Passion for investigating

Attention to detail and a passion for investigating has been the backbone of a career in policing that has taken Tracie McDonald to a divisional superintendent role.

As an impressionable secondary school student in the late 1980s, Supt McDonald remembers watching and reading reports of the Hoddle St massacre and Russell St bombing.

While there was no light bulb moment that inspired a desire to go into the police force, she can remember thinking in detail about how the investigations would unfold.

Unsatisfied by the direction of an arts degree a few years later, she decided to join Victoria Police for something more challenging.

Supt McDonald takes over the Eastern Region division five leadership role from fellow Warragul resident Mick West who retired in December.

Ironically, it was a short stint at Dandenong as a young constable where the then detective senior constable West became part of the inspiration for Supt McDonald to move into investigative police work.

“I really wanted that opportunity to follow the process thoroughly, follow every rabbit down the hole and see where it leads.

“You have to be quite open minded.  If you’ve determined where you think something might go, you’re not keeping your eyes open to what the investigation might reveal,” she said.

That drive, the relentless digging for more information and an attention to detail attitude took Supt McDonald to one of the top investigative roles in her career as detective inspector heading the Purana Taskforce into gangland crimes.

“Many of the Purana investigations were ongoing and complex.  It was very rewarding to see progress in dealing with organised crime figures because they are the ones making the money from drugs and other crimes that are impacting our communities.

“It was very complex, very time consuming, resource intensive work and also very risky,” she said.

Investigating sexual offences was the most rewarding for Supt McDonald – “the fact you can support the outcome and support the victim by giving them an opportunity to feel like they’ve been heard.”

As a young constable, Supt McDonald was never eyeing a career in Victoria Police management.

“I wanted to be a detective, I thought that would be the pinnacle of my career.

“I really enjoyed that area of policing and even though I’ve been promoted a lot as a detective, I didn’t have a burning ambition to rise through the ranks - more a burning ambition to be involved in investigation.

“But along the journey you meet a lot of people doing special work so I looked at the opportunities offered outside of investigation work,” she said.