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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-10-16 Daily Xml
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NATIONAL POLICE REMEMBRANCE DAY

The Hon. S.G. WADE (16:32): I move:

That this council—

1. Notes that 29 September 2013 is National Police Remembrance Day;

2. Pays tribute to the 61 members of the South Australian police force who have paid the ultimate sacrifice whilst performing their duties as police officers; and

3. Acknowledges the dangers facing the men and women who serve in our police force to provide us with a safer and more secure community.

The 24th National Police Remembrance Day was celebrated on Friday 27 September 2013. The member for Stuart, Mr Dan van Holst Pellekaan (the shadow minister for police, community safety and correctional services), moved a motion in the House of Assembly on 26 September to commemorate the day.

I move this motion so that this council can also pay its tribute to the 61 members of the South Australian police force who have died in the course of their duties. It is apt that, earlier today, in considering the Statutes Amendment (Police) Bill, this council took the opportunity to acknowledge the dangers that members of the South Australian police force face every day as they provide us with a safer and more secure community.

National Police Remembrance Day was instigated in April 1989 during the conference of the commissioners of police of Australasia and the South-West Pacific region. It was unanimously agreed that the service would be held on 29 September—the feast day of St Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of police. St Michael, according to the tradition of the church, is recognised as the patron saint of police as he protected God from the rebellious and disloyal angel Lucifer.

The main ceremony for South Australia Police was held this year on 27 September at Fort Largs Police Academy, with other ceremonies held across the state. National Police Remembrance Day is a significant day of commemoration where people can reflect on each individual police force and each officer's contribution to the service of both their vocation and their communities.

The most tangible expression of the commemoration of the service of the police is the National Police Memorial in Canberra, which was completed in 2006. This year will see the list of officers named in the national memorial reach 754 since Constable Joseph Luker of Sydney became the first police death on duty in Australia in 1803. The most recent police death in Australia happened in New South Wales on 6 December 2012 when Detective Inspector Bryson Charles Anderson was stabbed at a siege.

National Police Remembrance Day is a day not only to remember those who have suffered death but also to honour the living. The police serving today repeatedly risk death to serve their communities. It is a day to recognise the outstanding work of each and every police officer in the country. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the sacrifice of the family and friends of those who have died in action and for the ongoing stress that the families and friends of current serving officers experience knowing the risk that their loved ones take each day. Currently, in Australia there are over 56,000 current serving police officers, and in South Australia approximately 4,500 police officers.

I would now to like reflect particularly on the South Australian component of the honour role. Sixty-one police officers in South Australia have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty since the police force was established in 1838. Of course, this year is the 175th anniversary of the formation of the force. The force was established in 1838. The first death in action was not until 1847, but since that death there have been 61 police officers who have died.

Some of the causes of death over that period perhaps also tell us something of the evolution of the force itself. For example, the first five deaths within the South Australian police force were actually death by drowning, whereas in more recent years, death in motor accidents has been much more prevalent. Perhaps also indicative of the changing nature of policing, and hopefully the more effective nature of police equipment, is that, in 1883, John Charles Shirley, and, in 1907, Charles Patrick Johnston both died of exposure.

Other clearly tragic events include the death in 1928 of Cyril Fletcher Clayton, who died on Christmas Day 1928. The service provided by police and all of our emergency services is highlighted by the cluster of three deaths, all on 19 January 1951, from police officers involved in a bushfire on that day. They were Mervyn George Casey, Colin Roy Kroemer and Cecil William Sparkes.

Over the 175 years of service of the South Australian police force, as I said, there have been 61 deaths on duty. That is about one death every three years. Thankfully, there have been no officers killed on duty since Bogdan Josef Sobczak died instantly in 2002 after colliding head on with a motor vehicle on a highway near Tungkillo in the Adelaide Hills whilst riding his police motorcycle. I hope that this is an indication that occupational safety for our police is improving, but the reality is that no amount of equipment or procedures can remove the risk completely. Policing is, by its nature, a very trying and risky task.

Our sympathy goes out to the families of all police officers who have been killed in the line of duty. To try to highlight that each one of those 61 stats is a real person and a real family, I would like to mention one case in more detail. In July 1990, Senior Constable David Thomas Hill Barr was serving. He had joined SAPOL in 1976 and had provided 14 years of diligent and ethical service before, on 26 July 1990, he was involved in responding to the reports of a man threatening a woman at the busy Salisbury bus interchange.

Whilst on a routine uniformed patrol duty, his junior partner, Constable Jamie Douglas Lewcock, was threatened. Senior Constable Barr approached the scene after Constable Lewcock had arrived to find a man wielding a knife at his junior. Barr drew his baton and approached the man, seeking to divert his attention away from his junior partner. However, the offender turned and commenced to menace Senior Constable Barr with a knife, ignoring repeated calls to put down the weapon. Senior Constable Barr attempted to arrest the offender, but was fatally wounded in the process. The offender was arrested, charged with murder, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Senior Constable Barr left behind a wife and two young daughters at the time of his death. His story illustrates how a seemingly routine police task can have the most tragic consequences. Senior Constable Barr's courage in the face of extreme danger highlights the bravery of the South Australian police. His story demonstrates how a routine policing task can confront police officers with the most challenging of tasks. He and his partner were fittingly awarded the Australian Bravery Medal in 1991.

Senior Constable Barr's story is one of 61 stories, stories that we honour in the South Australian police roll of honour, which in turn is part of the national roll of honour. The ultimate sacrifice in the course of their duties is commemorated by National Police Remembrance Day, and through this motion I would invoke the council to add our tributes and appreciation not only to those who have fallen but to those who continue to serve and those who care for them.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. G.A. Kandelaars.

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