Police Life SPRING 2020

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THE VICTORIA POLICE MAGAZINE

SPRING 2020

Shane Patton NEW CHIEF COMMISSIONER TO LEAD VICTORIA POLICE INTO THE FUTURE WITH BACK-TO-BASICS APPROACH PLUS POLICE LAUNCH UNPRECEDENTED RESPONSE AS COVID-19 CONTINUES > STOPPING A VANDAL IN THE STATES > NEW POLICE HELICOPTERS AND PLANE TAKE OFF AND MORE

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Spring 2020

Remembering the fallen Tributes to four Victoria Police officers killed in April lead National Police Remembrance Day.

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More tests in the west After a successful trial, drug testing on rural roads will be a more common sight in the state’s west.

COVER: Shane Patton is the 23rd Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police.

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann Police Life is produced by the Media & Corporate Communications Department, Victoria Police, GPO Box 913, Melbourne, 3001 Online police.vic.gov.au/policelife facebook.com/victoriapolice twitter.com/victoriapolice

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Email policelife-mgr@police.vic.gov.au Managing Editor Superintendent Jo Dolan Editor Grant Condon Journalists Jesse Wray-McCann Danielle Ford Nadine Lyford Emily Wan Natalie Butler Graphic Design Fluid – fluid.com.au Subscriptions (03) 8335 8564

Taking on traffickers The work of the Caufield Divisional Response Unit is helping Victoria Police dismantle and disrupt drug trafficking and organised crime networks.

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Developing an identity The expansion of a team dedicated to identifying the child victims of unspeakable crimes has given the Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team a new perspective.

FSC POSITIONAL ONLY PRINTER TO STRIP IN. 100% From wellmanaged forests

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ISSN 0032-2598L Crown Copyright in the state of Victoria.

For permission to reprint any part of this magazine, contact the editor.

Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Victoria Police.

REGULARS

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By the numbers In Brief Behind the Badge Career in Focus

Victoria Police receives thousands of missing persons reports a year, but specialised training means police across the state are well prepared to find those most at risk.

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER recent years, as Deputy Commissioner of both the Regional and Specialist Operations portfolios, I have managed many significant Victorian emergency management responses.

Leading Victoria Police through this coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been an experience like no other.

When the State of Emergency was declared on 16 March 2020, we activated the State Police Operations Centre (SPOC) to coordinate Victoria Police’s state-wide response. The SPOC has now broken a record, having been in continuous operation for the longest period in our organisation’s history, a record we were not seeking.

It is an honour and a privilege to be appointed as the 23rd Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police.

Having joined Victoria Police as a cadet in 1978, I have predominantly worked in investigative and operational roles across my career and in more

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I am proud of all Victoria Police officers, Protective Services Officers, Police Custody Officers, forensics officers and all Victorian Public Service employees for their continued and extraordinary efforts to support the COVID-19 pandemic response, and overall commitment to protect the Victorian community.

In this edition of Police Life, I have shared my vision for the future of our Victoria Police force. It is a clear message where community safety is, and will always be, our key focus. I am also excited to highlight the increased capability to our Police Air Wing and Water Police fleet, and the important work we are doing to expand roadside drug testing in rural Victoria.

2020 has been a particularly challenging year and I commend our workforce for their resilience. At this year’s National Police Remembrance Day, Victoria Police and the community remember Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Constable Glen Humphris, Senior Constable Kevin King and Constable Josh Prestney who lost their lives in the tragic incident on 22 April 2020, as well as the many officers who have died serving their community.

I want to reassure you that a fitting memorial service will be held at an appropriate time to honour our four members.

Follow Victoria Police on Twitter at @VictoriaPolice

MAKING NEWS For the latest police news visit police.vic.gov.au/news

LEADERSHIP TEAM TAKES SHAPE The team that will lead Victoria Police into the future alongside Chief Commissioner Shane Patton continues to take shape, following the appointment of two new Deputy Commissioners.

Ross Guenther has been promoted to the newlycreated role of Deputy Commissioner, Public Safety and Security, while Neil Paterson is the new Deputy Commissioner, Capability.

The pair joins Regional Operations Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent, Specialist Operations Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam, Corporate and Regulatory Services Deputy Secretary Susan Middleditch and incoming IT and Infrastructure Deputy Secretary Karl Kent in Victoria Police's Executive Command.

Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the creation of the fourth Deputy Commissioner role is one of a number of structural changes planned to help Victoria Police evolve and ensure its senior leadership team remains focused on community safety.

“Ross Guenther’s extensive operational and business experience gained over 35 years in policing will bring a breadth of specialist and tactical skills, which will be of significant value,” CCP Patton said.

“Neil Paterson is a highly-successful and strategic police leader with more than 32 years’ experience, where he has consistently delivered outstanding community safety results, including leading a raft of intelligence-based policing reforms and offender management initiatives.”

DC Guenther joined Victoria Police in February 1986, following his brother into the force after a career as a professional musician.

Stepping into the second-highest rank in Victoria Police, DC Guenther said he was excited by the opportunity to lead the newlycreated Public Safety and Security Portfolio, which will be responsible for the Counter Terrorism, Crime, and Transit and Public Safety commands.

“The creation of this portfolio is an opportunity for a new approach that can bring these commands together to further harness the skill sets in the different work areas to best serve our community,” DC Guenther said.

“I want to promote the safety of the community, push crime down and ensure we maintain that same focus on the mental health of our people we have seen in recent years.”

Drawing on an extensive and diverse career with Victoria Police, DC Paterson will lead the Capability portfolio, and with it, the organisation’s service delivery transformation initiative.

“When you spend a lifetime in policing, there are moments you look at things and think about how they could be done better,” DC Paterson said.

“The service delivery transformation gives us the opportunity to look at how we deliver policing – across all areas of the organisation – to the community for the next 20 or 30 years.”

The two Deputy Commissioner appointments presented an opportunity for CCP Patton to review and implement further changes to the existing Victoria Police Command structure.

This has led to the recent appointment of four new Assistant Commissioners.

Lauren Callaway is the Assistant Commissioner of Family Violence Command, Mick Hermans is the Assistant Commissioner of Counter Terrorism Command, Tim Hansen is the Assistant Commissioner of the new Service Delivery Transformation Command and Chris Gilbert is the Assistant Commissioner of Intelligence and Covert Support Command.

Image New positions New Deputy Commissioners Neil Paterson and Ross Guenther will lead Victoria Police's Capability and Public Safety and Security portfolios, respectively.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

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VICTORIA POLICE

BY THE NUMBERS:

356,375 spot checks on people at homes, businesses and public places were conducted by police across the state between 21 March and 31 August in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

years is how long Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has worked for Victoria Police.

Read more about his vision for the force he has dedicated his life to on Page 8.

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calls for assistance are attended to by the Victoria Police Air Wing each year. That number is expected to increase following the acquisition of a Beechcraft Super King Air 350ER aeroplane and three new Leonardo AW139 helicopters. Check out the new, high-powered aircraft on Page 12.

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weeks is how long all recruits spend at the Victoria Police Academy at the beginning of their careers.

storeys make up Tower One of the new Victoria Police Centre situated at 311 Spencer Street, Melbourne.

metres is the length of the Water Police’s new Naiad rigid hull inflatable boats. The vessels are the third biggest in the fleet, which consists of four different boat models. More details about the fleet are on Page 20.

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16 offences were detected by Southern Metro Region Division 2 Frontline Tactical Unit police in Cheltenham in late August. Police seized several items including what is alleged to be cannabis, ketamine, cocaine, fireworks, cash and two motorcycles.

+80% of the appeals for information made by Transit Divisional Response Unit and Crime Stoppers through posters displayed at train stations result in police successfully identifying the featured offender. Find out more on page 28.

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IN BRIEF police.vic.gov.au/news

PROACTIVE POLICING STORIES

PAL PICKS UP 1 MILLION CALLS

POLICE TAKE UP SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLE TRAINING

Now officially one year old, the Police Assistance Line has hit another major milestone – 1 million calls.

Police at four major regional stations have commenced semi-automatic rifle training, ensuring they are equipped with the necessary skills to use the new weapons in response to critical incidents.

Providing Victorians with a new and convenient avenue to report non-urgent crimes, the Ballarat-based contact centre received its 1 millionth call in September.

Since its public launch on 1 July 2019, the service has not only processed thousands of crime reports, but also taken on new functions to assist the police response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

More than 135,000 calls have been received about possible public health order breaches alongside the most common crime types reported, including theft from motor vehicles, burglary, theft and property damage.

Assistant Commissioner Michael Grainger said the service was contributing to a more realistic picture of offending across the state by taking more than 2,000 calls per day.

“It’s never been easier for Victorians to report non-urgent crimes – many of which have traditionally gone unreported,” AC Grainger said.

“Our intention has always been to better serve our community by freeing up time for frontline police and, having taken more than 1 million calls, we’ve clearly made progress to do exactly that.”

The community can continue to report non-urgent crime and events by calling the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or submitting an online report at police.vic.gov.au/palolr

The training, which began in August, follows a decision by Victoria Police late last year to provide 300 semi-automatic rifles to be used by uniform and frontline support police in the event of active armed offender and terrorist attacks outside of Melbourne.

Police officers in Geelong, Ballarat, Morwell and Shepparton will be progressively trained to use the semi-automatic rifles, which have now been provided to local police but will only be operationally deployed to those who have completed the required training.

The semi-automatic rifles will be securely stored at the stations or in police vehicles and will generally not be in public sight.

More than 730 police officers of the rank of senior sergeant and below from the Public Order Response Team (PORT) and the four 24-hour regional uniform stations will undertake the training, which is expected to conclude at the end of 2021.

The four regional stations have been selected to ensure there is a strengthened response in key regional areas, while PORT has been selected to receive the semi-automatic rifles as it is a frontline support unit which can be deployed anywhere in Victoria in response to major events, issues and at high-risk times.

FEEL GOOD STORY It’s not every day that the brave men and women of Victoria Police get a letter of thanks, but one addressed to one of the force’s four-legged employees is even rarer.

After appearing in a newspaper article about the work of the Victorian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET), detective senior constables Jason Regan and Emma O'Rourke were thrilled to receive a letter of thanks from Valerie of Warrnambool.

“Our society is fortunate to have people like yourselves to safeguard the children,” Valerie wrote, acknowledging the work of the detectives whose job it is to identify, locate, and rescue

child sexual abuse victims and prosecute the perpetrators.

The letter was also addressed to Champ, a three-year-old Labrador retriever assistance dog trained to detect heightened stress levels in the members of JACET and child abuse victims and provide them with a calming distraction.

“My spark of light (when reading the article) was Champ, what a source of comfort for you both and the children you deal with,” Valerie wrote.

You can read more about the work of JACET in this edition of Police Life on Page 26.

And yes, Champ is in the team photo.

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

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COVID-19 CONTINUES

It was something many feared, but few could predict its devastating impact – a second wave of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in Victoria.

It happened quickly, too.

After launching into unprecedented action earlier in the year to help combat the pandemic, Victoria Police continued to rise to the challenge as a second wave of infections gripped the state.

Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said the Victorian Government issued detention orders swiftly and a policing operation had to be established overnight.

While the police response to the health crisis has continued without pause since the earliest stages of the pandemic in mid-March, it was during the second wave that operations and resources were rolled out at levels never seen before.

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In early June, the number of people contracting the virus was falling daily, bottoming out on 9 June when no new infections were recorded.

But less than a month later, on 7 July, new daily case numbers spiked to 191, a figure that exceeded the peak of the first wave by 80 cases.

And just as quickly as the number of infections grew, so too did the police response.

On 4 July, nine public housing towers across Melbourne, home to about 3,000 people, were placed into a hard quarantine in a bid to stop the outbreaks from spreading into the community.

“We were called upon very quickly to provide security at these sites and in one night we pulled together Operation Benessere, which involved hundreds of police being deployed to the towers,” DC Nugent said.

“Once in place, our members did a fantastic job engaging with the community at the towers.

“These public housing towers have some of our most vulnerable people living in them, with varying and complex needs, and our officers did a great job engaging with the community there and going to community meetings.”

At the same time this operation was being established, 10 postcodes in metropolitan Melbourne were placed under the same stage three restrictions the state had been under earlier in the year, which DC Nugent said created another challenging policing situation.

“This provided a challenge in terms of the number of roads, streets and lanes that connect these areas to neighbouring locations that weren’t under these restrictions,” DC Nugent said.

“We had to quickly develop a policing model that allowed movement through these areas, because several have major arterial roads running through them, while also ensuring people from these areas weren’t leaving and outside people weren’t coming in.”

Road Policing Command assisted the response by establishing booze bus-like operations to check cars travelling in the area and developed Automatic Number Plate Recognition hot-lists to pick up cars moving in these areas that were registered in other postcodes.

The area-specific lockdown lasted less than a week however, with all metropolitan Melbourne Local Government Areas and the Mitchell Shire placed under the Stage 3 restrictions on 8 July.

These restrictions limited the movement of people between regional areas and metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire and, in response, Victoria Police introduced Operation Sentinel Phase II. An addition to the original Operation Sentinel, which directly enforced the Chief Health Officer's (CHO) restrictions during the first wave by patrolling public spaces and checking in with businesses, people under quarantine and returned travellers to ensure directions were being adhered to, Phase II saw the establishment of extensive vehicle checkpoints around the affected areas.

Road Policing Command developed the operating model for these checkpoints, which were then managed and resourced by Victoria Police’s four regions.

Western Region Assistant Commissioner Cindy Millen, whose region managed three major checkpoints, said local knowledge played a huge part in the operation.

“Logistically finding an ideal spot to put the checkpoints was a priority,” AC Millen said.

“Finding the balance of community and police safety at these points was difficult. They needed to be on major roads so we could check the most cars, but also in locations where amenities could be set up for our staff.”

AC Millen said while ensuring people weren’t breaching restrictions and travelling between areas was the main focus of the checkpoints, police also used the vehicle stops to identify other crimes.

“Whenever a car was stopped, our members took the opportunity to scan and check for other offences. As a result, police have seized everything from firearms to drugs,” she said.

“Our role as police is to keep the community safe and this was another way during this response we were able to do this.”

Both AC Millen and DC Nugent highlighted the assistance of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) at the checkpoints and noted the increased capability their assistance provided.

Thankfully, the measures were effective and the number of new cases began to fall. From a peak of 725 new infections on August 5, they fell to 410 on August 13.

“Our officers demonstrated a ‘can-do’ attitude by getting on with what was required of them and with our ADF counterparts, they were working in freezing temperatures at all hours, providing added resources to staff these checkpoints,” AC Millen said.

By the beginning of September, cases were down to double digits and assessments on reopening the state were being made.

While the rate of new infections slowed under these new restrictions, case numbers continued to climb.

“For us to be at a stage where we can all get back to going about our normal lives, we need to see cases drop,” he said.

A total of 723 new cases were detected on 30 July and brought with them the announcement of a new lockdown.

“This won’t happen without people adhering to the restrictions, so we will continue to conduct our large number of operations to ensure this.”

On 2 August, stage four restrictions were introduced for metropolitan Melbourne.

DC Nugent said Victoria Police’s response during the various stages of the pandemic had highlighted the organisation’s ability to quickly respond to emergencies.

Reasons to leave home were reduced to just four; shopping for essentials, exercise for no more than one hour, permitted work and caregiving. Melbourne residents also had to stay within five kilometres of their home address while out for one of the permitted purposes, while the wearing of face coverings when outside the home became mandatory across the state.

For Melbourne residents, a curfew was also introduced between the hours of 8pm and 5am, a measure never before seen in the state’s capital, even during war time.

“This was a huge change in our policing model as we had to be able to have a heightened presence on the streets between these hours,” DC Nugent said.

Police introduced Operation Sentinel 250, which involved the reallocation of 250 Transit police and Protective Services Officers (PSOs) from nearly-empty train stations across metropolitan Melbourne to the streets.

DC Nugent said Victoria Police’s steadfast role in enforcing the CHO directions had been and continues to be critical.

“We respond to major demonstrations that occur very quickly, we respond to emergencies, road accidents and a whole range of other incidents very quickly all year round,” he said.

“Our ability to change our operating model and adapt when called upon has been highlighted greatly in this pandemic.”

Images Ensuring safety Police conduct checks at one of the vehicle checkpoints in Western Region. Police also conducted patrols around popular spots in Melbourne to ensure the community was adhering to the Chief Health Officer directions.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

“During this pandemic, our PSOs have gone from train stations, to hotels, to shopping precincts to street patrols and they’ve done a fantastic job providing that extra visibility help to enforce these restrictions,” DC Nugent said.

Stage three restrictions also returned to regional Victoria and, at the state borders, Victoria Police worked with its counterparts from South Australia and New South Wales to control movement.

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

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In Safe Hands Chief Commissioner Shane Patton plans to lead Victoria Police into the future with a back-to-basics approach.

When Chief Commissioner Shane Patton talks about his career, his vision for the future of Victoria Police, or about policing in general, there is one thing that stands out above all else – his passion for community safety.

“That is absolutely what my career has been about, making the community safer. It’s also what our organisation should be about because that is our reason for existence – to make a safe, secure society,” CCP Patton said.

CCP Patton’s journey to Victoria Police’s highest rank started when a young country kid wanted to leave his hometown and move to the big city.

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“I’d love to say I joined Victoria Police for altruistic reasons and to serve the community, and while that’s absolutely what it became and what it is about now, it didn’t start out that way,” he said.

“After I graduated from the Academy, I was stationed in Brunswick. By going out patrolling, I very quickly realised the whole community service aspect of the job and it was what really resonated with me,” CCP Patton said.

“I grew up in Seymour, a country town about an hour north of Melbourne, and my brother had joined the police cadets.

Having spent the majority of his life in the blue uniform, CCP Patton said developing interests and friendships outside of the policing world had been important to him.

“I was a 16-year-old in a country town looking to move to Melbourne, and he made it seem like a good option, so I joined as a police cadet in 1978.”

While he didn’t start his career with grand ideas of helping the community, CCP Patton soon discovered it was the right calling for him.

“My family is the biggest factor in my life,” he said.

“My wife and children have been so supportive during my whole career and they are an extremely important part of who I am as a person.”

“ If I was to sum up what I hope to achieve as Chief Commissioner in a few words, it would be ‘Community safety and community pride and confidence in us as a police force’.”

“Growing up in Seymour, I remember the local police officer Ray Stomann, who is still in the force, and his approach to enforcement in the community was brilliant.

“He would engage with the community, he made himself a part of the community and because of that, he was well respected.

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“It’s that kind of community policing that I see as back-to-basics and vital to ensuring that the Victoria Police force is well regarded and has high levels of public trust.”

Building that community trust is something CCP Patton said starts at an individual level, as he highlighted the importance of every officer holding themselves accountable.

“I’ve already set expectations where supervisors need to hold their people to account and I will also be personally holding people to account,” he said.

“But it’s important that every member of Victoria Police takes responsibility and accountability for their actions.

“I have an expectation, and the community has an expectation, that our members act properly, ethically and in good faith.

“If everyone does that and focuses on community safety, they will be totally supported by me, by the organisation and, most importantly, by the community.”

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“I also have a close group of non-police friends who certainly tell me what they think of policing, Victoria Police in general, and myself individually, which provides a nice outside point of view.”

CCP Patton’s passion for helping the community has not only shaped his career, but also his vision for his time as Chief Commissioner.

“If I was to sum up what I hope to achieve as Chief Commissioner in a few words, it would be ‘Community safety and community pride and confidence in us as a police force’,” he said.

“We have so many competing community safety threats – crime, terrorism, road trauma and family violence to name a few. There are so many things we need to be addressing and,

for me, being able to make the big, strategic decisions that make it easier for our members to help make the community safer; that’s what gets me up every day.”

A key focus for CCP Patton during his tenure is ensuring a back-to-basics approach to community policing is central to everything Victoria Police does.

“This doesn’t mean going back to old ways of thinking, but rather going back to the basic craft of policing, which is that engagement with the community,” he said.

“It means getting our police out of the stations and into the community. We want to be talking to the public to understand what is important to them and what they need from us to make sure we prevent as much crime as we can.

During his 42-year career, CCP Patton has gained experience in many areas of policing and said he hoped to draw upon this to better understand the needs of police working in today’s modern environment.

“I’m very fortunate to have worked in a range of roles, so I know what it’s like to be a detective, to be a prosecutor and to be an operational police officer,” he said.

“For me to understand these things is a huge help. It puts me in a good position to better understand the experience everybody has and keeps me in touch with the frontline workforce.”

Images Uniformed career 01 CCP Patton on the day he graduated from the Academy.

02 CCP Patton during his time as a sergeant at St Kilda Road Police Station.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

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HONOURING FALLEN HEROES Every year on 29 September, police and the Australian public pause to remember fallen officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice while doing their duty to help keep the community safe.

On this day, National Police Remembrance Day, the Victoria Police family remembers the 170 Victoria Police officers who have died in the line of duty.

Each of these officers’ names features at the Victoria Police Memorial, located within Kings Domain gardens on St Kilda Road, Melbourne.

This year, four names have sadly been added to the memorial – Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Josh Prestney and Constable Glen Humphris.

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“This makes what happened so much more tragic, as it could have been any of us standing on that road.

“Every name on the wall represents an officer who was doing their job, helping make the community safer, and didn’t make it home.”

Eastern Region Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir echoed this sentiment and noted the lasting impact of the Kew incident on the organisation.

On the evening of 22 April 2020, these four officers were killed in the line of duty in a road incident on the Eastern Freeway at Kew.

“Since the incident, I know it has been difficult to put on the same uniform as our brothers and sister who lost their lives and to carry on working, but it is the duty of police officers to do so,” AC Weir said.

It was a loss felt by every member of Victoria Police, and particularly by Eastern Region and Road Policing Command, whose ranks the four officers worked in when they died.

“The nature of police work comes with some risk and, as this tragic incident has shown, harm can befall even when we take all the right precautions.

Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Libby Murphy said the loss of the four members added to the Police Memorial Wall this year, and the loss off all listed on the wall, is something felt by every police officer.

“While what happened in April is grossly unfair, as is the loss of the additional 166 people whose names are etched on the wall, we as a police force remain committed to ensuring the safety of the public in everything we do.”

"Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Josh Prestney and Constable Glen Humphris were simply conducting routine duties, which our frontline members do several times a day, when they died,” AC Murphy said.

The addition of the four names to the honour roll would usually be done during a state service on National Police Remembrance Day at the memorial wall.

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

However, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and Chief Health Officer directions restricting the ability for people to gather, a special video service was conducted this year and shared for people to watch together online in place of the usual service.

The video service also remembered and honoured the lives of another 19 Victoria Police officers, Protective Services Officers, Police Custody Officers, Victorian Public Service employees and police chaplains who died in the past 12 months.

Image For the fallen Four names have been added to the Victoria Police Memorial Wall - Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Josh Prestney and Constable Glen Humphris.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: AAP (main photo)

WEST FOR ROADSIDE IS BEST DRUG TESTING Police from seven of Victoria’s smallest communities in the state’s west have joined the effort to catch drivers who take to the road with drugs in their system.

The ability to conduct drug tests is now part of the arsenal of police working in Skipton, Harrow, Lake Bolac, Wycheproof, Manangatang, Stanhope and Edenhope following a successful trial earlier this year.

Western Region Superintendent Peter Greaney said motorists in the west of the state can expect to be drug tested more often.

“Prior to the trial, drug testing was done predominately by specialist units, including state and local highway patrol units, the Heavy Vehicle Unit, and the Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section,” Supt Greaney said.

“The inclusion of these one-person stations means every police vehicle in these remote areas could potentially do a roadside drug test.”

Despite making up little more than 20 per cent of the state’s population, Supt Greaney said more than half of the lives lost on Victoria’s roads are in regional areas.

“It’s a sad reality that regional areas across Victoria are overrepresented when it comes to serious injury and fatal collisions, and drugs and alcohol are far too often underlying factors,” he said.

“Police in regional areas are part of the fabric of the community and attending collisions of people we know can be particularly devastating.

The ripple effect in small communities can be huge – everyone tends to have some link.”

One of these rural police officers is Leading Senior Constable Craig Walker, who lives and works in the small town of Skipton.

“As the officer in charge of Skipton Police Station, my main concern is the safety of the community. I want to make sure our town is safe for people to move around, motorists and pedestrians alike,” Ldg Sen Const Walker said.

Situated on the Glenelg Highway and 52 kilometres south west of Ballarat, Skipton, with a population of less than 600, is one of the main routes to the South Australian regional hub of Mount Gambier, and is a popular stop for motorists.

“Word got around the town pretty quickly and if that means the fear of getting caught stops those who use drugs from getting behind the wheel, then that’s a good result.”

He said the reaction from the local community had been positive.

“The residents have been very supportive.

There was a bit of interest when I first started doing the drug tests in the main street and locals want to get unsafe drivers off the roads as much as I do.”

Ldg Sen Const Walker’s message is clear.

“If you’re driving a vehicle, you can expect to be pulled over for a roadside drug test at any place and any time, so be warned – if you take drugs and drive, you will be caught,” he said.

Image Facing the test Skipton Leading Senior Constable Craig Walker knows the impact random drug tests can have on driver behaviour, even on the quietest country roads.

Editorial: Nadine Lyford Photography: Adam Trafford, The Courier

Ldg Sen Const Walker said many of the drivers he drug tested early on in the trial, both locals and those travelling further afield, were surprised because they thought only Highway Patrol units conducted roadside drug tests.

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SKY-HIGH POWER

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POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

IT’S A SIGHT NOT SEEN IN VICTORIAN SKIES FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS – A FIXED-WING AIRCRAFT BEARING THE VICTORIA POLICE BADGE AND COLOURS SOARING ABOVE.

With the ability to stay in the air for more than six hours and advanced infrared camera and mapping systems on board, Victoria Police’s new, state-of-the-art aeroplane can provide assistance at any incident anywhere in the state.

The Beechcraft Super King Air 350ER arrived at the Victoria Police Air Wing's Essendon Fields base in August and is the first plane used by the force in more than two decades.

Air Wing provides state-wide aerial support for a range of functions including call-outs for search and rescue, crime prevention and detection, ground unit direction, aerial observation and rapid deployment of specialist units.

Air Wing also assists across geographic areas that can’t be easily navigated on foot due to steep or mountainous terrain.

Inspector Craig Shepherd said the addition of the plane to its fleet gives Air Wing the ability to support a range of functions and teams on the ground, particularly in regional and remote areas.

“We’re a support service for all other responding units across Victoria Police and we attend more than 5,000 jobs each year,” Insp Shepherd said.

“The plane will significantly improve our response to rural and regional areas that require assistance from the Air Wing.

“For example, when rostered for work in Western Region, this aircraft can fly direct from our base in Essendon to Mildura, loiter in the area for four hours, respond to jobs in other areas if necessary and then return to Melbourne, all in a single shift.

“This could be done in one flight with no landings, or it could be done by having three hours of flight time, a landing, a rest period for the crew, then another few hours flight time before heading home.”

In addition to the plane, Air Wing also welcomed three new, seven-tonne Leonardo AW139 helicopters across June and July, which replaced the unit’s existing fleet of three 4.8-tonne choppers.

These aircraft boast the same camera and mapping systems as the plane, as well as improved object detection software to assist with marine and land-based searches.

Insp Shepherd said with the technology onboard the new helicopters and the plane, Victoria Police Air Wing would be the envy of many police forces around the world.

“They are fitted with high-definition cameras that allow us to zoom in and pick up registration numbers on vehicles below from a long distance, which allows us to fly a long way from the target and helps provide support to the police on the ground,” he said.

“We are able to enter a specific address from a street into the system and the cameras will automatically glue to the target and, while you are flying in that direction, the camera is on task on that location.

“It’s far more advanced than what we have now and gives us clear vision and high-definition capabilities 24 hours a day.”

Insp Shepherd said the new helicopters provided greater power and longer endurance than their predecessors and could also seat four times as many people, with eight passengers and three crew able to board.

“Having the extra capability and technology in our helicopters means we can deliver more police officers to jobs and provide greater support to ground units,” Insp Shepherd said.

“It enables us to strengthen our community response as incidents are unfolding and provide increased aerial observation where required.”

Images Time for take-off Main Sgt Jim Stafford, pilot Troy Fleet, Sen Sgt Col Ramsey, Insp Craig Shepherd, pilot Peter Tucker and Ldg Sen Const Tim Conway with the new Beechcraft Super King Air 350ER plane that is now part of Air Wing's fleet.

Below Sgt Jim Stafford and Sen Sgt Col Ramsey inspect the controls in one of the new seven-tonne Leonardo AW139 helicopters, which is pictured along with the Beechcraft Super King Air 350ER. Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Grant Condon

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

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BEHIND THE BADGE

STEVEN WILLER Rank: Detective Acting Sergeant Graduated: April 2011 Unit: Arson and Explosives Squad

How do you uncover the truth about what really happened at a scene when all that remains is charred, damaged, or completely destroyed?

Has a crime even occurred?

was always in the back of my mind. It was something that interested me in terms of the challenges of policing and the types of crime investigations that occur.

An Arson and Explosives Squad detective tells Police Life you need a well-trained eye and analytical mind to separate fact from fiction, because things aren’t always as they appear.

What attracted you to the Arson and Explosives Squad?

Why did you join Victoria Police?

When I left school, I went to university and ended up becoming a high school teacher but joining Victoria Police, more so as a detective,

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POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

Being a detective meant I would still be working in a field where you can give back to people and help people, which is what I wanted in a career. So, after teaching for 10 years, I joined Victoria Police.

The variety and the diversity of work the squad covers. We investigate bushfires, fires involving fatalities, or arson-related fires suspected of involving criminal offences. Jobs could also be related to explosives, so someone actually building a complex explosive or someone who is found playing with explosives or fireworks.

You get to learn a lot of different skills and be involved with many different organisations like the Victorian fire services and State Emergency Service, and Victoria Police units like the Major Crime Scene Unit, Bomb Response Unit (BRU), and the forensic chemists.

We’re a squad that covers the whole of Victoria, so you get to travel across the state for work which I also enjoy.

Tell us about your role.

My role is to investigate anything that falls into our squad criteria and also to assist divisional Crime Investigation Units and divisional policing units with their investigations of lower-level fires and explosives incidents.

I investigate fatal fires, whether they be bushfires, structural or car fires, and arson, which can be deliberate or accidental. I also investigate jobs relating to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and leads that we receive about someone who holds an IED or has access to one, and army ornaments if someone’s in possession of them.

With most investigations, you don’t know what you’re walking into, so you don’t know at the start if it’s actually a criminal investigation or if it’s going to end up being a coronial matter.

It’s not cut and dry when you first turn up, so it takes a lot of investigation to work out what has actually occurred.

A very simple job could be solved within one day. Some jobs can literally take years or decades to solve purely because of the complexity of them.

As a squad, we also educate our police colleagues and the community by conducting lectures, courses, and workshops with fire services like the Country Fire Authority or local police units. Prior to the Victorian fire season, we run a roadshow and visit all the regions and divisions to talk about the upcoming fire season,

do briefings, and conduct debriefs. We also help with running the arson courses held at the Victoria Police Academy.

What’s an interesting job you’ve been involved in?

A lot of the jobs I investigate are interesting, but more so regarding the challenge aspect.

One of the most interesting challenges is the scene itself. There was a job where an IED was detonated in a south-eastern suburbs park in the middle of the night. The park area exposed to the explosion was more than 10,000 square metres. Identifying the area where the IED was detonated, the type of device it was, and the possible area fragments could have travelled to was challenging. We were looking for evidence and fragments which could be smaller than a five cent piece. Deciding what was rubbish and what was connected to the incident was difficult because devices often involve everyday items in their construction.

We used line searches to find evidence and fragments, and drones to identify fragments that had landed in nearby backyards and on top of house roofs.

We worked closely with BRU and the explosive chemists to ensure the scene was safe and there was nothing dangerous still out there, while still preserving as much evidence as possible. Luckily no one was injured.

Outside of work, what would we find you doing?

Most of the time I’m fairly involved in indoor hockey and field hockey, because I play and coach both. I’ve been the Australian men’s indoor hockey coach since about 2016. There’s a Men’s Indoor Hockey World Cup which is held every three years. The last one was in 2018 in Berlin where we finished fourth, which was our best ever position. The next World Cup is planned for February 2021 in Belgium. Hopefully we can do a bit better and get onto the podium with a medal this time.

Images Finding answers in the flames Det A/Sgt Steven Willer enjoys the challenges that come with the Arson and Explosives Squad's intricate investigations.

Editorial: Emily Wan Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

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01

Hitting crime hotspots AS soon as the suspect opens his townhouse door, three police arrest him while two other officers push past, racing upstairs to the thirdstorey bedroom.

Caulfield Divisional Response Unit (DRU) officers are in Mentone at 6am on a Tuesday morning, carrying out a raid on an alleged drug trafficker’s home and know they need to get into the bedroom on the top floor as soon as possible.

They want to grab any drugs in the room before any other suspects within might have the opportunity to destroy the evidence.

The bedroom door is locked, so the officers break it down.

There’s no one in the room, allowing the DRU to start a thorough search of the house.

Outside the front door, officers begin setting up an evidence table as a neighbour begins to take his dog for a walk.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” the neighbour says.

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POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

He explains to the officers that the occupants of the raided house have been making life hell for everyone else living in their otherwise quiet suburban cul-de-sac.

The suspects’ house has played host to constant fights, screaming, loud parties and shifty-looking visitors at all hours of the night, he says.

“I think they might be drug dealers,” the neighbour says, not knowing that Caulfield DRU has been covertly investigating the suspects for about six weeks.

Police take two people into custody and uncover a quantity of a white crystalline substance, believed to be methamphetamines.

It’s towards the lower end of jobs Caulfield DRU does, but less than three weeks later, they’ve completed 25 more unrelated raids, including Operation Brandish, which involved 14 arrests in 13 simultaneous raids on properties across Melbourne’s inner south-east.

For almost 12 months, Caulfield DRU had been running Operation Brandish as an ongoing investigation into a drug trafficking syndicate.

During the raids on 15 August, police seized a large commercial quantity of what is believed to be methylamphetamine and cocaine, significant quantities of other drugs, chemicals used to manufacture drugs, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and a loaded handgun.

The main Brandish raid on two adjoining penthouses in South Melbourne involved Special Operations Group officers gaining entry through the apartment building’s staircase, with another team swooping in from above on a police helicopter, ready to rappel down onto the penthouse balconies if needed.

A police drug detection dog was called in and was able to detect cocaine stashed away behind two paintings.

Caulfield DRU’s incredible work-rate not only dismantles and disrupts drug trafficking and organised crime networks, but it has a very real impact on reducing street-level crimes such as car jackings, home invasions, robberies and burglaries in Southern Metro Division 2 in Melbourne’s south-east.

Its regular high-profile operations have also gained Caulfield DRU a reputation within Victoria Police as one of the most impressive investigative units within the organisation.

Senior Sergeant Shane Rix has been in charge of the unit since its inception 10 years ago.

He said they use a highly intelligence-based approach, analysing hotspots and trends in common crimes to identify organised crime groups or outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCG) operating in those areas.

" We cannot cut corners in our planning and preparation because we don't know who's behind the door and how they're going to react."

02

01

“For us, it’s not just about the specific crime that has been reported, it’s about what is contributing to that crime in the first place,” Sen Sgt Rix said.

“We see street-level crimes as a symptom of something bigger behind the scenes.”

Often when the unit’s tactical intelligence officers see a spike in crime in a local area, there’s a drug dealer operating nearby.

“When a drug trafficker sets up in a neighbourhood, they attract users who see the valuables in the homes and cars in the area as the way to pay for their next hit,” Sen Sgt Rix said.

“When we see a hotspot in crime, we jump on it quickly and task our uniform patrols to be out there and then rely on intelligence coming in to allow us to investigate it and identify the problem.”

That’s when the human source team embedded in Caulfield DRU comes to the fore, canvassing its carefully-cultivated network of sources for information.

“Using our source team gives us current intelligence that allows us to plan an investigation strategy to gain evidence against individuals or crime groups,” Sen Sgt Rix said.

04

03

“This might simply be taking out a search warrant to make an immediate impact on the harm being caused, or it might mean a more structured approach, which involves using investigative techniques and covert services to get the evidence necessary to have a big impact on that criminal activity.

“Our source team is especially important when we’re dealing with more complex, high-end organised crime groups and OMCGs, which have a real presence in our division.”

Gathering as much information and evidence is crucial, especially when it comes down to the moment officers need to knock on a suspect's door, or force entry into their home.

“We cannot cut corners in our planning and preparation because we don’t know who’s behind the door and how they’re going to react,” Sen Sgt Rix said.

“Everyone here understands that we have high standards, and our success comes down to the quality people we’ve been able to get into this unit.”

Superintendent Sharon McKinnon, who sits over Caulfield DRU, said the unit’s successes were not only evident in serious criminals being locked up, but also in crime trends.

“We always see a tangible impact on crime hotspots after Caulfield DRU has completed one of their jobs,” Supt McKinnon said.

“They go after the higher-level criminals who are exploiting people vulnerable to drug addiction and driving our lower-level crime.

“And they do it relentlessly because they’ve got such a passion for community safety and cleaning up crime in their own patch.

“I remember in my first week in this role, they had done this incredible job.

“I rang Shane to congratulate him and his team and said, ‘This result is just fantastic’.

“But I very quickly learnt that it was actually business as usual for Caulfield DRU, because the quality and quantity of the work they do is just consistently outstanding.”

Images Relentless raiders 01 Sen Sgt Shane Rix (front) leads the Caulfield DRU in yet another successful raid to dismantle a complex drug trafficking ring.

02 First Const Aleks Suboticki briefs the team on the details of an early morning drug raid.

03 Sen Const Nicole McClintock and others from Caulfield DRU search the house of a suspected drug trafficker.

04 Caulfield DRU specialises in bringing higher-end criminals to justice.

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

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01

02

FOLLOWING PLENTY OF CHILDREN FOLLOW THEIR PARENTS INTO POLICING, BUT IT’S RARE THAT THEY END UP WORKING TOGETHER AT THE SAME STATION. While Sergeant Steve Raynor is adamant his son Sergeant Dan Raynor is a better police officer than he ever was, Dan maintains it is Steve’s example that inspires him.

“That maturity to pull himself out of the process because he realised he wasn’t ready, with no guarantee he’d get back in again, it really amazed me,” Steve said.

After leaving school early to pursue a panel beating apprenticeship that didn’t work out, Dan was in his early 20s and sick of working in jobs that didn’t fulfil him.

Steve names the highlight of his own career as the moment he was able to present Dan with his police badge at his graduation.

Steve had suggested Dan might want a career in the army, but then Dan said he might follow his father into policing.

“Dad asked one thing of me,” Dan said.

“He said, ‘Do me a favour, go out and get some life experience. Go out, see the world, grow as a person and then join’.”

But at the age of 22, Dan applied anyway, making it through to the interview process before recognising he wasn’t ready and withdrawing his application.

“I was honest with them, I told them I didn’t feel I was mature enough to make the step,” he said.

“I had seen from Dad that it was never just a job.

“It was something you throw your everything at or you don’t do it at all.

“I think I realised at that age I didn’t want to be that responsible person all the time.”

Like with much of Dan’s career, Steve was not only proud of his son, but deeply admired his decision.

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FATHER'S

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

Dan successfully reapplied years later and graduated in 2011.

Like his father before him, Dan worked at a mix of city and country police stations, including in and around Seymour, where their family lived for most of Dan’s life.

It’s now also where the father and son have the rare honour of sharing the same rank at the same station, both working as sergeants – Dan in general duties and Steve in family violence.

Throughout his time as a police officer, Dan has sought to follow the example of his father.

“Because Dad worked locally, when I started going to the local pubs at 18, I’d run into a lot of people who knew of Dad,” Dan said.

“They would say, ‘I ran into him one day. He’s a very fair man, a very fair copper and one of the best I’ve dealt with’.

“I lost count of how many times I heard that while growing up and it inspired me to want to be that kind of copper.”

But Steve has been sure to include his mistakes in the life lessons he has passed down to Dan.

“I lead by example, even if it is a bad one,” Steve laughed.

Steve took a break from policing for two years in the 1990s after recognising he had been putting his career ahead of his family.

“I was a bugger for putting the job before everything else, so I thought I’d put the family first for once,” he said.

After years of working as a detective, Dan had high aspirations to join one of Victoria Police’s top investigative teams, such as the Drug Squad or Echo Taskforce.

But then, with his own wife and two young children, he recognised some of the warning signs from Steve’s career.

“The harsh reality dawned on me that I was putting work before my home life,” Dan said.

“I didn’t want to become another statistic of focusing too much on my job, so I made the decision to come back closer to home.”

Now stationed as a sergeant in general duties at Seymour Police Station and raising his young family in the area, Dan continues to impress his father.

“He’s far more confident and competent than I am,” Steve said.

“He’s a better copper than I ever was, and I’m really glad to be able to say that.”

04 03

FOOTSTEPS When Constable Jade Henley was just 10 months old, her father Detective Sergeant Rob Henley knew she was going to be a police officer.

It was 1995 and Rob was working as the lone police officer at Gordon, near Ballarat, and he was cleaning the police car at the back of the station’s residence, with little Jade playing on a blanket on the lawn.

“I just nicked inside to grab something and I had only taken two steps inside the door when the siren on the police car started blaring,” Rob said.

“I bolted back out and saw that Jade had crawled up, gotten in the car and pressed the button on the siren.

“By the time I got there, the bloke at the milk bar next door was almost over the fence, saying ‘Rob, are you all right?’

“So, I think Jade was destined to become a police officer.”

After looking on admiringly at her father’s career in the blue uniform, Jade herself knew from a young age that she wanted to join Victoria Police.

“I’ve always really looked up to him,” Jade said.

“One memory that’s very vivid for me is when we were out shopping at the supermarket one day.

“Dad had all four of us kids there and we were just leaving when he bumped into an old work colleague.”

While they were catching up, another man at the supermarket’s service desk became verbally and physically abusive toward one of the staff members.

“Dad and his old workmate ran up and arrested him there and then,” Jade said.

“They proper tackled him to the ground and everything.

“I remember it very vividly that even though you can take the uniform off and go home with your friends and family, you can still make an impact on the community.”

05

For her first general duties post out of the Academy, Jade has been assigned as a constable to Melton Police Station, the same complex where Rob is a popular, long-serving member of the Melton Crime Investigation Unit.

"When I was here for my week-long placement in the watch house in January, I tried to keep it on the down-low about who I was because I didn’t get here on Dad’s merit. I worked hard to get here on my own merit and I’m very proud of that,” Jade said.

“But it took not even half a day for someone to say, ‘Hey, are you Bobby’s daughter?’

“I think Dad loves the fact that I’m here, and I think I love it, too.”

Jade also recalls times seeing Rob on duty at AFL matches.

“Just watching him, even from afar, interacting with little kids and having a positive impact on the community, it’s something that really drove me into the job,” she said.

Jade graduated from the Victoria Police Academy in May this year and Rob had the honour of presenting her badge to her.

“Doing that is right up with walking down the aisle with my wife and the birth of all our kids as one of the proudest days of my life,” Rob said.

Images The apple doesn't fall far 01 Sgt Dan Raynor and Sgt Steve Raynor both work in Seymour.

02 One of Steve's proudest moments was presenting his son Dan with his police badge.

03 These days, Det Sgt Rob Henley is happy to see his daughter Const Jade Henley run the lights and sirens on a police car.

04 Det Sgt Henley was there to hand his daughter Const Henley her badge on the day of her graduation.

05 Even from a young age, it was clear Const Henley was always destined to become a police officer.

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

19

FLEET

COMPLETE

VICTORIA’S WATER POLICE TOOK TO THE WILD WAVES OF WINTER TO PUT THE FINAL PIECE OF THE FORCE’S REFURBISHED FLEET TO THE TEST.

• C heck your safety equipment is current and maintained

With five extra boats at the ready, there are ample options for police to patrol regional locations across the state, including Portland, which attracts large groups of people fishing for tuna throughout winter.

• W ear a life jacket (you are required to wear a life jacket on a powered vessel less than 4.8m long)

“Portland in June and July can be a fairly problematic place to police just because of its geographical location and the south-westerly winds that it gets,” Insp Barras said.

• D ownload Maritime Safety Victoria’s Boating Victoria app

“Bad weather like strong winds and large waves mixed with small boats – that creates challenges in winter,” Insp Barras said.

“For us to take our largest vessel down there, it’s a long way and there are limited opportunities to shelter along the coastline.

• M ake sure your skills match the boat you’re operating

“We often see issues at both inland and coastal locations, particularly involving fishermen who sometimes overestimate their ability and end up getting into trouble.

“If we can take a trailer boat that is fit for purpose, it enables us to get out and police areas that recreational and commercial vessels visit regularly.”

“There’s an opportunity for us to use these new vessels to police those waterways.”

The vessel replacement program identified the emerging worldwide trend of using rubber collared patrol vessels across military and law enforcement agencies as best practice.

Five 7.5-metre Naiad rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) are being added to the Water Police’s squadron of vessels, completing a $7.2 million boat replacement program that started in 2017.

The boost to resources is one Water Police and Search and Rescue Inspector Greg Barras says helps maximise the police response when it comes to incidents at sea, which was particularly important over the cooler months

The five new boats join the Water Police’s VP01, a 16.7m catamaran; VP02, an 11.9m monohull vessel; and five 6.2m RHIBs. “It’s great – these are the last plank of the vessel replacement program,” Insp Barras said.

“These vessels are provided by the same manufacturer that provided the 6.2m vessels.

“What that means is it’s a smoother progression for our operators to move from the 6.2m boat to the 7.5m boat, as they have similar handling characteristics and operational systems.”

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SAFETY TIPS

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

“This vision has driven the acquisition of a fleet of vessels that’s increased our search, rescue and enforcement capacity, enabling us to get alongside and interact with operators of both recreational and commercial boats,” Insp Barras said.

“Victoria Police’s water policing fleet has never been as good as it is now.

“Our people here are all competent, trained and qualified to operate the boats and this provides an excellent platform for us to ensure a safe boating environment year round.”

• Boats and alcohol don’t mix

• Tell people where you’re going

Images Statewide service Victoria Police’s five new 7.5-metre Naiad rigid hull inflatable boats can be towed anywhere in the state, giving police a presence in waterways at even the most far-flung locations.

Editorial: Natalie Butler Photography: Grant Condon

g nin Tur

d n u o r a s

01

e v li

02

Three years ago, Christie Bowker was addicted to drugs, disconnected from her family, homeless and facing the prospect of spending two years in jail as the result of her addiction and subsequent offending.

Drug Court is only an option for those sentenced to two years prison or less.

Offenders also need to meet extensive eligibility criteria, including that the crime they committed cannot be a sexual offence or an offence involving bodily harm.

Ms Bowker said while the program was one of the most difficult things she had done, she was extremely grateful for the opportunity it afforded her to turn her life around.

Victoria Police Prosecutions lawyer Ashleigh Gambera has seen countless people placed on DTOs during her time working in Drug Court and said while it can be viewed from the outside as an ‘easy option’ compared to jail, this was far from the case.

“By being placed on the order and having conditions put on me to attend treatment sessions and check in with police and the court, I was forced to look at myself and work hard to get clean so I could stay out of jail.”

Now, the Melbourne resident is back in touch with her family, has regular accommodation and has been sober for more than 18 months.

“The primary focus on Drug Court is rehabilitation and that’s not an easy thing for people who are addicted to drugs,” Ms Gambera said.

“I started using recreational drugs when I was a teenager and it ended up getting worse to the point that I became addicted to meth and heroin. I was committing crimes to get money to support my addiction,” Ms Bowker said.

Following a string of drug driving and break and enter charges, Ms Bowker found herself once again before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in 2017 where she pleaded guilty and was eventually sentenced at Drug Court to a Drug Treatment Order (DTO).

“While being placed on the DTO meant I was able to stay out of jail, I still had to serve my sentence through treatment and supervision,” she said.

Drug Court, which currently operates at Melbourne and Dandenong magistrates’ courts, sees offenders who have pleaded guilty to drug-related offences being sentenced to a DTO rather than serving their sentence in jail.

“It’s not an easy process and I’ve heard some people placed on an order say they feel like it would be easier to just serve the prison sentence.

“The program really makes people look at themselves and address the issues behind their drug addiction in order to tackle it – that’s not an easy thing to do.”

The specific conditions of treatment and supervision of an offender placed on a DTO is primarily the responsibility of the Drug Court Magistrate.

As part of the DTO, a police prosecutor from Victoria Police is dedicated to each participant as part of a multi-disciplinary team consisting of case managers, clinical advisers and a defence lawyer, who all assist the Drug Court Magistrate in the supervision of the offender.

“If I had just gone to jail, I don’t know if I would have got sober,” she said.

If offenders breach any of the conditions imposed by the DTO, the order may be cancelled, and they then must serve the unexpired portion of their sentence in prison.

Melbourne Prosecutions Group Acting Inspector Richard Bowers said having offenders sentenced to DTOs so they can work towards rehabilitation plays a part in helping reduce crime in the community.

“Each person that goes through a DTO and successfully completes it means less crime in the community,” A/Insp Bowers said.

“A lot of these people are only committing crimes to support their drug addiction, so treating their addiction through the DTO is ultimately helping to remove crime from the community.”

Images Responding to treatment 01 Prosecutions lawyer Ashleigh Gambera has seen first-hand the positive impacts Drug Court DTOs have on offenders’ lives.

02 Christie Bowker receiving her DTO completion certificate from Drug Court Magistrate Bernard Fitzgerald.

Editorial and photography: Danielle Ford

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

21

TRUE CRIME

T A C Y A R P S ‘

´DERAILED

When a prolific Australian graffiti tagger found himself behind bars in a Californian jail following a month-long ‘spraycation’ across the US, he had no idea it was a tip-off from police in Melbourne that led to his overseas arrest and conviction.

The Australian national was arrested at San Francisco International Airport in December 2018, as he awaited a flight back to Sydney.

Unbeknownst to the offender, it was a specialised team from Victoria Police’s Transit Divisional Response Unit (DRU) that had alerted US law enforcement agencies to the fact he was travelling to their country in November 2018.

The Transit DRU Digital Forensic Investigation Team (DFIT) is a specialised group of police who are trained to infiltrate established criminal social media networks to help identify graffiti offenders using various covert methodologies.

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POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

This particular offender, who DFIT operatives have decided not to name due to the known desire for notoriety among graffiti taggers, had been the target of an ongoing DRU operation for more than 12 months.

DFIT Sergeant Duncan Browne said the team had been using various online covert techniques to monitor the offender, who was well known to police across Australia.

“A big part of the thrill for a lot of graffiti taggers is the capture and sharing of footage and pictures of their offending,” Sgt Browne said.

“It can become a game of who can pull off the biggest ‘job’ and they then share it to social media to brag about their efforts.

“So, we are able to use specialised covert techniques to infiltrate social media networks to identify repeat offending and link it to individual offenders.”

The arrest of this Australian national in San Francisco came after more than a month of DFIT operatives tracking his offending across the US, from New York to California.

“We tracked his graffiti journey throughout the US via these covert techniques and were able to provide this information to US law enforcement, which police in San Francisco used to link him to several offences committed in that area,” Sgt Browne said.

“From this, they were able to execute the arrest and bring the offender into custody.”

Despite having enough information to make the arrest, the offender was not in possession of any evidence to make a strong conviction, but a seemingly inconspicuous piece of paper led to the discovery of information that would be pivotal to cracking the case.

“We had been able to help San Francisco police link him to offences on several trains in California’s Bay Area alone due to the tags that were sprayed on the trains, but there was no solid evidence of him being the person physically committing the crime,” Sgt Browne said.

“But a shipping receipt that was found in his luggage when he was arrested showed that he

N ' O I T A had sent a package to an address in Melbourne the day before he was due to fly out.

“We were able to intercept this package and found 26 SD memory cards inside.”

Having this ability within the team, DFIT operatives were able to extract the content of the SD cards within days and provided it to police in California.

The highly-specialised skills of DFIT once again came in to assist after this package was discovered.

“On each of the SD cards were photos and videos from each offence in the San Francisco area,” Sgt Browne said.

Knowing the cards were likely to contain significant evidence relating to the offences, the assistance of Victoria Police’s E-Crime Squad would usually have to be called upon to extract the data.

“We provided this content to police over there and the offender ended up pleading no contest to all charges.”

“The E-Crime team are extremely busy and have so many requests at one time that we could have been waiting months for this to happen,” Sgt Browne said.

“But when DFIT was established, we gained approval and training to use a specialised technology to forensically examine computers, tablets, phones and electronic storage devices.”

Due to the efforts of the team, the Australian man was sentenced to four months in prison with three years’ supervised probation and he was also ordered to pay restitution for the cost of damage to the trains, totalling nearly $12,000.

“This offender has been known to police across Australia for a while and it was hard to track him down,” Sgt Browne said.

“The work of DFIT operatives in this case was exceptional and their work in tracking graffiti offenders wherever they go resulted in an impressive outcome for our team.”

Transit Safety Division Investigation and Response Manager Inspector Andrew Gustke said the Transit DRU, and DFIT in particular, play a big part in tackling graffiti crimes across Melbourne and, as with this case, the world.

“They are recognised both nationally and internationally for their capability and expertise,” Det Insp Gustke said.

“This is a great example of how intelligence collected by Victoria Police can assist international police, while also furthering our knowledge of an offender.”

Images Repeat offender The Australian national is pictured tagging a train during his time in the US, an offence which resulted in a finding of guilt in a San Fransisco court (document pictured) and a four-month jail sentence.

Editorial: Danielle Ford Photography: Grant Condon and supplied

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

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CAREER IN FOCUS

GLENROWAN’S OWN

‘MR FIX IT’ WHEN ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S BUSIEST ROADS RUNS THROUGH THE PATCH YOU TAKE CARE OF AS A POLICE OFFICER, IT HELPS TO KNOW A BIT ABOUT CARS. And there’s no one more suited to keeping the Hume Freeway safe than Leading Senior Constable Ross Woodrow.

Not only is Ldg Sen Const Woodrow the much-loved lone police officer in the small north-east Victorian town of Glenrowan, he is also a qualified mechanic.

After 17 years of working under the hood of all kinds of vehicles and mastering his trade, Ldg Sen Const Woodrow made the move into policing at age 31.

For almost 10 years now he has worked at the single officer station in Glenrowan, using both his policing and automotive expertise to look after travellers moving through the area.

So when he loads his radar gun, handcuffs and other police equipment into his police car each shift, he puts them in there with an assortment of spanners, shifters and other tools.

He has lost count of the number of times over the years he has noticed a fault on a vehicle, pulled it over and fixed it with his tools at the roadside.

“I’m fortunate that I’m in tune with any hint of a wheel wobble, a safety chain hanging down or something not looking right,” he said.

“I stopped a guy recently leaving the BP Glenrowan service station because I could see straight away there was an issue with the trailer wheel.

“As I pulled him over, the wheel fell off.

“That could have been a very nasty thing if he had gotten to the freeway.”

The 66-year-old’s career has been marked by going above and beyond what is expected of him, particularly in road policing.

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When he started at Glenrowan, the two local BP service stations on the Hume Freeway were suffering from petrol drive-offs, sometimes as many as three a day.

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VicRoads and the Victorian Sheriff's Office to keep the roads safe.

“I’m committed to putting as much quality effort as I can into the job,” he said.

Ldg Sen Const Woodrow decided to build a strong rapport with the BP staff and educate them on how to prevent the crime.

“I guess it’s my make-up. My personality is to do the best job possible.”

“I told them that when cars come in with no number plates, don’t activate the pump.

Ask them to come in and show identification before you do,” he said.

His passion and hard work were recognised earlier this year when he was named as the Road Policing Practitioner of the Year, Victoria Police’s top annual road policing accolade.

“When it’s a reasonably quiet period and someone parks at the furthest bowser, comes out wearing sunglasses and a peak cap pulled down over their head, again, don’t activate the pumps.”

A shining example of some of Ldg Sen Const Woodrow’s fine police work in Glenrowan came about 18 months ago.

Add this to the fact that Ldg Sen Const Woodrow can sometimes patrol through the service stations up to 20 times each shift, and the frequency of petrol drive-offs has dropped.

The pair then jumped back in their ute and drove towards the freeway.

“I just know that we are safe here with Ross,” Ms Campbell said.

Ldg Sen Const Woodrow radioed for back-up as he gave chase.

“We’re in the middle of nowhere, so to see him always driving through, it gives us such a feeling of safety.

“That’s the best part about the north-east. You might be one-up and vulnerable, but I tell you what, if you ask for help, it’s there in seconds,” he said.

Ldg Sen Const Woodrow also conducts regular drink and drug driving testing sites, as well as operations where he combines Victoria Police’s automatic number plate recognition technology with other agencies such as

The ute rolled several times, landing on its side and trapping the passenger.

But not fast enough.

“I pulled up just short of the ute and one of the blokes started to shape up, clench his fists and come towards my vehicle,” he said.

“Even BP head office, right to the top, they know about Ross and how good he is.”

“They took the Glenrowan exit, gunned it at an intersection and lost it.”

“I looked at the number plate and it just didn’t look right.”

“They know that we are around a lot and that we’re not far away should they need us.”

“All the other stores are really jealous of us having Ross as our local police officer.

“Sure enough, this vehicle came along again,” he said.

The driver got out and, after slinging a few choice words at Ldg Sen Const Woodrow, he began to run.

A quick search on his onboard computer revealed the number plate was a fake.

“Ross really feels like an uncle to me.

They were about to give up the search when Ldg Sen Const Woodrow decided to take up one of his common patrol spots, parked in the median strip of the freeway.

“I was driving through BP and there were these two big guys standing by this four-wheel-drive ute,” he said.

“The partnership I have with the staff at BP, it almost feels like family,” he said.

Sandee Campbell, the store manager at BP Glenrowan North, said the family feeling was mutual.

“We set up a perimeter and were trying for almost two-and-a-half hours to find this vehicle in paddocks and haysheds,” Ldg Sen Const Woodrow said.

“As soon as I grabbed this bloke, there were blue uniforms everywhere, just like an avalanche,” Ldg Sen Const Woodrow said.

It ended up being a significant arrest because the two men were out on parole and responsible for a massive amount of unsolved aggravated burglaries and thefts from vehicles.

“We were able to put away a couple of really nasty fellows,” Ldg Sen Const Woodrow said.

There’s not much that gets past Ldg Sen Const Woodrow on the roads in the Glenrowan area, and that day was just one of the many that prove it.

“How it didn’t get bogged, I don’t know.”

Images Roadside assistance 01 Ldg Sen Const Ross Woodrow has a passion and a talent for keeping people safe on the roads.

02 With tools at the ready, Ldg Sen Const Woodrow is quick to use his mechanic skills to help out cars in trouble.

03 Ldg Sen Const Woodrow chats with Glenrowan Tourist Centre owners Jesse and Bob Hempel.

04 For almost 10 years, Ldg Sen Const Woodrow has been the lone officer in the small town of Glenrowan.

The ute tore its way through farm fence after farm fence, eventually disappearing from view.

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

With the help of two Highway Patrol cars, they were able to box in the ute and slow it down on to the shoulder of the freeway.

“All of a sudden, the two offenders lit it up and went down this huge embankment,” Ldg Sen Const Woodrow said.

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

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IDENTITY

INVESTIGATORS

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POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

It was a horrific situation – a young girl in Canada was being used to produce child exploitation material.

With the offender’s identity obscured and the footage revealing few clues, it was up to the Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) victim identification specialists to analyse thousands of media files to help locate the girl so she could be rescued.

And it wasn’t just police undertaking the gruelling task; Victorian Public Service (VPS) employee Jacob Hunter was part of this investigative team.

“We did most of the work to identify the girl’s location within Canada,” Mr Hunter said.

“Once she was located, we were able to liaise with local law enforcement, which eventually led to the identification of the girl. She was then safeguarded.”

As the state’s first non-police victim identification specialist, Mr Hunter has provided the fresh perspective and skill-set Victim Identification Team (VIT) manager Detective Sergeant Neville Major wanted for the role.

“We already have two police officers performing the role within the team, so hiring Jacob wasn’t a matter of changing the role to suit a VPS position, it was a matter of adding to it,” Det Sgt Major said.

“Jacob has brought with him a new set of analytical and investigative skills from his previous roles that our police, who are very experienced investigators, don’t have.

This has enhanced the team.”

When Det Sgt Major started the recruitment process for Mr Hunter’s role, he knew finding a candidate with the required characteristics and qualifications to deal with the confronting nature of the job would be hard.

“Ideally you want to hire somebody who has a victim identification background, potentially from another law enforcement agency,” he said.

“The difficulty with employing somebody in this role is knowing what their reaction will be when exposed to graphic material.

“Mentally, not everybody is able to perform this role. It takes a special kind of person who can overcome the confronting sights and sounds they are exposed to while remaining focused on the job at hand in order to achieve the aims of the team.”

But Mr Hunter’s previous military role in the counter-terrorism space and extensive analytical experience working in Victoria Police’s online investigation and intelligence area meant he was qualified and prepared for this new challenge.

“I was lucky enough that the role came up at the right time and my background and skill-set were a good fit for the job,” Mr Hunter said.

Like all new JACET members, as part of his initial training Mr Hunter had to undertake the Graduated Exposure Program, which exposes staff to “varying explicit content associated to the job”.

“We had a conversation with South Australian authorities to obtain the images. From there, we were able to make multiple enquiries in order to identify who those children were.

“With help from our local authorities, that same day we were able to actually speak to these three boys and intervene in order to prevent further sexual abuse.”

He was required to attend regular psychologist appointments between viewing explicit images and then video footage to help him slowly build the resilience investigators need.

To assist investigative work, the team uses specialised software including image analysis and open source intelligence tools, as well as local and international data sharing portals.

As manager of the VIT, Det Sgt Major said the victim identification specialist role is “the purest form of investigation you can get”.

One such portal is the Victoria Police Victim Identification Portal. Here, police can share de-identified images from unsolved cases with colleagues who may be able to assist with identifying leads.

“ Mentally, not everybody is able to perform this role.

It takes a special kind of person who can overcome the confronting sights and sounds..."

Being a small, specialist team of two police officers and two VPS employees, each person in the VIT has their role to play in ensuring good investigative results.

“You’re given an image of a child being sexually abused in some form of setting and told to find that child. That child could be anywhere in the world,” he said.

“The job requires a lot of analytical and investigative skills, and that’s where VPS employees and police detectives come together. Having those two backgrounds really complement one another.”

The VIT is a specialist unit that provides support services for JACET investigations.

The team’s function is to help identify, locate, and rescue child victims and prosecute perpetrators involved in the production, dissemination, and possession of child abuse material.

“When JACET investigators get a job for any identification aspects, we conduct breakaway investigations within their main investigation,” Det Sgt Major said.

Often the VIT works closely with its interstate and overseas child protection counterparts to identify and locate child victims and offenders.

“South Australian authorities recently contacted us after becoming aware of three young boys who were being sexually abused online. Interstate investigators identified that the football shorts the boys were wearing in the images emanated from Victoria,” Det Sgt Major said.

“The expectation with VPS staff is to take more initiative in the training and development of the team by identifying software or tools that the team can use in order to enhance their investigative techniques,” Det Sgt Major said.

“The investigative skills that are learned at grassroots level, that police in my team have and can share, are invaluable for VPS employees like Jacob to pick up on and develop themselves.

“So in this team, the police officers and VPS employees both learn from each other, which is really good.”

When asked what keeps his team going when constantly faced with such mentally challenging situations, Det Sgt Major said the motivation to do the job comes from the reward that follows the end of a case.

“There’s a risk that comes with us being exposed to the graphic material, but that’s outweighed by the good result that comes from identifying a child and taking them out of a sexually abusive situation,” he said.

“That’s the reward, and that’s why we do it.”

Image A specially-trained team Victim Identification Team manager Det Sgt Neville Major (centre) leads a specialised team including Det Sen Const Nicole Poynton (left) and Det Sen Const Monica Hogan (right), whose skill set in victim identification leads to the rescue of child sex abuse victims and brings perpetrators to justice. Also pictured is Champ, JACET’s support dog, who plays an important role in maintaining the team’s wellbeing.

Editorial: Emily Wan Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

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WANTED POSTERS

ONE PLACE YOU DEFINITELY DON’T WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE IS ON A CRIME STOPPERS POSTER AT ONE OF MELBOURNE’S TRAIN STATIONS.

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If you’ve committed a crime and your photo makes it on to one of the posters, you can almost guarantee it won’t be long until police are knocking on your door.

The train station posters are just one of the many ways Victoria Police and Crime Stoppers Victoria’s hand-in-glove partnership works so well.

“Criminal activity across our public transport network is a continued area of focus, which is highlighted on our dedicated public transport crime page on the Crime Stoppers website.

The displays, found at dozens of locations on the train network, are the product of an 11-year partnership between Crime Stoppers Victoria and Victoria Police’s Transit Divisional Response Unit.

Since it launched in 1987, Crime Stoppers Victoria has promoted unsolved crimes and persons wanted on warrants to the Victorian public through various channels, while also giving people the opportunity to anonymously report crime activity.

“CCTV has played an invaluable role in capturing quality images and vision to assist the public to recognise the offenders on these services.

Leading Senior Constable Luke Gandolfo coordinates the program, which has a stunning success rate – more than 80 per cent of the crimes displayed on the posters are solved.

“It’s one of the most successful things I’ve seen in my 32 years at Victoria Police,” Ldg Sen Const Gandolfo said.

And a key part of that success, according to Ldg Sen Const Gandolfo, is the program’s simplicity.

“The posters are just photos of offenders with just one line of text,” he said.

“It might just have, ‘Armed robbery, Belgrave-Lilydale line’ and then images.

“People then phone into Crime Stoppers, an information report is generated and then I pass it through to the relevant investigator.

It receives more than 200 tips every day and last year Victoria Police made its 25,000th arrest based on information from Crime Stoppers.

Crime Stoppers Victoria chief executive Stella Smith said the organisation was incredibly proud of its work with Victoria Police.

“At Crime Stoppers, we know that people care about a safer community,” Ms Smith said.

“Our success with the Transit Divisional Response Unit is a clear illustration of the relationship we have with Victoria Police as well as Crime Stoppers’ ability to capture the public’s attention.

“We look forward to continuing our work with Victoria Police to keep our state safe.”

For more information on Crime Stoppers Victoria, to report crime information and see a list of unsolved crimes and wanted persons, go to crimestoppersvic.com.au or phone 1800 333 000.

Images Stopping criminals in their tracks 01 Crime Stoppers chief executive Stella Smith and Ldg Sen Const Luke Gandolfo discuss the success of the partnership.

02 The Crime Stoppers posters at train stations are so effective that it is often the offenders who hand themselves in.

Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

“It’s not overly complicated, but it works a treat.”

The program has positively identified 1,400 people since its inception.

It’s an achievement Ldg Sen Const Gandolfo said would not be possible without Crime Stoppers Victoria.

“The part Crime Stoppers plays in this, that’s what makes it work,” he said.

“Having them as the central point of contact and their expertise is so crucial, because they are so good at what they do.

“Until this program, I didn’t fully appreciate just how big Crime Stoppers’ reach is.”

Ldg Sen Const Gandolfo said often the people on the posters themselves were the ones to call Crime Stoppers and hand themselves in.

“We had a teenager one time ring up and say, ‘Can you get that poster down before my nanna sees it’,” Ldg Sen Const Gandolfo said.

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Sometimes, the program is so successful that Ldg Sen Const Gandolfo can’t keep up.

“One time, I had driven out to put up posters at all the stations on the CranbournePakenham line. I put them all up and was driving back to the office when Crime Stoppers rang me,” he said.

Crime Stoppers explained that they had someone on the phone surrendering themselves in relation to a poster that hadn’t even been added to the call centre’s system yet.

“I had to tell Crime Stoppers, ‘You haven’t got the details yet, because I’m not even back in the office’,” Ldg Sen Const Gandolfo said.

“Literally half an hour after I displayed it, this person saw the poster and had surrendered themselves.”

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POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

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Search results

The heartbreak of losing a home and personal possessions from bushfire is sadly an all-too-common experience throughout rural Australia.

As the fire danger passes, those who have lost so much are understandably desperate to return to their former homes to see what can be salvaged, and to begin to process their loss.

On 25 January 2020, a young mother and father returned to their destroyed home on their 88-acre bush property at Waterholes, north of Bairnsdale in East Gippsland, to begin this process when they were suddenly faced with the loss of something far more valuable than any possession.

As the father headed off to survey the damage, the parents believed their four-year-old son was safe. The father thought the boy was with his mother, the mum thought he was following his dad doing the inspections. When they reunited, they realised they were wrong.

Their son was missing, alone in the blackened landscape.

After their hurried search failed to locate their son, the parents alerted Bairnsdale police.

“Following a devastating bushfire, usual landmarks are impacted, causing confusion,” said Acting Sergeant Matt Webb, who led the Search and Rescue (SAR) team that responded.

“Damaged and destroyed buildings and fences look very different or are simply gone, there’s no foliage or undergrowth in the bush, animal or human pathways through the bush are gone and thousands of burnt tree trunks are still standing or lying scattered on the ground.

“Everything in sight is black and it all looks the same. The bush is seemingly lifeless.

“It is no wonder that a four-year-old boy trying to catch up to his father would lose his way, and not be able to find his way back. Efforts the boy made in trying to get back would very likely be taking him further away.”

Once alerted, Bairnsdale police launched an extensive search.

While the fire ravaged environment added significant hazards, with damaged and falling trees the primary concern, one beacon of positivity was the number of emergency services personnel that were nearby, with firefighters and Australian Defence Force troops joining police in the search.

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The SAR squad was initially deployed as a dive team after a police canine gave a very strong indication that something was in a small dam on the property.

While the search continued in bushland into the evening, the dive team undertook the grim task of searching the dam for a body.

They did find a body, that of a wallaby that likely used the dam to escape the flames, but nothing else of note. With the dam searched and cleared, focus went back to finding the boy in the burnt bushland, with over 200 people from a variety of organisations and specialist police units on site the next day.

Around noon, about 24 hours after the boy first went missing, a search group calling his name got a reply.

“I’m over here.”

The boy emerged from behind a log, which he had used as a shelter overnight. He was found about two kilometres from his last known location in good health.

Positive outcomes like the one at Waterholes in January can often be viewed as lucky, a case of a searcher stumbling across the missing person by being in the right place at the right time.

However, in most searches, Victoria Police is relying on a lot more than just good fortune.

The Australian bush is vast, and resources to search it are limited. Important decisions need to be made to achieve a successful outcome.

As part of the Sergeant Qualifying Program, emerging supervisors receive training in the management of missing person reports, including follow-up investigation and search efforts.

It’s important training – each year Victoria Police receives more than 8,000 reports relating to a missing person. This equates to more than 150 reports each week, with this figure increasing over recent years. Of those reported missing, about 44 per cent are found within 48 hours.

“Many people reported missing are not lost,” Search and Rescue Squad Leading Senior Constable Jason Ball said.

“Some are missing as a result of crime, while many others have simply decided not to return home to loved ones or carers. Most are reported missing in urban or semi-rural areas and the vast majority are located.”

On most days, there are more than 20 reports involving people deemed ‘high-risk’ because of their age, medical conditions, mental health, injury or the circumstances in which they have gone missing.

For these circumstances, the SAR squad has developed a high-risk missing person guide that is available to all police officers.

The guide gives police a breakdown of missing person trends divided into age groups, illnesses and health problems, and outdoor adventure; the latter covering the likes of climbers, hikers, hunters and prospectors.

In total, there are 15 categories of missing persons and the guide provides the characteristics and tendencies people within a category might exhibit, as well as tailored strategies police can implement to locate them.

Ldg Sen Const Ball said the information is based on research conducted by various agencies including SAR and some interstate and international jurisdictions. From the thousands of searches for missing persons, comparisons are made between where the person went missing from, to where and how they were located.

“No two missing persons cases are exactly alike,” Ldg Sen Const Ball said.

“But there are trends that we have identified, and these give police a starting point to guide initial actions.

“The guide gives frontline police clear strategies and techniques they can apply, which is important as the pressure of time during a search can be immense. Police are also quite often managing patrols and distressed family members at the same time.

“It’s about reducing the size of the haystack in the search for a needle, that in reality is a human life potentially at risk.”

In the Waterholes search for the young boy, police used statistical data of missing person behaviour to form the basis of early search efforts.

As detailed in the guide, missing children aged 4-8 years will attempt to return home and will panic, often causing them to become lost further.

They tend to seek out a place of shelter such as thick bushes, tables or old vehicles, are difficult to detect and will rarely attempt to self-help. More than a quarter are located under cover or in a building or shelter, and 75 per cent are found within a radius a little over 2km from their last known location.

“We tailored the search as more information came to hand but for Bairnsdale police to have that knowledge as soon the search began was pretty important,” Ldg Sen Const Webb said.

“The boy displayed most of the tendencies detailed in the guide and that shows how important having basic knowledge right across the entire police force can be.”

Narre Warren Sergeant Olivia Wright is another officer who knows the importance of police receiving missing persons training, having conducted a similarly urgent search earlier in the 2019-20 summer.

“That meant I kept the search quite contained and instructed my team to follow easier routes when searching.”

After more than three hours of police searching, the man was found in the backyard of a property he had no connection to, less than half a kilometre from where he was last sighted.

He was unconscious and laying fully dressed in the blazing sun, but paramedics were able to assist him.

One of the high-risk missing persons guide’s key strategies suggests police search private yards because people suffering memoryaltering diseases will often seek a secluded location. A quarter are found within 500 metres of their last known location.

“The man was very ill when we found him, but thankfully he was still alive and this gave some relief to his family,” Sgt Wright said.

“Police get many missing persons reports, but cases as high-risk as this are not that common.

“It was fortunate we were prepared and well trained and it’s extremely pleasing we were able to get a positive result.”

Image Successful search Police, firefighters, Australian Defence Force troops and volunteers came together to search for a boy who went missing in an area ravaged by bushfires.

The four-year-old boy was located safe and well 24 hours after going missing.

Editorial: Grant Condon Photography: Supplied

A 75-year-old man with severe dementia had disappeared from his care facility in the mid-afternoon of a 41-degree day in December, dressed in a full tracksuit and with no means of communication.

The man’s care facility was in a suburban area and adjacent to a large park that included a creek.

“In some cases, those factors would make the search area quite large. But having done the training, I knew most missing persons with conditions such as dementia are found within around a kilometre of their last known location,” Sgt Wright said.

“I also knew that people with these conditions will often follow the route of least resistance.

This means if they come to an intersection on their path, they’ll choose the easier option, like going downhill instead of uphill.

POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2020

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WHEN YOU , NEED US BUT NOT THE SIRENS

There’s now a new way to contact Victoria Police for non-urgent matters.

Call the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or for online reporting go to police.vic.gov.au