code, along with the book of your choice to giveaways@pj.asn.au

54

Police Journal

Hermit

SR White Hachette Australia, $32.99

He disappeared for 15 years. She has 12 hours to find out why.

After the puzzling death of a shopkeeper in rural Australia, troubled detective Dana Russo has just 12 hours to interrogate the prime suspect. Found at the scene of the crime, he is silent and inscrutable – and had simply vanished 15 years earlier.

Where has he been? And just how dangerous is he? Without conclusive evidence linking him to the killing, Dana must race against time to persuade him to speak.

But, over a series of increasingly intense interviews, Dana is forced to confront her own past if she wants him to reveal the shocking truth.

Malorie

Josh Malerman Hachette Australia, $32.99

The Girl in the Mirror

Rose Carlyle Allen & Unwin, $29.99

In the old world there were many rules. In the new world there is only one: don’t open your eyes.

Beautiful twin sisters Iris and Summer are startlingly alike, but beyond what the eye can see lies a darkness that sets them apart.

Many people have broken that rule in the 17 years since the “creatures” appeared. Many have looked. Many have lost their minds, their lives, their loved ones.

Cynical and insecure, Iris has long been envious of open-hearted Summer’s seemingly never-ending good fortune, including her perfect husband, Adam.

Called to Thailand to help sail the family yacht to Seychelles, Iris nurtures her own secret hope for what might happen on the journey.

But, when she unexpectedly finds herself alone in the middle of the Indian Ocean, everything changes.

Now is her chance to take what she’s always wanted – the idyllic life she’s always coveted.

But just how far will she go to get the life she’s dreamed about? And how will she make sure no one discovers the truth?

In that time, Malorie has raised her two children, Olympia and Tom, on the run or in hiding.

Now nearly teenagers, survival is no longer enough. Olympia and Tom want freedom.

When a census-taker stops by their refuge, he is not welcome. But he leaves a list of names – of survivors building a future beyond the darkness – and on that list are two names Malorie can’t ignore.

Two names for whom she’ll break every rule, and take her children across the wilderness, in the hope of becoming a family again.

October 2020

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BIG SAVINGS! Police Association Members’ Buying Guide Facebook Group

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By joining the group, you will be the first to know about seasonal and exclusive specials, specifically designed to save you money.

See the full list of offers on the Members’ Buying Guide on PASAweb (pasa.asn.au) or the Police Association app.

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The Police Association has created a new Facebook group to advise you more effectively and efficiently of savings and special offers for you and your family.

This is a closed group for members only.

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Industrial

Entertainment

From page 44

Trust

Chris Hammer Allen & Unwin, $32.99

He violated her past and haunts her present.

Now he’s threatening their future.

Martin Scarsden’s back and his new life seems perfect, right up until the moment it’s shattered by a voicemail: a single scream, abruptly cut off, from his partner Mandalay Blonde.

Scrublands was set in a small country town in drought, Silver on the Australian coastline, and now Trust takes readers to a Sydney riven with corruption and nepotism, privilege and power.

Police special leave – getting it right The Police Association and SAPOL staff are continuing to work together toward to a conclusion that is reliable and corrects all anomalies members have identified.

Members who are unsure as to whether they have been included in the audit process should contact either IRB or the association.

Industrial From page 45

When She Was Good

Michael Robotham Hachette Australia, $32.99

She has secrets.

Six years ago, Evie Cormac was found hiding in a secret room in the aftermath of a brutal murder.

But nobody has ever discovered her real name, or where she came from, because everybody who tried ends up dead.

He needs answers.

Forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven believes the truth will set Evie free.

Ignoring her warnings, he begins to dig into her past, only to disturb a hornet’s nest of corrupt and powerful people, who have been waiting to find Evie – the final witness they have been searching for.

Extended-hours roster Six months after DPM stage two, members were directed to different functions and rosters and even different police stations within their districts.

These actions were implemented under section 47 of the Police Act 1998.

Members’ childcare arrangements and annual leave preferences stood to be altered every six months. Some members were, and are, even directed into positions that afflict them with financial disadvantage.

The Police Association can assist members on the basis of individual grievances and through industrial processes.

Unbeknown to him, Haven is leading them straight to Evie. The truth will not set her free.

It will get them killed.

October 2020

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The Last Shift

For the full version of The Last Shift, go to PASAweb at www.pasa.asn.au

Robert Binnekamp Ian Humby David Hunt John Hyson Howard James Stan Lowcock Peter “Jock” McKenzie Pat McManus Neil Nankivell Geoff Neighbour Dave Racz James Rollison Andrew “Andy” Williams

Sergeant James Rollison Call Centre 53 years’ service Last Day: 16.07.20

Police Journal

Serious and Organised Crime Branch 42 years’ service Last Day: 12.08.20

Comments…

“I thank the association for the dedication and support to all members and for constantly improving the working conditions for us all.

“I have enjoyed my time with SAPOL, and the years have just flown by so fast. I have worked with some great people in various parts of this state.

“Due to becoming non-operational about 20 years ago, I moved to the call centre and was amazed at how dedicated the staff were.

“This was where I learnt to look after the people who did the work, and the experience was amazing.”

Comments…

“Mostly I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with SAPOL. I have worked with a large number of fantastic people and hope I have made a contribution to the cause.

“If I had my time again, I would do it all over again with little changes.

“I thank all the people I have worked with for their support and camaraderie. I thank the Police Association for all the work it has done to achieve better working conditions that we have today.”

Brevet Sergeant Stan Lowcock

Senior Constable John Hyson

Comments…

“Attending one too many bad crashes, and having one too many internal clashes, has helped make my decision (to retire).

“To those I leave behind: good luck.

To all those who have assisted me, and those I have enjoyed working with: thank you.

“To the remaining members of ’90 Course 37, still in the job: it was a privilege to have trained with you all, and best wishes to you all.”

Comments…

“Thank you to Mark and the Police Association team for your efforts in securing the pay and work conditions that we currently enjoy.

“Special thanks to everyone I have shared many challenging and often fun experiences with over the years at Novar Gardens, Darlington, Murray Bridge, Mount Gambier, Renmark and Berri CSI relief.

“I leave with many fond memories and lifelong friends.”

Port Victoria 30 years’ service Last Day: 26.08.20

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Detective Sergeant David Hunt

Renmark Patrols 36 years’ service Last Day: 18.09.20

Brevet Sergeant Peter “Jock” McKenzie

Forensic Services Branch 39 years’ service Last Day: 26.08.20 Comments…

“I thank all the past and present committee members and delegates for the work that has been done, and is still being done, to secure better pay and conditions.

“I’m the last remaining holdout from adult course 130 (May 1981), almost 40 years in one of the best jobs I could imagine.

“The last 30 in Forensic Services Branch, with the majority of those years at Forensic Response Section (FRS).

“I’m not sure I’ll miss the work, but I am sure I’ll miss the people I worked with and I’ll especially miss the unique banter we had at FRS. “I joined the SAPOL Basketball Club while in the academy along with the Police Sports Federation, two of the best investments I ever made.

“They enabled me to represent SAPOL in every state and territory in Australia and on both islands of New Zealand.

“To all members, especially those at FRS: look out for one another and good luck.”

Detective Sergeant Pat McManus

Major Crime Investigation Branch 43 years’ service Last Day: 16.07.20 Comments…

“I can quite honestly claim to have thoroughly enjoyed the entire journey, the bulk of it spent within Crime Service, where I had the great privilege to work with a huge number of

uniquely talented men and women, both sworn and unsworn.

“The old adage, that it’s the quality of the people that creates the culture to make good organizations, is so true.

“The last 10 years at Crime Gangs and Major Crime gave me the opportunity to work alongside the next generation of coppers, all of whom impressed me with their energy, commitment and professionalism.

“I thank President Mark Carroll, the executive and delegates for the outstanding work they have done, and which they continue to do, to support the conditions and welfare of the membership.

“As I quietly slip away, I bid all members a fond farewell and best wishes.”

Senior Constable 1C Andrew “Andy” Williams Traffic Services Branch 43 years’ service Last Day: 19.08.20

Comments…

“After 43 years of service, I have no regrets. I spent most of my career working as a speedie on police motorcycles, which was never boring, and I had the pleasure of working with some great people.

“I was fortunate to work on the first multi-skilled taskforce investigating OMCGs, Titan Task Force and, later, Avatar Task Force.

“I was also fortunate to be part of SAPOL’s first contingent to East Timor peacekeeping with UNCIVPOL. “Thank you, Police Association, for your assistance and advice over the years; and, to the family in blue: all the very best for the future.”

Senior Constable 1C Geoff Neighbour

Port Lincoln 44 years’ service Last Day: 16.07.20 Comments…

“I wish all present and future members the best for their future in SAPOL. Your role is not getting any easier.

“I also thank the association for its assistance in several matters over the years, all of which had positive outcomes for me.

“I implore members to keep supporting the association.

“Now to head off into the sunset (travel restrictions permitting) to further explore our big, beautiful country.”

Senior Constable Howard James

Road Policing Section North 35 years’ service Last Day: 02.09.20 Comments…

“I have had good times, and some not-so-good times, while in the job; and it only seems like last week that I entered Fort Largs as a nervous, raw recruit.

“Many thanks to the association for all it has done. It has been reassuring knowing it was there.

“To those members who are volunteers with the Country Fire Service, I can’t thank you enough for your efforts which saved my home from the Cudlee Creek fire.”

Continued …

October 2020

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Detective Chief Inspector Ian Humby

and, more recently, Ethical and Professional Standards Branch and Public Protection Branch, remain dear to me.

“I am privileged to have met and worked with many highly professional and skilled sworn and non-sworn members.

“The support and mentorship provided to me over many years has been exceptional.

“A special thanks must go to my wife, Pennie, and son, Christopher, who resides in London, for their continuing and unwavering patience and support.”

Internal Investigation Section 49 years’ service Last Day: 13.08.20

Comments…

“I want to thank the Police Association for its ongoing support – it is appreciated. I trust that, in some way, I have contributed to the organization, its people and the community.

“At 17, I joined SAPOL straight from school. Brigadier John McKinna was then the police commissioner and Chief Superintendent Eric Meldrum was officer-in-charge of the police academy.

“Academy staff included wellknown police officers: drill instructor Fred Knight, typing instructor Ernest Kirk, PT instructor Lawrie Harcus and, my fifth-phase course mentor, Jack Walsh.

“All had a significant impact on me and, after completing my threeyear cadet training course (with Course 36), and following repeated family tragedies, SAPOL became my second family for which I will always be grateful.

“Worthy of comment is the work undertaken by country police, particularly those in remote areas such as Far North, Yorke Mid-North and Eyre and Western.

“Friendships made, including those from Coober Pedy, Ceduna, Port Pirie, Kadina, Crime Training, Port Augusta, Roxby Downs, Leigh Creek, APY Lands

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Senior Sergeant 1C Dave Racz

Crime Stoppers 43 years’ service Last Day: 02.09.20 Comments…

“Policing was a career that I thoroughly enjoyed. Course 62 and its members have been an important part of my life for the last 43 years.

“The standout from my career is the members of SAPOL, both sworn and unsworn. I was very fortunate to work in many areas within SAPOL and meet the most amazing people.

“This occupation has a very profound comradeship. The camaraderie and the ability to always be there to back up your fellow officers always stood out.

“The job has always had the support of the Police Association with dedicated and diligent staff, executive and delegates who were always there ready to assist when required.

“I enjoyed my time as a Police Association delegate. Thank you to the Police Association.

“The most difficult part of retirement is leaving the great people who make up SAPOL. “To the many friends and acquaintances, it has been an honour to serve with you.”

Senior Constable 1C Neil Nankivell

Mount Gambier Patrols 43 years’ service Last Day: 12.08.20 Comments…

“I thank the Police Association for its continued support for the front-line members.

“I wish the association all the best in its future endeavours for the wellbeing of the members.

“I thank the many colleagues I have worked with during my time with SAPOL. Most of you will not be forgotten.

“More important, I wish all serving members the very best in their careers.”

Sergeant Robert Binnekamp

Employee Management Register 45 years’ service Last Day: 11.09.20 Comments…

“I thank not only the association for its support over the years, but also the many members within SAPOL I met and worked with.

“Policing has been a unique experience which I will always be thankful for and will never regret (45-plus years of it).

“Many have warned me to find something to do when I retire.

I did join Gideon’s (bible distribution), which will bring its own challenges which I look forward to.

“I wish all members the best for their future, and remember the golden rule: Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them – something which I’ve strived to achieve within policing.”

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POLICE ASSOCIATION MEMBER WELLNESS PROGRAM Critical support for first responders and their families

No-cost access is now available to wellbeing and PTSD-related services through a special partnership between the Police Association and UniSA’s Invictus Pathways Program.

This invaluable support option aims to inspire the recovery of first responders from physical, psychological and/or emotional trauma through allied health services.

Gym access, psychological services, workout programs and highperformance testing and training are all on offer (conditions apply).

Opportunities exist for participation in an exercise program at UniSA with an exercise science or exercise physiology student trainer.

There’s also a community adaptive sports program involving opportunities for short courses such as: • Rock climbing.

• Cycling.

• Camping.

• Archery.

• Access to • Wheelchair sports.

Next Generation • Swimming. gym facilities.

• Sailing.

• Kayaking.

This wellness program builds on the existing measures the association has already developed to address the issue of mental health among its members.

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Go to pasa.asn.au/invictuspathways for more information or contact the Police Association on 8212 3055.

October 2020

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35 years on SENIOR SERGEANT 1C TIM PFEIFFER

(Elizabeth Prosecution)

I didn’t really have any expectations when I joined the job, probably because I was a relatively naive 18-year-old who had basically just left school.

I was keen to explore a job in the forensic science field after leaving university, studying a Bachelor of Science. When I started, I didn’t have any goals to get to a certain place or rank.

After I graduated, I worked as a country patrol officer in Murray Bridge for five years and then became a prosecutor in Adelaide.

I’ve been a prosecutor ever since, in Adelaide adult and youth prosecution, Elizabeth and Holden Hill. I’ve also assisted Port Augusta, Port Pirie and Kadina prosecution units. I’ve been lucky enough to manage a great bunch of prosecutors and clerical staff.

Two jobs stand out. One was my first after graduating. A farmer had died after a metal irrigation pipe he was holding touched overhead power lines. The other was a fatal crash. A Torana XU1 had split in half after hitting a Stobie pole. The rear section, wedged up against the pole, had two dead people in it. From the front half, 20 metres away, the driver and passenger had been ejected.

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He has relished his years as a prosecutor but has not forgotten some confronting jobs from his early days as a patrol officer.

I ran the trial of Police v Mercorella. It was an argument about using the printout from the BA instrument as a certificate in court to establish the BA reading.

If I lost, SAPOL stood to lose many drink-driving prosecutions. The magistrate didn’t take very long to dismiss it. On appeal in the Full Court, the judge reversed the dismissal and found the defendant guilty.

It was satisfying because the judge used parts of my written submissions to formulate his judgement.

Despite only having two postings there’s been no shortage of excitement during my career.

Each posting has had its own challenges, and there’s always been plenty of work to do. There’s never been a time when I’ve wanted to get out of the job – apart from perhaps dreaming of becoming a professional golfer – because nothing else seemed as enjoyable or secure.

After 35 years in the job, I’ve started looking towards retirement so my current career aspiration would be to make it to the end. Through my career, I feel that I’ve worked hard. As a result, several doors opened that allowed me to become a senior sergeant, have a successful football umpiring career, and still spend time with my family.

“Each posting has had its own challenges, and there’s always been plenty of work to do.”

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AUGUST 2020

OVID Stopping Cborder e th at

t about the fac ue with you ellers “… they’ll arg essential trav ry.” that they’re ego fit into the cat ’t don just when they

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