Victoria Police

If you’re looking to learn more about what your time at the Academy is like, Then this webinar is a must attend event for you! Join us online on Wednesday 22 January and we’ll show you what you can expect when you walk through the gates. 💻 Register your attendance below. ⬇

Jeff Maher is a name known to many in the policing community. He was a police officer for 42 years and head of the Homicide Squad for 15 years, where he helped convict one of Australia’s most notorious serial killers, Peter Dupas. After a brief stint of retirement, Jeff returned to Victoria Police in 2018 in a training capacity. After all, “There’s only so much Dr Phil you can watch and travel you can do.” As part of his role, Jeff has been working at the Centre for Crime Investigation at the Academy, training the next generation of officers and detectives. Jeff assists with training including investigation management, fire and arson investigation, bomb scene examination, and avalanche simulation, where he shares his extensive policing knowledge and experience. Not to mention his work with the Blue Ribbon Foundation as a speaker at events and as President of the Victoria Police Alpine Club. Outside of his work with Victoria Police, he has been volunteering in Cambodia since 2018 to help train the Cambodia National Police and is president of the Victorian Association of Fire Investigators (VAFI) - a network of around 350 members who work in fire investigation. Jeff was recently awarded life membership of the VAFI, an honour only a handful of people have received and one of the only times he has been speechless. Many might ask why Jeff has not slowed down and lapped up retirement after a long stint in the police force. Long story short: he loves what he does.

Senior Constable Kate Middleton (before you ask, not the Princess) is a trailblazer having become the Water Police’s first ever female ocean-going skipper. 🛥 Based at the Gippsland Water Police in Paynesville, Kate was certified as the master of the unit’s 16-metre ocean vessel earlier this year. From just 12 years old, she would rescue people from the water while driving her yacht club’s rescue boat. She even earned a special exemption to gain her commercial boat skipper’s tickets before she was old enough to drive a car. Kate spent nearly two decades carving out a career as a commercial skipper on charter and heavy haulage boats, before joining Victoria Police in 2015. After a few years working in general duties, in 2020 Kate achieved her dream of working at the Water Police. The role is even better than she imagined. “It’s the best job in Victoria Police,” she said. After spending much of her career in a male-dominated industry, Kate is happy to keep leading the way for women and she plans to continue to support and mentor other women to take up roles in the Water Police.

Victoria Police is proud to release our new strategy Safe from Harm, which outlines how we will address family violence, sexual offences and child abuse over the next five years.    Safe from Harm renews our commitment to continue to help build communities where women are safe and equal.   Police are at the frontline of responding to family violence, sexual offences and child abuse every day, with officers responding to one family violence incident approximately every six minutes in 2023.   Incidents of sexual offending reported to police have increased 60 per cent over the past ten years.  Family Violence Command will support Victoria Police to achieve its goal of consistently delivering high quality responses to family violence, sexual offences and child abuse, within a sector-wide approach, to enhance community safety.  Assistant Commissioner Lauren Callaway said these crimes are still too prevalent in our communities.   “We’re committed to continuously improving our capacity and capability in victim-centric, highly visible and responsive policing,” AC Callaway said.  “We’re proud to release our new strategy, which sets out how we’ll work to improve our responses to family and gendered violence between 2024 to 2029.  Our new strategy builds on our progress and continues to uplift our practice and partnership approach in responding to family violence, sexual offences and child abuse so that all victim survivors who seek our help feel seen, heard, and are safe.  Our next set of reforms will have a stronger focus on the outcomes generated by our efforts and the impact we have on the community. It will be underpinned by a new structured and evidence-based approach to continuous improvement that will allow us to measure the quality of our responses.”    To read the Victoria Police Strategy for Family Violence, Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (2024-2029), visit the Victoria Police website.

It’s the most wonderful time, to roll up your sleeves! 🩸 The #Bleed4Blue Challenge is well and truly underway, with 178 of our members making the world of difference at last week’s pop up at the Victoria Police Centre. (That’s 534 lives saved in a week!) A special mention to Leading Senior Constable Steve Fernando who reached his 25 donations milestone! 🙌 Considering giving the ultimate gift and donating this Christmas? Make sure it means even more and add it to the ‘Victoria Police’ tally – let’s leave NSW Police Force for dust! Book a blood or plasma donation at www.lifeblood.com.au, through the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood or call 13 14 95. ☎ #VictoriaPolice #DonateBlood #LifeBloodAu

At 27 years old, Senior Constable Scott Halder realised his childhood dream of becoming a police officer. 👮♂️ An encounter with a crime scene officer after a break-in at his childhood home inspired Scott to pursue a career with Victoria Police. And while he did not pursue his dream straight out of school – he first worked as a hairdresser for around seven years and then in retail – he is now ten years into his policing career and enjoys engaging with the local community and supporting victims of crime. As a part of his role in the Darebin Crime Scene Unit, Scott attends crime scenes from car and house burglaries to assaults and car accidents, collecting, photographing and interpreting evidence. He enjoys taking the time to get the right answer for victims. Scott is also an LGBTQIA+ Liaison Officer, where he supports members of his community through the judicial process, ensuring they feel at ease and understood. Scott’s advice for those considering a role in policing? Experience in a customer service background gives applicants a good head start. In policing you need to know how to diffuse dynamic situations and speak calmly and with honesty to people to gain their respect. On a day off, you can find Scott hanging out with his French Bulldog, Peggy, working out at the gym, at a yoga class, or baking treats for his colleagues. Like Scott, has policing always been something you have dreamed of doing? Our website offers a range of resources for prospective applicants. Check it out > https://lnkd.in/ghNxV9Zt

Our last police-bred horse, Xavier, is retiring after an extraordinary 17-year career. He was born at Attwood, which was known as ‘The Police Stud Farm’ prior to the Mounted Branch moving to Attwood. Throughout his career, Xavier has led the troops with his calm and reliable nature. His retirement marks the end of an era for police bred horses, a program that ran for almost 25 years before it ended in 2006. During the program, four to twelve horses were bred each year with only few possessing the unique traits of a successful police horse. Nowadays, we purchase horses from the open market and train them at the Mounted Branch before they hit the streets. Xavier will live out his retirement getting spoiled by rider Senior Constable Kara Fiorentino in her paddock at home and in her own words "I will miss seeing the world between his ears, and sharing my meal pack with him, even though he was always very greedy!"

Don’t worry, you’re not seeing double. 👨🏼🤝👨🏼👀 Meet identical twins Senior Sergeant Rob and Sergeant John Henderson. Aside from sharing looks, they both share a love for renovating their homes, a Bunnings trip, and the diversity and challenges that come with policing. Growing up, they worked at the same workplaces, starting out by delivering newspapers to working at petrol stations, in retail and manufacturing, and then policing. Rob joined Victoria Police in 1993 at 22 years old, with John following suit seven years later in search of better job security after working as an apprentice auto electrician. Between them, they have worked across Melbourne in areas including general duties, the Bicycle Patrol Unit and Highway Patrol. As you’d expect, Rob and John have had their fair share of mistaken identities on the job. When they worked together at Fawkner Police Station, most of their colleagues could only tell them apart by the watches they wore. And yes, you bet they took advantage of this from time to time. Both expressed similar sentiments when asked what life is like with a twin and having the shared experience of policing. “It’s like hanging out with your best friend 24/7.” Not to mention the constant battle to make sure they’re not dressed the same, which is unavoidable in policing. #NationalTwinDay #TwinDay #IdenticalTwins #Twins

Victoria Police has teamed up with support services to encourage anyone to seek help if they are concerned about family violence this festive season. While Christmas is a time to get together and celebrate, we know it’s not always the case for some families. Crime Statistics Agency figures show during December last year, there was an average of 279 family violence incidents per day across the state. On Christmas Day alone, 372 family violence incidents were recorded. Assistant Commissioner of the Family Violence Command Lauren Callaway is encouraging Victorians to “come together and look out for signs of family violence, so that we can keep everyone safe.” If you or someone close to you discloses they are a victim of family violence, please believe them, and encourage them to contact police or a specialist support service. Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre is Victoria’s statewide 24/7 crisis support service for anyone experiencing family violence – call 1800 015 188 or use their Web Chat available weekdays between 9am to midnight by visiting safesteps.org.au/webchat No to Violence runs the Men’s Referral Service which helps men who use violence change their behaviour. If you are concerned about your own or someone else’s behaviour, call 1300 766 491. Safe and Equal provide policy and advocacy expertise, resources and training for organisations and professionals working to end family violence – visit safeandequal.org.au for more.

The mo: a flavour saver, crumb catcher, nose neighbour, best friend and conversation starter. Last month, members from the Victoria Police Academy united to grow their best Tom Selleck (or at least an attempt at) to help raise awareness around men’s health. The ‘Mostabulary’, as they called themselves, consisted of 56 officers and recruits who started the month clean-shaven, before embarking on a journey of growth, honest conversations, and raising funds. By 30 November, Mostabulary raised a remarkable $15,921.10. The funds raised will go towards supporting global men’s health programs and services, and funding vital medical research. The Academy also ran its own Movember raffle where the winner received the highly coveted prize of using the Assistant Commissioner’s car parking spot for a full week. (For those unfamiliar with the Academy grounds, the designated spot is conveniently located at the steps of the Academy building.) Recruit Matthew was not only the envy of his squad, but of all Academy staff and recruits. The campaign is a timely reminder that even the most resilient police and emergency services personnel can be affected by challenges related to their work, as well as other life stresses we all encounter. It’s important to have a supportive network to reach out to including family, friends and colleagues, when you may be struggling. Victoria Police’s wellbeing website – Bluespace – offers information and resources on mental health and wellbeing for current and former Victoria Police employees and their families. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g53BGPdE