|
As a result of successfully bidding for the Auction item to support first responders, who experience post-traumatic stress, at the Rotary Golf Day, I spent one of the most memorable days in many years, chaperoned by Leading Sergeant Greg Kraus, and his highly qualified Associate, Andrew Horscroft, nephew of our own member, John Horscroft.
These two police officers gave up their whole day, and their police car, to introduce myself and two friends, both closely associated with the Army in Australia and the UK to a very comprehensive picture of the police force.
The tour covered the 24-hour operation of the Mornington Police Station, including the cells, how they respond to triple O calls, their technology to ascertain what crimes were taking place on the roads and in the regions of Mornington, Mt Martha and Mt Eliza and how they dealt with each scene.
Then to Somerville Police Complex, the main Centre on the Peninsula for detective and undercover personnel, as well as the highly sophisticated operation of family violence, headed by Andrew Horscroft. The cells, the fingerprint technology, the interviewing procedures and an understanding of the depth of crime investigations were subjects introduced to us by the leaders of this complex.
Then onto the Victoria Police Academy Glen Waverley, the main induction training establishment for Victoria Police, formally a beautiful Corpus Christie Monastery.
This private tour through all aspects of training the recruits, and running refresher courses, was full of surprises and experiences, capped off by lunch with a group of very senior officers.
We saw recruits being trained to shoot with their pistols, learning the art of boxing and throwing punches, dealing with reality situations in a service station holdup and murder, a family violence scenario in a fully equipped house, and unexpectedly, witnessed a passing out parade of 28 recruits who had finished their initial 17 week’s training at the Academy.
We also viewed the training of officers using taser guns, not yet official in Victoria, and the hunting down of a terrorist situation, using virtual reality. The highly sophisticated technology was a very impressive feature of each unit that we visited.
Our many questions were answered with great courtesy and everyone we met, and there were many that Greg Kraus had teed up, were charming, interested, and very articulate.
Truly, a great effort by him, a Paul Harris Fellow of our Club, and deserving additional recognition for offering this unique day as an auction item for Mt Eliza Rotary Club, who is able to offer substantial funds to rehabilitate first responders suffering from PTSD. Both Andrew and Greg are looking forward to attending a meeting in the near future
|
