Reservists aim to ease pressure
by Aidan Knight
Warragul Police Station is one of the first to revisit a previously discontinued program allowing for retired officers to return to duties, to alleviate demand on operational officers.
Police Reservists provide a role within the community that frees up officers from reception and administrative tasks that prevent them attending call-outs.
Once fully implemented across Victoria, the program is expected to make a significant dent in desk-bound hours.
"It's expected that the reservist program will put about 8000 policing hours (statewide) back into the community each week once it's fully rolled out," senior sergeant Glenn Parke told the Gazette. "That's time that can be put back into detecting crime, investigating crime, and preventing crime."
At Warragul, the impact is already being felt by station staff.
"We have two police manning our reception counter 24 hours a day, every day of the year," sen sgt Parke said. "When we bring these reservists online, that'll free up at least one every shift that we can deploy to other duties."
Statewide, about 200 full-time reservist positions are being introduced in the initial phase. Warragul secured two of those positions in local veterans John Stewart and Andy McCrorey.
John spent time overseas serving with the Australian Federal Police in East Timor, supported by the United Nations, after an eight year spell as officer in charge at Collingwood station. Working across many stations during the pivotal early years of his career, John then took his wealth of experience to a private security company in 2006, after retiring from the force four years earlier, to train the Iraqi National Police for a decade.
Andy, a Trafalgar born and bred local, served the majority of his career throughout a series of stations in the Latrobe Valley, worked with John in William St, Melbourne shortly after graduating from the academy in about 1979.
After 41 years of service, and six years of retired life, Andy was looking forward to returning in a supporting role that was all about purpose and people.
"Most police will tell you they don't miss a lot of parts about the job, but they miss the camaraderie, the friendship", he said. "That's mostly what we'll get here, while still making a difference."
John said he hoped the pair's experience could support both younger officers and community members at the counter.
"We might not know all the new ways of doing things before our refresher training, but we certainly have the experience to be able to guide the newer members," he said, "with extensive experienced advice and local knowledge of the area."
Both men live locally and said they saw the role as a way to give back while improving service levels in a system under pressure.
More than 500 former police officers across Victoria have expressed interest in the reservist program. To be eligible, applicants must have previously served at least two years in an Australian police force, with some ex-members from New Zealand and the United Kingdom also able to apply.
All reservists complete a short refresher course to bring them up to speed on new technology, policies and procedures, something police say helps ensure the public receives the same standard of service at the front counter as they would from a serving officer.
