BRIEFING
VICTORIA POLICE
TOP 5 PROACTIVE POLICING STORIES www.vicpolicenews.com.au
01
JACOB’S WISH COMES TRUE
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ictoria Police in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) worked alongside the Make-A-Wish Foundation to make a young boy’s wish to meet Mark Webber and a policeman come true.
Detective Superintendent Gerard Ryan, Inspector Darren Cooper and AFP’s Stephen Reeves-Williams met with nine-year-old Jacob Traynor, who is receiving ongoing treatment for leukaemia, and his family at Melbourne Airport. They travelled from Canberra for four days of fun in Melbourne. The adventure began when Jacob and his family were picked up from the airport by a Highway Patrol police car and driven around Albert Park Lake. On the second day of Jacob’s visit, Det Supt Ryan and Insp Cooper took him out for lunch in Williamstown and then for a Water Police boat ride. Jacob said he had a wonderful time on the boat. He was then taken to the Victoria Police Centre where Deputy Commissioner Graham Ashton presented him with some gifts.
02 REVISITING THE PAST
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irst opened in 1891, Flemington Police Station is one of the oldest in Victoria. In fact, it used to be the home of 85-year-old, Pascoe Vale South local Frank Pattison. In 1936, Mr Pattison’s father, a former Victoria Police member, Inspector Andrew Chanel Pattison resided at the three-storey complex with his wife and eight children. Flemington police members invited Mr Pattison and his wife Joan for morning tea at the station. Constable Douglas Fincher chaperoned the couple and gave them a tour of the police complex. Reminiscing on the past, Mr Pattison said it had been interesting living at the station when he was a young boy. “I remember I used to hear the school bell ring at St Brendan’s Primary School, from my bedroom, that’s when I knew I had to run to school,” Mr Pattison said. Back when Insp Pattison was in charge, the watchhouse was attached to the detective section of the station, close to the cells where the prisoners were kept. The residential section at the station was located on the second and third floors and only a short walk to the watchhouse. “Even though we lived in close proximity, we had no fear whatsoever of the prisoners,” he said. Although family living was separate to the cells, Insp Pattison’s wife always prepared the meals for the prisoners, who ate exactly what the Pattison’s used to eat for dinner.
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AUTUMN 2014 POLICELIFE
Later that night, Jacob had the opportunity to meet one of his idols, Formula 1 racing car driver, Mark Webber. During Jacob’s visit, he also got to see the musical theatre show King Kong and had a tour of the Melbourne Airport Tower Facility. Insp Cooper said he was inspired by Jacob’s bravery and was eager to have a part in making his wish come true. “Supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation is all about giving joy and hope to the bravest children imaginable,” Insp Cooper said. “Everybody within Victoria Police and the AFP who was approached to help out immediately offered their services – this is truly a great reflection of what our organisation stands for.”
MEMBERS HONOUR 03 INJURED COLLEAGUES
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embers from South Melbourne and St Kilda police stations donated blood and plasma to the Red Cross in Southbank as a show of support to the three members injured in an explosion in Middle Park. Constable Emma Quick, Constable Varli Blake and Sergeant Tony Scully were all injured in the explosion, which occurred on 4 January. All three, along with two MFB firefighters, suffered burns as a result of the explosion. Plasma donations are primarily used in the treatment of burns victims. Detective Senior Constable Damien Vallas, who knew all three of the police injured in the incident, said the idea of blood donation came about because they wanted to do something positive to support their colleagues. “When something like this happens, it really does affect all of Victoria Police,” Det Sen Const Vallas said. “I know every police member has been to a job exactly the same as this and it could have been any of us in the same situation. “We wanted a way to do something in their honour while they recovered and donating blood and plasma seemed like a good way to go about it. “Police often work in critical situations where a blood donation could save someone’s life and now I think we have all been a little more personally touched by the significance of donation and what it can mean.”
Photo courtesy of Simon Love/3AW