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issue no. 363 october 2011<br />
Education and<br />
<strong>Training</strong> <strong>Command</strong><br />
<strong>Police</strong><br />
BULLETIN<br />
—leading QPS into<br />
the future
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FROM COMMISSIONER ATKINSON<br />
Evolving through<br />
Education and <strong>Training</strong><br />
This edition of the <strong>Police</strong><br />
Bulletin features the<br />
Education and <strong>Training</strong><br />
<strong>Command</strong> (ETC).<br />
Whilst training and education<br />
have always been an essential<br />
and ongoing part of the<br />
<strong>Service</strong>, it has until recently<br />
been a part of the Human<br />
Resources Division.<br />
In our organisational structure<br />
the ETC remains properly<br />
within the Corporate <strong>Service</strong>s<br />
stream, reporting to the<br />
Deputy Chief Executive,<br />
Resource Management Mr<br />
Paul Brown.<br />
The ETC will continue to<br />
work closely with the Human<br />
Resources Division as their<br />
roles are closely interwoven.<br />
Former Chief Superintendent<br />
of the Southern Region, Tony<br />
Wright is the first Assistant<br />
Commissioner for the new<br />
ETC. His senior team includes<br />
Chief Superintendent Allan<br />
McCarthy, Ann Motteram and<br />
Superintendents Paul Lostroh<br />
and currently Mark Plath who<br />
is moving to head up the<br />
Strategic Performance Branch.<br />
One of the reasons for<br />
creating the ETC was the<br />
work associated with the<br />
establishment of our new<br />
Academy.<br />
It is currently planned to open<br />
in 2014. This is also our 150th<br />
year (sesqui-centenary) as an<br />
organisation.<br />
The new Academy (Westgate)<br />
at Wacol is well positioned<br />
to enable future growth and<br />
accommodate our needs.<br />
More significantly though it<br />
will be our symbolic home.<br />
It is my hope and belief that<br />
the new Academy will, unlike<br />
its predecessors the <strong>Police</strong><br />
Barracks at Petrie Terrace<br />
and the Oxley Academy, be<br />
permanent and be there for<br />
all time—that many years from<br />
now it will have a tradition<br />
similar to other permanent<br />
facilities such as Duntroon at<br />
Canberra and West Point and<br />
the FBI Academy in the USA.<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> is the only police<br />
jurisdiction that I am aware<br />
of that has two academies.<br />
The Townsville campus of the<br />
QPS Academy has served us<br />
well for many years. It enables<br />
people who live in central<br />
and north <strong>Queensland</strong> to<br />
train and then work in the<br />
three related police regions—<br />
Central, Northern and Far<br />
Northern. It also reflects the<br />
fact that we are one of the<br />
largest <strong>Police</strong> Departments<br />
in the English speaking<br />
western world, with one of the<br />
largest geographically and<br />
decentralised areas.<br />
Our job, regardless of the role<br />
we have, is becoming more<br />
complex and difficult. The<br />
expectations and demands<br />
on us increase with each<br />
year and given the world we<br />
live in, there is a degree of<br />
inevitability that comes with<br />
this. We should welcome<br />
that our Government and<br />
community look to us as an<br />
organisation who provides<br />
safety, security and support;<br />
and who works in partnership<br />
to solve problems and deals<br />
with issues in a timely, sound<br />
and effective way.<br />
We will only match those<br />
challenges and expectations<br />
if a number of key things<br />
exist. They include our ethical<br />
values, our commitment,<br />
our professionalism, our<br />
skill and knowledge, our<br />
training, and career-long self<br />
development. The ETC and<br />
members in training roles<br />
across <strong>Queensland</strong> have a<br />
fundamental and essential<br />
role in this, but the QPS<br />
as a whole shares equal<br />
responsibility.<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 3
Executive Editor<br />
Matthew Rigby<br />
Editor<br />
Paula Hedemann and Emilee Woolcock<br />
Editorial Assistant<br />
Hayley-Clare Story<br />
Statement of purpose<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Bulletin is a free bi-annual public<br />
information document intended to provide<br />
a record of initiatives and achievements,<br />
an insight into the operations of the<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong>, and base<br />
research to interested members of the<br />
community. Each edition is available<br />
from police stations, district and regional<br />
offices, and <strong>Police</strong> Headquarters,<br />
Brisbane.<br />
Front cover<br />
Photo by Sergeant Clint Hanson<br />
Photography<br />
Unless otherwise indicated<br />
photographs throughout this publication<br />
were provided through the associated<br />
branch or unit, or taken by QPS<br />
Photographics Section or the Media<br />
and Public Affairs Branch.<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Headquarters<br />
GPO Box 1440<br />
Brisbane Qld 4001<br />
Telephone: 07 3364 6256<br />
Facsimile: 07 3364 6268<br />
Layout and design:<br />
Wendy James<br />
Graphic Designer<br />
Graphic Design <strong>Service</strong>s<br />
Advertising contact details:<br />
Martyn Hewett<br />
0422 523 583<br />
© State of <strong>Queensland</strong><br />
(<strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong>) 2011<br />
Licence<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Bulletin by Media and Public Affairs<br />
Branch, <strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong>, is<br />
licensed under a Creative Commons<br />
Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence.<br />
Please note: Where indicated, copyright<br />
of individual images remains the property<br />
of the photographer and/or organisation<br />
identified, and is not covered by this<br />
Creative Commons Attribution.<br />
The information contained in this publication<br />
was true and correct at the time it went to print.<br />
4<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363
C O N T E N T S<br />
Message from Commissioner Atkinson. ........................... 3<br />
Message from Deputy Commissioner Barnett ...................... 6<br />
Message from the Minister. ..................................... 7<br />
Education and <strong>Training</strong> <strong>Command</strong>–an academy for the<br />
real police officer. ............................................. 8<br />
PROVEing ability. ............................................ 10<br />
Justice Entry Program–the making of leaders. .................... 12<br />
Policing Skills Program teaches thought before action. . . . . . . . . . . 14-17<br />
Shaping futures with Northern education. ....................... 19<br />
Driver training skills run in family. .............................. 20<br />
First Year Constable program–from recruit to officer . ............. 22<br />
Facing the challenge of major events through the<br />
Incident <strong>Command</strong> Development Unit. .......................... 24<br />
Detective training on the cutting edge of investigative policing ..... 27<br />
Earning your stripes .......................................... 28<br />
Creating leaders who make a difference. ......................... 31<br />
Senior leaders step-up ........................................ 33<br />
Staff members benefit from training opportunities. ............... 35<br />
Education and <strong>Training</strong> Support Program–the driving force<br />
behind training innovation .................................... 36<br />
Westgate Academy, the future hub of police training. ............. 39<br />
A D V E R T I S E R S ’ I N D E X<br />
Statewide Novated Leasing ......................................... 2<br />
QInvest. ........................................................ 18<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong> Credit Union. .................................... 26<br />
Smartsalary ..................................................... 30<br />
Lexus. .......................................................... 32<br />
QPCU. .......................................................... 34<br />
Fleet Network. ................................................... 39<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong> Credit Union. .................................... 40<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 5
FROM DEPUTY COMMISSIONER barnett (specialist operations)<br />
Information management<br />
to reduce road trauma<br />
I-TAS<br />
Implementation<br />
The I-TAS Project commenced<br />
in a staged roll out to all<br />
regions in June 2011. It is now<br />
reaching its conclusion, with<br />
the final region (Northern<br />
Region) trained in September<br />
2011. All I-TAS Project related<br />
activities are scheduled to be<br />
completed and handed over<br />
for Operational management<br />
as at 30 September 2011.<br />
The I-TAS Project has<br />
provided Operational Traffic<br />
<strong>Police</strong> with an integrated,<br />
traffic-related intelligencebased<br />
application that<br />
will allow better asset<br />
management and deployment<br />
of resources. It provides a<br />
replacement for the legacy<br />
state-wide Traffic Returns<br />
and Complaints System<br />
(TRACS) and Random Road<br />
Watch Program. It also draws<br />
information from various local<br />
databases to ensure that<br />
the information used by all<br />
operational officers is from the<br />
‘source of truth’, improving<br />
data integrity, quality<br />
reporting and enhanced<br />
analytical capabilities.<br />
I-TAS contains a rich mapping<br />
component which can be<br />
used by supervisors and<br />
Officers in Charge to visually<br />
display current trends in<br />
crashes and proactive<br />
enforcement activities relating<br />
to their organisational unit.<br />
It also interfaces with traffic<br />
related applications such<br />
as TSRS and TINMS so that<br />
speed camera and ticket<br />
enforcement activities can<br />
be easily reviewed on a daily<br />
basis.<br />
The <strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong><br />
<strong>Service</strong> plays an integral role<br />
in the regulation and control<br />
of traffic within <strong>Queensland</strong><br />
with the overall aim of<br />
reducing the incidence of<br />
road trauma.<br />
The costs of road trauma to<br />
the <strong>Queensland</strong> community is<br />
in excess of $1 billion per year.<br />
Combined with a significant<br />
projected population growth<br />
in <strong>Queensland</strong>, it is expected<br />
that licence holders will<br />
reach 3.1 million by 2011.<br />
The demands to maintain<br />
advanced traffic policing<br />
services over approximately<br />
175,000km of public roads are<br />
ever increasing.<br />
I know that once officers<br />
become familiar with the<br />
I-TAS application their own<br />
ingenuity and skills will allow<br />
full utilisation of the I-TAS<br />
system. This will allow us to<br />
reduce road trauma through<br />
the delivery of improved<br />
information management<br />
which supports more accurate<br />
and timely decision making.<br />
CHOGM<br />
The next Commonwealth<br />
Heads of Government<br />
Meeting (CHOGM) will<br />
be held in Perth, Western<br />
Australia in October 2011.<br />
As a result of a request<br />
from the Western Australia<br />
Government and <strong>Police</strong>, the<br />
QPS will deploy 125 members<br />
to CHOGM, ranging from<br />
general duties police to<br />
specialist police including<br />
close personal protection<br />
staff, intelligence officers,<br />
specialist response staff and<br />
media and public affairs<br />
officers.<br />
These officers will be involved<br />
in a range of functions<br />
including venue security, traffic<br />
duties, media support, close<br />
personal protection duties<br />
and specialist response.<br />
The deployment of these<br />
specialist officers provides<br />
for an excellent opportunity<br />
to develop and exercise our<br />
interoperability with other<br />
States and Territories, and<br />
for the <strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong> to<br />
further enhance our capability<br />
for dealing with major events.<br />
Support is also being<br />
provided to Western Australia<br />
in various forms from all States<br />
and Territories to ensure this<br />
important event is successful.<br />
The <strong>Queensland</strong> contingent<br />
will be supported by an<br />
appropriate command<br />
structure lead by a<br />
contingent commander who<br />
is a Superintendent from<br />
within Operations Support<br />
<strong>Command</strong>. Additionally<br />
Assistant Commissioner<br />
Pointing, Operations Support<br />
<strong>Command</strong> will be attending<br />
Western Australia during the<br />
actual meeting dates as the<br />
overall <strong>Command</strong>er of the<br />
contingent and in an observer<br />
capacity for the event.<br />
I am confident that all<br />
members attending will<br />
continue to enhance the<br />
professional reputation of<br />
the <strong>Service</strong> during their<br />
deployment.<br />
6<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363
FROM NEIL ROBERTS MP<br />
MINISTER FOR POLICE, CORRECTIVE SERVICES AND EMERGENCY SERVICES<br />
Upholding QPS standards<br />
through education and<br />
training<br />
The career of a police officer<br />
is one of honour, integrity,<br />
and professionalism, which<br />
requires a remarkable<br />
commitment to public service<br />
and dedication to upholding<br />
law and justice at all times.<br />
As a necessary part of<br />
making sure officers are best<br />
placed to fight crime in our<br />
communities, the <strong>Queensland</strong><br />
<strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong>’s commitment<br />
to training and education of<br />
its officers and civilian support<br />
teams are second to none.<br />
Officers have proven<br />
themselves physically,<br />
emotionally and intellectually<br />
qualified for the demands<br />
of being a police officer,<br />
completing one of the<br />
most rigorous selection<br />
processes for any occupation<br />
in the country—quite an<br />
accomplishment in itself. And<br />
although our officers would<br />
not currently be serving if<br />
they did not meet the high<br />
standards demanded of them,<br />
the QPS has a responsibility<br />
to play an important role in<br />
continuous improvement.<br />
The QPS has recognised<br />
this in the appointment of<br />
Assistant Commissioner<br />
Tony Wright APM to head up<br />
the <strong>Service</strong>’s Education and<br />
<strong>Training</strong> <strong>Command</strong>.<br />
Assistant Commissioner<br />
Wright has had a long history<br />
with the QPS, as well as time<br />
with federal law enforcement<br />
agencies and brings a wealth<br />
of experience and knowledge<br />
to the position.<br />
For the Government’s<br />
part, we have committed<br />
significant resources towards<br />
the education and training<br />
of officers, most notably in<br />
recent years to the Westgate<br />
Academy project.<br />
The Westgate Academy will<br />
be a world-class facility in<br />
every aspect and will deliver<br />
a full-range of education and<br />
training programs for trainee<br />
and operational police.<br />
I joined with <strong>Police</strong><br />
Commissioner Bob Atkinson<br />
last year to officially open the<br />
driver training component of<br />
this facility and the remainder<br />
is expected to be fully<br />
completed in the 2014/15<br />
financial year.<br />
Other facilities still to be<br />
completed include special<br />
operations training, two<br />
indoor firearms ranges, a<br />
scenario village, a simulation<br />
training facility and fresh<br />
water training facility. It is<br />
expected that over 1000 QPS<br />
employees will work from the<br />
Westgate Academy, as well<br />
having the capability to train<br />
around 700-1000 recruits each<br />
year.<br />
The contribution made by<br />
police to the daily lives of<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong>ers cannot be<br />
underestimated, and the<br />
work undertaken to help keep<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> a safe place<br />
to live and work ultimately<br />
enhances the quality of living<br />
for all in the State.<br />
The QPS is constantly working<br />
to implement improved<br />
training and education<br />
regimes and upgrades<br />
facilities wherever possible.<br />
This is an important part of<br />
ensuring we are best placed<br />
to respond to the evolving law<br />
enforcement demands placed<br />
on us well into the future.<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 7
Education and <strong>Training</strong><br />
<strong>Command</strong>—an academy<br />
for the real police officer<br />
Education and <strong>Training</strong><br />
<strong>Command</strong> Assistant<br />
Commissioner Tony Wright<br />
first walked the grounds<br />
of the <strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong><br />
<strong>Service</strong> (QPS) Academy at<br />
Oxley 31 years ago when<br />
he was a recruit in 1979. He<br />
never imagined he would one<br />
day be involved in shaping<br />
the future direction of police<br />
education and training.<br />
Assistant Commissioner<br />
Wright previously served<br />
as District Officer for<br />
Toowoomba, then<br />
Operations Coordinator for<br />
Southern Region, before his<br />
appointment as Assistant<br />
Commissioner in late 2010<br />
to the newly established<br />
Education and <strong>Training</strong><br />
<strong>Command</strong>. The command<br />
includes both the Townsville<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Academy and the<br />
Oxley Academy, which is<br />
transitioning to the Westgate<br />
Academy at Wacol.<br />
Assistant Commissioner<br />
Wright said he had embraced<br />
his new position and had a<br />
strong vision for the future of<br />
the QPS Academy.<br />
“I have experienced a steep<br />
learning curve in my first eight<br />
months, having stepped into<br />
an education and training<br />
environment after operational<br />
policing roles,” Assistant<br />
Commissioner Wright said.<br />
“But I have a good<br />
team, including Chief<br />
Superintendent Allan<br />
McCarthy, who understands<br />
the driving force behind<br />
the Education and <strong>Training</strong><br />
<strong>Command</strong>—that is to<br />
produce knowledgeable and<br />
skilled police officers<br />
and staff members to<br />
serve the <strong>Queensland</strong><br />
community.”<br />
Photo by Sergeant Clint Hanson, <strong>Police</strong> Photographic Section<br />
All recruits go through the<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Recruit Operational<br />
Vocational Education<br />
(PROVE) program and<br />
spend 30 weeks at the<br />
academy before being<br />
assigned to a policing<br />
region for 12 months to<br />
complete their training as<br />
a first year constable.<br />
“We are about to<br />
commence a trial at the<br />
start of next year aimed<br />
at reducing the time<br />
frame that recruits need<br />
to be at the academy<br />
to 22 weeks,” Assistant<br />
Commissioner Wright<br />
said.<br />
Assistant Commissioner Tony Wright, with the support of Chief Superintendant Allan McCarthy, Education and <strong>Training</strong> <strong>Command</strong>,<br />
ensure that all officers and staff of the QPS are provided with the right educational grounding and support.<br />
“The trial will commence<br />
at our Townsville<br />
Academy and be<br />
benchmarked against the<br />
intake at Oxley.”<br />
8<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363
The PROVE curriculum<br />
has also undergone a readjustment<br />
with a focus on<br />
recruit assessment enhancing<br />
their skills and aligning to<br />
their job description.<br />
“The majority of jobs first<br />
year constables attend are<br />
traffic crashes, stealing, break<br />
and enters and domestic<br />
violence offences, and<br />
operational tasks include<br />
completing court briefs,<br />
taking statements and<br />
working through QPRIME.<br />
“We have adjusted our<br />
programs to ensure the skills<br />
taught are closely aligned<br />
with the needs of the region,<br />
and to teach the recruits the<br />
fundamental skills needed<br />
to ensure a quick transition<br />
from recruit to first year<br />
constable.”<br />
The new <strong>Police</strong> Academy<br />
Assistant Commissioner Tony Wright has enjoyed a diverse career with the QPS preparing<br />
him for his new role leading the Education and <strong>Training</strong> <strong>Command</strong> into the future.<br />
Photo by Michelle Fleming, Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
at Wacol is scheduled to<br />
become operational in<br />
2014 to coincide with the<br />
150 th anniversary of the<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong>.<br />
With the new academy in<br />
sight, Assistant Commissioner<br />
Wright has many future<br />
visions for the Education and<br />
<strong>Training</strong> <strong>Command</strong> such as<br />
offering potential recruits the<br />
option of completing some of<br />
the foundation subjects such<br />
as legal studies outside of<br />
their vocational program.<br />
“A large group of our recruits<br />
are coming to the academy<br />
with financial and family<br />
commitments, which makes it<br />
challenging to live off a recruit<br />
wage for 30 weeks,” Assistant<br />
Commissioner Wright said.<br />
“In the future, we intend to<br />
establish distance education<br />
courses to alleviate that<br />
pressure by allowing<br />
potential recruits to study the<br />
fundamentals with flexibility.<br />
“Once they have completed<br />
the subjects they will need<br />
to pass the barrier test<br />
before they can start on<br />
their vocational course. The<br />
distance education will reduce<br />
the time recruits need to be at<br />
the academy.”<br />
Assistant Commissioner<br />
Wright has a strong<br />
background in the area of<br />
investigation and intelligence.<br />
After commencing his career<br />
as a general duties officer, he<br />
served as an investigator in<br />
the area of child exploitation,<br />
child abuse and surveillance<br />
and intelligence activities.<br />
He was seconded to the<br />
National Crime Authority<br />
prior to a secondment to<br />
the Fitzgerald Inquiry. From<br />
1996 he spent four years<br />
as the Manager, National<br />
Intelligence Assessments,<br />
with the Australian Bureau<br />
of Criminal Intelligence in<br />
Canberra before transferring<br />
to the Mackay District in<br />
North <strong>Queensland</strong> as a district<br />
inspector.<br />
Assistant Commissioner<br />
Wright said that along<br />
with the PROVE Program,<br />
Detective <strong>Training</strong> was also<br />
an area which was being<br />
redeveloped.<br />
“There are three phases<br />
of training a plain clothes<br />
officer needs to complete<br />
before they are eligible for<br />
a detective appointment.<br />
We would like to ensure an<br />
officer is enrolled in phase<br />
one within six months of<br />
being appointed into a<br />
Criminal Investigation Branch<br />
(CIB) or Child Protection<br />
Investigation Unit (CPIU) as a<br />
plain clothes officer,” Assistant<br />
Commissioner Wright said.<br />
“Previously it was taking<br />
too long for an officer to<br />
commence phase one, which<br />
was unacceptable. We have<br />
also added an additional week<br />
to phase two which focuses<br />
on investigative interviewing<br />
techniques.”<br />
The Education and <strong>Training</strong><br />
<strong>Command</strong> offers an academy<br />
for all police officers and<br />
staff members. Assistant<br />
Commissioner Wright said<br />
instructors and facilitators<br />
periodically undertook<br />
secondments in operational<br />
areas to ensure the curriculum<br />
remained current and<br />
relevant.<br />
“We need to ensure they are<br />
keeping up to date with their<br />
operational skills to ensure<br />
their teaching practices are<br />
a match for the operational<br />
policing environment,” he<br />
said.<br />
By Michelle Fleming,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 9
Power-house recruit and mother of two, Deb McLachlan lives<br />
her long-time dream of becoming a police officer, entering<br />
training at the QPS Academy in the PROVE program.<br />
Dragging a 75kg mannequin<br />
40 metres from one end of a<br />
gymnasium to the other, sprinting<br />
80 metres and then dragging it<br />
back to its original position is<br />
some feat for a 52kg officer. How<br />
does Recruit Deb McLachlan do<br />
it?<br />
“You squat down so your back is<br />
supported. You roll your shoulders<br />
back and keep your head up.<br />
You stay physically and mentally<br />
strong. Above all, you don’t give<br />
up,” she said.<br />
That mannequin could be you or<br />
I, unconscious in a burning car,<br />
and the ‘dummy drag’ is just one<br />
of the drills police recruits practice<br />
to perfection.<br />
All recruits undertake the<br />
intensive 30-week <strong>Police</strong> Recruit<br />
Operational Vocational Education<br />
(PROVE) program, which is<br />
offered at both the Oxley and the<br />
Townsville police academies.<br />
Photo by Emilee Woolcock, Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
PROVEing<br />
ability<br />
Recruit<br />
McLachlan<br />
is 15 weeks<br />
into her<br />
program,<br />
but<br />
becoming a<br />
police officer<br />
has always been in the back of her<br />
mind.<br />
“I first wanted to become a police<br />
officer when I was 18 and living in<br />
Adelaide. I tried to join the South<br />
10<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363
Australia <strong>Police</strong>, but I was too<br />
short. They wanted 5’6”, and<br />
I’m only 5’4”, she said.<br />
“Then when I moved to<br />
Brisbane in 1991, I met my<br />
complete life change, but<br />
my family is very proud of<br />
me.”<br />
The PROVE program gives<br />
participants the foundations<br />
to become<br />
a police<br />
officer. The<br />
program<br />
is full<br />
time, with<br />
students<br />
expected to<br />
study and<br />
complete<br />
assignments<br />
in their<br />
own time.<br />
Participants<br />
complete<br />
modules<br />
on topics<br />
Recruits in the PROVE program<br />
prepare for a diverse role as a police<br />
officer learning the right skills through<br />
physical fitness training, practical role<br />
play and theory-based study.<br />
Photos by Sergeant Clint Hanson, <strong>Police</strong> Photographic Section<br />
husband who had<br />
just graduated<br />
from the police<br />
academy. I got<br />
busy working as<br />
a personal trainer<br />
and coach, running<br />
fitness programs<br />
for kids, and raising<br />
two children.<br />
“Now he is a Sergeant with<br />
the South Brisbane Traffic<br />
Branch, our kids are 12 and<br />
14 years old, and I’m ready to<br />
take up the next challenge.<br />
It’s a big commitment and a<br />
such as community safety,<br />
legislation, property, traffic<br />
and juveniles, followed by an<br />
exam and then practical work<br />
based on scenarios and role<br />
play.<br />
To be eligible for PROVE,<br />
applicants need to possess<br />
a tertiary qualification, life<br />
experience and a high level of<br />
fitness.<br />
“I already had a Certificate<br />
III and IV in Fitness plus lots<br />
of life experience, which I<br />
think played a big role in<br />
my application,” Recruit<br />
McLachlan said.<br />
“Physically, it helps if you are<br />
already fit before you come<br />
to the academy.<br />
By the end of<br />
week 15 we are<br />
supposed to<br />
have completed<br />
our ‘triple’—<br />
that’s the<br />
dummy drag,<br />
obstacle course<br />
and ‘beep’<br />
test. If you get<br />
the triple done<br />
early, then you<br />
can concentrate<br />
on your studies without the<br />
added pressure of trying<br />
to get your fitness up to<br />
standard. I did mine in week<br />
five.”<br />
At 44, Recruit McLachlan said<br />
she was the oldest female in<br />
her group, which comprised<br />
21 men and women of varying<br />
ages.<br />
“Despite the age differences,<br />
there’s a great camaraderie<br />
between us, not just within<br />
our group, but with other<br />
groups at the academy.<br />
There’s a good support<br />
network too; we have<br />
Human <strong>Service</strong>s Officers and<br />
Learning Support Officers.<br />
Our facilitators, Sergeant<br />
Miley and Sergeant Cooper,<br />
are terrific. If ever you’ve got<br />
problems you’ve got someone<br />
to talk to.”<br />
In the future, Recruit<br />
McLachlan said she hoped<br />
to combine her passion for<br />
policing with her love of<br />
working with young people.<br />
“I’d love to work with youth,<br />
and can see myself at a station<br />
that is linked to a PCYC,<br />
or even as a school-based<br />
police officer or adopt-acop.<br />
A position in the Child<br />
Protection Investigation Unit is<br />
another option,” she said.<br />
“In hindsight I’m glad I<br />
didn’t do this at 18; I was not<br />
mentally or emotionally ready.<br />
You have to be prepared<br />
and your family has to be<br />
supportive. It will be hard,<br />
there will be challenges along<br />
the way, but it’s a fantastic<br />
thing to do and everybody<br />
I’ve dealt with has been<br />
terrific.”<br />
By Paula Hedemann,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 11
Justice Entry Program—<br />
the making of leaders<br />
Photos by Sergeant Clint Hanson, <strong>Police</strong> Photographic Section<br />
bounce ideas off each other.<br />
Being part of a small group is<br />
very supportive.”<br />
Trainee Leschke said the study<br />
had also been a concern for<br />
her, but found she was coping<br />
well with the workload.<br />
“The assessment is mainly<br />
based on assignments, but<br />
you are well prepared to<br />
tackle them. You’re given<br />
good information and enough<br />
time to get your head around<br />
it,” Trainee Leschke said.<br />
“At the moment we are<br />
studying the justice systems in<br />
different cultures, comparing<br />
Vietnamese, Islamic,<br />
Aboriginal and other systems.<br />
We’re gaining awareness<br />
and understanding of other<br />
cultures.<br />
Justice Entry Program (JEP) Trainees, Hayden Lea and Tennille Leschke step up to the mark, satisfying their assessment<br />
requirements for a Certificate IV in Justice while also having to meet additional physical and psychological fitness standards.<br />
The journey to becoming a<br />
police officer is not an easy<br />
one. Although the path is well<br />
signposted, the qualifications<br />
required to take the first step<br />
could exclude some of our<br />
finest future officers.<br />
For Justice Entry Program<br />
(JEP) Trainees Hayden Lea<br />
and Tennille Leschke, a career<br />
in policing always seemed<br />
a slightly unattainable goal,<br />
due to the prerequisite of<br />
at least 200 hours of tertiary<br />
education.<br />
Both trainees are now eight<br />
weeks into the six-month,<br />
full-time JEP, an alternative<br />
pathway to recruitment for<br />
Indigenous Australians who<br />
lack tertiary qualifications.<br />
The JEP provides participants<br />
with a Certificate IV in Justice,<br />
a nationally recognised<br />
qualification which has<br />
been tailored specifically to<br />
Aboriginal and Torres Strait<br />
Islanders.<br />
Trainee Lea said the idea<br />
behind the program was to<br />
help Indigenous students<br />
qualify for the <strong>Police</strong> Recruit<br />
Operational Vocational<br />
Education (PROVE) Program.<br />
“The idea is to get everyone<br />
up to the same base level.<br />
So, as well as doing the<br />
Certificate IV studies, the<br />
topics also include things like<br />
time management and study<br />
techniques to prepare for<br />
PROVE,” Trainee Lea said.<br />
“I’m finding the study<br />
challenging, but we are all<br />
doing it together and we can<br />
“Field trips are also part of the<br />
course. Recently we visited<br />
the old jail to gain a broader<br />
understanding of conditions<br />
in the past, and later we will<br />
visit the modern Brisbane<br />
Watchhouse.”<br />
Trainees Lea and Leschke<br />
are part of a group of eight<br />
students currently enrolled<br />
in JEP, comprising four men<br />
and four women. One of<br />
the youngest groups so far,<br />
Trainee Lea is the second<br />
oldest in his group at 26 years<br />
of age. The oldest student is<br />
a 28-year-old man, while the<br />
remaining students are around<br />
19-20 years.<br />
The JEP is offered at the<br />
Oxley <strong>Police</strong> Academy and,<br />
like <strong>Police</strong> Recruits, the JEP<br />
participants attend classes<br />
from 8am–4pm Monday to<br />
12<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363
Friday, and have the option of<br />
living in at the academy. While<br />
Trainee Leschke lives not far<br />
from the academy, Trainee<br />
Lea has chosen to live in,<br />
along with another four of his<br />
colleagues.<br />
“I have left a partner and my<br />
pet dogs behind in Townsville<br />
to attend this course. It’s a<br />
challenge being away from<br />
home, but living in is great.<br />
We can use the facilities<br />
whenever we want and it’s<br />
good for networking,” he<br />
said.<br />
“There is a really good<br />
culture here in the academy—<br />
everyone wants you to<br />
succeed and will go out of<br />
their way to help you. The<br />
library staff are amazing; I<br />
can’t speak highly enough of<br />
them. Denise Desnica is great.<br />
She will come over and have<br />
a chat with you and you don’t<br />
realise until later how much<br />
you really needed that chat.”<br />
Trainee Leschke said the<br />
encouragement offered by<br />
not just the staff but also other<br />
students helped make the<br />
program a positive learning<br />
experience.<br />
“When we first arrived here<br />
at the academy, previous JEP<br />
students who are now in the<br />
PROVE Program came and<br />
introduced themselves and<br />
welcomed us. We also have a<br />
Learning Support Officer, an<br />
Indigenous lady called Janelle<br />
McCarthy.<br />
to the same physical and<br />
psychological fitness<br />
standards as police recruits.<br />
“You need to pass a physical<br />
skills test and psychometric<br />
testing; these are the same<br />
tests the recruits are required<br />
to pass,” Trainee Leschke<br />
said.<br />
“The physical tests include a<br />
hang test, where you need to<br />
be able to hang from a chin<br />
bar for at least three seconds,<br />
push ups, and a beep test,<br />
where you have to run back<br />
and forth between two points<br />
in ever decreasing intervals.<br />
These tests weren’t really a<br />
problem for anyone in our<br />
group as all of us are pretty fit<br />
already.”<br />
Trainee Lea said the course<br />
content also included a<br />
physical skills education<br />
component.<br />
“Besides physical skills, we<br />
learn the theory behind it—<br />
how the body works, how to<br />
get your cardio fitness up. The<br />
facilitators are really open to<br />
assisting you on a personal<br />
level. You can have a personal<br />
fitness program developed or<br />
a personalised eating plan.”<br />
While participants earn a<br />
wage completing the JEP,<br />
both trainees said they had<br />
abandoned higher paying<br />
jobs to enrol. Trainee Lea<br />
was selling insurance,<br />
while Trainee Leschke<br />
was a customer service<br />
representative.<br />
“The majority of us have taken<br />
a pay cut to do this, but if you<br />
look at the bigger picture,<br />
then you manage these<br />
things. This is a quality of life<br />
issue. It’s a career I’ve always<br />
wanted, so I’m prepared to<br />
make sacrifices.<br />
“I’m uncertain of where I<br />
will be posted or what I will<br />
be doing. At this stage I’m<br />
thinking dog squad, but there<br />
are so many different options<br />
that I don’t even know about<br />
yet. You can set your sights<br />
as high as you want. And it<br />
means a lot to me for my<br />
family to be proud of me.”<br />
Trainee Leschke said her<br />
parents were extremely proud<br />
of her participating in the JEP.<br />
“I’ve always wanted to do this<br />
and now I’m finally going for<br />
it. Indigenous people are not<br />
always expected to succeed,<br />
but my parents are really<br />
proud of what I’m doing.<br />
Everyone has a different story<br />
though; sometimes there<br />
can be mixed reactions from<br />
relatives. We are both very<br />
lucky to have supportive<br />
families.<br />
“I would definitely<br />
recommend this course to<br />
other Aboriginal and Torres<br />
Strait Islander people. It’s just<br />
crazy how much support there<br />
is. I thought you just came<br />
here as an individual and did<br />
the course by yourself. In<br />
reality, you are doing it as a<br />
group. You’ve all got the same<br />
goals, you help each other<br />
out. I have never regretted<br />
taking this on.”<br />
Trainee Lea said he agreed<br />
working together as a group<br />
was a significant advantage,<br />
and that he would urge other<br />
Indigenous Australians to<br />
enquire further.<br />
“It would be tougher if<br />
we weren’t doing it as a<br />
group. And by the time<br />
we’re finished, we’ll be well<br />
prepared for the PROVE<br />
Program. We will have already<br />
been here at the academy<br />
and know how to act and not<br />
have that nervousness.<br />
“We will have what it takes<br />
to become leaders. I’m really<br />
looking forward to that,” he<br />
said.<br />
By Paula Hedemann,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
“The facilitators are very<br />
accommodating of personal<br />
circumstances. I play soccer<br />
in my own time and I’ve been<br />
selected to compete in New<br />
Zealand. I thought I would<br />
have to miss out, but they’ve<br />
allowed me the time off to<br />
go.”<br />
“For me, the sacrifice is well<br />
worth a career in the QPS,”<br />
Trainee Leschke said.<br />
“It’s a job that will always be<br />
changing. In my old job I was<br />
nine to five on a computer all<br />
day. I just can’t face doing that<br />
for the rest of my life.”<br />
While the requirements<br />
for tertiary education is a<br />
hurdle that can be overcome,<br />
JEP students are subject<br />
Trainee Lea said the reduction<br />
in salary was more than<br />
compensated for by the<br />
opportunities that lay ahead.<br />
JEP Trainees Lea and Leschke hit the books in preparation for their entry into the<br />
PROVE program.<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 13
Policing Skills Program<br />
teaches thought before action<br />
Long gone are the days when <strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong> (QPS)<br />
officers were appraised on their skills and skills alone.<br />
Their ability to shoot at a paper target, apply a wrist-lock to an<br />
offender or strike a baton correctly are still required tactical skills,<br />
however it is their capacity to make ethical decisions, justify, and<br />
articulate their actions that are true indicators of their aptitude<br />
as a police officer.<br />
Introduced in 1996, the Situational Use of Force (SUOF) Model<br />
has found its way into all levels of policing and assists in the<br />
process of taking skills learnt in training and applying them to an<br />
incident as it evolves.<br />
<strong>Training</strong> officers and recruits in each of the 11 ‘use of force’<br />
options available is overseen by the Policing Skills Program,<br />
based at the QPS Academy at Oxley. This program provides<br />
initial training for recruits and develops ongoing training for<br />
operational police. The areas covered by the Policing Skills<br />
Program include Operational Skills and Tactics (OST), Firearms<br />
and Officers Safety <strong>Training</strong> (FOST) and Physical Skills Education<br />
(PSE).<br />
The curriculum is developed with input from policing regions<br />
across the state, and addresses recommendations from<br />
Crime and Misconduct Commission reviews and Coronial<br />
investigations. Inspector Robyn Crozier, Manager of the Policing<br />
Skills Program, said the curriculum evolved to reflect best<br />
practice and community expectations.<br />
“From our perspective there has been a significant shift in<br />
Operational Skills and Tactics training in the last 10 to 15 years,”<br />
Inspector Crozier said.<br />
“Skill proficiency in any use of force application is only a<br />
small part of what we teach. It is another step from being<br />
able to safely use that skill to then be able to articulate<br />
and justify those actions in context of legislation and QPS<br />
policy and procedures.”<br />
When confronted with a situation where force is needed,<br />
the SUOF Model gives officers a decision making tool<br />
that can be applied to all situations and ensures they are<br />
operating within the legislative framework. Officers must<br />
comply with the model’s guidelines—that the use of force<br />
must be authorised, justified, reasonable, proportionate,<br />
appropriate, legally defensible, tactically sound<br />
and effective.<br />
“Officers learn to continuously re-assess the<br />
threat, looking at the risks and circumstances<br />
surrounding the incident,” Inspector Crozier<br />
said.<br />
“Where needed, officers have a number of<br />
options available to them and can escalate<br />
or de-escalate the use of force depending on<br />
the situation. In the end, the aim is to regain<br />
control and safety for all parties by bringing<br />
the situation to an appropriate resolution using<br />
the minimum amount of force necessary.”<br />
Recruits choose appropriate options from the Situational Use of Force Model to<br />
resolve scenario-based situations, taken from real-life policing examples.<br />
Decision making under stress can be a hard<br />
skill to master, and the Policing Skills Program<br />
relies heavily on scenario-based training to<br />
teach officers to be able to justify a decision to<br />
use force.<br />
14<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363
“Some officers find it difficult to<br />
articulate their course of action.<br />
Realistically, what is under greater<br />
scrutiny than the application of<br />
force is what was going on in<br />
their head—how they determined<br />
that course of action,” Inspector<br />
Crozier said.<br />
“If an officer decided to use<br />
a taser, what was the decision<br />
making process? What was the<br />
risk, what was the threat, and<br />
was this considered to be good<br />
professional practice? These<br />
are some of the questions QPS<br />
officers must ask themselves and<br />
be accountable for afterwards.”<br />
Inspector Crozier said people<br />
often thought that use of<br />
force was limited to physical<br />
means. However, tactical<br />
communication—communication<br />
used to achieve a resolution—is<br />
strictly reinforced as mandatory in<br />
their use of force process.<br />
“Sometimes the mere fact that<br />
the officer is present, in uniform,<br />
in a marked vehicle, and acting<br />
with the authority of his or her<br />
position is enough to influence<br />
behaviour without physically using<br />
force,” she said.<br />
By Emilee Woolcock,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
Tactical<br />
Withdrawal<br />
Restraining<br />
Accoutrement<br />
Presence<br />
Situational<br />
Containment<br />
Baton<br />
Situational<br />
Use of Force<br />
(SUOF)<br />
Model<br />
Open Hand<br />
Tactics<br />
Oleoresin<br />
Capsicum (OC)<br />
Spray<br />
Closed Hand<br />
Tactics<br />
Communication<br />
Skills<br />
Conducted<br />
Energy Weapon<br />
(Taser)<br />
Firearms<br />
Scenario focus for Operational<br />
Skills and Tactics<br />
Photos by Sergeant Clint Hanson, <strong>Police</strong> Photographic Section<br />
One of the most difficult challenges for a police officer or recruit is to<br />
establish a degree of control over another person, to deter them from<br />
negative behaviour and to negotiate, using their verbal skills and their<br />
‘presence’ and without laying a hand on them.<br />
Taking the SUOF Model into<br />
consideration, the facilitators of the<br />
Operational Skills and Tactics (OST)<br />
Program have developed a program<br />
of dynamic interactive scenariobased<br />
training.<br />
Senior Sergeant Damien Hayden,<br />
Officer-in-Charge of OST, said this<br />
form of practical training helped<br />
develop competence in the use of<br />
force process.<br />
“Scenario-based training makes<br />
trainees, whether recruits or<br />
operational officers, work harder to<br />
use the correct techniques and to<br />
justify and articulate their decision,”<br />
Senior Sergeant Hayden said.<br />
“The scenarios have been taken<br />
from real life situations and are<br />
designed for maximum impact on<br />
learning. Scenario-based training<br />
is also a valid form of stress<br />
inoculation—we can see how officers<br />
perform and recognise where their<br />
strengths and weaknesses lie.”<br />
All officers up to and including the<br />
rank of Senior Sergeant undertake<br />
OST training annually. The training<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 15
includes a static skills and theory component, followed by<br />
scenario-based training where students apply these skills and<br />
knowledge in workplace simulations.<br />
“Putting theory into practice is essential. Realistically they are<br />
matching their technical abilities with a real-world, real-time,<br />
unfolding scenario and then at the end they are called upon to<br />
explain and justify why they did what they did,” Senior Sergeant<br />
Hayden said.<br />
“All scenarios are dynamic and aimed to suit the diversity of<br />
QPS officers. There is no ‘set way’ to operate in a particular<br />
situation. Tactics used by a 22-year-old Constable can be entirely<br />
different from those of a 58-year-old Senior Sergeant, but both<br />
can achieve the same outcome.<br />
“One may deploy a taser and the other may use a hands-on<br />
approach. They have a choice of options to bring a situation<br />
safely under control and minimise any risk for themselves, their<br />
partner or any other person involved,” he said.<br />
Senior Sergeant Hayden said scenarios were not necessarily<br />
devised to require a resolution through an application of force.<br />
“They are open to any number of means of resolution and using<br />
the least amount of force is strongly encouraged. What we ask<br />
is that officers assess the situation and then continually re-assess<br />
the scenario as it evolves. We want police to respond and not<br />
just ‘react’. This is why we ask officers to monitor themselves and<br />
be able to justify their course of actions when lawfully applying<br />
force to resolve policing incidents.”<br />
Senior Sergeant Hayden said beginning to train new recruits<br />
in handling emotions and monitoring levels of force could<br />
sometimes be challenging.<br />
“While some find it hard to move forward from ‘talk’ to ‘action’,<br />
others have a low level of situational awareness and anticipation<br />
of risk. These are things that can’t necessarily be taught in a<br />
classroom, but learnt through appropriate scenario training and<br />
on the job experience.”<br />
When asked to identify the most difficult<br />
aspect of use of force training, Senior Sergeant<br />
Hayden said, “Tactical communication.”<br />
“One of the most difficult challenges for a<br />
police officer or recruit is to establish a degree<br />
of control over another person, to deter them<br />
from negative behaviour and to negotiate,<br />
using their verbal skills and without laying a<br />
hand on them.<br />
“An officer who can do this will always be<br />
regarded as an asset,” he said.<br />
By Emilee Woolcock,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
Skill and confidence<br />
paramount in firearms training<br />
A police officer’s decision to draw a firearm is a choice which<br />
can never be taken lightly. The Firearms and Officer Safety<br />
<strong>Training</strong> (FOST) unit based at the Oxley Academy is committed<br />
to training police recruits to the highest possible standard,<br />
enabling confidence within this critical thought process.<br />
Acting Sergeant Rozanna Henriksen is a FOST instructor,<br />
dedicated to educating future police officers on the decision<br />
making process involved in the firearms option, which is<br />
designed for use in a high-threat situation.<br />
Acting Sergeant Henriksen said the course components were<br />
set out specifically to provide police recruits with the necessary<br />
skills to make the best judgement call at the time.<br />
“<strong>Police</strong> recruits go through various components of the PROVE<br />
program here at the academy and part of that program is a<br />
two week firearms and officer safety course,” Acting Sergeant<br />
Henriksen said.<br />
She said combining theory with practical instruction was the key<br />
to instilling confidence in a police recruit potentially facing a<br />
critical incident.<br />
16<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363
A recruit speaks into his radio,<br />
articulating his decision to draw a<br />
firearm in one of the Firearms and<br />
Officer Safety <strong>Training</strong> scenarios.<br />
Photos by Sergeant Clint Hanson, <strong>Police</strong> Photographic Section<br />
“It is a real balance of theory, law and practical instruction, so<br />
they’re getting both the lectures, instructor demonstrations<br />
and then the chance to demonstrate it, all of which builds<br />
confidence,” she said.<br />
As most recruits who attend the academy have not handled<br />
or even seen a firearm, Acting Sergeant Henriksen said there<br />
were mixed reactions from recruits while attending FOST.<br />
Acting Sergeant Rozie Henriksen combines theory with practical instruction<br />
to instill confidence in a police recruit potentially facing a critical incident.<br />
“Pretty much any member of the public you can think of will<br />
come through the academy as a recruit and most of them<br />
have never had any experience with firearms whatsoever.<br />
That’s why we offer them very close, one-on-one coaching to<br />
get them through.<br />
“We build up their skills and their confidence and by<br />
the end of the two weeks they’re drawing their firearms<br />
and demonstrating a skill level that is proficient and well<br />
calculated.”<br />
Acting Sergeant Henriksen said it was mandatory for police recruits<br />
to pass all aspects of the course in order to graduate.<br />
“They have to be able to demonstrate skill, and they need to be able<br />
to articulate policy and procedure—then they need to be able to say<br />
why they drew their firearm and explain their risk assessment.<br />
“The most important role at FOST is teaching recruits the thought<br />
process that justifies their decision to draw a firearm. There needs to<br />
be a serious and imminent threat of death or greater bodily harm to<br />
use that use of force option,” she said.<br />
By Chrissie McLeod,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Officer<br />
Glock training pistols<br />
These exceptional training aids are used to practice weapon<br />
handling drills including immediate and stoppage drills, holster<br />
drawing, trigger prepping, and striping, as well as during training<br />
scenarios.<br />
The non-lethal marking cartridges use a detergent based, water<br />
soluble colour marking compound to represent visible impacts on a<br />
target to allow accurate assessment during simulated scenarios.<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 17
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Shaping futures with<br />
Northern education<br />
Photo by Senior Constable Peter Abraham, Northern Region Scenes of Crime<br />
In the northern reaches of<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong>, the Townsville<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Academy stands as a<br />
fundamental stepping stone<br />
for developing recruits into<br />
finely trained and educated<br />
police officers. Like its<br />
southern counterpart at Oxley,<br />
Brisbane, it facilitates worldclass<br />
policing but takes a<br />
slightly different approach to<br />
recruit training.<br />
The Townsville Academy<br />
operates under an integrated<br />
training program with<br />
facilitators—either Sergeants<br />
or qualified staff members—<br />
guiding recruits through their<br />
training from beginning to<br />
end.<br />
Currently nine facilitators lead<br />
the initial service training,<br />
jumping from theoretical<br />
studies to communications,<br />
tactics, driving skills and<br />
operational skills training. This<br />
differs from the Oxley campus<br />
which has separate facilitators<br />
for each individual training<br />
component.<br />
Acting Inspector Paul Caswell,<br />
usually the intake coordinator<br />
for recruit training, said having<br />
facilitators interacting with<br />
recruits every day had both<br />
immediate and long-term<br />
benefits.<br />
Acting Inspector Paul Caswell says that the Townsville <strong>Police</strong> Academy offers<br />
both suitable and quality training services to North <strong>Queensland</strong>’s recruits.<br />
“It’s a compact staff to<br />
oversee the group; everyone<br />
has a role to play and we need<br />
all hands on deck,” Acting<br />
Inspector Caswell said.<br />
“Facilitators get to know the<br />
recruits on a deeper level,<br />
allowing them to identify<br />
strengths and weaknesses<br />
early on, producing a well<br />
trained and prepared police<br />
officer.”<br />
Currently, 42 Townsville<br />
recruits are undertaking 30<br />
weeks of training to earn<br />
their badge. It’s a smaller<br />
figure compared to the Oxley<br />
Academy, but an ideal number<br />
for Townsville’s physical and<br />
human resources.<br />
The Australian Army maintains<br />
a strong presence in the<br />
north, with the light infantry 3 rd<br />
Brigade and the Army Reserve<br />
designated the 11 th Brigade<br />
located in Townsville. As a<br />
result, the academy has a high<br />
proportion of former military<br />
personnel looking to extend<br />
their line of duty, representing<br />
an average of 15-25 percent of<br />
each intake.<br />
With the Oxley Academy<br />
situated within the boundaries<br />
of <strong>Queensland</strong>’s capital,<br />
Townsville’s academy is<br />
comparatively remote.<br />
However, with most of<br />
the recruits coming from<br />
either Townsville itself or<br />
the surrounding areas, the<br />
academy is physically closer to<br />
their homes and loved ones.<br />
Acting Inspector Caswell said<br />
this continued to be a huge<br />
draw card in recruitment.<br />
“The prospect of living at<br />
home and having only a short<br />
commute during training<br />
is incredibly attractive for<br />
recruits,” he said.<br />
“Having family and friends<br />
within reach no doubt helps<br />
aspiring police officers<br />
persevere and succeed<br />
through the course. Those<br />
who board at the academy<br />
also have the luxury of visiting<br />
family and friends more often,<br />
along with the motel style<br />
accommodation provided.”<br />
While Townsville’s method of<br />
delivery varied from Oxley’s,<br />
Acting Inspector Caswell said<br />
the academy went to great<br />
lengths to ensure consistency<br />
in the training across both<br />
campuses.<br />
“We have the same academic<br />
modules and assessment,<br />
guidelines and principles.<br />
But we find that what we do<br />
differently also works well,”<br />
Inspector Caswell said.<br />
When recruits sign on to be<br />
based in Townsville, they do<br />
so knowing they are expected<br />
to serve in the Northern, Far<br />
Northern or Central regions.<br />
It is a prerequisite that<br />
Acting Inspector Caswell said<br />
provided a great footing for<br />
police officers just starting<br />
their career in community<br />
service and law enforcement.<br />
“Recruits gain firsthand<br />
experience of the vastness<br />
and diversity within the state<br />
and its people working in<br />
areas from Gladstone to<br />
Cairns, Mount Isa and Cape<br />
York.<br />
“It is an opportunity to serve<br />
in the rural and remote areas<br />
of <strong>Queensland</strong>—areas that<br />
would otherwise be missed if<br />
they were to begin in central<br />
or city locations,” he said.<br />
By Lucy Emlyn-Jones,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 19
Driver training skills<br />
run in family<br />
20<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363<br />
QPS driver training has come a long way since<br />
humble beginnings at the Caboolture Raceway,<br />
now based at the Driver <strong>Training</strong> Centre at Wacol<br />
where recruits learn the system of vehicle control.
Sitting on a bench seat in<br />
the back of a police issue<br />
XB Falcon being driven by<br />
a recruit was one of the<br />
first introductions Sergeant<br />
Lindsay McGinn<br />
had to QPS driver<br />
training—and he<br />
was only a child.<br />
Sergeant<br />
McGinn has fond<br />
memories of<br />
going to work<br />
with his dad who<br />
was a driving<br />
instructor in<br />
1970. The late<br />
Sergeant Gordon<br />
McGinn was one of the first<br />
QPS driving instructors to set<br />
the foundations for the driver<br />
course that is an important<br />
part of recruit training.<br />
“We would head out to<br />
the Caboolture Raceway<br />
which was a cow paddock,”<br />
Sergeant McGinn said.<br />
“The recruits had to negotiate<br />
around logs that were laid out<br />
as the obstacles. I learnt all<br />
about system vehicle control<br />
from a very young age.”<br />
Sergeant McGinn has been<br />
with the <strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong><br />
<strong>Service</strong> (QPS) Academy for<br />
seven years as an instructor<br />
for the Driver Trainer Unit<br />
and said it was a coincidence<br />
to be following in his dad’s<br />
footsteps, but an easy<br />
decision to make.<br />
His dad may have taught him<br />
how to drive, but Sergeant<br />
McGinn said a lot had<br />
changed since the times of<br />
cow paddocks.<br />
“Recruits have a two-week<br />
block of driver training where<br />
they learn the basic defensive<br />
driver skills to meet the<br />
expectations of a policing<br />
environment,” Sergeant<br />
McGinn said.<br />
“We cover various driving<br />
situations which take place<br />
in the city and in a country<br />
environment, and also ensure<br />
the recruits can change a<br />
tyre.”<br />
Recruits learn the skills of<br />
driving using the system of<br />
vehicle control, which enables<br />
them to scan environments<br />
appropriately to detect crime<br />
while driving, and engage<br />
appropriate driving standards<br />
when lights and sirens are<br />
required.<br />
“There are no tricks to driver<br />
training; we want our recruits<br />
to be able to scan and identify<br />
hazards by looking as far<br />
ahead as possible,” Sergeant<br />
McGinn said.<br />
“The further you look ahead<br />
the better you will<br />
be. Scanning,<br />
having a driving<br />
plan involving a<br />
continuous risk<br />
assessment, and<br />
executing your<br />
plan all come<br />
under the system<br />
of vehicle control.”<br />
Although Sergeant<br />
McGinn isn’t the<br />
type of instructor<br />
to trick his recruits,<br />
he does have a pet<br />
hate.<br />
“Everyone, not just<br />
recruits, needs to make sure<br />
they are in the correct road<br />
position,” Sergeant McGinn<br />
said.<br />
“The majority of drivers drive<br />
in the centre of the lane. You<br />
need to maximise your road<br />
position and keep to the left<br />
or right side depending on<br />
the hazard being negotiated.<br />
This will allow extra space to<br />
manoeuvre if there is a hazard<br />
on the road or if you need an<br />
area to brake.”<br />
The majority of driver training<br />
takes place at the Driver<br />
<strong>Training</strong> Centre at Wacol,<br />
which was built for the<br />
exclusive use of QPS officers<br />
and recruits.<br />
The track consists of a<br />
simulated road circuit of<br />
asphalt, gravel and tar roads,<br />
manoeuvre areas and urban<br />
streetscape.<br />
Many years of planning and<br />
design culminated in the<br />
construction of the $12 million<br />
track in 2010.<br />
One of the implementations<br />
from an Education and<br />
<strong>Training</strong> <strong>Command</strong> review<br />
was to allow academy<br />
instructors from the PROVE<br />
program to be seconded to<br />
an operational environment to<br />
update their skills.<br />
“I am currently working at<br />
Boondall <strong>Police</strong> Station on<br />
general duties and it is good<br />
to be in the real world work<br />
environment to refresh my<br />
policing skills,” Sergeant<br />
McGinn said.<br />
“The job of first response<br />
policing hasn’t changed.<br />
It’s still the fundamentals<br />
of communication with the<br />
public, however the support<br />
tools are the elements that<br />
have changed.”<br />
Sergeant McGinn is also using<br />
his time to see if any of his<br />
driver training techniques<br />
need to be modified to fit into<br />
current policing trends.<br />
“I will be making some<br />
recommendations when<br />
I get back to the Driver<br />
<strong>Training</strong> Unit to see if we can<br />
incorporate different vehicles,<br />
such as vans, into the current<br />
training block,” Sergeant<br />
McGinn said.<br />
“This is one of the advantages<br />
of being an instructor on<br />
secondment—we get to<br />
assess our own teaching<br />
in a real world policing<br />
environment.”<br />
By Michelle Fleming,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 21
First Year Constable program<br />
—from recruit to officer<br />
Constable Natalie Norris looks over the mining hub of Mount Isa where she has been stationed<br />
throughout the First Year Constable program.<br />
When Constable Natalie Norris<br />
moved from Townsville to start<br />
work as a client service officer<br />
at a police station in Cairns, she<br />
never imagined one day she<br />
would be wearing the uniform of<br />
blue.<br />
Now she has just completed the<br />
First Year Constable program in<br />
Mount Isa and, having reached<br />
the end of her engagement with<br />
the Initial <strong>Service</strong> <strong>Training</strong> section<br />
of the Education and <strong>Training</strong><br />
<strong>Command</strong>, is embarking on the<br />
next phase of her career.<br />
“Initially it never crossed my<br />
mind I would end up as a police<br />
officer; I just wanted a steady<br />
government job. I really enjoyed<br />
the work, but eventually, after<br />
four years, I just felt I wanted to<br />
get out of the office,” Constable<br />
Norris said.<br />
Constable Norris studied law<br />
for one year which helped her<br />
gain entry into the PROVE<br />
program at the <strong>Queensland</strong><br />
<strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong> (QPS) Academy in<br />
Townsville. She graduated from<br />
the academy in August 2010<br />
and took up a posting as a First<br />
Year Constable in Mount Isa. She<br />
said the transition from recruit<br />
to a sworn police officer was a<br />
challenging one.<br />
“The recruit training was good,<br />
but nothing can prepare you for<br />
the real world,” she said.<br />
“Being an officer is definitely<br />
different from being a recruit—<br />
and nothing like being a client<br />
service officer. You don’t have<br />
that counter separating you from<br />
the outside world. It took me six<br />
months to adjust; I’m still getting<br />
used to it.”<br />
22<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363
The First Year Constable<br />
program is competency<br />
based, on-the-job training,<br />
where academy graduates<br />
are assigned to a police<br />
station. Participants rotate<br />
through different aspects<br />
of police work to broaden<br />
their experience, and need<br />
to demonstrate competency<br />
in a range of topics. The<br />
learning experience is<br />
complemented by training<br />
days at the station and<br />
blocks of study back at the<br />
academy.<br />
Constable Norris said<br />
having the opportunity to<br />
perform a range of duties<br />
gave her a taste of some of<br />
the career choices that lay<br />
ahead.<br />
“As part of our first year<br />
we do two week blocks<br />
in two sections. I worked<br />
two weeks in the Child<br />
Protection and Investigation<br />
Unit (CPIU) and had some<br />
jobs with the property<br />
squad. I also worked two<br />
weeks in the traffic branch.<br />
“I definitely would like to<br />
work as a plain clothes<br />
officer at some stage in the<br />
future, but first would like to<br />
stay in general duties for a<br />
while.”<br />
Mount Isa is just one of a<br />
number of police stations<br />
throughout <strong>Queensland</strong><br />
equipped to be able to<br />
take officers through the<br />
FYC program. Constable<br />
Norris said despite having<br />
no family or friends in the<br />
outback town, isolation was<br />
not an issue.<br />
“I am one of five First Year<br />
Constables here; four of<br />
us went through training<br />
together. I live in the<br />
barracks so we live, work<br />
and socialise together.<br />
Everyone gets on really well<br />
and this is quite different to<br />
a main city where people<br />
go home to their own lives<br />
every day.<br />
Mount Isa has given Constable Norris a taste of<br />
the possibilities in her future as a police officer.<br />
Constable Norris said that she has never found the<br />
isolation of Mount Isa an issue. Aside from building<br />
relationships with her fellow officers, she has also<br />
immersed herself in the town’s sporting and social life.<br />
Photos by Sergeant Phillip Bridge, Mount Isa Scenes of Crime Officer<br />
“I also play a lot of sport—<br />
netball and basketball outside<br />
of work, as well as touch football<br />
with work mates in a social<br />
competition.”<br />
Having reached the end of her<br />
first year as a police officer,<br />
Constable Norris said she was<br />
looking ahead to the future.<br />
“A condition of living in the<br />
barracks is that you agree to<br />
a six month rotation to either<br />
Doomadgee, Mornington Island,<br />
Cloncurry or Normanton. I’d<br />
like to go to Doomadgee or<br />
Mornington Island to experience<br />
life in a very remote community.<br />
“The First Year Constable<br />
program has been a rewarding<br />
and nurturing experience. It is<br />
a very supportive atmosphere.<br />
Everyone is so willing to stop<br />
what they are doing and help<br />
you. It’s a small station, so if<br />
there are problems they find out<br />
pretty quickly.<br />
“The hardest part to get used to<br />
is the shift work. It throws your<br />
body around a bit, especially if<br />
you have overtime on night shift.<br />
You have to get used to turning<br />
your body clock around.<br />
“It sounds a bit cliché. What I<br />
like the best is that each day<br />
you don’t know what is going to<br />
happen or what you’ll come up<br />
against. You meet new people<br />
and most days you walk away<br />
with a laugh.”<br />
By Paula Hedemann,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 23
Facing the challenge of major<br />
events through the Incident<br />
<strong>Command</strong> Development Unit<br />
More than 7000 significant events involving actual or threatened<br />
violence and requiring a policing response were recorded across<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> in 2010.<br />
In addition, natural weather events, searches, civil unrest and<br />
other threats to public safety all required a measured, high level<br />
and well thought-out response.<br />
To meet these challenges, police officers across all ranks and<br />
geographical locations need to be sufficiently equipped to deal<br />
with not only the first response, but also protracted operations.<br />
The Incident <strong>Command</strong> Development Unit (ICDU) is part of<br />
the Senior Leadership and Professional Development Program<br />
based at the Oxley <strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong> Academy. A team of four<br />
officers and staff members, managed by Inspector Joe Joyce,<br />
are continuously working to deliver incident command education<br />
and training to police throughout the state.<br />
The incident command course forms part of the Level 3<br />
Management Development Program, residential for senior<br />
sergeants, and has for some time delivered requisite skills to<br />
enable front line commanders to better perform their job. The<br />
course delivers the necessary training and up-skills participants<br />
in first response and command. The ICDU has also delivered<br />
regional supervisor workshops aimed at first response.<br />
A critical part of the training is the virtual reality component,<br />
which challenges students to manage real life situations using<br />
their knowledge to resolve incidents which appear on the large<br />
screen in front of them.<br />
The unit also delivered the inaugural Incident <strong>Command</strong><br />
Symposium in 2010, where a fellow officer from the United States<br />
of America was the key note speaker, having been involved in the<br />
1999 Columbine High School killings.<br />
Later this year, another symposium will be held in Brisbane<br />
with the timely theme of disasters. A key note speaker from<br />
Christchurch, New Zealand, will discuss the tragedy of the<br />
earthquake there earlier this year.<br />
By Inspector Joe Joyce, Incident <strong>Command</strong> Development Unit<br />
ICDU offers training in ‘virtual reality’ to prepare<br />
for significant event policing response.<br />
24<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363
An important addition to the residential courses commencing<br />
in April 2010 was the ‘Visiting Fellow’ initiative. Inspectors from<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> and interstate attend for the duration of the course<br />
and share their experiences, insights and fellowship. Inspector Paul<br />
Carrett from Major Events and Incidents Group, New South Wales<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Force, attended as Visiting Fellow in October 2010, and<br />
provided the following account.<br />
When the offer was made for me to attend the Incident <strong>Command</strong><br />
Course, my immediate thoughts were, “what could I offer?” No<br />
matter what I ended up giving to the course, the trip turned out to<br />
be one of the most rewarding experiences in my 22 years as a police<br />
officer.<br />
It quickly became apparent that this team of dedicated people<br />
exuded professionalism.<br />
With quite a number of years experience in teaching incident<br />
command to senior police, it was pleasing to see that the course was<br />
following what I call the two guiding principles for running senior<br />
police courses.<br />
The first principle involves hearing it from the horse’s mouth. The<br />
use of subject matter experts in such courses is imperative, and<br />
fortunately this course had an abundance of such experts, supported<br />
by relevant visits to specialist units and into the field at times.<br />
The second principle involves keeping the participants active, and<br />
this is where I found the course impressed most. There was a good<br />
mix of tabletop exercises and virtual reality exercises that kept all the<br />
participants on their toes.<br />
As it turned out, much of what we spoke about during the course was<br />
put into practice earlier this year with major flooding and cyclones.<br />
Such events prove the value and absolute necessity of ensuring our<br />
police commanders, at whatever level, have the skills to deal with<br />
such events.<br />
By Inspector Paul Carrett, New South Wales <strong>Police</strong> Force<br />
Senior Sergeant Graham Seabrook, Officer-in-Charge at Longreach,<br />
attended the residential in 2010, and submitted this account of his<br />
experiences with the unit.<br />
As a practical person, it was a discouraging thought—reading and<br />
doing assignments. The other concern I had, was that I last worked<br />
‘on the road’ in 1999 and this course was about incident command.<br />
From day one I found the staff very approachable. The atmosphere<br />
was one of respected learning with a positive enthusiasm on behalf<br />
of unit staff to share knowledge, welcome past experiences, and<br />
truly value input. The feedback from experienced Special Emergency<br />
Response Team operatives after exercises was invaluable.<br />
The importance of making a firm decision and explaining the reasons,<br />
and allowing staff to understand those reasons, was stressed. The<br />
recording of decisions cannot be underestimated and is something I<br />
have continued with in all aspects of my duties.<br />
Ultimately, my experience at the two week Incident <strong>Command</strong> Course<br />
was a very positive one with real life practical learning and I would<br />
urge other officers to consider this if they haven’t done it, or go back<br />
and do it again as a refresher.<br />
Longreach District staff also appreciated the delivery of the two-day<br />
workshop by the Incident <strong>Command</strong> team in June 2011.<br />
By Senior Sergeant Graham Seabrook, Longreach<br />
Keeping on track for<br />
career success<br />
With the Initial <strong>Service</strong> <strong>Training</strong> finally completed, a police<br />
officer is entitled to feel as though he or she has reached a<br />
significant milestone in their working life. With a career in the<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong> however, this is just the first step on<br />
a rewarding and wide-ranging education and training journey.<br />
The second branch of the Education and <strong>Training</strong> <strong>Command</strong><br />
is the Senior Leadership and Development Program (SLPDP).<br />
Within this branch, the journey starts with the Constable<br />
Development Program, delivered over three years.<br />
Beyond that, Senior Constables enter the Management<br />
Development Program and are eligible for promotion<br />
to Sergeant, Senior Sergeant and finally Inspector, after<br />
progressing through each of the program’s three levels.<br />
For Inspectors and above, the senior leadership suite offers<br />
a mix of courses, conferences, workshops, study tours and<br />
in some cases outplacements, to broaden the professional<br />
leadership and management repertoire of more senior officers.<br />
Superintendent Mark Plath, SLPDP, said the professional<br />
development continuum of training and education programs<br />
was designed to take all police officers beyond their initial<br />
service training and experiences.<br />
“All officers need specific knowledge and skills as they progress<br />
through the ranks and various roles,” Superintendent Plath said.<br />
“Most of this knowledge and skills are acquired through<br />
workplace experiences and mentoring by supervisors and<br />
is widely recognised as important in the skill development<br />
process, but it also relies on good supervision.<br />
“Contemporary knowledge and skills are very dynamic, so<br />
education and training programs are designed to introduce<br />
officers to new legislation, new policies and procedures,<br />
new ideas and new ways of providing better supervision and<br />
leadership.”<br />
Superintendant Plath explained the SLPDP training was based<br />
on a curriculum that offered critical reflection, case studies and<br />
the analysis of current issues and trends; and could be delivered<br />
across most working environments.<br />
“Where feasible, practical and sustainable, distance education<br />
is complemented with residential components. All educators<br />
and trainers recognise the value added to learning through<br />
face-to-face sessions,” he said.<br />
The SLPDP comprises a range of units that deliver programs<br />
not only for rank progression, but for key specialist skills.<br />
These include investigations and intelligence training, incident<br />
command training and officer-in-charge training.<br />
Superintendent Plath said QPS staff members were also well<br />
catered for with a range of programs.<br />
“Our staff members are a vital part of the <strong>Service</strong> and the<br />
opportunities provided to them enhance the standards within<br />
the organisation as a whole,” he said.<br />
“We are very fortunate within SLPDP to have teams of highly<br />
enthusiastic and committed professionals who devote their<br />
efforts to the development of police and staff members across<br />
the QPS.”<br />
As told to Paula Hedemann, Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 25
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The third phase of detective training<br />
incorporates a mock murder scenario to<br />
give participants practical experience in<br />
investigative techniques.<br />
Photos by Detective Sergeant Cameron Gardner, Detective <strong>Training</strong> Section<br />
Len Hooper Award<br />
Detective Sergeant Len Hooper was<br />
tragically killed in August 1997 while<br />
executing a search warrant in Herston.<br />
His dedication and commitment to the<br />
QPS were recognised with a posthumous<br />
National <strong>Police</strong> Medal, and QPS vessel<br />
the Len Hooper was launched by<br />
Yeppoon Water <strong>Police</strong> in 1998.<br />
The Len Hooper Award was created<br />
in 2003 and is presented annually to<br />
an outstanding Detective <strong>Training</strong><br />
Program graduate who demonstrates<br />
similar qualities to those held by the late<br />
detective.<br />
These qualities include a high degree of<br />
knowledge, leadership skills, integrity,<br />
tenacity, reliability, loyalty, dedication,<br />
commitment, motivation, professionalism<br />
to duty, and the ability to work within a<br />
team environment.<br />
This year’s winner, Detective Senior<br />
Constable Janelle Walsh of the Carseldine<br />
Criminal Investigation Branch, said she<br />
was thrilled to accept the award.<br />
“The program was quite intensive<br />
and really pushed us, but it was very<br />
rewarding. It’s a real honour to receive<br />
the Len Hooper Award,” Detective Senior<br />
Constable Walsh said.<br />
By Bridgette Williams, Media and Public<br />
Affairs Branch<br />
Detective<br />
training on the cutting edge<br />
of investigative policing<br />
The Investigations and Intelligence <strong>Training</strong><br />
Unit (IITU) is training officers to be on the<br />
front line of investigative policing through<br />
its three year Detective <strong>Training</strong> Program.<br />
The program is offered to plain clothes<br />
police officers who have completed<br />
the prerequisite course work, and is the<br />
pathway to becoming a detective in the<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong> (QPS).<br />
The Detective <strong>Training</strong> Program is<br />
delivered in three phases, and participants<br />
graduate with the nationally recognised<br />
Advanced Diploma of Public Safety (<strong>Police</strong><br />
Investigation).<br />
Phase one covers basic investigation skills,<br />
evidence gathering, interviewing, law<br />
foundations, process and procedures; while<br />
phase two covers laws and legislation. In<br />
2012, high level investigative interview<br />
training will also be included.<br />
Finally, phase three includes practical<br />
and theoretical assessments surrounding<br />
homicide investigation and major incident<br />
room coordination, and the investigative<br />
processes required in complex criminal<br />
investigations. On successful completion of<br />
the training, graduates present a portfolio<br />
of their work as an investigator to a board<br />
of senior detectives. If successful, they are<br />
appointed as a detective.<br />
Detective Sergeant Cameron Gardner of<br />
the Detective <strong>Training</strong> Section said some<br />
of the key attributes encouraged by the<br />
program were thoroughness and attention<br />
to detail. The program also strives to<br />
develop in detectives an awareness of<br />
emerging trends affecting society and<br />
investigative policing.<br />
“The program is aimed not only at training<br />
officers in well established practices, but<br />
also equipping them with knowledge<br />
of new technology and emerging crime<br />
trends,” Detective Sergeant Gardner said.<br />
“We keep the curriculum current so<br />
detectives stay on the cusp of prevailing<br />
trends such as identity theft and the use of<br />
the internet to commit offences.<br />
“The training is conducted with a mixture<br />
of both theory and practical training<br />
sessions, as well as on the job training. In<br />
phase three, we construct a mock murder<br />
investigation to give the participants<br />
a situation that is as close to reality as<br />
possible.”<br />
Detective Senior Constable Janelle Walsh,<br />
recent graduate and winner of this year’s<br />
Len Hooper Award said the training was<br />
invaluable to her work as a detective.<br />
“The Detective <strong>Training</strong> Program equipped<br />
me with the skills to confidently perform<br />
my job to the best of my ability and to see<br />
results,” Detective Senior Constable Walsh<br />
said.<br />
“I’ve gone into every situation I’ve<br />
encountered as a detective fully prepared<br />
thanks to it.”<br />
By CJ Roberts,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 27
Photo by Sergeant Clint Hanson, <strong>Police</strong> Photographic Section<br />
Earning your stripes<br />
So, you’ve made it through<br />
the recruit training, survived<br />
the First Year Constable<br />
Program—now it’s just a<br />
matter of time before you<br />
progress up through the<br />
ranks, right?<br />
Length of service actually has<br />
little to do with the number<br />
of stripes on your epaulettes.<br />
Rather, the QPS has a<br />
structured program in place to<br />
support each officer’s progress<br />
from Constable through to<br />
Senior Sergeant.<br />
The unit that supports this<br />
chapter of a police officer’s<br />
journey through his or her<br />
career is the Supervisor<br />
Development Unit (SDU).<br />
SDU Manager Inspector<br />
Howard Franklin explained the<br />
evolution of the unit.<br />
“The Supervisor Development<br />
Unit was created in February<br />
2010 as part of the broader<br />
restructure of the Human<br />
Resource Development<br />
Branch into the Education<br />
and <strong>Training</strong> <strong>Command</strong>.<br />
For the first time, all the<br />
supervisory programs came<br />
under the responsibility of one<br />
inspector,” Inspector Franklin<br />
said.<br />
“The formation of the SDU<br />
allowed us to refocus the<br />
development of more than 80<br />
percent of our members—the<br />
Constables, Senior Constables<br />
and Sergeants seeking to<br />
progress their careers up to<br />
the Senior Sergeant level.<br />
“Facilitators work closely<br />
together to ensure we have a<br />
cohesive and comprehensive<br />
curriculum that progressively<br />
builds on previous<br />
competencies. This synergy<br />
ensures the level of delivery<br />
is relevant and appropriate<br />
for every stage of a student’s<br />
progress.<br />
“The courses are developed<br />
by the unit and tailored<br />
specifically to QPS needs,<br />
rather than generic learning<br />
products that could overlap or<br />
leave gaps in knowledge.”<br />
Inspector Franklin said as well<br />
as revising the course content,<br />
the unit was also reviewing<br />
the way the courses were<br />
delivered.<br />
“We are exploring avenues<br />
to allow students to complete<br />
assessment items within<br />
time frames considerate of<br />
personal circumstances. This<br />
has seen a move away from<br />
semester-based learning to<br />
self-paced learning for Legal<br />
and Management studies<br />
and an intensive residential<br />
workshop for Sergeants,” he<br />
said.<br />
The four sections within<br />
the SDU—the Constable<br />
Development, Legal Studies,<br />
Management Studies, and<br />
Office in Charge sections—<br />
work collaboratively to<br />
provide the Constable<br />
Development Program,<br />
Management Development<br />
Program and the Officer in<br />
Charge Program.<br />
Constable<br />
Development Program<br />
The Constable Development<br />
Program (CDP) is a self-paced<br />
three year distance education<br />
program specifically designed<br />
to prepare constables for the<br />
performance of duties at the<br />
rank of Senior Constable.<br />
Year one focuses on<br />
investigative processes,<br />
while year two sees students<br />
applying those processes<br />
to specific investigations.<br />
Year three introduces basic<br />
management issues, planning,<br />
controlling and coordinating<br />
serious incidents and<br />
concludes with a one-week<br />
workshop, conducted at either<br />
the Oxley or the Townsville<br />
police academies. Upon<br />
successful completion of the<br />
CDP, participants are eligible<br />
28<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363
to progress automatically to<br />
the rank of Senior Constable.<br />
Acting Senior Sergeant<br />
Katrina Mason said<br />
Constables completing the<br />
CDP were offered extra<br />
support to keep them<br />
motivated during the threeyear<br />
period.<br />
“The Constable Development<br />
Section provides a student<br />
support initiative, whereby<br />
facilitators from the Brisbane<br />
or Townsville offices attend<br />
each region twice during a<br />
calendar year,” Acting Senior<br />
Sergeant Mason said.<br />
“Additional support is also<br />
provided to more isolated<br />
locations such as Palm Island,<br />
Longreach, Cape York and<br />
Mount Isa District, which<br />
includes Cloncurry, Gulf of<br />
Carpentaria and Mornington<br />
Island.<br />
“Members who have<br />
completed CDP are also<br />
granted credit towards a<br />
Bachelor of Policing degree<br />
from Charles Sturt University.<br />
The university allows CDP<br />
graduates to complete five<br />
elective subjects at a cost of<br />
about $550 per subject. This is<br />
a great opportunity to obtain<br />
a tertiary qualification at a<br />
reduced rate,” she said.<br />
Management<br />
Development Program<br />
The Management<br />
Development Program (MDP)<br />
comprises three levels, each<br />
encompassing a Management<br />
Studies and a Legal Studies<br />
component. Level 1 is<br />
required to be eligible for the<br />
rank of Sergeant, level 2 for<br />
Senior Sergeant and level 3<br />
for Inspector. The educational<br />
focus at each level is<br />
targeted at the next rank,<br />
ensuring each officer attains<br />
the required competence<br />
to be eligible to apply for<br />
promotion. Levels 1 and 2<br />
are offered by Management<br />
Studies Section and Legal<br />
Studies Section as part of<br />
the Supervisor Development<br />
Unit.<br />
The underlying driver of<br />
MDP is to provide the<br />
leadership, supervision and<br />
management skills required<br />
to not only perform their<br />
duties at an optimal level,<br />
but also to progress the<br />
QPS towards being a better<br />
organisation as a whole.<br />
The MDP is designed as<br />
a distance educational<br />
program and the curriculum<br />
is comprised of academic<br />
based learning materials<br />
with a practical application<br />
to the <strong>Service</strong>.<br />
Senior Sergeant Alex<br />
Hodge, Officer in Charge<br />
of the Legal Studies Section,<br />
said levels 1 and 2, as well<br />
as Foundation Studies, had<br />
recently moved to an ‘open’<br />
enrolment system.<br />
“This means students can<br />
enrol at any time and have<br />
12 months to successfully<br />
complete the assigned<br />
tasks. This allows greater<br />
flexibility to students, but<br />
more responsibility for them<br />
to complete their assignments<br />
within the timeframe,” Senior<br />
Sergeant Hodge said.<br />
“Another new initiative is<br />
the Management Studies<br />
in Policing 2 one-week<br />
residential workshop. This<br />
forms part of the management<br />
studies course for level 2, and<br />
is compulsory. The inaugural<br />
workshop will commence<br />
in October 2011, with one<br />
scheduled for each calendar<br />
month thereafter.”<br />
Officer in Charge<br />
Program<br />
The Officer in Charge (OIC)<br />
Program is a competencybased,<br />
distance education<br />
course that develops<br />
participants’ ability to better<br />
manage their roles and<br />
responsibilities as officers in<br />
charge. It provides practical<br />
and relevant training, taking<br />
into account students’ unique<br />
work environments.<br />
Senior Sergeant Gai<br />
Bolderrow of the OIC Section<br />
said the program was mainly<br />
aimed at Senior Constables<br />
and Sergeants.<br />
“The program is designed<br />
for current officers in charge<br />
or those one rank below who<br />
wish to become an officer<br />
in charge,” Senior Sergeant<br />
Bolderrow said.<br />
“It provides an alternative<br />
pathway for promotion, as<br />
participants who successfully<br />
complete one module are<br />
granted an exemption<br />
from one Management<br />
Development Program unit.”<br />
The course content develops<br />
strategic thinking, problem<br />
solving, analysis and an<br />
understanding of the<br />
Operational Performance<br />
Review process.<br />
Senior Sergeant Bolderrow<br />
said the OIC Program<br />
constantly received praise<br />
from past students who found<br />
Senior<br />
Sergeant<br />
Sergeant<br />
Senior<br />
Constable<br />
Constable<br />
the course relevant, practical<br />
and rewarding. One student<br />
wrote the following as part of<br />
the feedback process.<br />
“This program helped me<br />
immensely with the duties<br />
that I perform as officer<br />
in charge. The practical,<br />
no nonsense format was a<br />
refreshing change. Using<br />
the course material, I was<br />
able to identify and rectify<br />
deficiencies found at my<br />
station across a broad range<br />
of areas.<br />
“Most of the assessments<br />
that need to be completed<br />
for the course are also<br />
required as part of the station<br />
risk management or other<br />
procedures. In other words,<br />
you are not doing things just<br />
for the sake of passing the<br />
course and then never using<br />
it again. Your working papers<br />
and gained knowledge can<br />
then be incorporated into<br />
your station’s procedures for<br />
use immediately.”<br />
By Paula Hedeman,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 29
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Creating leaders who make<br />
a difference<br />
Leadership is important to<br />
success and the <strong>Queensland</strong><br />
<strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong> (QPS) is<br />
dependent on the abilities of<br />
strong, decisive and capable<br />
leaders who provide work<br />
units with a clear vision,<br />
inspire work performance<br />
and provide vital support<br />
to all staff. The Leadership<br />
Development Unit (LDU)<br />
recognises this need and aims<br />
to develop leaders who are<br />
equipped with the right tools<br />
to make a positive impact on<br />
their workplace.<br />
Photo supplied by Melanie Mather, Leadership and Development Unit<br />
The role of the LDU is to<br />
prepare participants for senior<br />
leadership roles within the<br />
QPS. This is achieved through<br />
the Management Studies in<br />
Policing 3, which is one of<br />
the capstone courses that<br />
comprise the Management<br />
Development Program. The<br />
Management Studies in<br />
Policing 3 course is delivered<br />
via a distance education<br />
component and a three week<br />
residential course. The LDU<br />
also co-ordinates executive<br />
level conferences using<br />
prominent and experienced<br />
keynote speakers to highlight<br />
innovative leadership<br />
practices. The next conference<br />
is due to be held in February<br />
2012.<br />
All QPS Senior Sergeants<br />
are eligible to participate<br />
in LDU courses. Course<br />
participants also include QPS<br />
staff members (AO6 and<br />
above), external participants<br />
from the <strong>Queensland</strong><br />
Fire and Rescue <strong>Service</strong>,<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> Ambulance<br />
<strong>Service</strong>, Australian Federal<br />
<strong>Police</strong> as well as international<br />
delegates from the Hong<br />
Kong <strong>Police</strong> Force, Maldives<br />
International emergency service delegates keen to progress as leaders draw on each other’s expertise during one of the<br />
courses run by the Leadership Development Unit.<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Force, Guangdong<br />
<strong>Police</strong> and the Shanghai<br />
Municipal Public Security<br />
Department. This diversity<br />
of participants provides a<br />
networking opportunity for<br />
participants and promotes the<br />
building of mutually beneficial<br />
partnerships with other<br />
organisations.<br />
The Management Studies in<br />
Policing 3 residential course<br />
is designed to assist middle<br />
managers to make the<br />
transition from operational<br />
level to a strategic level. The<br />
LDU draws on the knowledge<br />
of expert facilitators, senior<br />
police executives, corporate<br />
executives, leading academics<br />
and prominent sporting<br />
identities to explore issues of<br />
strategic management and<br />
leadership within a policing<br />
environment.<br />
The residential course is held<br />
at the <strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong><br />
<strong>Service</strong> Academy and also<br />
uses regional engagement<br />
visits to draw on the expertise<br />
of senior regional police<br />
as well as the expertise of<br />
inspirational business leaders<br />
from the private sector.<br />
During the three week<br />
residential program, the<br />
LDU is assisted through<br />
experienced visiting Fellows,<br />
who play an integral role in<br />
enhancing the experiences<br />
and learning opportunities<br />
of the participants. Visiting<br />
Fellows are role models and<br />
mentors to the students and<br />
provide them with support<br />
as well as provide them<br />
with examples of practical<br />
application of the course<br />
theory. The most recent<br />
visiting Fellow, Inspector Dave<br />
Robertson said the residential<br />
courses were an outstanding<br />
model that engaged students<br />
in a variety of leadership and<br />
management methodologies.<br />
Additionally all of the visiting<br />
fellows involved in the<br />
course noted what a valuable<br />
experience it was for their<br />
own development.<br />
The QPS has developed<br />
partnerships with several<br />
universities and credit<br />
obtained from completing the<br />
Management Development<br />
Program can be used<br />
to articulate into several<br />
university courses. Members<br />
who have completed the<br />
Management Development<br />
Program subjects will be<br />
granted up to 50 percent off<br />
a master’s degree. The LDU<br />
has a wealth of experience in<br />
liaising with those affiliated<br />
universities and assist QPS<br />
staff with enquiries about<br />
entering post graduate<br />
studies.<br />
By Melanie Mather, Leadership<br />
and Development Unit<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 31
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Senior leaders<br />
step-up<br />
The step from a Senior Sergeant to an Inspector comes down to the dedication<br />
of the officer.<br />
Being a senior leader represents a leap in responsibility and expectations,<br />
requiring strong leadership and negotiation skills as well as a high degree of<br />
organisational insight.<br />
The Executive Development Unit (EDU) was established in April 2011 to<br />
support the professional development of police officers at and above the<br />
rank of Inspector and administrative officers at and above the level of AO7 or<br />
equivalent. This includes coordinating a range of external courses including<br />
those offered by the Australian Institute of <strong>Police</strong> Management and through the<br />
Public <strong>Service</strong> Commission.<br />
Senior Sergeant Howard Kemp, Manager of EDU, said one of the unit’s key<br />
developmental strategies was the Senior Leadership Course (SLC).<br />
“The course is designed to support senior leaders in making a smooth transition<br />
to this level, as well as to promote confidence and motivation,” Senior Sergeant<br />
Kemp said.<br />
“It provides direct access to senior executive members of the <strong>Service</strong> through<br />
the visiting mentor component, and helps participants understand what makes<br />
the organisation tick at a strategic level.<br />
“Participants are provided with key information regarding strategic issues, future<br />
directions and emerging issues and trends that may impact on the <strong>Service</strong>.”<br />
The unit has also developed a range of educational resources including a<br />
comprehensive website and Leadership ‘Short Shots’. The two-hour short shots<br />
are focused, practical development sessions on a variety of relevant topics in a<br />
concise and challenging format. They recognise the knowledge and skills senior<br />
leaders already have, and are conducted in a way that draws and builds on<br />
those foundations.<br />
“We’ve also had great feedback on our resource database from all ranks and<br />
levels,” Senior Sergeant Kemp said.<br />
“It includes information on employee engagement, Operational Performance<br />
Review priorities and a page dedicated to each of the <strong>Service</strong>’s four values—<br />
People, Performance, Partnerships and Professionalism.<br />
“Supporting our senior leaders with a range of resources helps improve their<br />
ability to look at problems clearly and really understand what the critical issues<br />
are.<br />
The EDU provides the tools and knowledge to help our senior leaders respond<br />
to the complex and challenging environment in which they work.”<br />
Senior Leadership<br />
Development Model<br />
The QPS has developed a Senior<br />
Leadership Development Model<br />
which provides a framework for<br />
the development of QPS senior<br />
leaders, both police and staff<br />
members. It has five components,<br />
as follows.<br />
Self<br />
Senior leaders need to have<br />
self awareness and take<br />
responsibility for their actions and<br />
development.<br />
Values<br />
Senior leaders need to embody<br />
and model the <strong>Service</strong>’s values<br />
and encourage staff to own and<br />
display them.<br />
Capabilities<br />
Senior leaders need to<br />
demonstrate the behaviours<br />
associated with the leadership<br />
capabilities.<br />
Action Orientation<br />
Senior leaders need to take an<br />
action orientated approach to<br />
enhance their ability to achieve<br />
desired outcomes.<br />
Strategic Position<br />
Senior leaders need to consider<br />
the environment in which they<br />
and the <strong>Service</strong> operate.<br />
Capability<br />
Inspect<br />
Achieve Results<br />
Environment<br />
Performance<br />
Drive and Integrity<br />
Inspire<br />
Communicate<br />
People<br />
Self<br />
Professionalism<br />
Partnerships<br />
Cultivate Relationships<br />
Strategic Thinking<br />
Innovate<br />
Purpose<br />
Initiate<br />
Culture<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 33
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Staff members benefit from<br />
training opportunities<br />
Support staff for the<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong><br />
<strong>Service</strong> (QPS) make up<br />
a crucial component of<br />
the organisation’s 14,000<br />
members. About 4200<br />
employees of the <strong>Service</strong> are<br />
not police officers however<br />
their skills and knowledge<br />
enhance the smooth running<br />
of the organisation, allowing<br />
more officers to remain in an<br />
operational capacity.<br />
The professional development<br />
of this group comes under<br />
the umbrella of the Staff<br />
Member <strong>Training</strong> and<br />
Development Unit (SMTDU).<br />
SMTDU Acting Manager<br />
Cassandra Bull said the unit<br />
had a unique role within the<br />
<strong>Service</strong> to develop and deliver<br />
nationally accredited training<br />
qualifications and other<br />
professional development<br />
training specifically for staff<br />
members.<br />
“As part of the Core<br />
Agreement 2009, the QPS<br />
is committed to provide<br />
nationally accredited<br />
qualifications to eligible staff<br />
members. Qualifications<br />
undertaken by staff members<br />
are recognised in all states of<br />
Australia,” Ms Bull said.<br />
“Unlike most other<br />
government departments,<br />
the QPS as a registered<br />
training organisation has<br />
been able to tailor many of its<br />
programs specifically to the<br />
organisations requirements,<br />
ensuring a more relevant<br />
and hands-on experience for<br />
students.”<br />
Ms Bull said participants<br />
were provided with learning<br />
materials written to meet QPS<br />
specific job roles and had<br />
access to tutors and assessors<br />
with an understanding of<br />
their workplace situation,<br />
which in turn supported their<br />
undertaking of assessment<br />
requirements.<br />
“Using QPS specific<br />
information to provide<br />
learning—rather than<br />
generic theory—provides a<br />
more meaningful learning<br />
experience. Assessment is<br />
work-based, so students are<br />
using their current job roles to<br />
determine competency. The<br />
organisation in turn benefits<br />
by seeing direct impact in the<br />
workplace,” Ms Bull said.<br />
Diploma of<br />
Management<br />
The Diploma of Management<br />
is one course currently<br />
available that offers a flexible<br />
learning approach, including<br />
a self paced learning mode.<br />
April Jenkinson, Client <strong>Service</strong><br />
Officer at <strong>Police</strong>link, recently<br />
graduated with the diploma,<br />
and said she was able to fasttrack<br />
her course, completing it<br />
in 18 months.<br />
“Being a mother and a shift<br />
worker, it’s often difficult to<br />
find time for yourself, let alone<br />
study. As SMTDU courses are<br />
distance based, I worked in<br />
my own time at my own pace,<br />
which allowed for a great<br />
amount of flexibility,” Ms<br />
Jenkinson said.<br />
“I could choose the order<br />
in which I completed the<br />
subjects, so I could often<br />
combine my work duties with<br />
my assignments. For example,<br />
as part of a work-based<br />
assessment I implemented<br />
a mentoring system to<br />
further develop employees’<br />
mentoring skills and help<br />
new employees settle in to<br />
<strong>Police</strong>link.”<br />
Ms Jenkinson said the<br />
Diploma of Management<br />
had already opened up new<br />
Photo by Sergeant Clint Hanson, <strong>Police</strong> Photographic Section<br />
The <strong>Police</strong> Liaison Officer Initial Employment <strong>Training</strong> program guides <strong>Police</strong> Liaison<br />
Officers in being an effective link between police and multicultural communities.<br />
opportunities in her role as a<br />
client service officer.<br />
“The new skills and<br />
knowledge have been<br />
extremely beneficial for my<br />
career and I’m now acting<br />
in the role of team leader. I<br />
was interested in moving up<br />
the ladder, so it is was really<br />
good to see the advantages<br />
of the diploma so soon after<br />
graduating.”<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Liaison<br />
Officers<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Liaison Officers (PLO)<br />
are another component of<br />
the <strong>Service</strong>’s workforce that<br />
provides a vital link between<br />
police and multicultural<br />
communities. The SMTDU<br />
manages the <strong>Police</strong> Liaison<br />
Officer Initial Employment<br />
<strong>Training</strong> (PLOIET) program,<br />
enabling these officers to<br />
carry out their important role<br />
in promoting community<br />
safety.<br />
After a PLO has completed<br />
the PLOIET program, SMTDU<br />
provides opportunity for<br />
the newly appointed PLO<br />
to continue their learning<br />
experience by enrolling in the<br />
Certificate III in Public Safety<br />
(<strong>Police</strong> Liaison). The Certificate<br />
III is a distance learning model<br />
that consists of work-based<br />
activities.<br />
Wayne Heyer, <strong>Police</strong> Liaison<br />
Initial Employment <strong>Training</strong><br />
Coordinator said that, to date<br />
there has been 269 PLOs<br />
enrolled to complete the<br />
Certificate III with 193 being<br />
issued with their Certificates<br />
by the QPS.<br />
“Feedback received from<br />
PLOs after completing the<br />
Certificate III indicated that<br />
the learning experience was<br />
very positive,” he said.<br />
“This Certificate has been<br />
successful in giving the<br />
opportunity for the QPS<br />
PLOs to be more effective<br />
in promoting public safety<br />
objectives as they work closely<br />
with their supervisors and<br />
peers.”<br />
He also said that the PLOIET<br />
program continues to be<br />
driven by the dedication,<br />
commitment and assistance<br />
that both the PLOs and their<br />
supervisors maintain while<br />
Certificate III studies are<br />
underway.<br />
By Paula Hedemann and<br />
Annabelle Martin,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 35
Photo by Sergeant Clint Hanson, <strong>Police</strong> Photographic Section<br />
Education and <strong>Training</strong> Support Pro<br />
the driving force behind training inn<br />
36<br />
While many people don’t<br />
know much about the<br />
Education and <strong>Training</strong><br />
Support Program (ETSP),<br />
Director Ann Motteram said<br />
that almost everyone in the<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong><br />
(QPS) would have had some<br />
contact with the program,<br />
probably without realising.<br />
“Our program is a bit like an<br />
engine room and underpins<br />
most of what happens in<br />
education and training within<br />
the QPS,” Ms Motteram said.<br />
“And just about everything<br />
we do is done in partnership<br />
with some other area of the<br />
<strong>Service</strong>.”<br />
The ETSP is the third main<br />
component of the Education<br />
and <strong>Training</strong> <strong>Command</strong>.<br />
Within ETSP, there are<br />
three units; the Curriculum<br />
Development and Review Unit<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363<br />
(CDRU), the Flexible Learning<br />
Support Unit (FLSU) and the<br />
Project Coordination Unit<br />
(PCU). There is a large variety<br />
of roles covered by these<br />
units under ETSP.<br />
The 60 staff in the program<br />
include educational<br />
designers, curriculum<br />
developers, evaluators,<br />
multimedia and web<br />
developers, audio visual<br />
technicians, project officers,<br />
desk top publishers, and<br />
system administrators, who<br />
administer Advance2, the<br />
QPS Learning Management<br />
System. The staff work in<br />
partnership with content<br />
experts from all areas of the<br />
QPS, including the academy<br />
programs.<br />
“We do a range of things.<br />
We coordinate the process<br />
for pay point progression<br />
for police, we develop<br />
Forensics fingerprint qualification<br />
Prior to the QPS becoming a Recognised <strong>Training</strong> Organisation<br />
(RTO), fingerprint officers wanting to reach expert status were<br />
required to undertake a five-year course of study. This was<br />
comprised of internal training and external study through the<br />
Canberra Institute of Technology to gain the Diploma of Public<br />
Safety (Forensic Investigation) required for accreditation as a<br />
fingerprint expert.<br />
Now as an RTO, the QPS is able to provide officers with nationally<br />
recognised qualifications which are achieved through a combination<br />
of formal study and practical on-the-job training.<br />
Senior Sergeant Adrian Robb is a member of the Curriculum<br />
Development and Review Unit within the ETSP, which completed<br />
a review of the training programs undertaken by Forensic <strong>Service</strong><br />
Branch officers. The review focused on ensuring that officers<br />
attained a qualification which was both relevant to QPS forensic<br />
work and externally recognised.<br />
“Our scenes of crime officers and fingerprint experts undertake<br />
several years of practical on-the-job training before going on to<br />
gain a Diploma of Public Safety in Forensic Investigation through<br />
internal QPS training programs,” Senior Sergeant Robb said.<br />
“It’s a lot more convenient for our officers to be able to gain<br />
recognised qualifications internally while still being able to work fulltime,<br />
rather than having to study through an external provider.<br />
“It also means the qualification and training is more specific and<br />
specialised for the work our officers do and ensures the knowledge,<br />
skills and expertise throughout our forensics units is of the highest<br />
standards,” he said.
The team behind ETSP hard at work in the<br />
engine room of the Education and <strong>Training</strong><br />
<strong>Command</strong>.<br />
Dangerous Liaisons<br />
Dangerous Liaisons training was developed as part of a comprehensive response by the<br />
QPS to the 2009 Crime and Misconduct Commission investigation into allegations of police<br />
misconduct (Operation Capri). The Commissioner initiated the strategy to ensure the key<br />
messages from the report were clearly disseminated and understood throughout the <strong>Service</strong>.<br />
One of the more significant components of the strategy required the urgent development<br />
of training materials to be delivered to a target audience of over 4000 members across the<br />
<strong>Service</strong>. This provided an excellent opportunity for the QPS to deliver high quality ethics<br />
based training using innovative adult learning concepts.<br />
A framework for the training was developed by senior officers from the Ethical Standards<br />
<strong>Command</strong> and developed into a unique ethics focused training package by the ETSP. The<br />
timeframes for the project were extremely short as it was important to deliver training as<br />
quickly as possible after the release of the report.<br />
The ETSP project team was briefed on 11 August 2009. By 9 October, the training materials<br />
had been developed and were presented for approval. Statewide delivery of the training<br />
sessions commenced in November and by 7 December, the initial evaluation was complete<br />
and nearly 4,000 QPS Officers in Charge, supervisors and plain clothes officers had attended<br />
the training sessions.<br />
ETSP was awarded a Commissioner’s Certificate for their work on this project and the<br />
training won the Gold Award in the 2010 QPS Awards for Excellence in the category of <strong>Police</strong><br />
Education and <strong>Training</strong>.<br />
The report and subsequent training provided a focus for a number of ongoing activities within<br />
the QPS which are aimed at maintaining an ethical and professional work force.<br />
gram—<br />
ovation<br />
training for any significant<br />
new legislation or QPS policy<br />
such as the Safe Driving<br />
(Pursuits) Policy, we manage<br />
the Competency Acquisition<br />
Program (CAP) and we<br />
develop a range of flexible<br />
learning resources such as the<br />
online learning products,” Ms<br />
Motteram said.<br />
“We work with people in<br />
training offices all over the<br />
state, helping them through<br />
the QPS course approval<br />
process. This process ensures<br />
the quality of any education<br />
and training offered by<br />
the QPS, cuts back on the<br />
duplication of courses by<br />
alerting people to similar<br />
training that might already<br />
be available, and helps those<br />
who are new to the education<br />
and training world.”<br />
Ms Motteram said the QPS<br />
had the benefit of being<br />
a Registered <strong>Training</strong><br />
Organisation (RTO), with the<br />
registration administered by<br />
ETSP.<br />
“This enables us to issue<br />
nationally recognised<br />
qualifications for a number<br />
of specific training areas.<br />
Whether nationally recognised<br />
or not, QPS training is high<br />
quality, but sometimes it is<br />
nice to get the piece of paper<br />
to recognise this.<br />
“Being an RTO has helped<br />
in other ways as well. For<br />
example, we’ve been able<br />
to reduce the amount of sea<br />
time our water police require<br />
for licensing by offering<br />
marine qualifications. It also<br />
means our scenes of crime<br />
and fingerprint experts can<br />
undertake practical, onthe-job<br />
training and gain<br />
recognised qualifications<br />
internally while still being<br />
able to work full time. We are<br />
also in a position to access<br />
significant external funding<br />
for our training as a result of<br />
being an RTO”.<br />
The quality and the nature<br />
of the training offered by the<br />
QPS is such that courses are<br />
often in high demand from<br />
other government agencies.<br />
The QPS is in a unique<br />
position to accommodate<br />
these requests, particularly<br />
where there is a benefit to<br />
community safety.<br />
“In partnership with TransLink,<br />
we developed the initial<br />
training for Senior Network<br />
Officers. These officers have<br />
some limited powers including<br />
the power to detain people<br />
in certain circumstances,<br />
so as well as the practical<br />
aspects of training it was<br />
important to include<br />
aspects of ethical behaviour<br />
and professionalism,” Ms<br />
Motteram said.<br />
“At the moment we’re<br />
helping Operations Support<br />
<strong>Command</strong> to develop<br />
consistent training for <strong>Police</strong><br />
Communications Centre staff<br />
in response to the flood crisis<br />
review.<br />
“We’re also working with<br />
Ethical Standards <strong>Command</strong><br />
to identify the training<br />
required for Australian<br />
Federal <strong>Police</strong>, who will soon<br />
take full responsibility of<br />
policing of major airports in<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong>.”<br />
The innovative and diligent<br />
work of ETSP staff has been<br />
recognised numerous times<br />
over the years at the QPS<br />
Awards for Excellence. In<br />
2010, they won gold for<br />
their work in relation to the<br />
Dangerous Liaisons ethics<br />
training package, silver for<br />
their multicultural awareness<br />
training and bronze for<br />
their Advance2 training<br />
administration system.<br />
This year, they won silver for<br />
the OAK training package—<br />
the Operational Assistance<br />
Kit to refresh officers who<br />
have been off the road for<br />
an extended period about<br />
processes and policy. While<br />
they have been recognised<br />
with awards for training in<br />
the past, this was the first<br />
time they have been given<br />
an award in the category of<br />
<strong>Police</strong> Operations.<br />
By Hayley-Clare Story,<br />
Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363 37
Westgate Academy, the<br />
future hub of police training<br />
Nestled on 350 acres on the<br />
banks of the Brisbane River<br />
at Wacol, the foundations<br />
of change are underway<br />
for what will become<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong>’s new police<br />
academy, taking pride of<br />
place in educational training<br />
and leader development.<br />
Due for completion in 2014,<br />
the Westgate Academy will<br />
ensure theory and practice<br />
remain interconnected to<br />
achieve the highest levels<br />
of operational competence,<br />
Photo by Matt Rigby, Media and Public Affairs Branch<br />
A cricket pavilion originally constructed in 1896 and moved to its present location in<br />
1910 is one of 19 heritage listed buildings to be refurbished on the Westgate site.<br />
Photo by Sergeant Mick Strudwick, Driver <strong>Training</strong> Unit<br />
A wildlife corridor supporting local kangaroos and other fauna has been<br />
retained and landscaping will incorporate local native plant species.<br />
on par with leading training<br />
institutes of the world such as<br />
the FBI Academy Quantico<br />
in the USA and Tulliallan and<br />
Bramshill in the UK.<br />
Westgate Project Manager<br />
Superintendent Danny Baade<br />
said Westgate would be a<br />
centre of excellence and<br />
an inspiration, allowing the<br />
<strong>Queensland</strong> <strong>Police</strong> <strong>Service</strong><br />
(QPS) to remain at the cutting<br />
edge of contemporary<br />
policing.<br />
“The $450 million state<br />
government funded project<br />
will allow 19 heritage listed<br />
buildings to be refurbished,<br />
and the construction of<br />
four ‘green star’ designed<br />
buildings, which will house<br />
academic and operational<br />
hubs including two residential<br />
suites, twin indoor firearm<br />
ranges and a scenario training<br />
village,” Superintendent<br />
Baade said.<br />
“The driver training<br />
facility was completed in<br />
November 2010 and is now<br />
fully functional. In 2013, the<br />
scenario village and twin<br />
indoor firearm ranges will be<br />
operational, followed by the<br />
academy in 2014.<br />
“The new academy will have<br />
the facilities to compliment<br />
modern educational practices<br />
and curricula with the<br />
additional benefit of being in<br />
one location easily accessible<br />
by public transport.”<br />
The Academic Hub will<br />
incorporate recruit training,<br />
operational skills training<br />
and ongoing officer and<br />
staff development, and will<br />
include the now completed<br />
driver training facilities and<br />
soon to be operational<br />
firearms ranges. The Centre<br />
of Excellence will facilitate<br />
research, innovation and<br />
knowledge exchange.<br />
Superintendent Baade said he<br />
envisaged the facility would<br />
attract high calibre recruits<br />
through the application<br />
of advanced learning and<br />
operational training models.<br />
“Graduates of the new police<br />
academy will benefit from<br />
the facility when establishing<br />
their careers and continue<br />
an ongoing association of<br />
learning.<br />
“This will contribute to the<br />
greater improvement of the<br />
services the QPS offers.”<br />
A Centre of Forensic<br />
Investigation will be<br />
established within the<br />
complex, ensuring advances<br />
in forensic techniques are<br />
integrated into police training<br />
to accelerate the operational<br />
policing benefits derived from<br />
new investigative techniques<br />
and technologies.<br />
The amenity and utility of the<br />
academy will be enhanced by<br />
its setting amongst the natural<br />
topography of the land, which<br />
includes bushland, ravines and<br />
a 2.8 hectare freshwater dam.<br />
The academy will also have<br />
the capacity for a <strong>Command</strong><br />
and Control Centre, both for<br />
training and when the need<br />
arises to respond to large<br />
scale incidents and disasters.<br />
As a demonstration of the<br />
<strong>Service</strong>’s commitment to<br />
sustainability, the academy has<br />
included innovative features<br />
in its design to reduce its<br />
carbon emissions and reliance<br />
on energy. Photovoltaic solar<br />
panels will be installed on the<br />
roofs and will supplement<br />
mains power and offset<br />
some of the academy’s<br />
energy requirements. Water<br />
harvesting and re-use will<br />
occur via the academy’s dam,<br />
integrated water tanks and<br />
onsite water recycling.<br />
A wildlife corridor supporting<br />
local kangaroos and other<br />
fauna has been retained and<br />
landscaping will incorporate<br />
local native plant species.<br />
By Karen Downey,<br />
Westgate Project<br />
38<br />
<strong>Police</strong>Bulletin363
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