July 2002 Volume 83 Number 7 "serving the protectors"

Dear Andy

Please be advised of my retirement from SAPOL and the Police Association effective from May 29, 2002.

I thank the Police Association for its support and assistance it has given me over the last 20 years in particular, and for the great service that it has provided to its members over the 30 years I have been a serving police officer.

To all those members that I have worked with over the years, I wish you all the best in the future, especially those from course 28 with whom I started my career in SAPOL on January 2, 1969. I would especially like to thank Jeff Gill from the Major Crash Investigation Section, Ian Humphrey from Health, Safety and Welfare, Debbie Damis from Psychology Section and the staff at Rehab who have sorted out my claims and pay over the last 20 months. Thank you for all your help and support.

Many people have told me that there is life after the police force. Well, I am about to find out. My best wishes go to you all.
Regards
Phil Doudle
Senior Constable
957/1

Dear Andy

Please accept my resignation from the Police Association of South Australia, my last day of service being May 31, 2002.

It is with mixed emotions of apprehension and excitement that I leave SAPOL, a bit like the day I first walked in – in 1989 – with the rest of course 31. I have enjoyed my 12 or so years with the department. I have always stated to people who have ever asked me what it is like in the police that it is one of the best jobs you could do; and, well after leaving the job, I will still make the same statement.

I choose to resign only to follow a personal dream which will have me leaving the state. To all those many people I have worked with, from my humble days at Norwood, Communications and the last 10 years at Christies Beach, I will cherish that time dearly.

I thank all those excellent people I have worked with and will surely miss you all. For those who know me, they understand my reasons and have wished all the best to my family. So, for the last time, PF-full stop.
Regards
Mark Trewartha
Ex-cop 0661/1

Dear Andy

Please accept my resignation from the Police Association due to my resignation from SAPOL, my last day of service being Wednesday, June 5, 2002. I have been successful in gaining employment with the Department of Human Services as a youth project officer in Coober Pedy. It’s such a strange feeling to up and leave SAPOL after eight-and-a-half years, but I feel very excited and know that it’s time for me to move on and try other ventures.

I have had some hilarious moments and made some fantastic friends along the way. On the other hand, I had times when I wondered what on earth I was sticking around in this job for – but I don’t regret any of it.

Coober Pedy has been a great place to finish my career and I recommend to anyone who is in for an adventure to come up here and work.

Thank you to the Police Association and staff for all the hard work you put into improving our conditions. Thankfully I didn’t need to call on you for assistance personally.

Well, goodbye to everyone I ever worked with and please feel free to e-mail me or Trav and keep in touch.

Thanks for the good times.
Seeya
Natalie Dungey (née Adcock)
Constable 8597/5
(natrav@ozemail.com.au)

Dear Andy

Please accept my resignation from the Police Association of SA due to my pending retirement on July 11, 2002. I will be commencing leave prior to my retirement.

I thank SAPOL and the Police Association for allowing me to work in a career, which has been rewarding and interesting. I hope that I am seen as a person who has contributed to the improvement of SAPOL and the community of South Australia.
Alec Stevens APM
Senior Sergeant 1542/2
EMES

Dear Andy

Please accept my resignation from the Police Association due to my resignation from SAPOL, my last day of service being July 5, 2002. I have accepted a position offered by my neighbour as a truck driver, carting eggs and day-old chicks. Contrary to the belief held by some within SAPOL, not all people involved in the road transport industry are OMCG members or associates.

I fit very neatly in to the male-with-12-years-of-service category, which Peter Alexander mentioned in the Police Journal (President’s Message, May 2002). In those 12 years, I have served at Speed Detection, Norwood Patrols, Adelaide Traffic, Holden Hill Traffic, and, for the last seven years, as a motor cycle officer attached to Holden Hill and Escort Section. In the last few years, I have seen a number of close friends leave the job citing frustration with management. Are you starting to see a pattern?

I have enjoyed the mateship and camaraderie afforded by the many good people in the job but, unfortunately, on an increasingly frequent basis, I, along with others, found myself shaking my head in disbelief at the incompetence displayed by management.

A case in point would be the departments’ current (May 2002) drive to abolish the police role in performing over-dimensional escorts. I served 18 months at Escort Section during the expansion of the Olympic Dam mine in 1997-98, and another five months from January to May 2002.

Why SAPOL ever decided to disband the old Escort Section is beyond me. Rather than have a cohesive group of people who know the job backwards, let’s rotate people through on a four-month basis so we end up with a group of people who don’t want to be there. Good thinking. That should improve morale.

As one of the last user-pays services offered by SAPOL, it requires a group of people who are prepared to travel long distances at short notice, reschedule days off and provide a high quality of service to industry.

Having experienced first-hand the blank looks and stupidity displayed by the average motorist when confronted by an eight-metre wide house coming towards them, I shudder to think what may happen if these escorts were being performed by a group of people who inherited them by default, and, quite frankly, contractors who pay SAPOL huge amounts of money for police presence deserve better.

The sad truth is that those empowered with the decision making process of the SAPOL brains trust wouldn’t know the first thing about what police do to navigate an oversize load through heavy traffic or pouring rain, or stinking heat, because they have never done it, nor seen it done.

Perhaps this “change-for-the-sake-of-change” mentality, which exists within SAPOL, should be replaced with an “if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it” approach, as the current system of review and restructure causes unnecessary turmoil and will continue to cause separation of members from SAPOL.

Another logistical lemon should go to SAPOL for letting my previous police bike accumulate 175,000km before it decided to retire by dropping a valve through a piston at Pimba. The bike then went to auction numerous times with no bidders. Don’t bitch to the guys on the bikes about how much they cost to run.

Now that I have vented my spleen, let me say that, overall, I have enjoyed my time in SAPOL and have worked with some very dedicated people. I wish to thank my course mates from course 28 – Sir Brad Flaherty, Spike Howlett, Laurie Moore, Rob St Vincent, Popey (that was funny the day you bogged the car at Lower Light) – and all at Holden Hill Traffic, past and current members of Escort Section, as well as every one who has shared a laugh over the last 12 years.

Unfortunately, my last week of active service before beginning annual leave in late May was marred by the death of colleague and friend, Bob Sobczak, whom I have known and worked with for 10 years. It was a very hard time for all, especially his team mates at Holden Hill.

I wish everyone all the best for the future, and as to whether chicken shit is easier to swallow than bullshit remains to be seen.
Randal Willoughby
FCC 3643/0
TOU Escort Section

Dear Andy

It’s time to say goodbye after 42 years. It’s been a great job and I have ridden the waves (highs and troughs). Good luck to the gals and guys for the future because, remember, it’s the only job where you get paid to “watch the clowns”.

Thanks to the Police Association for assistance given during my service.

My last day of service will be July 11, 2002.
Barry Huffa

Dear Andy

Please accept my resignation from the Police Association of South Australia due to my resignation from the South Australia Police, effective July 28, 2002. I have accepted an offer of employment with the Australian Federal Police.
Ian Brumby
Constable 4245/1
Norwood Patrol

Letters of withdrawal of Police Association membership should be addressed to PASA secretary, Andy Dunn, at:

• Police Association of SA,
  PO Box 6032, Halifax St,
  Adelaide, SA 5000
• secretary@pasa.asn.au
• Police Association 168 (internal dispatch)

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