December 1999 Volume 80 Number 12
"serving the protectors"
The Ultimate Planner
| December 1999 Volume 80 Number 12 "serving the protectors" |
|
| Farewell to The Ultimate Planner |
|
| By
Brett Williams |
enior Sergeant David Neale was a born organizer. Even as he faced death, this Police Association vice-president continued to plan strategies which would take his union into the next century.
A former Adelaide High School student, and policeman for 34 years, Sgt Neale died of liver cancer in the Daw House Hospice on October 28. He was 51.
Deeply committed to the police cause, he had served as an elected PASA official for 12 years, which included a four-and-a-half-year term as treasurer from 1990. He was elected vice-president in July, 1994.
His Centennial Park funeral on November 2 left not even standing room. The attendance of many of Australia’s police union presidents, vice-presidents and executive officers marked the high regard in which he was held throughout the nation.
In a moving eulogy, Police Federation of Australia president, Peter Alexander, spoke of Sgt Neale standing at “the forefront” of every major PASA campaign of the last decade. After the service, he described him as a “great leader”, and said his contribution to the PASA had been “enormous”.
“He never, ever forgot what he was in the business of doing: looking after the members in all ways possible,” Mr Alexander said. “He had that capacity to bring people together and was a very ‘human’ sort of person. Losing Dave will be felt by the organization dramatically.”
A noted forward-thinker, Sgt Neale’s greatest value to the PASA was his gift for strategic planning. He saw the worth of national representation, and was committed during the mid-’90s to the PFA’s federal registration.
He began his police career as a 17-year-old at Fort Largs in 1965. After graduating three years later, he was stationed in Adelaide and served as a patrol officer.
In 1969 he was drafted for National Service and underwent training in Queensland - the state of his birth. He was discharged on medical grounds and returned to SAPOL in 1970.
Through to the early ’90s, he served as a patrol officer and team sergeant, as well as periods in breath analysis, communications and country regions.
During a period from the late ’80s to the early ’90s, Sgt Neale was attached to the now defunct Bank St police station as a beat patrol supervisor. In that role, he became widely known for his fatherly guidance of young police officers.
“He led from the front and wasn’t an autocratic leader,” said PASA assistant secretary, Mark Carroll, who worked under Sgt Neale’s supervision in those years.
“He would never tell you off, but made sure you learnt from your mistakes. He had a great sense of humour, made coming to work an absolute pleasure and certainly believed in (police) looking after each other.”
Mr Carroll attributed his own foray into police unionism to Sgt Neale, whom he said “challenged” him to become a delegate in the late ’80s.
During his last eight years in SAPOL, Sgt Neale worked in the field of police operations planning. He conceived crucial strategies for the police handling of emergency and major events. They included war crimes trials, royal tours, The Tour Down Under, the Formula One Grand Prix, and Adelaide’s involvement in the Sydney Olympics.
The planning strategies he left behind remain national benchmarks. His work was duplicated in Victoria for the Melbourne Grand Prix, and in Queensland for the Indy 500.
Deputy Commissioner Neil McKenzie, who delivered the final eulogy on November 2, described Sgt Neale as being “recognized Australia-wide as the premier planner”.
He said after the service that, in the short term, Sgt Neale was “irreplaceable”. “He has put in place planning standards that will not be exceeded for a long time,” Deputy Commissioner McKenzie said.
“He was the most widely respected planner in the business. He’ll always be remembered in that respect, because his work is there.”
In the hospice, a week before his death, Sgt Neale was presented with Police Association life membership. Mr Alexander and PASA secretary, Andy Dunn, conducted the presentation privately with Sgt Neale’s family. Only 20 members had received the award since 1911.
Mr Alexander said Sgt Neale’s award was highly deserved and strongly supported by the PASA membership.
Sgt Neale is survived by his wife, Avis, daughter, Lorey, and sons, Clint and Adam.
– Brett Williams
|
|
||||||||||
|
The Police Journal Online is an
official publication of the Police Association of South Australia and is
published monthly. Editors of kindred publications can seek permission from the Editor to re-publish any Police Journal Online article. Copyright 1999 The Police Association of South Australia sustance |
