15th June 2018
I am a licensed Investigator in Victoria and New South Wales. I currently conduct circumstance WorkCover and TAC investigations and provide expert opinion reports.
I am a former member of Victoria Police with 42 years’ service holding the rank of Inspector. I hold a Master Degree in Leadership and Management (Policing) and a Diploma in Alcohol and Other Drugs as well other tertiary Certificates.
On 6 July 2016, I resigned in disgust. I had been very concerned with the strategic direction and poor leadership of Victoria Police Command over a number of years. I have written a number of articles expressing those concerns, which are available on LinkedIn. I am also Vice President of the Community Advocacy Alliance chaired by former Chief Commissioner Kel Glare and have articles on their Facebook page.
Following the current Victoria Police PBT debacle (a similar situation was detected by then Assistant Commissioner Graham Sinclair in 1996) I believe it is opportune to raise again one of my concerns regarding Victoria Police Command’s approach to road safety.
Over a number of years I researched the Victoria Police response to calls to 000 reporting erratic and reckless driving including hoon driving or rather the lack of any meaningful response.
Each month approximately five thousand calls are made to 000 by concerned members of the public regarding erratic and dangerous driving by other road users. These are emergency calls.
The alleged erratic drivers are identifiable by the registration of the vehicles given to the 000 operator by the callers. Anecdotal evidence would suggest his problem is on the increase in line with the marked increase in the community of the use of Ice and other drugs. In this digital age, many of these calls are supported by dash-cam or mobile phone footage.
Despite this for well over 90% of calls, the only response is to broadcast a keep a look for (KALOF) the offending vehicle. There is no further investigation and the details are not even gathered for intelligence purposes.
This information is contained in ESTA (Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority) CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) data, which is not released to the public. If it was I am certain that members of the public would be outraged. This approach by the police executive is counter intuitive to their pleas for public assistance.
My research found that in some instances these offenders went on to be involved in serious and at times fatal collisions – see police-stopped-driver-three-times-before-fatal-crash-20110413-1de6m.html
My research also found that people who are reported as driving erratically are not just bad drivers, but they have a history of anti-social and criminal behaviour.
In addition to my research, I had follow up investigations conducted. I found that in addition to drivers who flagrantly breached the law and put other road users at risk there were also a number who had medical conditions that impaired their driving ability. Those who deliberately breached the law were convicted at court and their licensed suspended.
Members of the public are concerned and want to contribute to road safety yet there concerns are virtually ignored. This just defies common sense.
I believe an area where TAC can contribute to improving road safety outcomes is to urge and support Victoria Police develop an effective and efficient business process to address this situation. I have no doubt this would save lives and serious injuries.
An offer to discuss this matter with the TAC has not received a response to date.