April 30, 2023 • 11 mins
Welcome to another conversation with Crime Stoppers Victoria, Brad Swain joins Vision Australia Radio's Peter Greco to discuss crime issues affecting the community and sharing information that helps keep you safe.
This episode focuses on a new campaign dealing with illicit drug markets and how you can help be the eyes and ears of the community. Contacting Crime Stoppers anonymously means the criminals will never know it was you who spoke up.
More here: National Illicit Drug Campaign
Call 1800 333 000
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:04):
What's been fantastic over the last 12 or more months
to catch up with our friends from Crime Stoppers Victoria.
We have a new chum along with us today, Brad Swain. Brad,
great to meet you. Thanks for your time.
S2 (00:16):
My pleasure. And nice to have a chat to you today.
S1 (00:19):
It's a very serious topic that we're talking about, illicit
drug campaign that you've just launched.
S2 (00:25):
Yeah, that's right. So illicit drugs in Australia have an
impact on almost every family. So we know that 1
in 10 people across the country have been a victim
of an illicit drug related incident or indirectly through the significant,
significant health and social costs to the community. It's a
(00:48):
it's a major issue. And so Crime Stoppers have launched
a campaign in collaboration with the federal government and law
enforcement across Australia to try and encourage people to come
forward who have information about this illegal trade of drugs,
the importation, the storage, the transport, indeed the sale of
(01:12):
illicit drugs throughout Australia.
S1 (01:14):
And it's kind of got an interesting tagline. Brad Yeah.
S2 (01:16):
They'll never know. So really playing on the anonymity that
people who report to Crimestoppers can choose to have. So
that is, you know, when people call us up on
one 800 or 3 000 or indeed online, there is
the capacity to remind completely anonymous. So there are not
(01:37):
IP addresses, though the phone conversations are not recorded. So
people who have information can provide that to crime Stoppers
and that information can then potentially be part of the
intelligence that police can use to have an impact on
the illicit drugs industry throughout Australia.
S3 (01:58):
Often when we hear about crimes being committed, you know,
we kind of hear about a.
S1 (02:02):
Link to drugs. So in terms of people safety, how
important is that to make sure that, you know, the
anonymity is kept and people's information is not going to
see them get into any sort of physical issues or
challenges As far as the drug dealers go.
S2 (02:19):
Oh, it's so important, Peter. And that's why the majority
of our advertising for this particular campaign across the country
will be done in relatively private moments. So we're looking
for people to consider what information they may have about
the drug trade in Australia and to potentially report that
to Crime Stoppers in private. So we've got some information
(02:42):
on our website. Crime stoppers.com today that assists with the
clearing of any cache, eyes or web browsing history. And
also we think the most critical part of all of
this is that people who report to Crime Stoppers can
remain anonymous. So that's not just creating a safe, private
(03:03):
moment for yourself to jump on a phone or a
laptop and report the information you may know or make
a phone call in private and report information you may know.
But in no way can investigators ever follow up with
you if you choose to remain anonymous. And indeed, there
is no capacity for you to ever be part of
(03:25):
any of the proceedings that might occur when those criminals
do get arrested down the track.
S3 (03:29):
That's a very good thing to know.
S1 (03:31):
But we've learned over the time that we've been speaking
to people from Crime Stoppers of Victoria that lots of
little bits of information can really add up to make
a big difference. So what sort of things can people
be looking out for that for you is going to
be like a telltale sign. But we might not think, Oh,
it's not that big a deal, but maybe it's worth reporting.
S2 (03:49):
No, absolutely, Peter. So what we understand is that the
suspicious activity that we're looking for can be wide and
varied and sometimes it can be in plain sight. So,
for example, we know that drugs can at times be
dropped to places that don't quite make sense. So, for example,
(04:11):
number ten, Smith Street might have the Smith family living
at it, or it might be a business, you know, Smithfield, Inc.
if a package or a parcel regularly turns up on
the doorstep of that particular address, but it's addressed to a. Mr. Jones,
then something may not be quite right about that. So
(04:32):
it could be that they're using that particular address as
a drop off point for illicit drugs, and that's information
that could assist police and other authorities to understand particular
rackets of drugs and their transportation and sale throughout Australia.
Another one is when there's frequent visitation to a workplace
(04:54):
or a residence or a disused light industrial factory or
something of that nature at all hours of the day
or night and only for very short periods of time.
And potentially, you know, if there's any visibility at all.
On on cash and large quantities of cash, then that
could well be a sign. So I think people might
(05:16):
recognize some of these things at the bottom of their
street or in the areas that they frequent. There's no
doubt that this activity sometimes does happen in in plain sight.
Sometimes we're hearing that the illicit drug industry does turn
up at people's workplace. So it might be that a
workmate or indeed a customer has attempted to request or
(05:40):
ask of you to do something that just doesn't quite
add up. It's a little bit suspicious. It's unorthodox. It's
not something that makes sense in the normal operation of
your business or your job, and it might just be
something that can help the police if provided through Crimestoppers anonymously,
to piece together a puzzle that is relatively complex. And
(06:02):
as you said, Peter, before, the more small pieces of
that puzzle that are provided through Crimestoppers anonymously, the clearer
that picture becomes.
S1 (06:11):
What about as far as the area that you're concentrating in?
I'm thinking, you know, metropolitan or rural smack bang in
the middle of the city. What about that sort of angle?
All of the.
S2 (06:22):
Above. So information that we have from the police suggests
that the illicit drug industry has an impact right across Australia. Now,
we understand that some of that impact is imported to Australia,
so we know that there are some criminal syndicates out
(06:43):
of all parts of the world that trafficking drugs into
Australia and then transporting them around Australia to get them,
get them to market. There doesn't appear to be any
discrimination in terms of towns, rural areas, cities, suburbs, inner
or outer. If there's a market for these illicit drugs,
(07:04):
then the industry, the illicit drug industry, which is quite sophisticated,
does have capacity to move these drugs to to where
they want to be to make these ill gotten gains
and at the misery of the community. And we all
know the impact that drugs have on crime and health
and safety and social setting. More broadly, of course, the
(07:27):
syndicates that are responsible for this sale in no way
take responsibility for those actions.
S1 (07:35):
Lucrative to Brad.
S3 (07:36):
Financial? Yeah, I.
S2 (07:37):
Should think so. We know from some of the statistics
provided across the world and indeed within Australia that the
the industry here does appear to be lucrative for these
for these criminals, which if you think about it, Australia
is a very lucky country and we've got significant affluence
and wealth in relative terms compared to some of the
(08:01):
rest of the world. And so that makes it quite
lucrative for these international and and Australian based crime and
organised crime organizations to target the sale of drugs in
Australia are.
S1 (08:15):
Targeting a particular type of.
S3 (08:17):
Drug.
S2 (08:17):
No, we're not with that at this particular campaign, Peter,
but we are specifically interested in methylamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA, heroin.
These are the illicit drugs that ASIC suggests through wastewater testing.
Results are prevalent throughout the Australian community. And you know,
(08:39):
these are the drugs that are turning up in some
of the big drug busts that that are happening. The
police and the Federal Police and the Border Force and
right across Australia are making an impact. And the point
of this campaign is to assist with that impact and
that's by asking the community to come forward with information
(09:02):
they have. And as we said before, the capacity to
do that anonymously through Crimestoppers, particularly online, is something that
we believe will assist in those investigations and lead to
the dismantling of this organised crime across Australia.
S3 (09:20):
It sounds most.
S1 (09:20):
Worthwhile, but some people might say, well, what about the cost?
There's some pretty good news there as well I think.
S4 (09:26):
Yeah.
S2 (09:28):
Well in terms of the cost of this campaign. So
this campaign led by Crime Stoppers Australia and funded by
the Commonwealth or the Federal Government, the Government of Australia
is actually funded by the proceeds of crime. So these
are federal legislation called the Proceeds of Crime Act whereby,
(09:50):
you know, obviously the cash and proceeds collected when there
are big busts and big arrests made, that money can
then potentially be used for good purpose through the. The
attorney general's office to the federal government. So that's how
this grant came about. It is, if you like, the
ill gotten gains of the criminals being used to fight
(10:15):
the next wave of those criminals.
S3 (10:17):
What science has said most.
S1 (10:19):
Worthwhile, good luck that now if people do want to
either find out more or indeed if there's something they
think might be able.
S3 (10:24):
To help out as far as.
S1 (10:26):
This particular campaign goes, what's what? Give us a couple
of good ways.
S3 (10:30):
Of getting in touch. Yeah, well, the.
S2 (10:32):
Best way is online. That's where, you know, absolute safe
sharing moments and anonymity is available to people who have
information as small or as large as that information may be.
So Crime stoppers.com dot aew. There's also the capacity to
make a phone call from anywhere in Australia and one
(10:53):
800 triple 000 and people can choose to remain anonymous
on that phone call as well. As I said before,
there are no IP addresses stored. There are no phone
calls recorded. If people have information, they have the capacity
to share that information and we'll never know. And the
(11:13):
criminals will never know that it was you that came
forward and supplied that information.
S3 (11:17):
Great to catch up. Welcome on board. It's great to
have you with us. And we look forward to catching
up with you on a regular basis. Thanks for your
time today. My pleasure. Thanks, Peter.
S1 (11:25):
That's a Bradley swine. Brad is from Crime Stoppers. Victoria,
with that very important campaign just launched. It will go
for about six months and I'm sure we'll hear and
speak more about it in the coming days.
What's been fantastic over the last 12 or more months
to catch up with our friends from Crime Stoppers Victoria.
We have a new chum along with us today, Brad Swain. Brad,
great to meet you. Thanks for your time.
S2 (00:16):
My pleasure. And nice to have a chat to you today.
S1 (00:19):
It's a very serious topic that we're talking about, illicit
drug campaign that you've just launched.
S2 (00:25):
Yeah, that's right. So illicit drugs in Australia have an
impact on almost every family. So we know that 1
in 10 people across the country have been a victim
of an illicit drug related incident or indirectly through the significant,
significant health and social costs to the community. It's a
(00:48):
it's a major issue. And so Crime Stoppers have launched
a campaign in collaboration with the federal government and law
enforcement across Australia to try and encourage people to come
forward who have information about this illegal trade of drugs,
the importation, the storage, the transport, indeed the sale of
(01:12):
illicit drugs throughout Australia.
S1 (01:14):
And it's kind of got an interesting tagline. Brad Yeah.
S2 (01:16):
They'll never know. So really playing on the anonymity that
people who report to Crimestoppers can choose to have. So
that is, you know, when people call us up on
one 800 or 3 000 or indeed online, there is
the capacity to remind completely anonymous. So there are not
(01:37):
IP addresses, though the phone conversations are not recorded. So
people who have information can provide that to crime Stoppers
and that information can then potentially be part of the
intelligence that police can use to have an impact on
the illicit drugs industry throughout Australia.
S3 (01:58):
Often when we hear about crimes being committed, you know,
we kind of hear about a.
S1 (02:02):
Link to drugs. So in terms of people safety, how
important is that to make sure that, you know, the
anonymity is kept and people's information is not going to
see them get into any sort of physical issues or
challenges As far as the drug dealers go.
S2 (02:19):
Oh, it's so important, Peter. And that's why the majority
of our advertising for this particular campaign across the country
will be done in relatively private moments. So we're looking
for people to consider what information they may have about
the drug trade in Australia and to potentially report that
to Crime Stoppers in private. So we've got some information
(02:42):
on our website. Crime stoppers.com today that assists with the
clearing of any cache, eyes or web browsing history. And
also we think the most critical part of all of
this is that people who report to Crime Stoppers can
remain anonymous. So that's not just creating a safe, private
(03:03):
moment for yourself to jump on a phone or a
laptop and report the information you may know or make
a phone call in private and report information you may know.
But in no way can investigators ever follow up with
you if you choose to remain anonymous. And indeed, there
is no capacity for you to ever be part of
(03:25):
any of the proceedings that might occur when those criminals
do get arrested down the track.
S3 (03:29):
That's a very good thing to know.
S1 (03:31):
But we've learned over the time that we've been speaking
to people from Crime Stoppers of Victoria that lots of
little bits of information can really add up to make
a big difference. So what sort of things can people
be looking out for that for you is going to
be like a telltale sign. But we might not think, Oh,
it's not that big a deal, but maybe it's worth reporting.
S2 (03:49):
No, absolutely, Peter. So what we understand is that the
suspicious activity that we're looking for can be wide and
varied and sometimes it can be in plain sight. So,
for example, we know that drugs can at times be
dropped to places that don't quite make sense. So, for example,
(04:11):
number ten, Smith Street might have the Smith family living
at it, or it might be a business, you know, Smithfield, Inc.
if a package or a parcel regularly turns up on
the doorstep of that particular address, but it's addressed to a. Mr. Jones,
then something may not be quite right about that. So
(04:32):
it could be that they're using that particular address as
a drop off point for illicit drugs, and that's information
that could assist police and other authorities to understand particular
rackets of drugs and their transportation and sale throughout Australia.
Another one is when there's frequent visitation to a workplace
(04:54):
or a residence or a disused light industrial factory or
something of that nature at all hours of the day
or night and only for very short periods of time.
And potentially, you know, if there's any visibility at all.
On on cash and large quantities of cash, then that
could well be a sign. So I think people might
(05:16):
recognize some of these things at the bottom of their
street or in the areas that they frequent. There's no
doubt that this activity sometimes does happen in in plain sight.
Sometimes we're hearing that the illicit drug industry does turn
up at people's workplace. So it might be that a
workmate or indeed a customer has attempted to request or
(05:40):
ask of you to do something that just doesn't quite
add up. It's a little bit suspicious. It's unorthodox. It's
not something that makes sense in the normal operation of
your business or your job, and it might just be
something that can help the police if provided through Crimestoppers anonymously,
to piece together a puzzle that is relatively complex. And
(06:02):
as you said, Peter, before, the more small pieces of
that puzzle that are provided through Crimestoppers anonymously, the clearer
that picture becomes.
S1 (06:11):
What about as far as the area that you're concentrating in?
I'm thinking, you know, metropolitan or rural smack bang in
the middle of the city. What about that sort of angle?
All of the.
S2 (06:22):
Above. So information that we have from the police suggests
that the illicit drug industry has an impact right across Australia. Now,
we understand that some of that impact is imported to Australia,
so we know that there are some criminal syndicates out
(06:43):
of all parts of the world that trafficking drugs into
Australia and then transporting them around Australia to get them,
get them to market. There doesn't appear to be any
discrimination in terms of towns, rural areas, cities, suburbs, inner
or outer. If there's a market for these illicit drugs,
(07:04):
then the industry, the illicit drug industry, which is quite sophisticated,
does have capacity to move these drugs to to where
they want to be to make these ill gotten gains
and at the misery of the community. And we all
know the impact that drugs have on crime and health
and safety and social setting. More broadly, of course, the
(07:27):
syndicates that are responsible for this sale in no way
take responsibility for those actions.
S1 (07:35):
Lucrative to Brad.
S3 (07:36):
Financial? Yeah, I.
S2 (07:37):
Should think so. We know from some of the statistics
provided across the world and indeed within Australia that the
the industry here does appear to be lucrative for these
for these criminals, which if you think about it, Australia
is a very lucky country and we've got significant affluence
and wealth in relative terms compared to some of the
(08:01):
rest of the world. And so that makes it quite
lucrative for these international and and Australian based crime and
organised crime organizations to target the sale of drugs in
Australia are.
S1 (08:15):
Targeting a particular type of.
S3 (08:17):
Drug.
S2 (08:17):
No, we're not with that at this particular campaign, Peter,
but we are specifically interested in methylamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA, heroin.
These are the illicit drugs that ASIC suggests through wastewater testing.
Results are prevalent throughout the Australian community. And you know,
(08:39):
these are the drugs that are turning up in some
of the big drug busts that that are happening. The
police and the Federal Police and the Border Force and
right across Australia are making an impact. And the point
of this campaign is to assist with that impact and
that's by asking the community to come forward with information
(09:02):
they have. And as we said before, the capacity to
do that anonymously through Crimestoppers, particularly online, is something that
we believe will assist in those investigations and lead to
the dismantling of this organised crime across Australia.
S3 (09:20):
It sounds most.
S1 (09:20):
Worthwhile, but some people might say, well, what about the cost?
There's some pretty good news there as well I think.
S4 (09:26):
Yeah.
S2 (09:28):
Well in terms of the cost of this campaign. So
this campaign led by Crime Stoppers Australia and funded by
the Commonwealth or the Federal Government, the Government of Australia
is actually funded by the proceeds of crime. So these
are federal legislation called the Proceeds of Crime Act whereby,
(09:50):
you know, obviously the cash and proceeds collected when there
are big busts and big arrests made, that money can
then potentially be used for good purpose through the. The
attorney general's office to the federal government. So that's how
this grant came about. It is, if you like, the
ill gotten gains of the criminals being used to fight
(10:15):
the next wave of those criminals.
S3 (10:17):
What science has said most.
S1 (10:19):
Worthwhile, good luck that now if people do want to
either find out more or indeed if there's something they
think might be able.
S3 (10:24):
To help out as far as.
S1 (10:26):
This particular campaign goes, what's what? Give us a couple
of good ways.
S3 (10:30):
Of getting in touch. Yeah, well, the.
S2 (10:32):
Best way is online. That's where, you know, absolute safe
sharing moments and anonymity is available to people who have
information as small or as large as that information may be.
So Crime stoppers.com dot aew. There's also the capacity to
make a phone call from anywhere in Australia and one
(10:53):
800 triple 000 and people can choose to remain anonymous
on that phone call as well. As I said before,
there are no IP addresses stored. There are no phone
calls recorded. If people have information, they have the capacity
to share that information and we'll never know. And the
(11:13):
criminals will never know that it was you that came
forward and supplied that information.
S3 (11:17):
Great to catch up. Welcome on board. It's great to
have you with us. And we look forward to catching
up with you on a regular basis. Thanks for your
time today. My pleasure. Thanks, Peter.
S1 (11:25):
That's a Bradley swine. Brad is from Crime Stoppers. Victoria,
with that very important campaign just launched. It will go
for about six months and I'm sure we'll hear and
speak more about it in the coming days.
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