BEHIND THE BADGE
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LOREN TRUTER Rank: Senior Constable Age: 26 Graduated: March 2010 Station: Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) Why did you join CIRT? When I was a uniform officer, I attended a few jobs that turned into sieges. When we have a siege situation, the CIRT get called in to manage it, so I’d have to step back as a uniform officer while CIRT did all the cool stuff. After seeing this happen a few times, I thought ‘hang on, I want to be doing that’. After four-and-a-half years at Knox and Dandenong police stations, I trained for CIRT and got in on my first attempt. I’ve been here for more than three years now. Tell us about your work at CIRT. We respond to jobs outside the realm of response of general duties, including armed offenders and sieges. Units within CIRT include tasked operations, negotiators and close personal protection, so we can cover all those aspects and more with specialised training. I worked in the analyst’s office while I was pregnant, and since returning from maternity leave, I am back on the CIRT floor and have been selected to participate in the negotiators' course. I elected to return to work full-time after six months of maternity leave. Coming back full-time was a challenge, especially when it came to getting my fitness levels up again. Now I’m a mother I’m also trying to manage work and home life. My bosses are really accommodating with me and the work roster, which is fantastic.
What is most rewarding about working in the CIRT? We get to train all the time, work in a close-knit team and handle highlevel jobs. When we resolve a situation, whether through negotiation, tactical options or the offender ends up surrendering, it’s nice to know that we’ve deployed our tactics to the best of our abilities and all that training pays off. What kind of physical fitness is required for CIRT? It’s a bit of everything. During the physical testing, you need to complete sprints while wearing full CIRT kit, so you need both cardio and strength. On any given day, you may need to carry a 12-kilogram ram or a 15-kilogram ballistic shield, so you need the strength and endurance to get through every element of a CIRT job. On top of the physical training at work, I practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in my spare time, which has proven handy in my role. Tell us about an interesting job. Any day can result in a good arrest. One that springs to mind happened in Sunbury where a man was threatening self-harm. CIRT members deployed bean bag rounds (flexible baton rounds) and I deployed my conducted energy device to subdue him and prevent him from hurting himself. He was taken into custody and given medical assistance. You never know when an interesting job is going to happen, but when it does and you get a good result, it’s an awesome feeling. Read more about what it takes to be in the CIRT on page 10.
Image High alert 01 CIRT officers are always ready for action. Editorial: Ashlee Williams Photography: Stu Heppell POLICE LIFE | SUMMER 2018
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