June edition - The Police Association Victoria

DELEGATE PROFILE
Damian Oehme
An active Association advocate in the north-east
Why and when did you join the job?
I joined the Victoria Police Force in 1974
because, like many young people, I had
an interest in being a policeman. I always
looked at police in an excellent light and
always had respect for the work police did.
I was raised in a ‘tough’ part of Melbourne
but never ‘crossed the line’ in terms of crime.
I thank my parents for the discipline and
raising my brother and myself to always
respect police and the law.
What did you do before joining job?
I joined the job straight from school, but
in hindsight some ‘life experience’ would
have served me better in my preparation
for a challenging but fulfilling career.
Why did you become a delegate?
I wanted to make a difference, particularly
in terms of our over worked ‘coal face’
police. I have much empathy toward
operational police and as a senior sergeant
at an operational 24-hour police station I
see firsthand the pressures and demands
placed upon them in the discharge of their
duties. It is IMPERATIVE they are properly
represented in all facets of their work,
welfare and pay conditions. If I can impact
positively on these important facets of
life within the Force then I will feel I have
achieved my goals within this position.
What is your most significant
achievement as a delegate?
I sincerely believe that since my
appointment, I have brought together the
members within my area of responsibility,
particularly in terms of the latest request
for members to attend our campaign
on 2 may of this year at Dallas Brooks
Centre. The response and attendance from
members was overwhelming.
How can your members best help you?
Members can best help me by keeping in
constant contact with me and if they think it
appropriate to bombard me with questions,
to do so. I certainly don’t have all the
answers but can call upon the great level of
expertise and support from the Association
administration to address these issues.
What do you like most about working
in your area?
I live close to where I work and that has
had an enormous impact on my motivation
to come to work, along with working with
a great bunch of dedicated and motivated
staff. It certainly makes life easier when
you don’t have to travel hours to get to your
work place. We probably have one of the
TOP: Damian with his family, Dana, Bianca and
Trent at Christmas in Newcastle 2010.
ABOVE: Dana and Damian in Soho, NYC.
worst buildings to operate from within the
northern suburbs but the staff here are an
absolute pleasure to work with. The areas
of responsibilities are also varied which
makes it an interesting experience leading
the members from this station.
What is your favourite war story?
Probably one of the most unusual things
I did as a senior constable was working
the Cheltenham van in the 80s. We were
chasing a habitual offender − a car thief
and escapee. We drove out to Sunshine to
stop the Ballarat train to get our man, but
missed him there. We ended up in Noble
Park before we eventually got our man.
We were well out of our area and had to
ad lib a bit at the time to avoid getting into
trouble with our supervisors but it was
worth it to catch this bloke.
What has been your career highlight?
I believe the experiences I had at the
Prosecutions Division in the 80s greatly
enhanced my abilities to completely
understand the law and police procedures.
I found the Prosecutor’s Course very
demanding but it certainly set me up for
the years ahead in my career path.
What do you do outside the job that
would be of interest to members?
I am approved to operate a business which
in effect is a crime prevention strategy,
protecting sports, entertainment and
general assets against theft and fraud.
This has taken me around the world
and australia and enabled me to rub
shoulders with some popular celebrities
such as Sachin Tendulkar, Harry Kewell,
KISS and most afL coaches and footballers
to name a few.
Although completely dedicated to the
Victoria Police Force, it’s great to see another
world, outside of policing.
How would you like to be
remembered?
I would like to be remembered as a person
who is completely dedicated to effectively
and efficiently managing members under
my control and identified as one that
shows complete empathy to my members
in all facets of their careers. Since returning
to my station after a long stint at upgrading
I felt my place within this organisation
was to ensure our operational police are
adequately looked after.
The Police Association Victoria Journal June 2011
17