August 8, 2024 • 15 mins
In today's episode,
A major police operation hits the region.
Tourism operators concerned about the impact of the Gympie bypass.
The service keeping party goers safe in Bundaberg.
And this week's local legend is a police officer who's retiring after 42 years in the job.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I have White Baburonnette. Welcome to Iheartlight Bay Burnette, your
local news fix. I'm Taylor Larson, joined by Bruce Atkinson.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
On today's show, concerns about what the Gimbee bypass could
mean for the community, and the police officer reflects on
his remarkable career.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Speaking of police, there's been a heavy presence across the
White Bay Burnette this week for Operation Whiskey Legion District
Officers Superintendent and Vogeler sees extra resources have been sent
here from the southeast for the ten.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Day op Surge. Capacity we've had is about ninety extra
police a day in the district, which is amazing and
really I hope that the community can see the extra police.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
The backup is working seven days in and three hundred
and sixty nine people have been arrested on one thousand,
two hundred and forty seven charges.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
An unbelievable statistic, and of those arrested, there's been some
significant high priority targets, including a high risk offender wanted
for a number of series domestic violence defenses, and at
one search warrant we see two hundred and sixty five
thousand dollars in cash.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
That alleged domestic violence offender. It was found hiding in
bushland at Kuna Beach. His charges include rape and deprivation
of liberty. In a separate incident, a Boo yar Man
is facing eleven charges, including possessing and distributing child exploitation material.
Close to thirty search warrants have been executed so far.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
What I'm hoping we will see from a policing perspective
is that our police can get back to the day
to day basic, back to basic policing and really engaging
with the community. One of the main aims of Operation
Whisky Legion was to make the community feel safe. I
think we do a pretty good job at making the
community safe, but what we really want to do is
(01:48):
make them feel safe. So we're receiving lots of positive feedback.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Our roads have been hit as well, with around five
thousand roadside breath tests and three hundred drug tests.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
We particularly targeted safety in the wide day for obvious reasons.
We've had seventeen lives lost already this year and we
really want to keep that number down. So they're real
people in the community and we know what effect that
has on the community.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Superintendent Vogler, adding the operation isn't just about enforcements.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
We're really trying to make sure we have some positive,
proactive engagement with the community. And these last seven days
we've had over six thousand proactive engagements with the community.
So it's not just about the offenders. Big part of
it is, but there's definitely a second phase that we're
really trying to engage with the community to have positive engagement.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
The Bruce Highway bypass around gimp is set to provide
hurdles for local tourism. It's due to open before the
end of the year. There are fears about what it
could mean for one of the region's biggest attractions, Mary
Valley Ratler GM Sherry Low says they'll have to work
harder to attract tourists.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
The bypass is going to be a blessing, but alsoally
for us, we need to encourage guests to divert into
Gimpy and for us, the Gimbee region and the Mary
Valley Ratler has so much to offer travelers and as
we sprint towards the twenty thirty two Olympics, it's really
important for us to continue to provide a great tourism experience.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
The Heritage steam train service from Gimpy to Mmore attracted
more than twenty eight thousand passengers last financial year and
we're close to ninety percent of them coming from outside Gimpy.
It's vital. There's a plan to ensure this continues when
the highway skirts around the town.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
The bypass, although we'll remove the trucks, we need to
make sure that guests know that Gimpy's alive and well.
Such a good news story. But at the same time,
Dan to remind the state government that they've got a
role to play. Like it's not out of mind, out
of site Gimpy. It's definitely an emerging community right in
the heart of the southeast Queensland, and as the Sunshine
(03:55):
Coast grows and people move to the region, you know,
tourism and Gimpy community will play a really key role
in that growth.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
The record passenger numbers are way ahead of predictions, but
Sherry says it's never easy.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
It's such an impressive statistic that we've exceeded the ten
year growth based on the original visibility study that was
undertaken by the state government. You know, to rebirth and
sort of revitalize the Mary Valley Rattler. For us, we
do a great guest experience here, but you know, in
the face of floods and pandemics, it has been a
huge challenge for this business to stay on top of
(04:31):
the assets and the maintenance that comes with it. So
operationally the team and the business is performing extremely well,
but that does come with huge overheads in maintaining the asset.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
It's not the time to be complacent, especially with some
twenty thirty two Olympics events being held just down the
road from Gimbee on the Sunshine Coast.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
We absolutely know at the Mary Valley Ratler how critical
it is in the tourism space to make sure travelers
have a great experience here in Queensland and especially in
the southeast corner. The Sunshine Coast and Hintland is absolutely
prime for the people to come and stay and play
and enjoy Australia and Queensland and everything the Sunshine Coast
(05:12):
has to offer, and the Mary Valley Ratler plays a
huge part in visitors to day and you know it
will be important for us to leverage the opportunity of
the bypass, but also make sure that we remind people
we are open for business and we are we are here.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Coming up after the break, the new center keeping party
go is safe. I Herb White, I Herb White.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
You're listening to iHeart White, bay Burnette. I'm Bruce Adkinson,
joined by Taylor Larson.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
A bit more assurance for party goers around Bunderberg's CBD.
The town's new night safe, Rest and Recovery center has opened,
nestled among the popular pubs and clubs. It's run by
Chaplain Watch and CEO Jesse Web explained some of what
they do.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
We look after people through problems solving through mental health
first seed, We de escalate aggression. We look after people
who are feeling suicidal or self harming, and obviously a
lot of people who have had a little bit too
much to drink or might have taken some drugs. We're
just there to make sure that they're looked after and
that really one momentary decision on a night out doesn't
(06:22):
end up being a negative consequence for a lifetime.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
It's a safe place for people who need a breather
and as we know, substances can quickly cause feelings to escalate.
Patrol teams have been operating out of a temporary site
for almost two years. This new facility has been labeled
the largest of its kind in Australia.
Speaker 5 (06:41):
Inside we have four rest and recovery bets, so that's
for those people who may have had a little bit
too much, need somewhere to rest and recover, but don't
necessarily need that higher level intervention of an ambulance or
an emergency department bed. So we've got our foot data
looking after people in that space when they've had to
struggle or alcohol and complication. We have face for phone charging.
(07:01):
We have a quiet space where people can come and
have a bit more of a chat, especially when they're
experiencing mental health concerns. Maybe they're feeling anxious, maybe they
just need a bit of privacy, or maybe there's something
else that's going on in their lives and they maybe
needed a little bit of extra support and maybe a
bit of mon referral support to continue on their journey.
That might be things like relational problems or domestic violence
(07:23):
or other crises that might be presenting a people's lives.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
The team started in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley in two thousand
and one. They now cover the Sunshine Coast, Gladstone, Brockhampton
and of course Bundy.
Speaker 5 (07:34):
What we decided was that every city where people are
out at night, they deserve to be well looked after.
That they deserve to be well cared for. So if
we weren't happy to accept that there wasn't somebody out
looking after those cities. So yeah, it's super important. It's
actually as important in Bunderberg as it is in Brisbane
as it would be in Sydney or anywhere else, because
(07:55):
every place where there are people, especially places where people
are drinking, things can go wrong. So I think every
person can use somebody who can get beside them and
help them along their way, no matter where you.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Live, Jesse says, the aim is to watch out for people,
especially younger party goers, when good times go bad.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
Twenty two to twenty three financial year, we looked after
about twenty four thousand people across Queensland between both of
our services. In Bunderberg Justice we've opened, we've looked after
well over two thousand people on the street, and the
center that we've just officially opened has been opened for
about eighteen months and has been operating in an informal sense.
We've looked after over two hundred people in that center
(08:34):
already as well, so there definitely is a need both
across Queensland and in Bunderberg, specifically for the patrols of
the support we offer on street, but also for those
centers that we're opening all across Queensland as well.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Our local legend this week is the officer in charge
of the Kroi Police station, who will retire this month
after forty two years service. Sergeant mel Scott worked in
Karoi for twenty seven years, forced to retire when he
turned sixty. I sat down with Sergeant Scott in the
interview room at the new station and asked him what
has kept him in the job for so long.
Speaker 6 (09:08):
It's the idea of doing the right thing, helping people.
I love helping people. I love doing my best to
right wrongs I suppose when someone comes to me with
a problem. I like to be a problem solver. And
there's no better job in the world than being a
police officer and being able to help people in that regard.
(09:28):
I wanted to be a police officer from a very
young age. I still remember being growing up in Delby
and Timber seeing police officers and working out that they
were just normal human beings doing a difficult job, So
I aspired to be a police officer, and yeah, I
suppose helping people and being part of the community rather
than above the community always sat really well with me.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Is it at times difficult to work in a small
community as a police officer who may have to pull
people up when they're doing the wrong thing, and then
having to see them out socially as.
Speaker 6 (09:59):
Well, Yes, this definitely is an issue. However, I've learned
that your true friends and decent people that you mix with,
if there's any kind of conflict of interest ever came
up in that regard, if they're a true friend, they
would very much respect the job I have had to do,
and in the past I've had to play the policeman
(10:20):
with some people that I've known in the past, But again,
if they weren't true friends, they would show that by
then asking to be led off or for special treatment,
whereas that is just that is not me. If they're
a true friend, they would simply cop it on the chin.
And I'm still friends. I'm friends with a lot of
people around here that I've given tickets to and taken
(10:41):
certain other police action where I'm still friends with and
shake their hand every day.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Some of the highlights and low lights.
Speaker 6 (10:47):
The highlights, I suppose we're sitting in it. The transition
into the brand new Kroid Police station. The old one
was a little bit run down twenty seven years in
the old police station which was not a purpose built
police station, it was the old Department of Primary Industries building.
And we've come up with this amazing facility which you've
seen and we're sitting in right now, and it's just
(11:08):
an amazing thing that the community are one hundred percent
behind it. They love it. I've had nothing but positive
feedback from especially all the oldies. I reckon it's great.
It's really really really changed the vibe of the town.
Speaker 5 (11:22):
Now.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
We all know how dangerous policing is, and you just
need to look at police Rememberance day every year, the
number of officers that have been killed on duty. You've
had your own brush with danger here in KROI tell
me about that.
Speaker 6 (11:35):
We had a gang of thieves, criminals hit town and
they were doing a lot of safe breaks. On this
particular night in question, I had one of the local
business people ring me up and tell me there was
a suspicious car parked outside one of our shops and
that shop had actually been broken into a week previously
and had it safe burgled. I went down. I didn't
(11:57):
get any uniform or anything, because I was fearful the
time I got a uniform and got down there, the
baddies would have got away. So I basically just called
for backup, called NUSA for backup. I walked down there,
and as luck would have it, the car that I
had actually been called there for had disappeared. And it
turns out after subsequent investigations, that that fellow was there
(12:19):
waiting for a buddy to go fishing, so they were legitimate.
They were simply sitting there waiting to go fishing. So
I was there looking for this suspicious car no car.
As luck would have it, I'm standing there waiting or
looking around seeing what I can see. Two stolen cars
show up around the back of this particular property and
commence a smash and grab of the rear of the premises.
(12:42):
I run around the back while still on the phone
calling for backup, and I found myself in the middle
of basically a burglary where two mass offenders wearing balaclavas
and carrying sledgehammers had just broken into the premises and
were running out there was two stolen cars from the
Imbal State Forest there. I basically ran over because I
(13:04):
knew if they got into their car, they'd be able
to get away and escape. I was pretty confident I'd
be able to tackle one of them, which I did do. However,
his mate was able to get into one of the
other stylen cars, and whilst I was wrestling with his
co offender with the sledgehammer, he came and run me
over and jamm me into the other stylen car. I
(13:24):
was lucky enough I got thrown over the top of
the car and was lucky enough not to get run over,
thank god. And they basically both got into their cars
and escaped. However, the guys went above and beyond and
actually captured these guys, and they cut along story short.
They were brought to justice. There was a gang of
about five or six of them, and they ended up
(13:44):
spending three or four years in jail, four hundreds of
various offenses, including armed robbery, burglary, assault with the deadly weapon,
all those style of offenses, so very serious offenses.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Sounds like an incredibly lucky escape, milk. So you're finishing
up to go out the back and cruise around. Do
you think you now in In twelve months, two years time,
we might see you back, maybe not in Karoi, but
somewhere as a special constable.
Speaker 6 (14:08):
I'm not going to be one of those police officers
come back in. I totally respect those officers that do
choose that. But I've been a frontline police officer for
forty two years now. I've never gone into death duty
or I've never sort of gone into any other role
other than front line. So you know, I go to
three or four domestics a week. I go to traffic accidents.
(14:29):
Kroi back in the day was renowned for fatal traffic accidents,
so I've been to thirty forty to fifty fatal traffic
accidents with horrendous memories of all that kind of stuff.
And to be honest, Bruce, the conflict in the job
is horrendous nowadays. It's just I'm lucky. Kroy is a
(14:50):
very very good community and I get a lot of
support from them. However, the conflict of nowadays with policing
and people always wanting to argue, you know, just be
non compliant or suppose has that's It's told me that
I'm ready to retire and I won't be coming back.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
And all the best to Sergeant Scott as he heads
into retirement. Sounds like he has definitely earned.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
It, certainly has Taylor. And that's it for this week.
If you want to hear this episode again or search
for previous ones, look up iHeart White Babe Burnett on
the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
We're back again next week with more local, trusted and
free news Ihar Wide Burnett
I have White Baburonnette. Welcome to Iheartlight Bay Burnette, your
local news fix. I'm Taylor Larson, joined by Bruce Atkinson.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
On today's show, concerns about what the Gimbee bypass could
mean for the community, and the police officer reflects on
his remarkable career.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Speaking of police, there's been a heavy presence across the
White Bay Burnette this week for Operation Whiskey Legion District
Officers Superintendent and Vogeler sees extra resources have been sent
here from the southeast for the ten.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Day op Surge. Capacity we've had is about ninety extra
police a day in the district, which is amazing and
really I hope that the community can see the extra police.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
The backup is working seven days in and three hundred
and sixty nine people have been arrested on one thousand,
two hundred and forty seven charges.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
An unbelievable statistic, and of those arrested, there's been some
significant high priority targets, including a high risk offender wanted
for a number of series domestic violence defenses, and at
one search warrant we see two hundred and sixty five
thousand dollars in cash.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
That alleged domestic violence offender. It was found hiding in
bushland at Kuna Beach. His charges include rape and deprivation
of liberty. In a separate incident, a Boo yar Man
is facing eleven charges, including possessing and distributing child exploitation material.
Close to thirty search warrants have been executed so far.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
What I'm hoping we will see from a policing perspective
is that our police can get back to the day
to day basic, back to basic policing and really engaging
with the community. One of the main aims of Operation
Whisky Legion was to make the community feel safe. I
think we do a pretty good job at making the
community safe, but what we really want to do is
(01:48):
make them feel safe. So we're receiving lots of positive feedback.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Our roads have been hit as well, with around five
thousand roadside breath tests and three hundred drug tests.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
We particularly targeted safety in the wide day for obvious reasons.
We've had seventeen lives lost already this year and we
really want to keep that number down. So they're real
people in the community and we know what effect that
has on the community.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Superintendent Vogler, adding the operation isn't just about enforcements.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
We're really trying to make sure we have some positive,
proactive engagement with the community. And these last seven days
we've had over six thousand proactive engagements with the community.
So it's not just about the offenders. Big part of
it is, but there's definitely a second phase that we're
really trying to engage with the community to have positive engagement.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
The Bruce Highway bypass around gimp is set to provide
hurdles for local tourism. It's due to open before the
end of the year. There are fears about what it
could mean for one of the region's biggest attractions, Mary
Valley Ratler GM Sherry Low says they'll have to work
harder to attract tourists.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
The bypass is going to be a blessing, but alsoally
for us, we need to encourage guests to divert into
Gimpy and for us, the Gimbee region and the Mary
Valley Ratler has so much to offer travelers and as
we sprint towards the twenty thirty two Olympics, it's really
important for us to continue to provide a great tourism experience.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
The Heritage steam train service from Gimpy to Mmore attracted
more than twenty eight thousand passengers last financial year and
we're close to ninety percent of them coming from outside Gimpy.
It's vital. There's a plan to ensure this continues when
the highway skirts around the town.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
The bypass, although we'll remove the trucks, we need to
make sure that guests know that Gimpy's alive and well.
Such a good news story. But at the same time,
Dan to remind the state government that they've got a
role to play. Like it's not out of mind, out
of site Gimpy. It's definitely an emerging community right in
the heart of the southeast Queensland, and as the Sunshine
(03:55):
Coast grows and people move to the region, you know,
tourism and Gimpy community will play a really key role
in that growth.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
The record passenger numbers are way ahead of predictions, but
Sherry says it's never easy.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
It's such an impressive statistic that we've exceeded the ten
year growth based on the original visibility study that was
undertaken by the state government. You know, to rebirth and
sort of revitalize the Mary Valley Rattler. For us, we
do a great guest experience here, but you know, in
the face of floods and pandemics, it has been a
huge challenge for this business to stay on top of
(04:31):
the assets and the maintenance that comes with it. So
operationally the team and the business is performing extremely well,
but that does come with huge overheads in maintaining the asset.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
It's not the time to be complacent, especially with some
twenty thirty two Olympics events being held just down the
road from Gimbee on the Sunshine Coast.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
We absolutely know at the Mary Valley Ratler how critical
it is in the tourism space to make sure travelers
have a great experience here in Queensland and especially in
the southeast corner. The Sunshine Coast and Hintland is absolutely
prime for the people to come and stay and play
and enjoy Australia and Queensland and everything the Sunshine Coast
(05:12):
has to offer, and the Mary Valley Ratler plays a
huge part in visitors to day and you know it
will be important for us to leverage the opportunity of
the bypass, but also make sure that we remind people
we are open for business and we are we are here.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Coming up after the break, the new center keeping party
go is safe. I Herb White, I Herb White.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
You're listening to iHeart White, bay Burnette. I'm Bruce Adkinson,
joined by Taylor Larson.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
A bit more assurance for party goers around Bunderberg's CBD.
The town's new night safe, Rest and Recovery center has opened,
nestled among the popular pubs and clubs. It's run by
Chaplain Watch and CEO Jesse Web explained some of what
they do.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
We look after people through problems solving through mental health
first seed, We de escalate aggression. We look after people
who are feeling suicidal or self harming, and obviously a
lot of people who have had a little bit too
much to drink or might have taken some drugs. We're
just there to make sure that they're looked after and
that really one momentary decision on a night out doesn't
(06:22):
end up being a negative consequence for a lifetime.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
It's a safe place for people who need a breather
and as we know, substances can quickly cause feelings to escalate.
Patrol teams have been operating out of a temporary site
for almost two years. This new facility has been labeled
the largest of its kind in Australia.
Speaker 5 (06:41):
Inside we have four rest and recovery bets, so that's
for those people who may have had a little bit
too much, need somewhere to rest and recover, but don't
necessarily need that higher level intervention of an ambulance or
an emergency department bed. So we've got our foot data
looking after people in that space when they've had to
struggle or alcohol and complication. We have face for phone charging.
(07:01):
We have a quiet space where people can come and
have a bit more of a chat, especially when they're
experiencing mental health concerns. Maybe they're feeling anxious, maybe they
just need a bit of privacy, or maybe there's something
else that's going on in their lives and they maybe
needed a little bit of extra support and maybe a
bit of mon referral support to continue on their journey.
That might be things like relational problems or domestic violence
(07:23):
or other crises that might be presenting a people's lives.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
The team started in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley in two thousand
and one. They now cover the Sunshine Coast, Gladstone, Brockhampton
and of course Bundy.
Speaker 5 (07:34):
What we decided was that every city where people are
out at night, they deserve to be well looked after.
That they deserve to be well cared for. So if
we weren't happy to accept that there wasn't somebody out
looking after those cities. So yeah, it's super important. It's
actually as important in Bunderberg as it is in Brisbane
as it would be in Sydney or anywhere else, because
(07:55):
every place where there are people, especially places where people
are drinking, things can go wrong. So I think every
person can use somebody who can get beside them and
help them along their way, no matter where you.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Live, Jesse says, the aim is to watch out for people,
especially younger party goers, when good times go bad.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
Twenty two to twenty three financial year, we looked after
about twenty four thousand people across Queensland between both of
our services. In Bunderberg Justice we've opened, we've looked after
well over two thousand people on the street, and the
center that we've just officially opened has been opened for
about eighteen months and has been operating in an informal sense.
We've looked after over two hundred people in that center
(08:34):
already as well, so there definitely is a need both
across Queensland and in Bunderberg, specifically for the patrols of
the support we offer on street, but also for those
centers that we're opening all across Queensland as well.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Our local legend this week is the officer in charge
of the Kroi Police station, who will retire this month
after forty two years service. Sergeant mel Scott worked in
Karoi for twenty seven years, forced to retire when he
turned sixty. I sat down with Sergeant Scott in the
interview room at the new station and asked him what
has kept him in the job for so long.
Speaker 6 (09:08):
It's the idea of doing the right thing, helping people.
I love helping people. I love doing my best to
right wrongs I suppose when someone comes to me with
a problem. I like to be a problem solver. And
there's no better job in the world than being a
police officer and being able to help people in that regard.
(09:28):
I wanted to be a police officer from a very
young age. I still remember being growing up in Delby
and Timber seeing police officers and working out that they
were just normal human beings doing a difficult job, So
I aspired to be a police officer, and yeah, I
suppose helping people and being part of the community rather
than above the community always sat really well with me.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Is it at times difficult to work in a small
community as a police officer who may have to pull
people up when they're doing the wrong thing, and then
having to see them out socially as.
Speaker 6 (09:59):
Well, Yes, this definitely is an issue. However, I've learned
that your true friends and decent people that you mix with,
if there's any kind of conflict of interest ever came
up in that regard, if they're a true friend, they
would very much respect the job I have had to do,
and in the past I've had to play the policeman
(10:20):
with some people that I've known in the past, But again,
if they weren't true friends, they would show that by
then asking to be led off or for special treatment,
whereas that is just that is not me. If they're
a true friend, they would simply cop it on the chin.
And I'm still friends. I'm friends with a lot of
people around here that I've given tickets to and taken
(10:41):
certain other police action where I'm still friends with and
shake their hand every day.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Some of the highlights and low lights.
Speaker 6 (10:47):
The highlights, I suppose we're sitting in it. The transition
into the brand new Kroid Police station. The old one
was a little bit run down twenty seven years in
the old police station which was not a purpose built
police station, it was the old Department of Primary Industries building.
And we've come up with this amazing facility which you've
seen and we're sitting in right now, and it's just
(11:08):
an amazing thing that the community are one hundred percent
behind it. They love it. I've had nothing but positive
feedback from especially all the oldies. I reckon it's great.
It's really really really changed the vibe of the town.
Speaker 5 (11:22):
Now.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
We all know how dangerous policing is, and you just
need to look at police Rememberance day every year, the
number of officers that have been killed on duty. You've
had your own brush with danger here in KROI tell
me about that.
Speaker 6 (11:35):
We had a gang of thieves, criminals hit town and
they were doing a lot of safe breaks. On this
particular night in question, I had one of the local
business people ring me up and tell me there was
a suspicious car parked outside one of our shops and
that shop had actually been broken into a week previously
and had it safe burgled. I went down. I didn't
(11:57):
get any uniform or anything, because I was fearful the
time I got a uniform and got down there, the
baddies would have got away. So I basically just called
for backup, called NUSA for backup. I walked down there,
and as luck would have it, the car that I
had actually been called there for had disappeared. And it
turns out after subsequent investigations, that that fellow was there
(12:19):
waiting for a buddy to go fishing, so they were legitimate.
They were simply sitting there waiting to go fishing. So
I was there looking for this suspicious car no car.
As luck would have it, I'm standing there waiting or
looking around seeing what I can see. Two stolen cars
show up around the back of this particular property and
commence a smash and grab of the rear of the premises.
(12:42):
I run around the back while still on the phone
calling for backup, and I found myself in the middle
of basically a burglary where two mass offenders wearing balaclavas
and carrying sledgehammers had just broken into the premises and
were running out there was two stolen cars from the
Imbal State Forest there. I basically ran over because I
(13:04):
knew if they got into their car, they'd be able
to get away and escape. I was pretty confident I'd
be able to tackle one of them, which I did do. However,
his mate was able to get into one of the
other stylen cars, and whilst I was wrestling with his
co offender with the sledgehammer, he came and run me
over and jamm me into the other stylen car. I
(13:24):
was lucky enough I got thrown over the top of
the car and was lucky enough not to get run over,
thank god. And they basically both got into their cars
and escaped. However, the guys went above and beyond and
actually captured these guys, and they cut along story short.
They were brought to justice. There was a gang of
about five or six of them, and they ended up
(13:44):
spending three or four years in jail, four hundreds of
various offenses, including armed robbery, burglary, assault with the deadly weapon,
all those style of offenses, so very serious offenses.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Sounds like an incredibly lucky escape, milk. So you're finishing
up to go out the back and cruise around. Do
you think you now in In twelve months, two years time,
we might see you back, maybe not in Karoi, but
somewhere as a special constable.
Speaker 6 (14:08):
I'm not going to be one of those police officers
come back in. I totally respect those officers that do
choose that. But I've been a frontline police officer for
forty two years now. I've never gone into death duty
or I've never sort of gone into any other role
other than front line. So you know, I go to
three or four domestics a week. I go to traffic accidents.
(14:29):
Kroi back in the day was renowned for fatal traffic accidents,
so I've been to thirty forty to fifty fatal traffic
accidents with horrendous memories of all that kind of stuff.
And to be honest, Bruce, the conflict in the job
is horrendous nowadays. It's just I'm lucky. Kroy is a
(14:50):
very very good community and I get a lot of
support from them. However, the conflict of nowadays with policing
and people always wanting to argue, you know, just be
non compliant or suppose has that's It's told me that
I'm ready to retire and I won't be coming back.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
And all the best to Sergeant Scott as he heads
into retirement. Sounds like he has definitely earned.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
It, certainly has Taylor. And that's it for this week.
If you want to hear this episode again or search
for previous ones, look up iHeart White Babe Burnett on
the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
We're back again next week with more local, trusted and
free news Ihar Wide Burnett
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