On 30^th April 1988 Brisbane’s World Expo 88 opened. It was heralded as the leading international event of the Australian Bicentenary, and promised to be the most spectacular celebration of leisure, technical achievement and cultural exchange Australia had ever seen.  It did not disappoint! The theme was ‘Leisure in the age of Technology’. Acting Commissioner of Police Ron J. Redmond acknowledged the heavy commitment of resources required, and the considerable policing challenge for the Queensland Police Force (as it was known then).

Police Officer Handbook for Expo 88 allocated to Constable W.F. Bryant.
Image Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Officers were allocated a confidential handbook, as show above, which included Duties and Responsibilities, Law and Procedures, handy telephone extensions, and a map with index of pavilions and other important locations.

The Royal Barge makes its way on the Brisbane River towards Expo 88 with Water Police vessel M.L. Low keeping a close eye on proceedings.
Image No. PM2342B Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Queen Elizabeth II opened World Expo 88 and her arrival in Australia, and Brisbane, caused even larger crowds than the city thought possible.  Police in all fields had a duty to oversee her visit and ensure the safety and security of  Her Majesty, the entourage, and of course visitors to this exciting and world renowned event.

Police officers and crowds await the arrival of Queen Elizabeth II for the opening of Expo 88.
Image No. PM2342G Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

After Expo 88 finished the site was redeveloped as ‘South Bank’ with vibrant spaces for locals and tourists to enjoy. The area boasts a patrolled beach, lush green parkland, shops and eateries till you drop, and a host of cultural and artistic centres. It is policed by Southbank Station, and new Segways provide a swift and novel police presence.

Officers patrolling South Bank on new Segways,
September 2013.
Image 968368 taken by Sgt B. Schnitzerling,
QPS Photographics Section

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.

The Police Museum is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“Policing Expo 88” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode… Continue reading →

Queensland’s Criminal Practice Rules, 1900,  ushered in a number of critical amendments throughout the following century. The Rules passed in 1900 were extensive and encompassed all levels of the courts that formed the judicial system, from the Supreme down to the Magistrate’s courts. A reprint of the Rules as they were in force in 1996, contained a breadth of entries, including archaic entries such as ‘Possession of Clippings’ (Form 106 Section 153) of gold or silver ‘which had been obtained by dealing with current gold [or silver] coin in such a manner as to diminish its weight’ and ‘Counterfeiting Copper Coin’ (Form 110 Section 157) ‘apparently intended to pass for the current coin called pennies, or for a coin of the United States of America called cents (or as the case may be)’.

A Voodoo Cross

Amongst more and less outdated sections under the general schedule of ‘Obtaining Property by False Pretences: Cheating’  between ‘Frauds on Sale of Mortgage of Property’ and ‘Receiving Property Stolen or Fraudulently Obtained’, Queensland Criminal Code contained a slightly  more exceptional Section 432 ‘Pretending to Exercise Witchcraft or Tell Fortunes’:

(a.) Pretended to one to exercise [or use] witchcraft [or sorcery or enchantment or conjuration].

(b.) Undertook to one to tell his [or her] future fortunes.

(c.) Pretended to one, by virtue of a pretended skill in [or knowledge of] some occult science, to discover where [or in what manner] certain goods supposed to have been stolen [or lost] might be found.

Predictably, witchcraft prosecutions were not common. The section was omitted from the Code by Justice and Other Legislation Bill in 2000. Before it was struck out, however, there was an uncanny case or two that came to the attention of the police. In July, 1993 a wax voodoo doll was handed in to the Burleigh Heads Police Station. The item had been left on the complainant’s doorstep by an unknown person.

This wax Voodoo doll was handed in to the Burleigh Heads Police Station in July 1993.

From August to October, 1991, a number of mutilated wallabies and koalas were found by members of the public on separate occasions, in bushland areas around Capalaba and Sheldon. The incidents so outraged the local community of Capalaba/Redland Bay area, that local meetings were held to voice their concerns. A lengthy investigation by the Wildlife Task Force, in conjunction with the local police, resulted in the apprehension of an unstable young man from ‘Greenacres Caravan Park’, Capalaba. Although the defendant admitted to involvement in witchcraft practices after a raid on his caravan found numerous remains of native animals, he was charged under Fauna Conservation Acts rather than witchcraft. He was convicted in the magistrates court Cleveland on 12 November, 1991 and placed on 12 months probation, ordered to perform 100 hours community service  and undergo psychiatric assessment.

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 This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.  The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“Exercising Witchcraft or Telling Fortunes”  by Museum Volunteer and Researcher Dr Anastasia Dukova is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode… Continue reading →

At about 7:30 am on 18 February 1957, Constable First Class John Christopher “Jack” Strickfuss was dressed for work and finishing his breakfast. A big man, Jack had joined the Queensland Police Force in late 1946 after growing up on a dairy farm near Warwick and then reaching the rank of Corporal in the Australian Military Provost Corps. Stationed in Home Hill for seven years, he had returned to Brisbane in late 1955, married and had two young daughters and was already sporting the luxuriant moustache he would be identified with for the rest of his life. Friendly with his neighbours in the dirt track which was Narella Street, Cannon Hill, he had helped the Majkas, a Polish immigrant family, move their house backwards on their allotment during Christmas week in 1956.

Sergeant 2/c John Strickfuss attending a Sergeants Course in 1972. He was a Constable 1/c at the time of this crime.

After hearing shots and a dog’s yelp from down the street, Jack noticed smoke coming from the Majka house and ran to assist. He shouldered open the front door but the heat and smoke prevented him from entering. Grabbing his garden hose, he then noticed that smoke was also issuing from the rear of the Irvine house across the road. Strickfuss and other neighbours, Jim Ainsworth and Fred Ganter ran with hoses towards the Irvine house. About 7 metres away from the front steps, Jack heard and felt five shots pass him in quick succession. Dropping the hose he charged up the stairs onto the front landing and tried to break down the locked door. Ainsworth and Ganter dived for cover and ran to get their own rifles and Jack’s service revolver. Sighting a man in the sitting room with a rifle, Jack ducked down under the window as more shots were fired at him. Further shots were fired through the front bedroom window. After another shot and the sound of a heavy bump on the floor inside, Jack decided to try the back of the house.

Front of the Irvine family house, Cannon Hill.

By now, Ainsworth had returned with Jack’s service revolver and gave it to him as Jack ran to the rear door. Flinging the door open, he saw a man’s body on the floor of the front bedroom with a rifle underneath. Hearing a baby’s cries, he went to the kitchen where he found four more bodies, three of which were on fire. Hurriedly putting out the flames, Jack found the baby who was suffering a gunshot wound to the foot and severe burns. Wrapped in a blanket, she was rushed by taxi to South Brisbane Hospital.

Looking past the cars at the burnt remains of the Majka family home, Narella Street, Cannon Hill on 18th February 1957.

It was only then and also when the flames had been extinguished across the road that the full horror was revealed. Marian Majka had killed his wife Gisella and their five year old daughter Shirley with a knife and hammer. He then waited until Neil Irvine had gone to work, set fire to his own house and took a .30 calibre semi-automatic rifle across the road and shot and killed 12 year old Annie Irvine, 9 year old Belinda Maureen Irvine and Mrs Belinda Irvine. Elaine Irvine, only 6 months old, was wounded by a bullet passing through her mother. Ten year old Lynette Karger, who regularly stopped in at the Irvine house to walk to the nearby Cannon Hill Primary school with the Irvine children was also killed; her lunch money still clutched in a handkerchief in her hand. He then set the bodies on fire, shot their dog and began firing through the windows at the people attempting to fight the fire at his house. He even struck a passing car, barely missing another child. When Jack Strickfuss interceded, it seems that Majka shot himself in the head with the rifle. When he killed himself, he still had a great deal of ammunition and the Cannon Hill Primary School lay at the back of the Irvine’s yard.

Marian Majka’s Immigration Certificate, c1950

The Coroner could find no reason for Majka’s actions. He came to Australia under the Displaced Person’s program after a number of years in Nazi labour camps. Jack Strickfuss was awarded the George Medal for his courage on the day and James Ainsworth and Frederick Ganter were awarded Queen’s Commendations for Bravery.

Neil Irvine moved to Adelaide with Elaine who eventually recovered from her injuries. Lynette Karger’s mother Beryl died less than two years later of a broken heart. Jack Strickfuss retired as a Sergeant First Class in 1981 and passed away in 2012.

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This information has been supplied by Historian and Volunteer Jason Leiper.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM THE VAULT – The Narella Street Tragedy”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode… Continue reading →

Queensland Police Museum, Sunday Lecture Series

February 23 – Free Entry

11:00am – 12:30pm

Queensland Police Headquarters, 200 Roma Street

The Modus Operandi Recording System

Speaker: Lisa Jones, QPM Curator

A uniformed policeman calls in at the modus operandi section to check details of a missing person, 1949

On 1 February 1935 a system of recording and classifying crime, and recording the methods used and the particular peculiarities of criminals, such as visible scars or missing limbs came into operation and was managed by the Queensland Police Modus Operandi Section. The MO section existed until 1972 after which, it became part of the Information Bureau.

In a presentation titled, The Modus Operandi Recording System: a common fund of knowledge, Lisa Jones, Curator of the Queensland Police Museum, will revisit a 1936 lecture given by Inspector Alfred Jessen, head of the Criminal Investigation Branch. The Inspector’s lecture outlines the workings of the branch and the expectations of the system to increase the efficiency of linking reported offences to their perpetrators.

This one and a half hour presentation will start at 11am on Sunday, February 23 and will be both informative and educational, and is suitable for any audience.

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The Museum opens its doors to the public on the last Sunday of each month from 10am to 3pm in addition to the standard Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm opening hours. Monthly Sunday openings feature guest speakers from across the historical and crime-solving spectrums.… Continue reading →

Around noon on Friday 26 July 1985, Michael Petrovic, 41 of Alexandra Hills, Brisbane, entered the Seaworld complex at the Gold Coast and arranged a four hour helicopter ride for his two children. As Petrovic has sold his trucking business just months before he easily covered the $2,000 flight fee. While in the air over Currumbin, Petrovic pulled a sawn-off shotgun on the pilot and demanded to be flown to a US airbase in Japan.  An hour into the flight the helicopter landed at Brisbane Airport at Eagle Farm for alleged refuelling.  In a desperate attempt to further his demands the gunman took hold of the tanker fuel hose and sprayed the tarmac with aviation fuel and fired two warning shots.

Image courtesy The Daily Sun, 27th July 1985

Petrovic’s actions were believed to be caused by the outcome of his divorce case, which had been heard in the Brisbane Family Court the previous week.  During the stand-off with the Police Emergency Squad, Petrovic continued pouring aviation fuel onto the ground and onto his children. Police resisted pleas to shoot the gunman and called in negotiators Sergeant Ron Strong and Constable Denver Monley. Strong struck up a conversation with the gunman and bonded with him after calling Petrovic his Slavic name ‘Mischa’ and providing assurances that he would personally take care of Pertovic’s children once he surrendered. After more than four hours of negotiations, Petrovic finally gave himself up.

Sergeant Ronald Strong and Constable Denver Monley
accepting an appreciation award from Seven National News
Image courtesy Queensland Police Museum

In 1986 both officers received Favourable Records from Assistant Commissioner Ron Redmond for their actions during the siege at Eagle Farm Airport.  In 1989, Ronald Vincent Strong was awarded the Australia Bravery Medal for his actions and in 1994, Senior Sergeant Strong was also awarded the National Medal, for diligent service to the community in hazardous circumstances, including times of emergency and national disaster.  Ronald Strong retired from the Service in 2003 at the rank of Inspector.

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.  The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“Eagle Farm Siege”  by Museum Volunteer and Researcher Dr Anastasia Dukova is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode… Continue reading →

Celebrating International Women’s Day – 8th March 2014

On March 16, 1931, Eileen O’Donnell (aged 35) and Zara Dare (aged 45), became the first female police officers in Queensland. Although they were appointed Policewomen, they were not actually sworn-in and had no uniform or powers of arrest. Both women were single, a criterion consistent with the marriage bar in the public service.

Eileen O’Donnell and Zara dare (right), Queensland’s first Policewomen, July 1931.

Miss O’Donnell and Miss Dare worked under the supervision of the Inspector for the Metropolitan Division. They worked regular hours, but with one of them on call out-of-hours. They do not appear to have received any formal training. One task they had was escorting female prisoners, sometimes on long train journeys. On occasions they were required to search female prisoners.

Prior to joining the Queensland Police Miss Dare was an organiser in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and served with the Salvation Army in China where her work included rescuing women from the white slave trade.  Zara left the Queensland Police in 1940 in order to marry. She spoke glowingly of her time in the job and passed away in October 1965 just shy of her 80^th birthday. Her replacement was a former confidential secretary, Miss Elizabeth Boyle who was appointed as ‘Supervisor, Women Police’ in June 1940.

Miss O’Donnell kept house for her brother in Gympie prior to her employment with the Queensland Police.  Eileen spent 31 years as a Policewoman and retired in 1962 but passed away less than eight months later at the age of 67.

The Queensland Police Women’s Section, c1950
Back Row L-R: Clare Conaty; Laura Frish; Ailisa Warnick
Front Row L-R: Pat Ryan; Elizabeth Boyle; Olwen Doolan

On March 31, 1965 the eight serving female police took the Oath of Office and became fully sworn Police Officers in a special ceremony before the Commissioner and the Minister for Labour and Industry John Herbert, at the Petrie Terrace Depot.

Supervisor Elizabeth Boyle was assigned the rank of Sergeant and the other seven women, Laura Frisch, Ailsa Warnick, Pat Ryan, Clare Conaty, Yvonne Weier, Judith Barrett and Olwen Doolan were made Constables. These newly sworn Policewomen had to then wait three months for their uniforms to be ready.

On March 31, 1965 the eight serving female police took the Oath of Office and became fully sworn Police Officers.
Front to Rear: Elizabeth Boyle; Laura Frisch; Ailsa Warnick; Pat Ryan; Clare Conaty; Yvonne Weier; Judith Barrett; Olwen Doolan.

The changes to the Police Acts brought women police in Queensland into line with their counterparts in other States; most of whom who had enjoyed equal powers, pension rights and more substantial staff allocations since the time they were first appointed or soon after. The outstanding difference remaining for the Queenslanders was lack of equal pay. On the first day of September 1970, 39 years after the first policewomen were appointed, and on the same day that Ray Whitrod became Commissioner, equal pay was finally achieved.

This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“Women in the Queensland Police”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

 … Continue reading →

At the turn of the nineteenth century, Police Commissioner Parry-Okeden (1895-1903) regularly remonstrated against the inadequate control of metropolitan traffic, which contributed to the increasing number of police court hearings and frequent street injuries: “The unsatisfactory position of the police in reference to the vehicular traffic within the metropolitan area is well known, and it would be an advantage to both police and public if matters could be so arranged that the police here could be endowed with the powers in relation to such traffic wielded by the police in other large cities.”

The Brisbane Traffic Act, passed in 1895, required drivers and conductors of vehicles used for the conveyance of passengers or goods for hire to obtain licenses from the Police Commissioners. The act included cars used on tramways.

The Metropolitan Traffic Act was not placed under the control of the police until 1906 (Brisbane Traffic Act, 1905) when there were only two or three motorcars in Brisbane. One ran on kerosene fuel and, by order, had to carry a red flag in front of it when it was driven on the roadway. Within a decade the number of motor vehicles increased rapidly. In 1914, the average number of cars at each busiest Brisbane intersection per hour was near a thousand:  Queen and George Streets: 1200, Queen and Albert Streets: 1000, Queen and Edward Streets: 900.

While in the other parts of Australia automobile drivers had to give proof of their ability, in Queensland there was no system of assessing potential drivers.  After 1914 police did administer a driving test but only to persons driving public or hire vehicles.

The existing traffic arrangements were dangerous to pedestrians and motorists alike, as furious driving and traffic related accidents were endemic. Between June, 1915 and December, 1916 there were 676 accidents reported, of which 24 were fatal and 36 serious. In 1927, almost a decade later, in a twelve month period there were 2,323 accidents, 27 were fatal and 32 serious. Figures fluctuate in later years but accidents always numbered in thousands.

License for Driver of Motor Vehicle, dated 19th January 1923

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The first private vehicle registrations began to be issued under the Main Roads Act of 1920. One of the very first registrations, issued in 1921, identified the make and model of a car, colour, engine and ‘power weight’; it also assigned a number of registration. The registration was valid for a period of one year. The fee was three pounds and six shillings.

The earliest ‘License for Driver of Motor Vehicle’ available is dated to 1923 and also valid for a period of twelve months. The driver’s licenses did not have photographs until the final decades of the previous century, but gave a physical description of the driver such as their age, height, complexion, eye and hair colour. The fee was fixed at seven shillings and six pence and remained unchanged until 1952, when their issue was free. The new Traffic Act of 1949 allowed driver’s licenses to be issued at all police stations.

According to the Queensland Police Commissioner’s Annual Reports, by the 1950s the number of registered motor vehicles increased by hundreds of thousands. In 1952 there were 253,361 cars registered. Inevitably, the road toll increased also. However, in relation to the number of vehicles on the road the total number of accidents showed only a marginal increase. During 1951-52 there were 5,214 road incidents, and 5,748 in 1952-53, which is  almost a two-fold increase from 2,323 recorded for 1927. This goes to show that, fortunately, as the number of motorists grew so did road safety.

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“Queensland’s First Driver’s Licenses”  by Museum Volunteer and Researcher Dr Anastasia Dukova is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

… Continue reading →

Kissing the Blarney Stone, 1897

Michael O’Sullivan was born at Grenagh, co Cork, not far from Blarney Castle.  In the early 1880s, he left Ireland for Australia in an attempt to stay out of trouble for smearing the famous Blarney Stone with rotten apples. A group of American tourists there to kiss the relic were accidental victims of O’Sullivan’s practical joke. In Queensland, O’Sullivan found himself working odd jobs until one day in the Old Dunmore Arms Hotel in George Street he met Peter McDonagh, a Sergeant of police on holiday. O’Sullivan mentioned that he wished to become a policeman but was three years short of the set entry age; the sergeant promptly told him to go back and say he was twenty years of age instead of his actual seventeen. This O’Sullivan dutifully did. In August, 1883 after three months’ training, Constable Michael O’Sullivan embarked on his distinguished career in the Queensland Police Force.

In 1904, Sergeant O’Sullivan was transferred back to Brisbane and charged with re-organising the Detective Department. He was an outsider, and his promotion caused a minor strike at the branch. O’Sullivan took on the task of re-structuring the Criminal Investigation Branch with great enthusiasm; he found that men there ‘were utterly unsuited for detective work’. Major Cahill (the future third Commissioner of the Force), his direct superior at the time, advised O’Sullivan to try out men whom he thought possessed talent for Detective work: “It was on those lines that the staff was built up; but even then there were disappointments, as some men who were brought up in on six months trial failed to live up to the required standard, and had to go back into uniform.” These handpicked CIB detectives finally delivered the long awaited success. The Queensland Detective Service went from being the most inefficient organisation of its kind in Australia (Royal Commission, 1899) to the most effective. O’Sullivan believed that teamwork and free exchange of information between the Detectives and the ‘uniforms’ were critical to the success.  ‘We did not lay claim to any special genius in elucidating crime, but we were a body of men, usually numbered twenty-five, combined and working as a team, determined to keep the criminal element under, we found we could do it.’

CIB Staff, Brisbane. Patrick Short in group, Michael O’Sullivan (shown front row, 3rd from right) was OIC of CIB, c1910. Image PM0109 courtesy the Queensland Police Museum

O’Sullivan was a master and a strong proponent of dissemination of jiujitsu training in the force. He felt that policemen never knew when they might be up against the class of man who takes special delight in giving members of the force a rough time. He had known men in their quarrels with one another to fight it out in a perfectly fair way, but when it came to a policeman, two or three men would attack him and feel no shame in doing so. Consequently, O’Sullivan advocated the policeman should study defensive methods so that skill and resourcefulness might give him a chance to protect himself against odds and brutal ill-treatment.

Chief Inspector Michael O’Sullivan just before he retired from the police force. His is the author of the book “Cameos of Crime”. Image courtesy The Daily Mail, Brisbane, 12th August 1932

In one such case O’Sullivan’s martial arts skills enabled him to neutralise an armed man in a crowded South Brisbane street without any assistance. Around 7:30 o’clock one Saturday evening, he was coming to his office when, approaching the south side of the Victoria Bridge, he heard two shots.  He soon witnessed people in a wild state of excitement, rushing in various directions and some women and children screaming. Two men ran to a policeman who was on duty on the south end of the bridge. The policeman at first came towards the gunman flourishing the weapon and using some violent language, but then turned and walked into a fruit shop on Stanley Street, about a hundred yards away.

In the meantime, the armed man rushed across the road and into the hotel, scattering the people in the bar. O’Sullivan followed his heels and by executing his special hold, disarmed him in a few seconds. Almost immediately, he was joined by the policeman on duty in that area. In response to O’Sullivan’s questioning as to why he left a man that threatened to shoot people, the constable explained that he went into the fruit shop to telephone the South Brisbane Police Station for advice and assistance, as he did not know what to do in such a situation.

After three decades in the Service and many an ‘heroic act’, Michael O’Sullivan retired in 1923 at the rank of Acting Deputy Commissioner.

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“The Luck of the Irish”  by Museum Volunteer and Researcher Dr Anastasia Dukova is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

… Continue reading →

Born in Cairns on 24^th March, Patricia Anne Garnaut joined the Queensland Police as a Probationary Constable on 22nd October 1973, and was sworn in as Constable on 8^th February 1974.  The young Patricia first worked with Water Police at Torwood Police Station during the devastating 1974 floods.  Using a small tin boat the team transported locals to safety from their flooded homes.  That same year Constable Garnaut was the first woman to enter the Queensland Water Police on 25^th November 1974.

Constable Patricia Garnaut stands between her workmates Senior Constables Richard Bartley (left) and Eric Webster, on the deck of Vedette III, c1974
Image No. PM0304 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Not surprisingly Patricia’s father was ex-Navy, her favourite sport was sailing, and she loved water skiing, diving and swimming.  As well as general Water Police duties, Patricia participated in test exercises to hone the skills of divers in search and rescue training, and occasionally acted as the stranded swimmer requiring rescue!

Constable Patricia Garnaut at the old Water Police Station, Petrie Bight, c1974
Image No. PM1043 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

A move to the Rape Squad and promotion to PC Constable 1/c on 15^th December 1979 provided the opportunity to join an elite group of Police Officers commanded to protect the mental and physical health of female victims of domestic violence and sexual crime.  Patricia also served in Mobile Patrols, Fortitude Valley, Licensing Branch/Vice Squad, Cairns, and was promoted to Senior Constable on 14^th December 1981 whilst stationed in Mount Isa.  Patricia was paid Higher Duties as Acting Sergeant 2/c in the Mount Isa District Office – the largest Queensland Police District.

Constable Patricia Garnaut, Water Police, c1975
Image No. PM0306 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Patricia resigned after a short but varied career on 10^th May 1982, as under the provisions of Section 22(1)(ii) of the Liquor Act, and as a serving member of the Queensland Police, she was not permitted to marry a publican as it would have prevented her future husband from following his employment.  Interestingly Patricia was paid Long Service Leave monies as legislation had forced her to resign before she served ten years.  Patricia now has three sons aged 27, 29 and 30.

Senior Constable Garnaut’s Application to Resign, 1982

 Join us in wishing Patricia a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today!

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“Patricia Anne Garnaut” by Museum Assistant Georgia Grier of the Queensland Police Service, with the assistance of Patricia Garnaut, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode… Continue reading →

Roy Doyle was sworn into the Queensland Police on July 2, 1948 and served at Cairns before being transferred to Mackay in 1952. 

On 29 March 1956, heavy rains fell in the Mackay area with torrential amounts falling in the Pioneer River catchment area. Police from Mackay were sent out to maintain control of the situation. It was not long before the Pioneer River began to rise and the current became swift. At 5.30am on 30 March the river reached 45ft and continued to rise. Evacuations were begun and people moved to the top floor of the Cremorne Hotel. The flood peaked at midday on 30 March stopping only a few meters from the top floor of the Hotel.  The river had receded a great deal by 3pm that afternoon.

Constables Porter and Doyle who had been on duty at both ends of the Forgan Bridge waded over to Senior Sergeant McNaught to announce that all was okay on the northern side of the river. McNaught advised them that all dangers had passed in the Cremorne area and they should stay around for a short while until their shift ended at 5pm. At about 3.30pm a man named Lorenz Fedderson who had been drinking at the hotel waded into flood waters and commenced to swim out into the deep water of the river which was running very strongly. He soon got into difficulty and when his plight was noticed, Constables Springer and Crowe obtained a row boat and went to help him. These two officers then got into trouble when an oar broke and they had to jump from the boat. While Springer dragged the boat back to shore, Crowe went after Fedderson. Constable Doyle deciding to assist Crowe in the rescue, waded to a retaining wall, climbed it and then diving into the river. He reappeared floating face down in the water.

Constable Roy Doyle, 1948 Image No. PM1791 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Constable Roy Doyle was sent to the Mackay Hospital but his condition deteriorated and he died at 1.40pm on April 1, 1956. Investigations later showed when Doyle dived into the flooded Pioneer River he struck his head on a submerged block of concrete which caused massive head injuries.

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.  The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“The death of Constable 1/c Roy Doyle, 1956”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode/ a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence.  Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence.… Continue reading →

In the early morning of 16 December 1943 a cyclone visited the township of Coen, in the Cairns Police District.  The severe weather front blew with such force that tree branches, iron sheeting and lengths of timber were strewn about causing injury to persons and damage to buildings. Torrents of rain pelted the town and surrounding areas, flooding buildings and streets.  Residents were terrified, and reported being stranded in their shuddering homes whilst roofs were torn away. As rain poured in to drench the interior of their houses, they took refuge under furniture.

During the cyclone Constable Daniel Duncan McNaught with little regard for himself, visited every home in the township of Coen to check the safety of residents and ensure they had sufficient food and necessary supplies to keep them during the 6 hour storm.  The Constable successfully moved two families from their destroyed homes to places of safety, and his actions saved them from certain injury or possibly death.  Constable McNaught also attended the battered Police Station and nailed a table to the windows in an attempt to protect it from further damage.  Two days after the storm, with persistent rain falling and roads impassable, the Constable rode by horseback to Ebagoolah, south of Coen, to examine the overland telegraph lines, and to ensure the safety of residents in out-lying areas.

Coen Police Buildings, 1935
Image No. PM3724 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Sergeant Austin Murray Cooper was also personally affected by the cyclone at Coen, with his home almost demolished during the night.  Early the next morning the Sergeant, concerned with the welfare of older residents he knew camped on the riverbank, mustered helpers to search for the two men. One of the elderly men was found in a semi-conscious condition, trapped under a large timber girder. With assistance to remove the massive lump of wood, Sergeant Cooper dragged the stockman from the pile of twisted timber and metal, and brought him to safety.  Sergeant Cooper continued his good work by coordinating a clean-up crew, and personally assisting in the job of cleaning up Coen, its aerodrome and telegraph lines.

Statements were taken from Coen residents at the time, and furnished to the Police Commissioner Cecil Carroll:  Maurice Shephard a general carrier and Coroner of Coen wrote “…I think very highly of the actions of Constable McNaught and I am of the opinion he should be suitably rewarded for his many acts of unselfish conduct and bravery on the night and morning of the cyclone.”  Margaret Armbust, a grazier, provided by statement “…Constable McNaught should be rewarded for acts of bravery, initiative and work during the cyclone.”  Robert Ray, the Coen Postmaster wrote “…I have heard most of the people of Coen commenting on the manner and conduct of Constable McNaught, and the way in which he visited every home in order to render moral or physical assistance…”

Robert Kraemer, the thankful injured pensioner, wrote “…I am very grateful to [Sergeant Cooper] and the people who rescued me, and I am quite sure that had I not been rescued I would have died there…”  Frederick Heinemann, head stockman, provided a statement including “…I think it was due to the initiative of Sergeant Cooper that [Coen resident Robert] Kraemer was found so soon…and was particularly helpful in making native labour available for the needy and organising a working unit to clear the road and aerodrome…”

On 3 March 1944 Commissioner Carroll wrote a memorandum to the Inspector in Cairns commending the good work of Sergeant Cooper and Constable McNaught in connection with the Coen Cyclone of 16 December 1943.

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 This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“The Coen Cyclone of 1943” by Museum Assistant Georgia Grier of the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

… Continue reading →

Last Sunday of the Month – April 27 – Free Entry

11am – 12.30pm

Ground Floor, QPS HQ

200 Roma Street, Brisbane

Forensic Scientist, Sergeant Donna Stewart

Major Crime Unit, Scientific Section

Have you ever wanted to know how Major Crime Scene examination is conducted in Queensland? Do you have an interest in becoming a crime scene examiner?

Forensic Scientist, Sergeant Donna Stewart of the Major Crime Unit, Scientific Section will present ‘An overview of crime scene investigation in Queensland’. She will outline the role of forensic police officers in Queensland, and how they liaise with other forensic experts and investigators. Learn what it takes to be a crime scene examiner with the Queensland Police Service.

This one and a half hour presentation will start at 11am on Sunday, April 27 and will be both informative and educational, and is suitable for any audience.

The Museum opens its doors to the public on the last Sunday of each month from 10am to 3pm from February to November in addition to the standard Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm opening hours. Monthly Sunday openings feature guest speakers from across the historical and crime-solving spectrums.

PLEASE NOTE: The Police Museum will open Sunday, April 27 from 10am to 3pm, and is located on the ground floor of Police Headquarters, 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

 Please share this information onto your family, friends and other networks. We look forward to welcoming you to the lecture on April 27.… Continue reading →

The first Police HQ in Queensland was within an old wooden house on George Street, Brisbane.  From 1901 Police Headquarters was moved to the old Church of England’s Diocese and Synod Meeting Rooms, corner Elizabeth and George Streets.

Special Constables in front of Police Headquarters, Brisbane c1912.
Image No. PM1100 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

The Treasury Building, corner Queen and William Streets, Brisbane was the next location used, from 1933.  In 1956, Headquarters relocated to renovated offices at the Petrie Terrace Depot.  The building can still be seen on Petrie Terrace, Brisbane and has been fully restored.  It serves as commercial office space and retail outlets.

View of the car park at the rear of Petrie Terrace Depot. c1980.
Image No. PM3313c Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

In 1962 the Queensland Egg Board Building on Makerston Street, North Quay was purchased and converted into Police accommodation, including Headquarters.

The Police Department acquired this building from the Egg Marketing Board in 1962, and it was used as the Police Headquarters until 1978.
Image No. PM0203 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

In 1976 Forbes House on Makerston Street, was purchased from the Mullaquin Sugar Company, for the purpose of a Police Headquarters.

Construction of Queensland Police Service Headquarters, 1988.
Image courtesy of Police Media.

In 1990, after the demolition of existing Roma Street buildings, including the Red Comb Factory, the current Police HQ building was erected on Roma Street, Brisbane.  It was the first custom built HQ for Queensland’s Police, and construction of the 52,000 square metre building cost $67M.   The Police Museum currently displays the Architecture’s scale model.

Current Queensland Police Headquarters.
Image courtesy of Media & Public Affairs.

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT – Queensland Police Headquarters” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode… Continue reading →

AWARDS – Moreton Bay: the blue tidal playground where water sports, recreational fishing and commercial trawlers share the home of a diverse range of plants and marine creatures.  The Bay was also the location of Danish dredge Kaptajn Nielsen when she capsized in 1964.  A frantic search and rescue effort ensued, and with assistance of nearby boaties, professional diver Joseph Engwirda and Water Police Senior Constable Ivan Adams entering the upturned hull of the 3000 tonne dredge many times to rescue 12 seamen, and recover 9 lives lost in the tragedy.  The men were awarded the George Medal, and the Danish shipping company Christiani and Nielsen, owners of the Kaptajn Nielsen, presented the Queensland Police Force with a handsome vase for assistance given during the salvage operation. These items are currently on loan and being displayed in the Police Museum.

A gathering of boats and divers beside the capsized Danish dredge Kaptajn Nielsen, September 1964.
Image No. PM0402 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

EVIDENCE – Fortitude Valley has long been a bustling location of shops, restaurants, hotels and night clubs.  It is rich in cultural diversity and its ability to entertain patrons well into the night is renowned.  On 8^th March 1973 a terrible crime was committed at the Whiskey Au Go Go night club, Fortitude Valley, when two large drums of super grade petrol was spilt into the foyer and set alight.  15 people died in the dreadful inferno, and John Andrew Stuart and James Richard Finch were charged with murder and gaoled for life.  We currently display several pieces of evidence from the crime scene, including the petrol drums.

A Scientific officer preparing to analyse the petrol drums used to bomb the Whiskey Au Go Go Night Club in 1973.
Image No. PM1904 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

TAXIDERMY – In 1952 a dog called Peter was owned by Arthur Ernest Halliday.  Peter was the silent witness to a murder committed by Halliday and human witnesses identified him as the kind of dog seen at the crime scene.  Sadly Peter died of a tick infection before Police found him, however he remained an important part of the prosecution’s case.  Peter was mounted by a taxidermist for his court appearance, and it is said Halliday was so surprised to see the stuffed dog he admitted ownership before he could stop himself!  By using Peter as evidence the prosecution linked Peter to Halliday at the crime scene, Halliday to Peter as owner, and therefore Halliday to the murder.   Read more about this unusual piece of evidence and see the real Peter on display at the Police Museum.

‘Peter’, an unusual piece of evidence.
Image Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

TRANSPORT – The Queensland police commenced using motorcycles for detective work in 1925.  Since those early days, traffic duty, ceremonial occasions and special operations require the use of police motorcycles.  The fleet has included some classics, one of which we proudly display in the Police Museum, a 1986 Yamaha XJ900 equipped with flashing lights and horn.  Feel free to come in sit on it and feel the wind in your hair, it makes a great photo opportunity!

Traffic Constables Don Williams (left) and Bernard Randall on their BSA motorcycles in 1955. We’d love one of these bikes in our collection!
Image No. PM0122 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM THE VAULT: The QPM Collection”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode… Continue reading →

In mid-1966, Jack Pizzey, then Minister for Education and Police, instructed the Commissioner of Police to form a Police Emergency Squad.  After hand picked Queensland officers, completed specialised training with the New South Wales police, the new Queensland Squad was ready to go in 1968. Initially, the Squad included 33 men, handpicked and trained in tactics to apprehend armed offenders in siege situations, hijacking of aircraft and counter-terrorism. The Squad received regular refresher tactical training and training in the use of handguns, rifles, sniper-rifles, shotguns, and tear gas equipment.

Emergency Squad, April 1977, after completing the dreaded Canungra obstacle course. Training was provided by the SAS (Special Air Service). Image courtesy Barry Krosch (squatting front row 3rd left).

On 22 September, 1976 during regular weapons training at the Greenbank Army establishment, a call came about a siege in Brisbane City. Shortly after noon, Robert William Wilson, 36, a cleaner residing in Spring Hill, armed with a .22 calibre rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition went on a random shooting spree in Boundary Street. Wilson shot and killed Monika Schleuss, 17, as she was crossing Boundary Street, and wounded Donald William Hepburn Galloway, 28, who was also crossing the street at the time. He then began shooting into a nearby milk bar, killing Marianne Kalatzis, 18, wounding Mavis Ethel Saunders, 17, and Virginia Hollidge, 25. Wilson then shot Quinto Alberti, 48, who was in a neighboring shop.

When the Emergency Squad team arrived at the scene Wilson, who had taken four women and a man hostage, was locked in a suburban house. One of the emergency responders, Constable Barry Krosch was able to observe Wilson through a key-hole to see the hostages were held seated in a leather lounge chair with Wilson standing behind, brandishing the loaded rifle. Around 4 o’clock, Officer in Charge Superintendent Bob Matheson authorised police to storm the room.  Senior Constables John O’Gorman and Noel Gollschewski broke the door down. Gollschewski fell when the door gave way and the offender fired shots at them. O’Gorman, hoping to scare Wilson into releasing his firearm, fired his pump-action shotgun in Wilson’s direction and sent a round through the ceiling. Constable Krosch followed into the room and sent a shot from his Smith & Wesson .38 calibre pistol into the floor. No one was injured. Senior Constable John O’Gorman managed to knock Wilson down and overpower him. All the hostages were quickly moved to safety. Wilson was then handcuffed and led from the house. By 4:15pm the siege was over.

A brave photographer risked life to snap this pic, showing Constable Barry Krosch removing his trusty sniper rifle from the rear of the police vehicle, and Constable 1/c John Carnes and Constable Jan Lidicky crouching on the right.
Image courtesy of the Courier Mail.

William Robert Wilson spent three years in Wolston Park Hospital, Wacol after the shootings, but subsequently his lawyers were satisfied he was fit to plead. Wilson, at the age of 40, pleaded guilty to two charges of murder and four of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on each murder charge and 10 years jail, to be served concurrently, on each of the other charges.

In 1987, the Emergency Squad involved in the Spring Hill siege was divided into specialised sub-units and re-named the Tactical Response Group (TRG).  Two years later, the Tactical Response team, a part of the TRG became a separate unit – the Special Weapons and Operations Squad, or SWOS. In 1992, SWOS was further re-organised into the Special Emergency Response Team or SERT. To this day, much like their predecessors, SERT’s officers spend the majority of their time training to maintain the broad range of skills and qualifications required.

Special Emergency Response Team high rope work trainees, hang off the Storey Bridge, 2013. Image courtesy Media and Public Affairs Group.

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing. Our thanks to Barry Krosch And John O’Gorman for their recollections and to our volunteer Dr Anastasia Dukova for writing the piece.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“Spring Hill Siege 1976”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

 … Continue reading →

In 1867 the Commissioner of Police reported, ‘the opening up of the extensive gold field close to the port of Maryborough will, I expect, give the police some work before the close of the present year’. On 28 January 1868, a gold escort was established between Gympie and Maryborough. It ran regularly once a fortnight, and then changed to monthly in 1869. In the latter part of 1868 Kilkivan station was opened.

Kilkivan first appears in a report showing the strength and disposition of the Queensland Police Force as at 1 May 1869. The station had an Acting Sergeant and three Constables.  In 1878, Kilkivan, reappears in the Queensland Police Gazette as a one man station, with Constable Patrick Power as the officer in charge, and appointed as an Inspector of Slaughter-houses.  In 1883 tenders were called for the erection of a Court House, Police Quarters and Lock-up. The building was completed in November of the same year at a total cost of ₤748 10s. It consisted of the court house, two bedrooms, sitting room, kitchen, verandahs, and two cells. It was a wooden building with an iron roof. Outbuildings included stalls and a forage room. The three acres of land were reserved for police purposes on 23 February 1886.

Plan of Kilkivan Police Quarters, Lockup and Court House, 1884.
Image courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

In July 1906, an area of two acres was reserved for police purposes. It consisted of eight allotments with James and Bligh Streets defining two of its boundaries. The Court House and Police Barrack building were removed from their position next to the Post and Telegraph Reserve, and situated on the new site in close proximity to the railway station. Two cells were erected in a separate building, and the old cells within the barrack building were converted for other purposes.

Constable James Tobin holding Certificate of Merit of the Royal Humane Society of Australia, presented October 1921.
Cropped Image No. PM0563 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

In August 1921 Kilkivan Police Station Constable James Tobin rescued a 13 year old boy from a disused well in the area containing eight feet of water, and with foul air.  The boy was playing with friends when he fell down the well, almost 50 feet deep.  Constable Tobin descended via the dilapidated windlass, tied the boy to his own body and they were both hauled to the surface. The Constable was awarded the  Royal Humane Society’s Certificate of Merit for his brave acts.

In January 1948 Kilkivan station received their first bicycle, a new Ashby, No. QP49. The troop horse ‘Barambah’ although in good condition and serviceable was used as a saddle horse only. The officer at Kilkivan used his privately owned motor vehicle for Departmental purposes, and received a monthly cash allowance for petrol and oil. In March 1961 Kilkivan police station received a Ford Falcon sedan as its first departmental motor vehicle.

The police buildings were beginning to show their age, and in 1960 another site on the corner of Rose and Hall Streets was found to be suitable for the erection of new buildings. The new police station and detached residence were completed, and occupied in December 1961. The residence was constructed of chamfer boards with a galvanised iron roof. The police office and Court House with attached car port were constructed of fibro walls, and iron roof. The new separate cell block was built of hardwood weatherboards with an iron roof. Towards the end of 1962 town water was connected to the buildings.

Kilkivan Police Station, 1932.
Image No. PM1645 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

In 1973 traffic enforcement was carried out in conjunction with the Gympie Police Station and with the use of a radar unit.  Since 1883, and for approximately 100 years, the officer in charge of Kilkivan station has also performed duties as an official of the Court of Petty Sessions, and work on behalf of other government departments. These extra responsibilities came in addition to regular policing duties, and in fact hampered police efforts to patrol the district effectively. In 1973, 85% of the work carried out at the station was as Clerk of the Court.  Since 2003 Kilkivan has been a two person station policing around 500 residents in the local shire.

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT – Kilkivan Police Station” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode… Continue reading →

Criminal Behavioural Profiling

May 25

Sergeant Jeremy Keith
Behavioural Specialist Unit, State Intelligence Group

Behavioural Specialist Unit members Sergeant Jeremy Keith and PC Senior Constable Cheney Railton are responsible for providing criminal behavioural profiling and analytical support to police investigations. Image Courtesy of the Police Museum (PM3635)

Criminal Investigative Analysis or Criminal Profiling was established by the FBI in the late 1970s and further developed in the 1980s through studies that compared offence behaviours with the perpetrator’s physical, social, educational, family and psychological background. The Queensland Police Behavioural Specialist Unit currently provides behavioural analytical support to police investigations where required.

Sergeant Jeremy Keith of the Behavioural Specialist Unit, State Intelligence Group, will present ‘Criminal Behavioural Profiling’. He will outline and illustrate the many roles of the BSU such as behavioural case review, false allegation analysis and personality profiles.

This one and a half hour presentation will start at 11am on Sunday, May 25 and will be both informative and educational, and is suitable for those high school aged and above.

The Museum opens its doors to the public on the last Sunday of each month from 10am to 3pm from February to November in addition to the standard Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm opening hours. Monthly Sunday openings feature guest speakers from across the historical and crime-solving spectrums.

PLEASE NOTE: The Police Museum will open Sunday, May 25 from 10am to 3pm, and is located on the ground floor of Police Headquarters, 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.

Please pass this information onto your family, friends and other networks. We look forward to welcoming you to the lecture on May 25.

 May 25 – Free Entry

Ground Floor, QPS HQ, 200 Roma Street

The April lecture was extremely well attended which is fantastic, so thank you for being so supportive of the series. Please arrive early as there are only 100 seats in the room and this is the upper limit which we are required to stick to.

 … Continue reading →

Since 1978, the Queensland Police Service Wildlife Response Unit (WRU) has successfully apprehended and prosecuted offenders and broken up illegal poaching rings. Individual operations required inter-institutional co-operation, however, these concerted efforts were occasionally undermined by human error and bureaucratic mazes.

Illegal poaching resulted in the deaths of many and varied bird species.
Image courtesy of Senior sergeant Michael Butler.

Members of the Unit were generally not expected to physically handle the wildlife, but deliver it to the nearest Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service officer at the first available opportunity. Functions of the Wildlife Response Unit included coordinating police initiatives and investigating offences relating to the taking and/or commercial exploitation of wildlife throughout Queensland, as well as assisting police in matters relating to wildlife upon request. A member of the police service who suspected offences relating to commercial exploitation of flora and fauna was to forward to the WRU all information on the offence. As the failed Operation Birdman demonstrated these regulations were not always followed through.

In August 1993, the Department of Environment and Heritage involved one of the local police stations when it launched an Operation under the codename ‘Birdman’ to investigate alleged fauna smuggling in the north. Although a number of offences under the Nature Conservation and Wildlife Protection Acts were suspected, the Wildlife Response Unit was not contacted for assistance.  Although the Operation resulted in 35 fauna charges brought against the target of the investigation, after a three day hearing, all charges were dismissed. The defendant pleaded guilty to three minor book-keeping offences for which he paid a $600 fine, and was placed on a twelve month good-behavior bond. The failure of the Operation did not end there.

A Chondro Python, confiscated during an operation and later released back into the wild.
Image courtesy of Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

During the Operation, the defendant’s 27 Chondro pythons were seized. Chondro pythons, indigenous to Cape York and New Guinea, are extremely rare and valuable. The estimated commercial value of these snakes was approximately $150,000.  During the ten months it took to bring the case to court, nineteen pythons died in holding cases at the zoo. The whereabouts of the six additional snakes was unknown. According to the newsprint trail, neither of the parties involved had any comment on the matter.

An investigation was launched by a local police officer, by-passing the Wildlife Response Unit, when a man from Shelburne Bay was believed to be in possession of a stuffed crocodile, a protected animal. The embarrassing outcome revealed the item to be, in fact, a wooden carving.

Carved timber crocodile.
Image courtesy of Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available.  The article was written by Museum Volunteer and Crime and Policing Historian Dr Anastasia Dukova.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT – Operation Birdman”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode… Continue reading →

The QPS Wildlife Response Unit, formerly known as the Fauna Protection Squad, was established on 17 April, 1978. In its two and a half decades existence, a significant number of offenders were prosecuted and millions of dollars of illegal revenue was seized. The exotic species of reptiles and birds, which made up the profit, did not always survive. The poachers entrapped the animals in thousands. Queensland Police Annual reports from the later years showed that in 2001 alone, thirteen persons were charged who were responsible for trapping over five and a half thousand birds and nearly a hundred reptiles, which were confiscated in the process. This amounted to just short of $8 million in revenue.

Chondro Python, confiscated during an operation and later released back into the wild.
Image courtesy Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

In November 2001, a German national residing in Samsonville, who gave his occupation as an ‘invalid pensioner’ was charged under the Nature Conservation and Wildlife Protection Acts. The invalid pensioner had poached a total of 96 reptiles. Only 3 snakes (broad headed snakes, endangered reptiles native to NSW) were recovered, while 28 black headed pythons and 65 common and desert death Adders had already been exported. A total conservation value of these reptiles amounted to approximately $135,000.

During the same month the Detectives of the Wildlife Response Unit charged a group of individuals under the Nature Conservation Act Use of Protected Animals. There were over five thousand birds seized during the course of the investigation, which were later released into the wild. These included vulnerable or endangered species each valued at $6,600 and $8,800 respectively.

Various bird species confiscated during one of the Operations.
Image courtesy Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

One of the offenders apprehended in November, 2001 was a known re-offender, a nearly seventy year old man from Neurum who appeared in earlier reports. The man owned and operated a large wholesale bird and pet shop business at New Farm called ‘Living Garden’, and was suspected of selling birds at illegal markets in the southern states. He was also the target of a major operation in 1991.

As a rule, the age of offenders varied between forty-five and seventy years old. Unfortunately, age did not slow down avid collectors and enthusiasts. In 2002, an 80 year-old-man was cautioned for entrapping rainbow lorikeets.

Rainbow Lorikeets, eventually enjoyed their freedom.
Image courtesy Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.

A number of the operations by these specialist Detectives took over a calendar year to complete. The wildlife crimes crossed regional, interstate and international borders and required a co-ordinated, multi-institutional investigative approach. Since the early days, the resources from agencies such as Australian Customs Service, Environment Australia and Interpol were frequently utilised. In 1984, in a joint operation with the Customs Bureau two Italian nationals were apprehended at Brisbane Airport for smuggling a large number of native birds.

Here is the link to that story: http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/museum/2013/12/17/vault-fauna-protection-squad/

It was not uncommon for the Unit to provide regional assistance as well. In 2002, members of the Unit assisted in the investigation and prosecution of persons charged with killing native waterfowl in the Gold Coast Waterways.

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available.  The article was written by Museum Volunteer and Crime and Policing Historian Dr Anastasia Dukova.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT -Wildlife Response Unit: The Later Years”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode

Equipment issued to police officers has changed and developed over the years, with some items, although still useful, no longer supplied.  One such object is the footlocker, a mostly timber box with hinged lid for storing uniforms, boots and accoutrements.  The box was issued to new recruits, to be placed at the foot of their allocated bed in a large dormitory, during training.  Often the timber boxes were reinforced with metal corners, or other metal straps to ensure sturdiness when being moved. They had handles, made from leather or rope, were lockable, with the Constable’s initial and surname stencilled on the front.

Barracks ready for inspection at the Petrie Terrace Police Depot, c1920. Men lined up by their beds with footlockers stored underneath.
Image No. PM1977 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Footlockers are no longer issued, as sleeping quarters are more generous, with built-in wardrobes as standard.

Timber footlocker with metal reinforcement, front lock and leather side handles.
Image courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

The Police Museum has gratefully received a couple of footlockers, donated by retired police officers.  The one pictured was provided by John Murray and June Andrews in 2007.  It is the Police issued footlocker of John’s Grandfather Patrick T. Murray.  The leather handles and lock are clearly visible, with name ‘P.T.Murray’ painted on the front.  Patrick Murray was born in 1909 and sworn into the Queensland Police Force on 31^st May 1935.  He commenced as a Constable in Roma Street, Brisbane, transferring to Rockhampton, North Rockhampton, Townsville, West End (Townsville), South Townsville and Nambour during his 34 year career.  Senior Sergeant Murray retired in 1969.  His footlocker had certainly clocked up some miles!

Constable Patrick T. Murray on the day he was inducted in Brisbane, 1935.
Image No. PM2535 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

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This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available at the time of writing.  The article was written by Museum Assistant Georgia Grier.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au

“FROM the VAULT – Footlockers”  by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode