Police Journal Spring 2023

SPRING 2023

WHEN DECISION-MAKERS GET IT SO WRONG TI

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“A lot of good that’ll do when we urgently need mounted officers in the city … We’ll then find ourselves seriously lamenting the loss of the six- or seven-minute response from barracks.”

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king: plans I’m thin to do ed about our I want “As we talk really what g the police) go.’ ” ‘Is that (joinin ? I don’t really want to nce Fra in

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Members’ Buying Guide The Police Association Members Buying Guide offers members and their families massive exclusive discounts on a wide range of goods and services.

The easiest way to access all the discount codes is to join the private Facebook Group at facebook.com/groups/membersBuyingGuide

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ontroversy continues to rage over the relocation of the Mounted and Dog Operations units to a new facility at Gepps Cross. In the belief that the people who know best about a job are the people who perform that job, we spoke with rank-and-file members from those units.

Each member denounced the selection of the Gepps Cross site and indicated that no one in government had sought the advice of frontliners. The members also explained which of a number of alternative sites was by far the perfect one, and why.

And just some of the excellent work Mounted Ops members perform came to light recently through the story of Banjo. As a former buckjumper, he presented members with an extreme challenge to transform him into a well-drilled police horse.

The task took years to complete and required members’ best skills and lasting dedication. Sergeant Tim Stacey and his colleagues delivered success in the Banjo experiment, which likely highlighted the case for setting up Mounted Ops not at Gepps Cross but in Park 21.

Visitors from US police departments naturally find points of interest in Australian policing. That was the case for City of Orange Police Association member Amy Carr who, on a trip to Adelaide, found South Australia’s police history “amazing”.

Dr Rod Pearce looks at the scourge of stroke, its warning signs, and intervention; lawyer Daniel Weekley considers when the “no-comment” response is and is not legitimate; Jim Barnett road-tests the Polestar 2 and Hyundai Santa Fe SUV. Police Association president Mark Carroll outlines the “welcome news” of the overhaul of the SAPOL district policing model.

And, in Jobs you never forget, Constable Augustina Asabere tells of a city siege and a warrant arrest involving a firearm and a “trafficable amount” of meth.

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Publisher: Police Association of South Australia Level 2, 27 Carrington St, Adelaide SA 5000 T (08) 8212 3055 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).

COVER: Senior Constable First Class Sonia Wellings, Sergeant Rachael Metcalfe and Sergeant Darren Watkins at Thebarton police barracks. Photography by Steve McCawley.

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President

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How the corporate style eroded standards Industrial

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Onus on SAPOL to protect workers and detainees Civilian employees in the Anti-Corruption Section Health

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Motoring

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Legal

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Books

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Cinema

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DVDs

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Wine

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On Scene

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The Last Shift

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Jobs you never forget

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Some stroke damage avoidable

Polestar Model 2 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

I can’t (or won’t) comment

12 When decision-makers get it so wrong Rank-and-file Mounted Ops members know exactly where their new facility should be, but the Malinauskas government isn’t taking their advice.

20 Why Banjo was quite the journey Transforming a former rodeo horse into a creature fit for police duties seemed an impossible task but expert Mounted Ops members made it happen.

27 From the Orange PD to Thebarton barracks The latest US police visitor to Adelaide called into the SA Police Museum and left with a particularly good impression.

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Silver for CFIS story

Yet another international journalism award came to the Police Association in August with a win in the Feature Article category of the Tabbie Awards.

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COMMITTEE Chris Walkley

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Michael Kent Treasurer

Bernadette Zimmermann Secretary

Wade Burns Deputy President

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Leonie Schulz

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

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Daryl Mundy Vice-President

P: (08) 8212 3055 (all hours) E: pasa@pasa.asn.au Membership enquiries: (08) 8112 7988

Trevor Milne

Samanda Brain

Anthony Coad

POLICE JOURNAL

MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS

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Brett Williams Editor

Nicholas Damiani

Mark Carroll

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

FINANCE

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Sarah Stephens

Wendy Kellett Finance Officer

Shelley Furbow Reception

INDUSTRIAL Andrew Heffernan Nadia Steven Whetton Member Liaison Goslino Assistant Officer Member Liaison Secretary Officer

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REPRESENTATIVES Superannuation Police Dependants Fund Leave Bank Country housing Commissioner’s Office Health Safety & Welfare Advisory Committee Legacy Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Intersex members

Mark Carroll and Michael Kent Bernadette Zimmermann Andrew Heffernan Andrew Heffernan Steven Whetton Julian Snowden Nadia Goslino and Andrew Heffernan

DELEGATES & WORKPLACE REPRESENTATIVES Metro North Branch Gawler Golden Grove Holden Hill Northern Prosecution Salisbury

Andrew Wearn Darren Quirk Daniel Guzej Tim Pfeiffer Robert Sherriff

Country North Branch Ceduna Kadina Nuriootpa Peterborough Port Augusta Port Lincoln Port Pirie Whyalla

Anthony Taylor Gavin Moore Andrew Dredge Nathan Paskett Peter Hore Mark Heading Gavin Mildrum Paul Velthuizen

Crime Command Branch Adelaide Elizabeth Intel Support Major Crime Major Crime Port Adelaide South Coast

Jeremy Handley Joel Manson Garran Donnellan Phil Buttfield David Marsh Scott Mitchell Luke Watts

Metro South Branch Christies Beach/Aldinga Gary Craggs Hindley Street Dick Hern Netley Paul Clark Southern Prosecution Sallie McArdell Southern Traffic Joshua O’Dwyer

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Country South Branch Adelaide Hills Berri Millicent Mount Gambier Naracoorte Renmark South Coast

Joe McDonald Tamara Day Tanya Payne Robert Martin Simon Haebich James Bentley Andrew Bradley

Operations Support Branch Dog Ops Academy Academy ACB Band ComCen ComCen Human Resources Human Resources Mounted Ops STAR Operations State Tac/Op Mandrake

Bryan Whitehorn (chair) Melanie Smith Paul Manns Tony Boots Adam Buckley Glenys Moriarty Allan Dalgleish Eugene Wasilenia Kerry Rouse Sonia Wellings Craig Murphy Duncan Gerrie

Officers Branch

Andrew McCracken

Women’s Branch

Kayt Howe (chair) (no delegates)

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

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

PRESIDENT Mark Carroll

How the corporate style eroded standards F

ew, if any, organizations hold SAPOL and the SA government to account as the Police Association does.

The fact is that, across the last few years, SAPOL’s mismanagement of the force has threatened standards and service delivery.

Without a doubt, the biggest failure of the executive leadership team has been its defective district policing model.

Of course, the DPM was originally designed to centralize the former SAPOL local service area model.

But it essentially amounted to fewer cops policing greater areas.

As with many ill-considered, corporate-style, centralized models, it only succeeded in the erosion of standards and the mental and physical fatigue of members.

That’s because the DPM exists under an entirely false premise: that a police department can prevent crime at the 10

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source by allocating a large portion of its uniformed officers into district policing teams to apply their focus to crime prevention.

Ultimately, however, policing will always be a labour-intensive task for which every jurisdiction requires heavy numbers of police on front-line response.

This has been proven, all around the world, as the fundamental basis on which to bring crime and disorder under control — and keep it there.

The way Commissioner Grant Stevens saw it was that five years of the DPM was not a big enough sample size upon which to judge the model — because it had never been adequately staffed.

So, one SAPOL failure ties into another.

In my last editorial (Taking the DPM issue to the top, Police Journal, winter 2023) I indicated that I had initiated a meeting with Premier Peter Malinauskas to brief him on the defective model.

I informed the premier about the serious concerns members had raised this year via the Police Association survey.

I’m pleased to report that that meeting brought about the desired outcome.

Indeed, it was welcome news when, shortly after the meeting, SAPOL publicly announced a significant overhaul of the DPM. The proposed changes included closer working relationships between response and district teams (including roster alignment), a review of suburb boundaries, increased support for supervisors, and a consideration of civilianization of non-core police roles.

SAPOL’s actions, moving to overhaul the model, proved that association members were entirely correct about the DPM’s significant problems.

Another positive outcome was the government announcement of full funding for an additional 189 PSOs in the 2023-24 state budget.

This will ease some of the strain on front-line members.

And on the issue of rostering, I recently signed an agreement with SAPOL to allow members to trial the long-awaited alternative response extended-hours roster in Metropolitan Operations Service.

The trial will last for at least 14 months, with the association and SAPOL conferring, as necessary, about the roster’s effectiveness.

Based on member input over the last few years, I expect this outcome will be welcome news to MOS members.

I also realize that many other members, in areas outside of MOS, want to move to similar rosters. This will be a feature of negotiations in the next round of enterprise bargaining, which is due to commence toward the end of this year.

So, before then, we’ll be asking members what they want the next agreement to deliver. This agreement will shape the state of policing

for the next several years, so it’s vitally important we hear directly from members about their desires and concerns.

More information about this will be available in the coming months.

Proposed relocation of Mounted and Dog Operations units Another ver y public, and controversial, issue emerged in recent months. It was the Malinauskas government’s deeply flawed proposal to relocate the SAPOL Mounted and Dog Operations units away from the city.

Both these units are vital SAPOL assets which will simply not have the same operational capacity if they are to be based at the intended new facility at Gepps Cross — 12 kilometres out of the city.

This, and several other operational factors, make the proposal ill-considered and scarcely in the best interests of members or the SA community.

It’s common knowledge that around 82 per cent of the tasks to which Mounted Ops members respond are in the Adelaide CBD. That fact alone is a clear indication of the consequences this move will have down the track.

Victoria Police learned this the hard way.

In fact, the day this story broke, Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt went on Adelaide radio to issue a cautionary tale to SAPOL and the government.

Several years ago, the Victoria Police Mounted Branch shifted to a spot near the airport at Tullamarine.

It was a move which, as Wayne Gatt explained, compromised service delivery and increased the cost to the Victorian taxpayer.

The SA government, however, appears unwilling to learn from Victoria’s mistakes, so the association will continue to lobby against this move.

I’ve said before that the person who knows best about a job is the person who

performs that job. So, we did what the government should have done but failed to do: take advice from rank-and-file Mounted Ops members who perform the job every day.

They explain in our cover story why the Gepps Cross move is such a bad idea.

See When decision-makers get it so wrong, page 12.

Carrington St office renovation The Police Association’s Carrington St offices have served the organization well since the early 1960s. But the committee of management agreed that the building was tired and the technology was dated. It was in dire need of a refresh.

In 2022, with the backing of the committee, I sought advice from architects and construction experts about what we could do to improve, refurbish, and modernize the offices, plus make more efficient use of the available space.

Ultimately, renovations commenced in May 2023 and, remarkably, all staff were back in the Carrington St building by late August.

The now completed renovations have transformed the building into an efficient, state-of-the-art office facility which will serve the association and its members for many years to come.

It will also prove to be an outstanding investment in the future of the association.

As part of the renovation, the association committee of management has secured tenants for the first floor, and part of the ground floor — as well as a potential lease arrangement of the Precinct Café.

If successful, this arrangement will generate a significant ongoing income stream for the association.

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Facing page, left to right: Senior Constable First Class Sonia Wellings, Sergeant Rachael Metcalfe and Sergeant Darren Watkins.

WHEN DECISION-MAKERS GET IT SO WRONG

BY BRETT WILLIAMS

Rank-and-file Mounted Operations members always knew where they needed to be to deliver the best service. Had the Malinauskas government sought – and taken – their advice, it would have made Park 21 the new home of Mounted Ops.

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he idea struck Senior Constable First Class Sonia Wellings as simply ridiculous.

It was to move Mounted Operations, a critical Thebarton-based specialist unit, 12km out of the city to a yet-to-be-built facility at Gepps Cross.

Wellings and her mounted colleagues understood and accepted the need to demolish the heritage-listed Thebarton barracks to make way for a new women’s and children’s hospital.

And they certainly wanted a new facility but could see so many obvious flaws in building it north of Grand Junction Road.

Mounted Ops did, after all, carry out more than 80 per cent of its duties in the CBD. And around the hazardous nightclub

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strip, the weekend presence and backup of cops on horseback was essential to outnumbered foot patrols dealing with violent revellers.

A move to Gepps Cross would mean the loss of the simple, effective process of riding horses directly into the city from barracks to undertake shifts.

In its place would be a complicated three-step process. First, float the horses into the city to prepare for the shift in a staging area, yet to be built at a cost unknown. Second, undertake the shift and, third, float the horses back to Gepps Cross.

Clearly, such a cumbersome process would mean a lot of time lost in travel per shift. And that, as any Mounted Ops member could have told the government, would compromise service delivery.

Mounted Ops sergeant Darren Watkins, with 39 years’ police experience, continues to make that point.

“We provide this service, we’ve been doing it for more than 100 years, and (based at barracks, close to the city) it’s cost efficient,” he insists.

“The training technique we’ve had within the city works. We get good results and produce really good police horses.

“What the government has said to us now is: ‘We’re going to take you out of that ideal environment and the expectation is you’ll just carry on.’

That’s okay but it won’t be the same result. For that, you’ll need to give us more resources.”

“What the government has said to us now is: ‘We’re going to take you out of that ideal environment and the expectation is you’ll just carry on.’

That’s okay but it won’t be the same result.

For that, you’ll need to give us more resources.”

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Wellings felt certain the Malinauskas government, which portrays itself as a supporter of police, would see sense.

With a handful of city parkland sites available, and each one a perfect locale for a new Mounted Ops base, Gepps Cross seemed an insane choice.

So, Wellings was not about to devote any thought to a plan she saw, and thought the government would see, as so inappropriate.

But then, “the worst nightmare came true” for the whole of Mounted Ops. The government announced that Gepps Cross was indeed to be the new locale for both Mounted and Dog Operations units. And the build, on government-owned land, would come at a cost of at least $90 million.

Police Association president Mark Carroll calls the expenditure “an appalling waste of taxpayers’ money” which should outrage the community.

“Our understanding is that a build on Park 21 would’ve been tens of millions of dollars cheaper,” he says.

“The treasurer says it was going to cost around the same as the Gepps Cross price tag of $90 million. If that’s the case, when did the government cost it, and where is that costing? And the Gepps Cross price might, in any case, exceed $100 million.”

Carroll has condemned not just the exorbitant cost of the Gepps Cross plan but also its logistical failings.

“It’s one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever seen emerge from government,” he says. “We’ll now have a situation where our Mounted Ops people will have a 40- to 50-minute drive, towing floats, between Gepps Cross and the city.

“A lot of good that’ll do when we urgently need mounted officers in the city to help deal with a violent protest or some other critical incident. We’ll then find ourselves seriously lamenting the loss of the six- or seven-minute response from barracks.

“Assistant Commissioner Noel Bamford has himself admitted that there’ll be an impact on ‘any sort of immediate response’. So, there’s a clear risk to public safety here, which I’ve made clear to Peter Malinauskas.

“He and his government and SAPOL might be happy to accept that risk. Mounted Ops members and the Police Association are not.”

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“I stupidly thought that they were elected to make right choices for us, and they’re making the wrong choice.

It just defies belief that they would do this.”

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he line-up of government heavyweights, police executive leaders, interest groups and others who chose not to back rank-and-file mounted police was lengthy.

There was Premier Peter Malinauskas, Treasurer Stephen Mullighan, Police Minister Joe Szakacs and Lower House MP Lucy Hood.

Another was Adelaide Lord Mayor and former government minister Jane LomaxSmith. Despite her Labor credentials, she publicly and vehemently opposed any move to set up rank-and-file Mounted Ops members in a new facility on any parkland site.

The Adelaide Park Lands Association agreed with her and protested accordingly.

In response, the Malinauskas government ditched its plan to set up Mounted Ops on Park 21 in the south parklands.

Clear to the Police Association was that the government caved in so as not to jeopardize the re-election chances of Lucy Hood, the member for Adelaide.

Stephen Mullighan tried to justify the selection of the Gepps Cross site in a breakfast radio interview. Police officers listening in found his input insulting, particularly when he claimed to understand that some Mounted Ops members “don’t like this change”.

His comment suggested they were opposed to the move because of personal inconvenience. Members are clear about the reason they continue to speak against the Gepps Cross locale: they care about the unit and its high standard of service.

To Commissioner Grant Stevens, Park 21 was the ideal site for a new Mounted Ops base. He was all for it and said so publicly.

But when the government abandoned its Park 21 selection, Stevens appeared to the Police Association not to fight or even argue against the decision.

Mark Carroll labelled him “a proxy government minister”, seemingly uninterested in “serving the interests of his workforce”.

“Grant Stevens has plenty of form in this area,” he says. “You can go all the back to 2015 when we fought to regain lost compensation entitlements under the Return to Work Act. Grant supported the government instead of his employees.

“In 2017, he supported a decision not to prosecute, for assault police, an offender who assaulted an on-duty member in Hindley St. “And last year, there was the issue of the reintroduction of the sale of alcohol

“I can see that the consequences (of Gepps Cross) are huge and, with no control, I’m sitting there living it every day.”

Senior Constable First Class Sonia Wellings

in cans at Adelaide Oval. Despite the potential for hyped-up can-throwers to injure front-line cops, Grant chose not to object to the application for can sales.

“And now, he’s gone along with another government decision, which runs completely counter to the advice of rank-and-file Mounted Ops members.”

In a breakfast radio interview in August, Stevens conceded that Gepps Cross was a “less preferred option” and “not optimal”. So, one interviewer asked him if he would “relook at” and “push for parklands again”. Omitted from his answer was “yes”.

“We’ll make it (Gepps Cross) work,” he said. That meant not he but rather Mounted Ops members would have to make it work.

Stevens’ apparent attitude toward the move to Gepps Cross left Mounted Ops members like Sonia Wellings feeling seriously aggrieved.

“I feel like he threw us under the bus,” she says. “He didn’t support us at all. That radio interview did not help.

He’s supposed to be our leader and he let us down big time.”

Sergeant Darren Watkins

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ellings, and her workmates, feel just as let down by the Malinauskas government, in which she has lost all faith.

She now thinks of herself as “so naïve” for thinking the government would “do the right thing”.

“I stupidly thought that they were elected to make right choices for us,” she says, “and they’re making the wrong choice.

It just defies belief that they would do this.”

“We’ve had people in tears at work because they’re not going to be able to move to the new Mounted Ops (at Gepps Cross),” she explains. “Sworn and unsworn, they’re going to have to leave their job.”

Darren Watkins also feels let down.

He speaks of “really dark places” in which he has found himself because of the Gepps Cross move.

“To the point,” he says, “where it really does affect me and my relationships, at home and even within my friendship group.

“It’s like I’ve got to the point in the process where I just don’t want to talk about it anymore. It’s obvious what the answer is.

(It’s the parklands) but I have no control over that.

“I can see that the consequences (of Gepps Cross) are huge and, with no control, I’m sitting there living it every day.”

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“The hardest thing is there seems to be a really reasonable solution 400 metres from where we’re currently sitting.

That’s probably the bit that I find the most stressful: not being able to get that point across or listened to.”

Sergeant Rachael Metcalfe

Of course, the government also rejected two stretches of Adelaide Airport land at West Beach – supposedly because of PFAS contamination.

The locations, which came into consideration after the government caved in to pressure over Park 21, got some endorsement from Mounted Ops members.

Long-serving training sergeant Rachael Metcalfe picked a “few things that were favourable”.

“It had the aircraft noise which is that audible training for horses,” she explains.

“There was relatively easy access through to suburbs.

“You could ride through to Glenelg rather than transporting. And Glenelg would still give us a bit of that pub, club, trams, traffic sort of exposure without having to transport out.”

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ith its Gepps Cross decision, the Malinauskas government has caused just about every Mounted Ops member to agonize in one way or another.

Metcalfe has observed it first-hand.

“It has been very stressful,” she says.

“But the staff have been resilient through this. They’ve already taken up the aboveand-beyond (approach) in their commitment to training.

“They’ve put even more into it, knowing that we’re going to have that additional need in the future. So, they’ve been amazing.

“The hardest thing is there seems to be a really reasonable solution 400 metres from where we’re currently sitting.

That’s probably the bit that I find the most stressful: not being able to get that point across or listened to.”

The solution Metcalfe refers to is Park 27A in North Adelaide.

“There’s enough room there to set up facilities,” she explains. “And it actually gets us closer to Adelaide Oval and Coopers Stadium. But, because the parklands have now been taken out of the equation, there doesn’t seem to be any consideration of that area.”

On a bus tour which took in Park 27A, Park 21 and Ellis Park, Mounted Ops members inspected and assessed each one.

Says Watkins of Ellis Park: “We thought: ‘Yeah, we can make this work.’

But the jewel in the crown was Park 21.

That was ideal. It had great access to the north and south of the city, and we could ride straight into the city via Whitmore Square.”

“The pitfalls we’ve identified are actual, real things and that hasn’t been taken on board.

The narrative is: ‘Yes, Victoria does it so SA can.’

“Well, it doesn’t work. Even the unknowns are actually known, and nobody’s listening. We don’t feel like we’ve really been consulted at all.”

Wellings remembers how she and her Mounted Ops workmates assessed Park 21 as the perfect location. For all of them, it was their No. 1 choice.

When the government announced its selection of Park 21 in March, Mounted Ops members like Watkins were delighted. He remembers thinking that the decision was “just great”, and that the government had “got it right”.

“I thought: ‘This is heading in the right direction,’ ” he says. “And then, all of a sudden, there was a backlash (from the Adelaide Park Lands Association), and the government has just fallen at the first hurdle.

“Didn’t even offer any resistance whatsoever. And, after that, no consultation with our group.

Everything just imploded for us.”

Watkins speaks of the broad frustration which afflicts him and his workmates owing to “certain promises made by the government”.

A new Mounted Ops facility within five kilometres of the Adelaide CBD is one promise he recalls.

And he paraphrases another: “We’re going to take over your land and put you somewhere and there’s going to be no interference to your service delivery or training.”

Says Watkins: “Well, that sounded great, but…

“The idea that we may not be living (based) in the city, was devastating for our members. They all see the most important element for us is where we (as a unit) live, and we need it to be close to the CBD.”

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f the deepest concern to respected expert Rachael Metcalfe is the long-term impact of the Gepps Cross move.

“I’m lost,” she exclaims. “I don’t know how it’s going to work. It’s just a huge challenge. We know that we can’t replicate (how we operate) in the city anywhere apart from in the city.

“What we’ve been achieving from Thebarton barracks is going to take a huge amount of logistics and trial and error (in Gepps Cross). We won’t know the results of that for maybe 10 years.”

But to listen to Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt in an Adelaide radio interview in August was to understand what those results might look like.

The Victoria Police Mounted Branch moved from its long-time home in South Melbourne to the suburb of Attwood in 2016. Attwood is 17 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD and three kilometres from Tullamarine Airport.

And Gatt, himself a former mounted officer, had “strong advice” for the Malinauskas government. “If you didn’t have to do this (move to Gepps Cross),” he said, “I wouldn’t do it.”

He explained that, since the move to Attwood, the time his members spent patrolling city streets and high-crime areas had halved.

Gatt also pointed out the considerable cost impact on the government.

“There wouldn’t be a demonstration that our members attend now that doesn’t incur significant and costly amounts of overtime,” he said.

“Our members simply can’t get the job done in an ordinary shift. We have to resort

to hundreds of hours of overtime each and every year…

“Police (horses) … need to be tacked up, they need to be warmed up, and got ready for service. And then they need some time to adjust to that, and we need to get them into the right place.

“This can take half of our shift now.

So, in the context of deploying to the place where we do the majority of our work, we’ve taken a significant hit in terms of service delivery.”

Watkins estimates that, for Mounted Ops to maintain its standard of service in SA, it will need an extra 10 uniformed members and 10 new civilian positions.

“You would hope that the government is going to make that decision,” he says.

“We need more people because there’ll be inefficiencies with how we go about our training. There’ll be a lot of time wasted in transiting from one site to another.”

Wellings understands the point Gatt makes about time for horses to adjust to their work environments, particularly in the city.

“It needs desensitization and gradually introducing horses to the CBD,” she says, “because it’s not a normal area for a horse to work in. We have to do it very methodically and carefully, and that will be interrupted.

“The pitfalls we’ve identified are actual, real things and that hasn’t been taken on board. The narrative is: ‘Yes, Victoria does it so SA can.’

“Well, it doesn’t work. Even the unknowns are actually known, and nobody’s listening. We don’t feel like we’ve really been consulted at all.”

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THE GEPPS CROSS IMPACT ON DOG OPS T

he Dog Operations Unit is the other specialist outfit earmarked to join Mounted Ops at Gepps Cross. Its members hold the strong view that a base not necessarily in, but close to, the city is by far the best option for their purposes.

A facility as far out of town as Gepps Cross has members concerned about issues such as service delivery, safety, training, and supervision.

The work which handlers and their dogs undertake, such as tracking suspects from crime scenes, is time-critical and often demands urgent-response driving from their base.

It could be the case that a handler gets called to a critical incident at Glenelg but has to charge there from Gepps Cross, 23km away. From the centre of Adelaide, he or she would only have to travel half that distance.

So, from a safety perspective, operating from Gepps Cross will, in many cases, mean longer stretches of high-speed driving – and its associated risks. The more central the Dog Ops facility, the less scope for disaster on the road.

Dog Ops senior sergeant Ryan Johnson recognizes the risks and suggests that to minimize them, “members will need to stage either north or south”.

“And Dog Ops,” he says, “has now been included in a city staging plan which will address some of these risks.”

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“So, there’s the potential for the face-to-face contact with the supervisors and operations manager to reduce (at Gepps Cross).”

But Johnson also recognizes that staging will come with a downside.

“It will bring about a reduction in members’ ability to attend their base location to undertake joint training, engage with other handlers, supervisors and managers, or complete required paperwork,” he says.

These are complications which Dog Ops brevet sergeant Bryan Whitehorn has seen play out in Victoria.

“I’ve been to the complex in (Attwood) Victoria,” he says, “where Mounted and Dogs share the same facility. The complex is fantastic but it’s way out of the city.

Bryan Whitehorn with now retired colleague Tony Potter and their dogs Ike and Ink.

“I’ve talked to their guys a fair bit and (found that) the face-to-face contact with the supervisors dropped dramatically.

The guys just didn’t drive out there.

“So, there’s the potential for the face-to-face contact with the supervisors and operations manager to reduce (at Gepps Cross).”

Like his colleagues at Mounted Ops, Whitehorn is disappointed that no one in senior government ever sought the advice of rank-and-file dog handlers.

“Consulting the general workforce as to what we would need?” he asks. “Nothing (from government). Not a cracker.” PJ

THE KEY CITY AND SUBURBAN RELOCATION SITES

Gepps Cross site Grand Junction

Road

Main North Road

Coopers Stadium Park 27A Thebarton Barracks Ellis Park Adelaide Airport

Adelaide Oval Hindley Street nightclub strip Whitmore Square Park 21

st We B ea

Previously proposed airport location

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Glenelg

Glenelg nightlife precinct

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Why Banjo was quite the journey

BY BRETT WILLIAMS

His attitude had Mounted Operations members thinking he might not be worth the trouble. But police horse Banjo showed them just what a remarkable change he could make.

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1. Stacey with Banjo in the Arkaba indoor arena in the Bugle Ranges in 2014.

2. Pauly Daniel on Banjo in the arena.

olice horse Banjo once stood distrustful, undernourished, and shaking with nerves in a Mounted Operations yard at Thebarton police barracks. Clearly fear-struck and “ultra-sensitive”, he sought not closeness but rather a chasm between himself and any humans.

His body language was clear and decipherable to Mounted Ops members, few of whom could get anywhere near him in that yard. Four-year-old Banjo looked like a horse too psychologically troubled to get even close to rideable.

To the simple touch of a human, he reacted with blindingly obvious discomfort. But earmarked, perhaps ambitiously, for a future as a brave, well-drilled SA police horse, this grey part Clydesdale was here to stay.

He was the product of a burden forced on him by the rodeo industry. Banjo had lived an earlier period of his life as a buckjumper. With a less-than-ferocious buck, however, he wound up cast aside.

And then came his next burden: a solo existence in a residential backyard before a move to a thoroughbred property in Ipswich.

But he was soon to attract the interest of Mounted Ops training sergeant Rachael Metcalfe. On holiday in Queensland, she got a tip that he was up for sale, made a detour, and went to inspect him.

Her information was that, insofar as age, size and colour, Banjo measured up with Mounted Ops requirements.

“I liked what I saw, even though he was in very poor condition,” she says.

“He was very naturally balanced in his body, a really nicely balanced horse.

“His bones matched his muscle; his neck length matched his back length.

All the indicators we look for were there.

He ticked all those boxes.”

But there was still the matter of his psychological baggage, which Metcalfe had not overlooked.

“I think his experience with people was all negative and frightening at that stage,” she says.

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“I don’t think he got a lot of early education. I don’t think he saw a lot of people. He just had that lack of selfconfidence, especially with people on the ground.

“You sort of thought of him as like a little frightened kid with a strap around him (in rodeos) to try to make him buck. It wouldn’t have been a great experience for him.”

As far as anyone knew, Mounted Ops had never considered taking on a former buckjumper. But back then, in 2013, the unit was short of horses, and Banjo was going for what Metcalfe describes as the “giveaway price” of $1,000.

“He was a gamble right from the start,” she says. “We thought: ‘Can we or can’t we take this scared, insecure horse and actually make him into a brave police horse?’

“We were all aware that this really was a punt, that there was a high probability that this horse wouldn’t work out.

“But it was (at least) an opportunity to give ourselves a challenge and perhaps gain something as far as training for our members.”

So, the purchase of Banjo went ahead. Shipped down from Ipswich to Adelaide, he found himself in that Mounted Ops yard where Sergeant Tim Stacey first got acquainted with him.

“Quite literally,” he says, “when we brought him to barracks, only

a handful of people could even think about getting into his yard to feed him.

“The first time I saw him he was shivering nervous in the corner, getting as far away as he possibly could from any of the staff at barracks. My first thought was: ‘He will never make a police horse. What are we thinking?’

“So, whether it was worth the time and effort to try to turn this horse around, I was unsure at the beginning.”

He might have been uncertain, but Stacey was to find himself with precisely that responsibility: to turn Banjo around. And that suited him.

He had several times outlined his strong interest in exactly the kind of project Banjo represented. So, Metcalfe assigned it to him.

But it seemed, and proved, a good idea for Stacey to get some initial help from an expert outside Mounted Ops. So, he headed up to the Adelaide Hills where he and Banjo spent a full week with specialist horse breaker Pauly Daniel.

The serious task in front of Stacey was to learn specific techniques from Daniel and begin to build a special bond with Banjo.

Daniel could instantly see in Banjo a “big personality”, a strong will, distrust of humans and, of course, defensiveness.

“I was confident that (breaking him in) could be done,” he says, “but I wasn’t sure if it would be done.

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“It’s okay for a horse to tell you it doesn’t want to do something and, if they’re honest about it, you can work with that.

“I liked him (Banjo) and respected him because he was just telling me what he thought.

“But you really had to crack in to get that trust in him, to just show him that (I was) working with him and not against him.”

Until that exchange of trust came about, Banjo was at times happy to resort to his former practice of bucking.

Stacey several times wound up bucked off into the dirt. It happened the very first time he tried to mount Banjo – without first working him on the ground (lunging).

“I got up off the ground and he was about 50 metres away from me. I went and got him and remounted him after some brief lunging and then rode him for two or three hours on a big trail ride.

“I somehow just knew that if I could stay on his back for more than 30 seconds he would feel as safe as houses. I knew he would look after me.

“It was just the fact that, upon mounting him, he was so sensitive.

I believe that was due to his previous career: he thought it was his job to buck me off.

“But I got through to him that his job was in fact to keep me on his back. And when we developed that understanding, he did give me longer on his back.”

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“I somehow just knew that if I could stay on his back for more than 30 seconds he would feel as safe as houses.

I knew he would look after me.”

Back at Thebarton barracks in mid-2014, after the week with Daniel, the change in Banjo was unmistakeable. A Mounted Ops training report described him as “… a different horse …” and “… calm and responsive to groundwork.”

It also noted “… no signs of bucks.”

Says Metcalfe: “He sort of gave you a feeling like: ‘Tell me what to do and I’ll be happy to do it for you. As long as you’re happy and confident then I’ll be happy and confident.’ He was an entirely different feel under saddle. Pauly did a fantastic job of starting him.”

3-5. Stacey on Banjo in the arena with Daniel on a support horse (image 4).

Of course, he was not yet the perfect police horse and still had plenty of on-the-job training to undertake, chiefly with Stacey.

There was his sensitivity to overcome, a bond to strengthen with him, and practices to help him understand. Stacey stuck firmly with his “project” and never got impatient with Banjo.

“I knew it was his nature (that was an issue),” he says, “and, yes, it was challenging. My impatience came more from the jobs I was trying to do.

“I was trying to manage a search at Manna Hill, for example. I was trying to run a team of members and horses and interact with Major Crime, the media, and others.

“At the same time, I was trying to work down, mount, and patrol this challenging horse. That just created more complications for me.”

But as Stacey persevered, Banjo came to have fewer and fewer issues with getting tacked up, mounted, hosed off, and exercised in the horse walker.

From mid-2015, he was out on patrol in seaside suburbs like Semaphore, Glenelg and Port Noarlunga, as well as city hot spots and North Adelaide.

He kept his cool when Stacey rode him along Hindley St, around the casino, over the Adelaide Oval footbridge, and through the parklands.

Rarely, if ever, did the loud noises and sudden movements of the city spook him.

In mid-2016, Banjo excelled in his first operational task: a search for a missing person over “challenging terrain” in the Onkaparinga Gorge.

“You could see Tim working with this horse and just being the picture of calmness, despite what Banjo might have been throwing his way.”

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6. Banjo’s first patrol in Rundle Mall in 2017.

7. Leading a missing-person search at Sedan in 2018. 8. Stacey with Banjo at Thebarton barracks in 2015.

9. Stacey with Banjo on a drug search at Paracombe in 2019.

10. Rigano with Banjo on a missing-person search at Indulkana this year.

And, a few days later, he undertook his “first proper patrol” at Tea Tree Plaza. There, he responded willingly when it came to chasing juvenile offenders evicted from the shopping centre.

He also happily accepted the attention of the adoring fans he attracted from among the shoppers.

Their pats and snapping cameras gave him no concern.

Nor did traffic give Banjo any concern, as he showed out on the street. On a ride from barracks all the way to Henley Square in 2017, he took on the busy South RoadAshwin Parade intersection at the Brickworks. Relaxed and confident, he never put a foot wrong.

And on a patrol of Glenelg the previous year, the sound and

movement of cars and trams along Jetty Road failed to disturb him even slightly.

Senior Constable 1C Ryan Rigano, who joined Mounted Ops in 2018, noted the particularly measured approach Stacey was taking with Banjo.

“The way Tim put it to me one time was that Banjo requires quiet leadership,” he recalls. “You could see Tim working with this horse and just being the picture of calmness, despite what Banjo might have been throwing his way.

“So, it was evident to me that that’s the way you need to deal with Banjo, irrespective of any frustration you might feel.”

Taking note of Banjo and his sensitivities was worth the effort for Rigano. He had joined Mounted Ops as a detective with no horse-riding

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experience, yet he was to become Banjo’s primary rider.

Rigano began riding Banjo around 12 months ago on a share basis with Stacey. He concedes that, knowing Banjo had bucked the odd rider off into the dirt, he initially had a few nerves.

“I don’t have Tim’s riding experience,” he says, “so it was very much a process of me starting off slowly and gradually getting to know the horse.

“At first, I’d exercise and work him under Tim’s guidance. Tim taught me how to work him because all horses are unique, and Banjo is particularly unique.”

And, until only recently, Stacey continued to ride Banjo in the most challenging environments, like protest scenes and rugged-terrain searches.

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“A normal horse might react to that by shying or moving away from the stimuli. In fact, Banjo was trying to bite the flag and pull it out of the protester’s hands. … It summarized how far along this horse has come with his training.

He knows his job so well now that he just wants to get it done.”

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11. Stacey on Banjo (second from left) outside Parliament House with (from left) Ryan Rigano on Dakota, SC1C Richard Miles on Yarra, and SC Derek Croser on General – the first public-order deployment for Banjo earlier this year. 12. Stacey and Banjo sharing lunch during a break at Morphett Vale while working on Operation Watercolour which targeted rock-throwers on the Southern Expressway in 2018. 13. Rigano and Banjo at Thebarton barracks earlier this year. 14. Banjo on the missingperson search at Indulkana with Rigano earlier this year. 15. Banjo en route to Indulkana.

“As I got better and better at dealing with those aversions he would throw at me,” Rigano explains, “the duties I got Banjo for steadily increased. Then, eventually, I started taking him out on the road and ‘into battle’. And recently there’s been more of a handover of Banjo to me.”

“That’s (down to) Tim getting this horse to the stage where a more novice, inexperienced rider like me can now ride him.”

And now, Rigano undertakes all duties with Banjo as his primary patrol horse.

“It’s now probably nine months that I’ve been patrolling him,” he says. “I’m his primary rider on the operational shifts when we’re doing the CBD and Hindley St on a Friday night and Saturday night.”

Stacey thinks of those nights in the entertainment precinct as “effectively a riot” and sometimes more challenging than public-order deployments.

Just a few weekends ago, Banjo proved his worth in a Hindley St incident outside the Dog and Duck nightclub. Troublemakers tried to interfere with foot patrols as they undertook the arrests of three offenders.

Rigano moved Banjo into position to shield the officers, as did other Mounted Ops members on their horses.

“He (Banjo) was nervous doing that,” Rigano says. “I could feel that he was tense through his back and neck. He was starting to shift his weight about and jog on the spot a little bit. He was letting me know that he was uncomfortable.

“But, irrespective of that, he was doing what he was told. He was still paying attention to what I was asking him to do.”

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Stacey had earlier used Banjo to help out with a Mounted Ops response to a city protest. Irrational Extinction Rebellion protestors were busy infuriating members of the public outside Parliament House.

An order had come from the forward commander to move them on toward the Adelaide Convention Centre.

“That was challenging,” Stacey recalls. “They had trumpets, massive flags, and a variety of items to make noise and intimidate police and the police horses.

“I was unsure how Banjo was going to perform but we had him hard up against the trailing end of the protest group and the flags were waving in his face.

“A normal horse might react to that by shying or moving away from the stimuli. In fact, Banjo was trying to bite the flag and pull it out of the protester’s hands.

“That was an interesting behaviour.

It summarized how far along this horse has come with his training. He knows his job so well now that he just wants to get it done.”

Stacey is quite open about his pride in and deep affection for Banjo.

His pride grew even further recently when Banjo achieved his full status as a public-order horse.

“It’s been blood, sweat and tears but it’s also been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

16. Banjo with his trainer, Stacey, and now-primary rider, Rigano.

SA police horses can attain no greater standing in police work.

The honour comes about, in part, through outstanding work in publicorder deployments like that Extinction Rebellion protest.

“It’s a huge milestone,” Stacey says.

“It more commonly takes four or five years but the process with Banjo has taken longer because of his challenges.

“To think he was once in rodeos trying to buck riders off in the quickest time possible. To transform a horse that was doing that, into a rideable, functioning public-order horse, has been quite the journey.

“It’s been blood, sweat and tears but it’s also been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Given that Banjo is of a lighter bodyweight with a well-balanced, athletic build, Stacey expects him to continue to excel.

“Horses built like him tend to last a bit longer than heavier horses,” he says. “The job puts a fair bit of stress on those large horses’ joints. So, touch wood, Banjo’s got a long police career in front of him.” PJ Spring 2023

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City of Orange Police Association member Amy Carr, with daughter Megan and grandson Jett, exchanges shoulder patches with SA Police Historical Society president Chief Inspector Bill Prior (ret).

FROM THE ORANGE PD TO THEBARTON BARRACKS

By Brett Williams

T

he SA Police Museum received an American visitor with a strong connection to Adelaide in August. City of Orange Police Association member Amy Carr had made the trip to Australia from her home in Orange County, California, to visit family.

Her daughter, Megan, settled in Adelaide three-and-a-half years ago and has a oneyear-old son, Jett, with her Australian husband, Nicholas.

Amy, along with Megan and Jett, got a personalized tour of the museum by Police Historical Society president Bill Prior. And she was delighted to see so many US shoulder patches among the hundreds displayed in the Roy Harvey Gallery.

“I thought it was amazing,” she says. “It was so nice to see some of (Orange’s) neighbouring cities represented, and all the (Australian) history that was there covering 200 years.

“And it was interesting to see the uniforms of the female officers over the years and to learn that they used to carry their guns in their handbags.”

Amy found the Bruce Furler Gallery, which houses historic police cars and motorcycles, an equally compelling exhibit. And, as an animal lover, she was thrilled while at Thebarton barracks to see some Mounted Operations horses.

“I saw the progression of the cars during the years,” she says, “from the 1920s to the most recent one they had there.

“And it was neat to see the horses.

We don’t have a mounted unit (in Orange) anymore. The horses that we had lived at home with the handlers, so the handlers had to have a horse property and take care of them at home.”

Amy joined the Orange Police Department in 2007 and initially worked in its Records Bureau. She later moved to the Traffic Bureau where she served for seven years. Her role was to process traffic citations and arrange court packages for misdemeanours like driving unlicenced.

Later, in a more senior role in the Traffic Bureau, she became responsible for statistics in connection with offences

like DUI. She also helped undertake planning for major events such as the annual Orange International Street Fair.

For the past eight years, however, Amy has served as the police training coordinator. Anything to do with training and, indeed, hiring passes across her desk.

“Whether it’s for our perishable skills programme,” she says, “or just an update for a field training officer. Our focus is to create a training calendar for the two-year training cycle for all the perishable skills: firearms, arrest control, communications, driving, and now use of force.

“So, we create a two-year training calendar for those particular perishable skills. We then make sure that they’re put on every training cycle because we get audited by the state every year for both training and hiring requirements.”

Although Amy is a sworn member her powers are limited as her police academy training in 2009 was only to a certain level. It nonetheless qualified her to work as a reserve in addition to her regular role in the Traffic Bureau.

“That was 16 hours a month,” she says.

“We were doing transport from our detention facility at the police department to Orange County Jail. That was Friday and Saturday nights, and we were pretty busy doing that, and also working at special events like the street fair.”

While the defund-the-police movement has plagued many parts of the US, Orange police have remained free of its impact. Amy speaks of a “great relationship” between the Orange Police Department and the city.

“Our residents are always thanking us and very supportive,” she says. “So, the defund idea is not really very active in our community.

“However, when we send our officers to training, and they discuss it with people from other agencies, we know how lucky we are. Those people tell stories about how it is for them in their areas, and we definitely feel for them.”

Amy came to Australia equipped with Orange Police shoulder patches and, on her tour of the SA Police Museum, handed one to Bill Prior. He reciprocated with an SA Police shoulder patch.

“And he gave me a very lovely police challenge coin,” Amy says. “I really received such a warm welcome from everybody.” PJ Spring 2023

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“… if we as police were to deal with “In this job things can go gravely wrong members of the public this way, very quickly ifdragging we don’tthe have the right chain, we’d open ourselves expertise and understanding.” up to criticism from management.”

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Zoe Gooch, Paul Adams and Gaye Kittel

“This success and popularity of the journal is what makes it such an effective component in our operations as a union.”

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By Nicholas Damiani

POST-CRASH THE OTHER INDECISION PANDEMIC

ON

Silver for CFIS story

FEBRUARY 2022

T H AU S T R

THE POLICE JOURNAL HAS KEPT UP ITS EXTRAORDINARY RUN OF INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS WITH ANOTHER JOURNALISM AWARD IN THE UNITED STATES. In the Feature Article category at the Tabbie Awards, the 103-year-old magazine won a Silver Award for its February 2022 cover story The other pandemic.

News of the win came out of Cleveland, Ohio at 4:30am (Adelaide time) on August 18. Judges for Trade, Association and Business Publications International (TABPI) gave the story a strong endorsement.

“Intriguing look into how new policies could affect departments such as domestic violence and sex crime,” one judge wrote. “An important read for this audience. Also love the design and use of images with each person’s pull quote.”

Police Journal editor Brett Williams wrote the hard-hitting 12-page story about Police Association members working in the arduous field of child and family investigations.

Six members of the Southern District Child and Family Investigation Section took part in interviews in which they spoke openly about their critical roles – and concerns.

It emerged that their chief concern was a MOS rotation policy which they, as experts in their field, considered entirely inappropriate.

The policy compelled CFIS detective sergeants and brevet sergeants to transfer out into other CIB areas within MOS every two years.

Torn almost limb from limb Lacerated, traumatized and in hospital was never how Constable Carla Duncan should have ended her shift. But she did, and the

P O S T- C R A S H INDECISION

By Brett Williams

to pay a price.

THERE were no Panavision cameras rolling but it could have been a classic tear-jerker movie scene. A savage but forlorn pit bull sits isolated on death row in a Canberra dog pound. He has committed the ultimate offence by attacking a human. Indeed, a police officer.

Finally, after 12 months, the time comes to put him to sleep. Despite his crime, an attractive young woman decides not to let him go to his death without some human warmth.

He receives the destruction drug, and she holds his head in her sympathetic arms as he fades away.

The woman was Australian Federal Police constable Carla Duncan. And it was she who Buddy the pit bull had mauled at the behest of his criminal owner.

The growling dog, with his bite force of more than 100kg, wreaked his savagery on her for around 100 seconds.

With one bite of her right calf, he ripped the muscle from the bone. With other bites, he severed nerves in her hand and left deep puncture wounds in her hip.

Motorcycle cop John Hirst always knew that he could end up seriously injured on the road.

But, after he crashed in 2017, he never expected to find his employer endlessly unable to decide on his future.

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Members argued that such a rotation concept deprived the section, and therefore victims, of the invaluable experience of long-serving investigators.

“It was great to see such an important story get a platform on the world stage,” Williams says. “I’m grateful to each member who took part: Gaye Kittel, Damon Roberts, Lauren Solly, Zoe Gooch, Rhys Williams and Paul Adams.

“You could just see how dedicated they were to the task and willing to do the job without transferring out when someone else thought it best for them.

“I remember Zoe Gooch saying, and I quoted her: ‘I don’t feel that, with the experience I have, I need someone making that decision for me.’

“Senior Sergeant Sue Lock from Family and Domestic Violence Policy and Training Unit contributed her vast knowledge too, as did Colette Nunke. I’m grateful to both of them.

“This Silver Award might carry my name, but it belongs to these members as much as it does to me.”

Williams had scored gold Tabbies in the Feature Article category in both 2021 and 2022. The winning stories were Post-crash indecision (August 2019) and Torn almost limb from limb (February 2020).

This year, the Gold Award went to Canadian magazine Pivot and the Bronze to US magazine Wealth Management.

By Brett Williams

thieving criminal responsible for it has had

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Colleagues on the scene could see the white of her exposed tendons and bone.

A surgeon later likened the crushing the dog had inflicted on her calf to that of a shark bite.

And after the attack came extreme physical pain, mental anguish, hallucinations, operations, a long, gruelling recovery, and a courtroom sequel. It was a brutal experience for a cop who had graduated from the AFP College only 15 months earlier.

But, regardless of all she had suffered on and after July 1, 2018, Duncan still wanted time with that dog.

“I was petrified,” she says, “but I just wanted to see a different vision of him in my head, and I just wanted to touch him.

Then, when I saw him, I said to myself: ‘He’s a f--king big dog!’

“Anyway, they were going to put him down, and the vet said: ‘Does she (Carla) want to come in and see him while he’s sedated?’

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As well as Canada, the US and Australia, the Tabbies attracted entries from Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

Other recognition the Police Journal received were honourable mentions in three categories. One was for Best Single Issue (June 2022 issue), another for Focus/Profile Article The glass shard (August 2022), and one for Crushed! in the Opening Page or Spread category.

The Police Journal has now won 14 international awards since 2014.

These include five gold, three silver and three bronze Tabbie awards. And, at the International Creative Media Awards in Germany, the journal has won one gold, one silver and one bronze award.

Police Association president Mark Carroll spoke of his delight to see the journal enhance its reputation as Australia’s leading and most awarded police publication.

“This success and popularity of the journal is what makes it such an effective component in our operations as a union,” he says.

“Take, for example, an issue like the government moving Mounted Operations to Gepps Cross. We’re able, through the journal, to take our members’ side of that story to a very broad readership.

“And, in doing that, we draw public support for our cause in the various battles we fight for our members.” PJ

Spring 2023

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Steve Whetton Assistant Secretary Police Association

INDUSTRIAL

Onus on SAPOL to protect workers and detainees D

eputy Coroner Jayne Basheer conducted a coronial inquest into the 2016 death of Wayne Fella Morrison. Her findings were released in May 2023.

Morrison died at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in 2016 after collapsing in the Yatala Labour Prison holding cells.

He had earlier been detained in the Holden Hill police cell complex.

SAPOL general order Deaths and Deaths in Custody aligns with section 3 of the Coroners Act 2003 insofar as defining a death in custody.

Death in custody means: the death of a person where there is reason to believe that the death occurred, or the cause of death, or a possible cause of death, arose, or may have arisen, while the person (a) was being detained in any place within the State under any Act or law, including any Act or law providing for home detention (and, for the purposes of this paragraph, a detainee who is absent from the place of his or her detention but is in the custody of an escort will be regarded as being in detention, but not otherwise); or (b) was in the process of being apprehended or was being held— (i) at any place (whether within or outside the State)—by a person authorised to do so under any Act or law of the State; or (ii) at any place within the State— by a person authorised to do so under the law of any other jurisdiction; or (c) was evading apprehension by a person referred to in paragraph (b); or

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(d) was escaping or attempting to escape from any place or person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).

Morrison died not in a police custody complex but in a correctional facility.

Too often, however, a false impression of direct police involvement in such deaths abounds, particularly given the death-in-custody definition.

Deputy Coroner Basheer was highly critical of the Holden Hill police custody facilities.

“I find that the conditions under which prisoners were kept at Holden Hill are barbaric and inhumane,” her report indicated.

“The conditions under which prisoners are kept in the Holden Hill police cells would challenge the most robust of persons, let alone prisoners who are known to be some of the most vulnerable members of the community.”

D eput y C or one r B a she e r recommended: “… the repeal of legislative provisions of the Correctional Services Act 1982 which enable the Holden Hill police cells and/or other similar facilities to be declared as ‘a prison’ or ‘a police prison’ or proclaimed for such use.”

(Recommendation 21.8.1) The Police Association issued a notice of dispute on August 8, 2018, urging Commissioner Grant Stevens to immediately audit the Holden Hill facility. This was because of its concerns that the facility did not appear fit for purpose and was indeed dangerous to police officers and detainees.

The association urged SAPOL to … conduct a statewide audit of all police custodial facilities to ensure fitness for purpose and compliance with SAPOL legislative responsibilities.

The association also highlighted that the SAPOL organizational reform documentation designated Holden Hill and Sturt police stations as “minor custodial” facilities.

The terms “major” and “minor” in respect of custodial facilities had, and still have, no basis in law.

There should be both a public and a member expectation of consistency in police prison policies and procedures right across SAPOL. A letter from SAPOL (November 27, 2018) asserted that the Holden Hill police station cell complex could be used as holding cells and was fit for purpose.

On February 24, 2021, SAPOL designated the “minor custodial” facilities at Holden Hill and Sturt as inactive.

The association later sent a letter (December 1, 2022) about the dangerous custodial facility on Kangaroo Island.

The association indicated that, in line with Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZ ISO) 31000:2018 Risk management—Principles and Guidelines, the facility posed the risk of a catastrophe.

And, in line with the Work Health and Safety Act 2012, the association reminded SAPOL that workers and detainees should be given the highest level of protection against harm from hazards and risks arising from work, as is reasonably necessary.

The association urged SAPOL to immediately audit the Kangaroo

INDUSTRIAL

Craig Stevens In-house Counsel Police Association

Civilian employees in the Anti-Corruption Section Island facility and to conduct a statewide audit of all police custodial facilities to ensure fitness for purpose and compliance with SAPOL legislative responsibilities.

The SAPOL response (February 2, 2023) indicated that a schedule of repairs to the facility now existed, and a funding application had been made to the SA government to support the enhancements.

Owing to Deputy Coroner Basheer’s findings, the association wrote to SAPOL (May 16, 2023) to indicate the need for SAPOL to conduct an audit of all police custody facilities — especially those in regional areas — to prevent further catastrophic outcomes for members and detainees.

In its response (June 26, 2023), SAPOL asserted that cell facilities continually undergo auditing. It also claimed that it continues to focus on improving operational custodial facilities by completing remedial works identified though audits.

S

APOL management informed the Police Association in February this year of its “decision” to engage unsworn personnel in investigative roles within the Anti-Corruption Section.

The association quickly notified Commissioner Grant Stevens of the commencement of an industrial dispute and, in summary, submitted both that there had been no consultation with the association as required under the prevailing enterprise agreement, and that the duties management intended the unsworn employees to perform were the sole purview of sworn police officers.

The association and SAPOL representatives have engaged in discussions and exchanged several pieces of correspondence. In the initial stages of the dispute, SAPOL representatives asserted that employment of unsworn personnel as investigators was permitted on the basis that other public sector agencies engaged employees to conduct criminal investigations.

That assertion relied, with respect, on a comparison that is at best misleading.

We say it is irrelevant. Colloquially put, it was like comparing apples with oranges.

In short, the association maintained – and continues to maintain – that criminal investigative functions within SAPOL are fundamentally and irrecoverably to be performed by sworn police officers.

SAPOL management has rightly made significant concessions and now intends to engage unsworn persons in roles involving duties that support sworn investigators in the Anti-Corruption Section.

It is pleasing that this outcome was reached through negotiation and that resort to proceedings in the South Australian Employment Tribunal was not necessary.

Management has committed to conducting an evaluation of the appropriateness and effectiveness of the investigation support roles within the Anti-Corruption Section (and the persons performing them) by November 2024, in accordance with terms of reference formed with association input.

The association will form a position on any intended continuation of the civilian roles in light of the outcomes of the evaluation and any other relevant information available to it.

The association will always fight to ensure that duties which must be conducted by sworn police officers are not civilianized.

Spring 2023

31

HAPPY COPS MAKE THE WORLD A SAFER PLACE - Introducing Police Care Australia Police Care Australia is a joint initiative of the National Police Memorial (NPM) and the Police Federation of Australia (PFA) to provide a health and well-being hub of culturally sensitive and appropriate information for former and serving police force members, their families, and friends.

As a national initiative we strive to support and assist our police across the nation with a one stop repository of mental health resources, comprehensive service directory along with a confidential and independent online counselling service.

Counselling bookings can be made via the website therefore serving and former police are offered a unique service specially designed for first responders.

Police Care Australia understands the unique threats and pressures that cops face every day and the potentially dangerous toll it takes on their lives.

We strive to support and empower every cop to secure and protect their true happiness because we know a healthy and happy cop makes the world a safe place. www.policecareaustralia.org.au

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Police Journal

H E A LT H

Dr Rod Pearce

Some stroke damage avoidable Y

ou can save lives by understanding what a stroke is and getting quick help.

The practical point in the ongoing discussion about stroke is that brain damage is not always permanent.

Because of X-rays and MRI, we can sometimes stop temporary interruption of brain function from becoming permanent. We need to work out quickly what is causing the problem and, if possible, fix it. Time is important.

The most common reversible stroke is when a blockage of an artery stops blood getting to a part of the brain.

This applies equally to someone having a heart attack because a coronary vessel is blocked.

To avoid permanent damage, it is important to get to a hospital quickly and get a stent put in the artery, or the artery stretched open (angioplasty), or the clot removed. If circulation is restored, done early enough, no damage is done.

If you see someone who you think is having a stroke, he or she needs to get to a hospital quickly. An urgent X-ray, inserting a stent or removing a clot or doing other procedures to get blood circulating to the brain can be life-saving.

Early treatment after a stroke is vital.

The faster you can get treatment the more brain can be saved.

The impact of the stroke depends on the area of the brain it damages.

Damage to an area of the brain can impact how you think, behave, use words, swallow, see, feel, touch, and move your body.

The warning signs of a stroke include a drooping face, arm weakness and

speech difficulties. While there are multiple causes of these symptoms, the possibility of reversing brain damage makes it important to rule out a stroke as the cause.

Men are at greater risk of stroke and, as they get older, their risk increases as their arteries to the brain become blocked, made worse by high blood pressure, excess weight, smoking, high cholesterol, a high intake of alcohol, and diabetes.

There are causes of stroke other than a blockage of the brain arteries.

If the artery to the brain ruptures, it will cause an intracranial haemorrhage.

This is usually more serious and less likely to be fixed but, again, finding out early what type of brain damage is happening helps make proper care possible.

If someone does have permanent brain damage, helping him or her to get back to living independently and back to his or her old self might take years – or never happen.

The brain does have the ability to rewire itself. Known as neuroplasticity, the rewiring begins after a stroke and can rewire the stroke-damaged connections inside the brain, and between the brain and the body.

Rehabilitation activities encourage the brain to start making new connections in its healthy parts. That is why prevention or early intervention is critical.

Another cause of stroke occurs when clots break off from other parts of the body and lodge in the brain. These can come from the heart, heart valves, or the arteries coming from the heart to the brain.

Early treatment after a stroke is vital. The faster you can get treatment the more brain can be saved.

Typically, a CT X-ray or MRI of the brain will show “moth-eaten” type holes in the brain where these emboli have landed, maybe without any clear signs or symptoms.

A stroke is now considered a braininjury event which is often reversible and quick intervention can stop permanent incapacity and brain damage.

Sometimes the intervention needs to be done in the first 24 hours. If in doubt, get the person to a hospital which has a 24-hour stroke intervention team available.

At other times, the intervention can be about stopping more blockages or clots landing in the brain. If the clots are coming from the heart, or arteries supplying blood to the brain, an operation might fix the problem, or permanent blood thinners might need to be taken.

If the blockage comes from chronic diseases, intervention like treating cholesterol and blood pressure, and lifestyle changes, might be able to prevent someone ending up in a wheelchair for the rest of his or her life.

Spring 2023

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Jim Barnett

MOTORING The Dual-motor all-wheel-drive variant, with rear-drive bias, punches out 310kW and 740Nm in standard form, rising to 350kW with the optional Performance Pack.

Improved batteries and drive motors provide impressive driving range between 532km and 654km (model dependent).

DRIVING

Pricing Between $67,400 (Standard-range single motor) and $85,400 (Long-range Dual motor). Optional packs: Plus Pack $6,000, Pilot Pack $3,500, Performance Pack $9,000 (Dual-motor model only).

Charging Charging times vary between seven and eight hours (0-100%) using 3-phase AC, 28 and 34 minutes (10%-80%) using maximum DC charging.

Standard equipment 11.15-inch touchscreen (all models), Android Automotive OS with Google service connectivity, built-in e-SIM with over-the-air updates, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, dual-zone climate control, vegan upholstery, power tailgate, wireless phone charging, high-powered audio with DAB+ radio.

Safety Eight airbags, comprehensive suite of driver-assistance and crash-avoidance technologies.

Service/warranty Service intervals 24 months or 30,000km (first five-year/100,000km services complimentary), five-year unlimited-kilometre warranty, eight-year 160,000km battery warranty.

DESIGN AND FUNCTION Volvo offshoot Polestar delivered its first electric performance cars to Australia 18 months ago. Sold directly to buyers using an online model, Polestar Model 2 provides an excellent combination of power, range, and technology at a reasonable price.

A low slinky-looking four-door sedan with fastback styling, it comes in three variants: Standard-range Single34

Police Journal

motor, Long-range Single-motor, and Long-range Dual-motor (AWD).

It is roomy enough and has a luxury sports feel and ample boot space, easily enlarged by dropping the split/fold rear seats. There’s a small cargo space under the bonnet.

Single motor variants produce between 200 to 220kW of power (model dependent) and 490Nm of torque with drive to the rear wheels.

A V8 killer

Polestar Model 2

Polestar 2 Dual-motor with the Performance Pack is a V8 killer.

Big 20-inch alloys shod with wide, low-profile rubber feature along with gold Brembo brake calipers and huge disc rotors up front.

A low power-adjustable driver’s seat (with memory) features, as does a thick sports steering wheel and smart dash layout with very little switchgear. Most car functions operate via an 11.15-inch tablet-style touchscreen or steering-wheel buttons.

The voice-operated navigation system is superb: an onboard e-SIM provides super crisp Google Earth satellite images on the touchscreen.

Navigation is also available on the digital instrument cluster.

No start button required if the smart key is detected: jump in, select Drive and you’re off. When the drive is over, push the Park button and jump out.

Acceleration at any speed is amazingly quick (0-100km/h 4.2 seconds) with only tyre noise on course bitumen and a slight whir of the electric motor audible. Maximum regenerative braking is the default, which means one can essentially drive using only the accelerator pedal. Regen braking can be reduced or turned off using the touchscreen.

The firm suspension and big tyres provide excellent cornering while maintaining a comfortable ride on most surfaces. In default maximum regen-braking mode the big brakes are rarely used but, when needed, provide excellent stopping power.

DESIGN AND FUNCTION Hyundai has added two hybrid AWD variants to its popular family-size Santa Fe SUV line-up.

Priced from $63,000, hybrid Elite and Highlander are $6,500 dearer than a similarly equipped 3.5-litre V6 petrol 2WD and $3,000 more than their 2.2-litre diesel AWD equivalents.

Hybrid models are powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged GDI petrol engine coupled to a 44.2kW electric motor driving all four wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission.

Hyundai claims hybrid models offer 17 per cent better urban fuel economy than the frugal diesel.

Top-spec Highlander features a bold grille and lower air intake. Big 19-inch aero wheels are shod with premium Continental low-noise tyres. Slick roof rails and a powered tailgate also feature.

Highlander interior is both luxurious and functional. Supple Nappa leather

covers all seven seats, with front seats heated and cooled. Optional in Highlander are two captain-style seats in lieu of its standard second row (60/40) configuration. These offer a premium look with additional space and easier access to the third row.

Both second-row outer seats are heated.

A tall bridge-style console, with useful lower storage compartment, provides easy access to most controls.

Central is a 10.25-inch colour touchscreen with satellite navigation, DAB+ radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

DRIVING Highlander hybrid drivers score a 14-way power-adjustable seat and perforated heated leather steering wheel. A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster provides a myriad of information, including live video of left or right blind-spot views when indicating.

Australian input

Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander Hybrid Also useful is an adjustable head-updisplay featuring speed, road-sign, sat-nav, and driver-assistance/safety information.

Keyless entry and push-button start feature along with an electric park brake and selector buttons in lieu of a conventional gear lever.

With total outputs of 169kW (power) and 350Nm (torque), Santa Fe Hybrid is no slouch. It’s quick off the mark, effortless on hills and superb on the highway.

Its drivetrain is generally very smooth and quiet but, when pushed hard, its spirited turbo four can be heard.

The smooth auto goes about its business with a minimum of fuss and features paddle shifters for manual control.

Drivers can choose between Eco, Sport and Smart drive modes (Eco the default).

Additional modes for Sand, Mud, Snow and Down-Hill Descent assist in difficult conditions.

Thanks to Australian input, ride and handling are spot-on, as is braking.

Model Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander Hybrid ($69,550).

Safety Seven airbags, tyre-pressure monitor, multi-view reverse camera, blind-spot camera views, front and rear parking sensors and a comprehensive suite of driver-assistance and crash-avoidance technologies.

Standard features Multi-zone air conditioning, two 12-volt and four USB sockets, full-length panoramic sunroof with tilt/slide front section, remote smart parking system, Harman Kardon premium 10-speaker audio, wireless phone charger, smart power tailgate, rear sunshades.

Fuel 67-litre tank, 91-Ron unleaded, 6.0 litres/100km (combined), 6.2 litres/100km (urban).

Cargo/towing 571-782 litres, full-size spare wheel, maximum 1,650 braked towing capacity.

Spring 2023

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Response to Disciplinary Charges

Legal and personal support at hearings and interviews and with submissions

ICE

A S S O CI A

TI

S

OU

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OF

A

P

ON

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T H AU S T R

A

POLICE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

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

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Police Journal

Hyundai SANTA FE Hybrid.

Go the distance.

For more information, visit hyundai.com/au/en/fleet or contact the Hyundai fleet team on hyundai.com/au/en/fleet#contact

The all-new KONA. Imagined to be bold.

For more information, visit hyundai.com/au/en/fleet or contact the Hyundai fleet team on hyundai.com/au/en/fleet#contact

Spring 2023

37

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ADVERTORIAL

Buying an investment property W

hile SA house prices remain steady, there are still affordable properties in the market to help you get a foot in the door and benefit from capital growth.

Investment properties aren’t just an option for those new to the market.

Those who already own their own homes and have plenty of equity could look to increase their property portfolio by taking advantage of this equity and some extra savings.

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To help you get started, here are our top five tips for buying an investment property.

Assess where you’re at Are you really ready to start building your investment portfolio? That might seem like a strange question, but the reality is property markets and tenancy levels fluctuate. If there was a period when you weren’t receiving any rent for your investment property, could you cover the repayment gap on your investment loan?

What is your investment goal?

Property is a long-term investment.

Generally, the longer you hold onto a property the greater your chances of profiting from the investment.

If you’re chasing fast money, property

investing is probably not the right avenue for you.

It’s also important to consider the impact of capital gains tax (the tax you pay) if you were to sell the property and profit, or the impact of income tax if there is a positive rental yield.

Do the research When researching, you want to identify growth areas where there’s strong demand for rental properties.

Consider suburbs where you know people want to live, where jobs are available, where there is population growth and access to businesses.

Think about other factors that influence property value such as proximity to hospitals, public transport, nearby universities, school catchment zones, flight paths, bushfire zones, and new highway access.

Look at an area’s average rental prices to compare what you can charge for rent versus the cost of your potential mortgage payments. Try our handy Basic Repayments Calculator to run some approximate numbers at policecu.com.au/calculators/loanrepayments-calculator/ When it comes to an investment property, don’t just buy something that you personally love. Buy something that has broad appeal and is situated in a great location or area of development.

Remember a rental property, most importantly, needs to be clean, well maintained, and functional. This is a business decision. You’re not buying a property for you to live in, you’re buying a property to increase your assets.

Quantity surveyors are one of few professions, recognized by the Australian Tax Office, with the required skills to calculate costs to determine the true value of depreciation.

Contrary to what many believe, not all accountants are qualified to produce the same reports and there are specialist companies that you can consult.

Understand rental yield Understanding rental yield is helpful for predicting the return you could expect from your investment. It can help narrow down which property could be the best investment. Rental yield is the profit you make from the investment property expressed as a percentage.

Generally, the higher the percentage, the greater your return on investment.

To work out your net rental yield (your income after expenses), you’re analysing your yearly rental income and your yearly property expenses.

Expenses generally include council rates, property insurance, maintenance costs and strata fees. The calculation for net rental yield is: (annual property rental income – annual property expenses) ÷ property value x 100 = net rental yield percentage.

For example: ($18,200 [annual rental income] – $5,000 [annual property expenses]) ÷ $500,000 [property value] x 100 = 2.64% net rental yield.

A return of 2-4% is considered low rental yield. This can suggest that the property is overvalued while a return of 8-10 % is considered a high rental yield which can suggest the property is undervalued.

The higher your rental yield the stronger the cashflow, but it might also mean slower capital growth. Your ideal rental yield will depend on your investing goal.

Continued page 57 Spring 2023

39

Free Legal Service for Police Association Members, their families and retired Members.

Leading Adelaide law firm, Tindall Gask Bentley is the preferred legal services provider of the Police Association, offering 30 minutes of free initial advice and a 10% fee discount.

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

DISCIPLINARY & ADMINISTRATIVE LAW • ICAC • Coroner’s Court • Criminal law

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Adelaide | Reynella | Salisbury | Gawler | Mt Barker Murray Bridge | Port Lincoln | Mannum | Whyalla Perth (WA) | Darwin (NT) | Brisbane (QLD) 40

Police Journal

tgb.com.au | (08) 8212 1077

Daniel Weekley Senior Associate Tindall Gask Bentley Lawyers

LEGAL

I can’t (or won’t) comment N

o comment while a process is underway. Convenient excuse or legitimate response?

It’s a line we hear rolled out ad nauseum.

“Anything to say about the criminal trial?”

Answer: “No comment as the matter is currently before the courts.”

“What’s the commissioner’s position?”

Answer: “There is a review underway and there’ll be no comment until the review is completed.”

“What’s the status of the investigation?”

Answer: “We can’t comment on an active investigation.”

These sorts of words are uttered in almost every walk of public life – criminal, political, cultural, sporting – in response to any controversy or scandal.

Sometimes it seems that a politician will refuse to admit the sky is blue if he or she could deflect the matter until the court has ruled on it.

Is there ever any legitimacy behind this tactic, or is it only ever cynical?

There’s a reason many matters cannot, and should not, be commented upon.

On the other hand, there’s a whole range of situations in which “no comment” is wheeled out when it is just a convenient excuse to not respond.

The underlying principle behind a legitimate reason to offer no comment is known as the sub judice rule. The rule is that there should not be publication or comment on an undecided matter before the court when it might interfere with the due course of justice.

Interference with the due course of justice is most often synonymous with the tendency to prejudice a fair trial – for example, by prejudicing the jury.

There’s a reason many matters cannot, and should not, be commented upon. On the other hand, there’s a whole range of situations in which “no comment” is wheeled out when it is just a convenient excuse to not respond.

The right to a fair trial is an important and fundamental right. That is why the rule doesn’t actually require that a jury be actually prejudiced, or that the course of justice actually be interfered with, only that there be a significant risk.

The sub judice rule causes many to treat any public comment on matters before the court with extreme caution, and rightly so. There is good reason that many criminal trials are suppressed in order to avoid prejudice by the publicity they could otherwise generate.

However, it is likely that people use this rule and muddle it with various other legal concepts in a search to justify their obfuscations.

One example that comes to mind is the claim oft-repeated by former attorney-general Christian Porter’s parliamentary colleagues in 2021 that there would be “no comment” on allegations that he’d sexually assaulted a girl in his youth because he was entitled to the “rule of law”.

The rule of law is the legal principle that all people are subject equally to the law. It has no connection to any idea that one should not comment on untested allegations.

In summary, there are many situations, especially relating to legal matters that are underway, in which “no comment” is not only a legitimate response but is the right response.

Notwithstanding the many times it is used as an excuse where it shouldn’t be, it is important that the sub judice rule comes into play in any matter before the court when a comment might interfere with the due course of justice.

If you are confronted with any situation in which you are unsure whether you can comment about ongoing matters, TGB Lawyers can clarify the position for you.

Spring 2023

41

BOOKS

Call of Empire Peter Watt Macmillan Australia, $34.99

It is 1885. After a decade spent fighting for Queen and country across the globe, Colonel Ian Steele is enjoying the quiet life in the colony of New South Wales, reunited with his friend, Conan Curry, and watching over his children and numerous business enterprises.

But the British Empire’s pursuits are ceaseless, and when the colony’s soldiers are required to assist a campaign in Sudan, Steele’s son, Lieutenant Josiah Steele, heeds the call, despite an ultimatum from the love of his life, Marian.

Meanwhile, Steele’s younger son, Samuel, is learning the family business in the Pacific islands with his friend and colleague, Ling Lee. However, Lee has become embroiled in a scheme to smuggle guns for the Chinese. That has the pair sailing directly into danger in Singapore.

As the reign of Queen Victoria draws to a close and new battles loom on several frontiers, the Steele family must face loss and heartbreak like never before.

Win a book, an in-season movie pass or a DVD! For your chance to win a book, an in-season movie pass (courtesy of Wallis Cinemas), a movie pass to Napoleon (courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing), or a DVD, send your name, phone number, work location and despatch number, along with your choice of book, movie and/or DVD to giveaways@pj.asn.au

42

Police Journal

Red Dirt Road

SR White Headline, $32.99

In Unamurra, a drought-scarred, one-pub town deep in the outback, two men are savagely murdered a month apart – their bodies elaborately arranged like angels.

With no witnesses, no obvious motives, and no apparent connections between the killings, how can lone police officer Detective Dana Russo – flown in from hundreds of kilometres away – possibly solve such a baffling, brutal case?

Met with silence and suspicion from locals, who live by their own set of rules, Russo must take over a stalled investigation with only a week to make progress.

But with a murderer hiding in plain sight, and the parched days rapidly passing, Russo is determined to uncover the shocking secrets of this forgotten town – a place where anyone could be a killer.

The Guest Room

Tasha Sylva Welbeck, $32.99

After the mysterious death of her beloved sister, Tess is grief-stricken and lonely. She’s forced to BnB Rosie’s old room to pay the bills.

With strangers in her home, Tess discovers a distraction: their possessions.

Tempted into the room while they’re out, she goes through her guests’ things, imagining the stories they hold.

These forbidden glimpses into their lives and the chance of being caught are a momentary thrill – the only thing she can feel through the numbing pain of her loss, and the so-far fruitless police investigation.

When handsome and inscrutable Arran takes the room, Tess finds his diary. The entries are about an unnamed woman. Crush or obsession?

Slowly, his writing takes a darker tone, and Tess can’t stop reading.

In her compulsion to know, to uncover the truth, there’s something Tess fails to notice. She’s being watched.

The Snake Head

Patrick Radden Keefe Picador, $36.99

In this thrilling panorama of real-life events, Patrick Radden Keefe investigates a secret world run by a charismatic, middle-aged grandmother who, from a tiny noodle shop in New York’s Chinatown, managed a multi-million-dollar business smuggling people.

Keefe reveals the inner workings of Cheng Chui Ping, aka Sister Ping’s complex empire, and recounts the decade-long FBI investigation that eventually brought her down.

He follows an often incompetent and sometimes corrupt INS as it pursues desperate immigrants risking everything to come to America; and, along the way, he paints a stunning portrait of a generation of illegal immigrants and the intricate underground economy that sustains and exploits them.

Spring 2023

43

BOOKS

CINEMA

Standing in the Shadows

Peter Robinson Hodder & Stoughton, $32.99

Late November 1980. English student Nick Hartley returns from a lecture to find his house full of police. He soon discovers that his ex-girlfriend has been found murdered in a nearby park, and her new boyfriend is missing.

Nick quickly realizes he is a suspect as he has no convincing alibi, but he has his own suspicions.

Meanwhile, in late November 2019, an archaeologist unearths a skeleton that turns out to be far more contemporary than the Roman remains she is seeking.

Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team are called in, and the investigation into the find begins.

Small Mercies

Dennis Lehane Abacus, $32.99

In the summer of 1974, a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessey is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors.

Fennessey has lived her entire life in the housing projects of “Southie”, the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to old tradition and stands proudly apart.

One night, Fennessey’s teenage daughter, Jules, stays out late and doesn’t come home. That same evening, a young black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances.

The two events seem unconnected. But Fennessey, propelled by a desperate search for her missing daughter, begins asking questions of Irish mob chieftain Marty Butler.

44

Police Journal

The Equalizer 3 Released August 31

Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall has struggled to reconcile the horrific things he’s done in the past and finds a strange solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed.

Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the mafia.

Cast: Denzel Washington (Robert McCall), Dakota Fanning, David Denman.

A Haunting in Venice

Released September 14

A supernatural thriller based on Halloween Party

by Agatha Christie, A Haunting in Venice is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve. It is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot.

Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo.

When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.

Cast: Michelle Yeoh (Mrs Reynolds), Kenneth Branagh (Hercule Poirot), Kelly Reilly (Rowena Drake), Jamie Dornan.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Released September 7

After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts.

Their new friend, April O’Neil, helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

Cast: Rose Byrne (Leatherhead, voice) Seth Rogen (Bebop, voice), Ice Cube (Superfly, voice), Jackie Chan (Splinter, voice), Giancarlo Esposito (Baxter Stockman, voice).

Haunted Mansion Released August 31

Inspired by the classic theme park attraction, Haunted Mansion is about a woman and her son who enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their newly bought mansion of supernatural squatters.

Among the experts is a tour guide, a psychic, a priest and a historian.

Cast: Danny DeVito (Bruce Davis), Owen Wilson (Father Kent), Lakeith Stanfield (Ben Matthias), Rosario Dawson (Gabbie), Jamie Lee Curtis (Madame Leota).

Spring 2023

45

CINEMA

Napoleon November 23 #Napoleon

Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the chequered rise and fall of the iconic French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix.

Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine (Vanessa Kirby), showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed. © 2023 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Police Journal

DVD

Bay of Fires September 13 360 minutes, $34.95

Anika Van Cleef is the last person anyone would expect to find living in a remote community in Tasmania with her children.

Betrayed and in danger, she has no other option but to trust a stranger who claims to be on her side, accept a new name she hates (Stella Heikkinen), and move her family to Mystery Bay — a town so remote it eludes GPS. Mystery Bay isn’t the kind of place they put on postcards. Feuds, crime and murder are rife; there are no waterfalls, murals, or floral clocks. And the natural beauty that is there – a dense, primordial forest – the town does its very best to hide.

Cannes Confidential

September 27 360 minutes, $34.95

Cannes Confidential is a high-concept blue-sky detective series revolving around the bicker-banter relationship between gutsy no-nonsense detective Camille Delmasse and charming international conman Harry King, thrown together solving crimes on the French riviera.

Delmasse and King’s relationship lies at the heart of the show against the luxurious backdrop of Cannes.

Delmasse and King’s chemistry is complicated by the fact that Delmasse’s colleague and wing-woman, Lea Robert, has a secret crush on Delmasse, creating a love triangle arcing across the series.

And the deal Delmasse and King make is to free her father, the ex-chief of police, from corruption charges. King will help her find evidence, or she’ll report him to Interpol.

Spring 2023

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PROGRAM CORPORATE PARTNER

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS Australian Wine Showcase Magazine digital subscription (valued at $35)

POLICE WINE CLUB ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP $30 single, $50 double

PLUS ree entry to all tasting events at the Precinct Café * F and selected venues across Adelaide (approx. four per year, valued at $100pp) iscounted entry to tastings for guests of members * D ree entry into annual members wine raffle with * F a the chance to win a judging masterclass for two, hosted by Wines of Adelaide (prize value approx. $300) irect access to Winemakers * D iscounts on quality wines * D

Contact the Police Association for more information on (08) 8212 3055 48

Police Journal

ree delivery to the Precinct Café * F M * TA travel vouchers (value $100 per booking / travel conditions apply)

WINE

Flinders Run Baroota Creek 2020 Cabernet Shiraz $35 per bottle, $210 per six-pack carton

Flinders Run Baroota, SA flindersrun.com.au

This is an intense wine. An array of rich ripe fruit flavours – blackberries, blueberries and raspberries – delight the senses, while a hint of spice adds complexity to the palate.

This wine showcases Flinders Run’s signature style: big and bold but with an elegance that resonates sophistication, style and class.

A gentle swirl of the glass reveals an impenetrable depth of colour. The wine exhibits glass staining purple hues with a bright, vibrant ruby-red rim.

A complex wine with layers of ripe fruits, brilliantly structured tannins bring together a seamless marriage of these two grand varietals. The wine finishes long and smooth with excellent concentration that lingers long after the last mouthful has been consumed.

Pair this big, bold wine statement with a premium cut of beef, a 1.5kg tomahawk ribeye, cooked over a fiery grill of redgum charcoal.

Flinders Run Baroota Creek 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon $35 per bottle, $210 per six-pack carton

This is a stylish wine, plush and lusciously textured.

It showcases Flinders Run’s commitment to clonal diversity.

There is a clearly defined message in this wine style.

It captures the true expression of this grand Bordeaux varietal while the winemakers aim has been to respect and embrace this Southern Flinders Ranges wine region’s unique terroir.

The 2021 Flinders Run Baroota Creek Cabernet Sauvignon leaps from the glass. Delighting the senses are perfumed Cabernet florals combined with a complex bouquet of forest flowers.

This is a rich, vibrant wine, displaying a stunning depth of colour. While a bright ruby-red rim stains the glass, the palate comes alive with flavours of ripe plums, cherries, blueberries, and currants.

The wine is generously textured, shows great structure, and is wonderfully balanced, framed elegantly by a veil of tannins that leads to a remarkably long, smooth and pure finish.

Spring 2023

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ON SCENE

Graduates’ Dinner: Course 59/2022

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Electra House July 15, 2023

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Ashleigh Graetz.

Mitchell Smart and Jessica Handler.

Daniel Pham and Eamon Gaffney.

Erin Piccoli and Reeden Schache.

Teagan Braysher and Tahlia Treagus.

Natasha Sukacz.

Frazer Sinclair and Amanda Stewart-Sinclair.

Nathan Cranwell and Lewis Pipe.

Jazmyne Arriola.

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Graduation dinners are sponsored

by Health, Wealthy and Wise

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Graduates’ Dinner: Course 60/2022 Electra House August 12, 2023

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1. Andrew Walker and Kristy Williams.

2. Olivia Ganz and Michael Constandaras.

3. Lilly Rich and Connor Hicks.

4. Josh Gray and Dana McKenzie-Campbell.

5. Kirsten Moore and Keely Liebich.

6. Master of Ceremonies Stacey Lee. 7. Corey Hartwig, Zoe Brooks, Courtney Loffler and Jacob Caldecourt.

8. Gemma Somerville and Alicia Blam.

9. Alexandra Suter and Pierse Ryan.

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Police Association Retiring Members’ Dinner William Magarey Room, June 30, 2023 52

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Supported by Police Credit Union

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1. Band of the SA Police entertain guests.

2. Kerry-Louise Malyon, Mark Kemplay-Hill, Belinda and Paul Tucker.

3. Sonja Kahl-Brown, Jon Brown, Rainer Kahl, Milly Hoffmann, Sven and Kathryn Kahl, Andreas Kahl, Chanel Kahl, Chelsea Brown.

4. Kim and Mark Fairney.

5. Helen, Michael, Erin, Lauren and Rick O’Dea. 6. Paul and Vicki Ramm, David Riddle, Maria Staffin-Gardiner.

7. Anthony Potter and Kon Tsakarellos.

8. Donald and Maria Cunningham.

9. William Shapley, Bethany Schlein, Barbara Brooks, Bryony Shapley, Stephanie Oates, Ali Schlein and Kim Shapley.

10. Peter Martin and Phillip Turnbull.

11. Kerri Green, Justin Freeston, Nigel and Lynne Freeston, Ashleigh Freeston.

12. Dale and Albert Quinn, Andrew and Amanda Curtis.

13. Courtney Williams, Kim and Mary-Alice Williams.

14. Heath Walton, Scott Kelly, Carolyn and Stephen Griggs, Andrea Wilson, Sam Jolly, Jye Kluske, Tori Griggs.

15. Kim and Janice Wade, Jackie and Mark Golding.

16. Linda and Warren Warner.

17. Glyn Jones and Darryl Foyle.

18. Andrew Curtis, David Chamberlain and Mark Fairney.

Spring 2023

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The Last Shift

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

Mark Brookes Rod Burton Peter Cocks Mick Collins Greg Cook Andrew Hills David Hirlam Chris King Peter Mann Helen Nuske

Senior Constable Rod Burton

RTSU 39 years’ service Last Day: 26.05.23

Senior Sergeant Helen Nuske

HR Management 43 years’ service Last Day: 22.02.23 Comments…

“First and most important, I want to thank my husband, Graham, and my family who have been so supportive of me during my 43-year career.

“Without their support I would not have been able to juggle raising three wonderful children while forging a police career.

“I have enjoyed every posting I have had and the challenges they presented. Thank you to all my previous managers and to those I have managed and worked alongside.

“I have made many lifelong friends along the way and worked with so many good people. It is them I will miss, as well as the laughs and camaraderie.

“However, retirement is calling, and I am so looking forward to spending more time with my family, especially with our new grandson, Noah.

“I thank and appreciate the association for its tireless efforts to improve the working conditions and standards for the workforce. Keep up the good fight. In this ever-changing world there is still a lot of work to be done.

“I wish everyone I leave behind in SAPOL all the very best. Be courageous but, most of all, be safe and come home to your family after every shift.”

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Comments…

“From Course 2/84 I joined Radio Workshops as a probationary constable qualified as a radio technician, later working up to the rank of senior constable.

“It’s been great to use my trade skills in such an interesting job and carry out work in situations a normal civilian tech would never see.

“I greatly enjoyed working in a close-knit team at RTSU. “Supporting specialist areas in SAPOL, such as STAR – Water Ops and negotiators, always made for interesting work.

“Thanks to the Police Association for advice over the years, especially when outside agencies were trying to poach radio techs from SAPOL. I stayed on for 39 years and enjoyed every bit of it.”

Sergeant Greg Cook

Eastern District Response Teams 43 years’ service Last Day: 01.07.23 Comments…

“I thank the committee and delegates, both past and present, for their tireless service and efforts to strive for the improved conditions we enjoy today.

“My family has a long history with SAPOL. My great grandfather, Herbert Gordon Henderson, served long ago and was an association secretary. The current Police Association boardroom is named in his honour.

“My father, Bill Cook, was a detective in Major Crime, and also served on the association committee.

My daughter Veronica, still serving, carries on the legacy.

“I have worked in a variety of postings, both country and metropolitan, and encountered a great many characters both in and out of SAPOL. I am grateful to have worked with some fine men and women.

“Uniform policing has never been harder, and I appreciate the effort and work ethic of my response teams both at Holden Hill and Norwood. All but one of my team were not even born when I joined the job in 1980.

“To those who remain serving our community: I wish you luck.

It’s a challenging environment.”

Senior Constable 1C Mark Brookes

Senior Sergeant 1C Chris King

Northern District 43 years’ service Last Day: 13.09.23 Comments…

“I thank the Police Association for supporting me and those I served with.

It certainly has been a great career and it gave me the opportunity to work and live in many regions.

“I especially thank the members of Course 72 and those members with whom I worked in the Barossa LSA, Limestone Coast LSA and Northern District.

“I wish the Police Association and all its members all the best.”

Sergeant Peter Mann

Security Response Section/ Bomb Response 18 years’ service Last Day: 11.06.23 Comments…

“I’d like to thank everyone I’ve worked with over the last 18 years for giving me lots of lasting memories and guidance.

“My first field tutor recently reminded me that: ‘The people are what make this job, not the job itself.’

This is definitely true in my experience. I wouldn’t have had this longevity in the job were it not for the fantastic people around me.

“I wish everyone all the best with the challenging times ahead.

Please stay safe and look out for one another.”

“I would do it all over again and still highly recommend the job to anyone who asks me.

“I thank the great people I worked with at my major postings at Adelaide patrols (Region B), Christies Beach CIB, Darlington CIB, Sturt CIB, and Operation Mandrake.

“Also, thanks to those who made my various secondments so enjoyable.

“While on long-service leave, pending retirement, I was given the opportunity to work at Recruit Training Section. I thank the staff there for providing me with the chance to leave SAPOL and be able to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my last posting.

“Thank you to the Police Association for your efforts over the years ensuring that we are now rewarded well for doing a particularly difficult and dangerous job.”

Eastern District Response Teams 37 years’ service Last Day: 08.07.23

Detective Sergeant David Hirlam

Recruiting Section 45 years’ service Last Day: 12.07.23 Comments…

“A wise detective senior sergeant once said to me that, when you join the police, you get given front-row seats to the circus of life. He was so right. A career of more than 40 years as a police officer has enabled me to see the best and worst of society.

Comments…

“It is time to end my police career. I have been proud of my police service.

“It has been a real privilege to work with some fantastic, funny, dedicated, amazing people. None more than those at my current workplace at Hindley Street Response.

“The DPM and creating new specialist sections has not helped front-line response people. There are too few people carrying most of the load.

“I thank all the people I have worked with over the years. I thank all my workmates for their support and true professionalism in tough times.”

Continued…

Spring 2023

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THE LAST SHIFT

Detective Brevet Sergeant Peter Cocks Elizabeth CIB 46 years’ service Last Day: 17.07.23

Comments…

“I thank the Police Association for its tireless work to help improve the work and conditions that we all have enjoyed over many years.

“I have now embarked on my retirement journey. I commenced as a very raw cadet on March 17, 1977, at Fort Largs in Course 60.

“After graduating on June 12, 1979, I was posted to Region B where I spent time walking the beat in Rundle Mall, Hindley St and other parts of the city and working uniform patrols in Region B. “In January 1982, I transferred to Para Hills (Region D), where I spent time in various areas including general patrols. I had a great time learning my craft in the northern areas.

“In 1988, I left uniform patrols to embark on a career in the criminal investigation section. On January 11, 1990, I started work at Elizabeth CIB. “I had brief secondments to Major Crime Investigation Branch, but my heart lay with the northern areas.

“So, I continued my lengthy career at Elizabeth CIB where I spent time in various roles and never looked to go to greener pastures because I just loved working with the people of the northern areas and the wonderful team and friends I made over the years at Elizabeth.

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“I was a member of the Elizabeth CIB for 32 continuous years.

“I am looking forward to my retirement with my wife and venturing to all parts of the world.

“I have enjoyed a lengthy career.

It has served me well.”

Senior Constable Mick Collins

State Crime Assessment Centre 34 years’ service Last Day: 07.07.23 Comments…

“I would like to thank the Police Association for its continued support to members.

“It is time to retire and do more grandpa duties and fishing.

“To all the wonderful people I have worked with over the years: I sincerely thank you.

“I will miss the friendship, the banter; and I am proud that I have made friends of all ranks.

“I have been lucky to have two wonderful sons who understood that, due to shift work, I could not be at every game or event.

“I have so many people to thank for their support and friendship along the journey but special mentions to Mark Dearman – who made work fun and put up with a million Shield questions from me – and John De Candia who is, without a doubt, the best bloke I know.

“All the best to everyone.”

Senior Constable Andrew Hills

Christies Beach Response 15 years’ service Last Day: 06.08.23 Comments…

“My first day at the police academy as a fresh-faced 18-year-old, nearly 15 years ago, seems like yesterday.

“After recently returning from a short career break, I’ve had the opportunity to commence at a partner Commonwealth agency.

“I’d like to express my gratitude to the many great people I’ve had the privilege of working with over these past years. A particularly fond period of my career spanned across my postings at Coober Pedy and Penola, made that much better working alongside my great friend, Christine Nelsen.

“I also thank Matt Lyons who was integral in my professional development, providing me with invaluable advice and guidance.

His leadership and commitment to the police profession is something I hope to take with me.

“There are, of course, many others who have made this job an incredible experience – I sincerely thank you.”

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Police Credit Union Ltd (PCU) ABN 30 087 651 205 AFSL/Australian Credit Licence 238991. Terms, conditions, fees, charges, lending and membership criteria apply. Full details upon request. All information is correct as at 01/08/2023 and is subject to change. No further discounts apply. The information provided herein does not take into account your personal needs, objective and financial circumstances. Please consider your circumstances before deciding if the product is right for you. PCU reserves the right to withdraw offers or amend product features at any time. Information provided in this article is designed to be a guide only and was believed to be correct at time of publication and derived from various media sources. In some cases, information has been provided to us by third parties and while that information is believed to be accurate and reliable, its accuracy is not guaranteed in any way. Any opinions expressed constitute our views at the time of issue and are subject to change. Neither PCU, nor its employees or directors give any warranty of accuracy or accept responsibility for any loss or liability incurred by you in respect of any error, omission or misrepresentation in this article.

Spring 2023

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Jobs you never forget I was on patrol with Security Response Section when we responded in the CBD to multiple reports of a man with a gun. The influx of calls about sightings of the man eventually led us and STAR members to locate him at a convenience store on King William Road. He presented what appeared to be a firearm at police, which resulted in a siege with staff in the store with him.

It became a high-risk situation with forward command established, the CBD sent into lockdown, and all traffic halted. My patrol deployed tactical options, where I provided ballistic cover to my patrol with a ballistic shield.

We maintained a cordon until STAR officers entered the store and safely arrested the man. As it turned out, it was an imitation firearm. It was the first job I had since I started at SRS. I was a newly permanent constable at Salisbury patrols on night shift when my partner and I stopped a car in Parafield Gardens. The car was flagged as an active suspect person’s vehicle. We identified the driver, spoke with him, and conducted the relevant checks which revealed he had a warrant. During his arrest for the warrant, we located a samurai sword in the front seat of his car. This led to a search of his car, in which we also located a loaded firearm and a trafficable amount of methamphetamine.

I arrested him on those charges, which were the most serious offences I had ever charged in my career to that point.

It was very rewarding too, as he was convicted of those charges and sentenced to prison.

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CONSTABLE AUGUSTINA ASABERE

(Security Response Section)

While on SRS patrol with two partners I was stopped at lights on Fitzroy Terrace. As the light turned green, we set off and I saw the car to our left take off and lose control. Although it was not travelling at high speed it was evident the driver had lost control of the car.

The vehicle hit some traffic lights, became airborne, hit a sculpture on the corner of the intersection and finally entered a service road, colliding with a parked car. The vehicle, which luckily didn’t hit anyone, landed on its roof with the driver trapped inside. We helped him out of the car and kept him stable until SAAS arrived. As it turned out, he had suffered a medical episode which caused him to lose consciousness and resulted in the crash. It was one of the more bizarre things I’ve witnessed.

“The vehicle, which luckily didn’t hit anyone, landed on its roof with the driver trapped inside.”

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