In safe hands

Editorial: Danielle Ford

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann

“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.

“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.

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

“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.

“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.

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.

“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.”

“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.

"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.

“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.

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.”

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.”