Quantcast
Channel: Museum
Viewing all 663 articles
Browse latest View live

FROM the VAULT – 40 years since Cyclone Tracy

$
0
0

This year marks the 40th anniversary of devastating Cyclone Tracy.  Her destructive winds made landfall in Darwin during the very early hours of Christmas day, 1974.  66 people died as a result of the tropical cyclone, and all power, water, sewerage and telecommunication services to the town were damaged.  Most buildings were destroyed leaving families homeless and businesses in ruins.  Due to the lack of food, clean drinking water and shelter, many people elected to evacuate.  Those that remained rolled up their sleeves and commenced the very long, dirty job of cleaning up and restoring order to the city.

Anti-looting duty: this vehicle was one of 3 found on Millner Street, Darwin, packed with goods looted from destroyed homes and shops.  Police Officers were kept continuously busy with arrests for looting following Cyclone Tracy. Image No. PM 1933c courtesy of retired Constable 1/c Bob Latter.

Anti-looting duty: this vehicle was one of 3 found on Millner Street, Darwin, packed with goods looted from destroyed homes and shops. Police Officers were kept continuously busy with arrests for looting following Cyclone Tracy.
Image No. PM 1933c courtesy of retired Constable 1/c Bob Latter.

Together with affected locals, the defence forces and police from around Australia joined in the massive restoration task.  12 Queensland police officers were seconded to the effort, and arrived in Darwin 2 days after the cyclone.  The main functions of interstate police included search and rescue for people and, together with the RSPCA, animals, anti-looting patrols, court duty and controlling assembly points at the airport.  All police officers worked 12 hour shifts in the steamy Darwin heat of day, and/or during long muggy nights.  Naturally, tensions rose between weary police officers from all states dealing with emotional residents, looting thieves, destruction and death.

Ten of the twelve members of the Queensland Police contingent outside the Interstate Police Control Headquarters.  Front row L-R: Constable 1/c T.Sheil, Sergeant 2/c J.Gill, S/Sergeant B.Nolan, Sergeant 1/c J.Brennan, Constable K.Rowbotham.  Back row L-R: Constable 1/c R.Latter, Constable W.Hayes, Constable G.Moloney, Constable P.Buckley, Constable L.Potts.  Image No. PM1933o courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Ten of the twelve members of the Queensland Police contingent outside the Interstate Police Control Headquarters. Front row L-R: Constable 1/c T.Sheil, Sergeant 2/c J.Gill, S/Sergeant B.Nolan, Sergeant 1/c J.Brennan, Constable K.Rowbotham. Back row L-R: Constable 1/c R.Latter, Constable W.Hayes, Constable G.Moloney, Constable P.Buckley, Constable L.Potts. Image No. PM1933o courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

In early January 1974 the Queensland police contingent returned home, with accolades for exemplary conduct.  Other interstate police had vacated by mid-January, however defence forces remained to continue rebuilding the broken city side by side with the locals.  Cyclone Tracy traumatised many residents of Darwin, and it took years to rebuild the city, in fact, the severe weather event changed Darwin’s architecture brief, to ensure future buildings, including house had some chance of surviving another cyclone.

The Queensland Police Museum remembers the beautiful city of Darwin and its resilient people today, and wishes everyone a Merry Christmas!

__________________

This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available.  The article was written by Police 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 – 40 years since Cyclone Tracy” 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


Personal safety tips for New Year’s Eve

$
0
0

Party Safe Tips

Police are urging revellers to use common sense and personal safety strategies to ensure New Year’s Eve celebrations remain safe and enjoyable.

Brisbane Event Commander, Acting Superintendent Mick O’Dowd said revellers heading to the entertainment precincts throughout Queensland could use a number of strategies to protect themselves.

“Common sense and being alert to your surroundings are two key components of remaining safe. If you get into a potentially aggressive situation, walk away,” Acting Superintendent O’Dowd said.

“There will be additional officers on duty in entertainment precincts around the state, including specialist officers from the dog squad, the mounted police, and the water police.

“We will also be reminding people to leave their car at home and use public transport or taxis wherever possible. Parking will be difficult and drink driving could cost more than your license.

“Police will be out in force to enhance safety and prevent anti-social behaviour. We want everyone to have a happy – and a safe — New Year’s Eve.”

QPS New Year’s Eve safety tips:

• Use public transport or taxis where possible and be patient with other commuters waiting for these services

• Stay alert and be aware of your surroundings. If you feel threatened or find yourself in an uncomfortable situation, leave immediately and go to a place where you feel safe

• Trust your instincts and recognise warning signs

• Develop a network of people who will assist you in an emergency and let them know where you are going and when you are likely to return

• Look after your friends

• Consider the necessity of the items you are carrying in your handbag or wallet, and try to keep valuables to a minimum

Police offer the following safety tips to those who plan to drink on New Year’s Eve:

• Plan ahead as to how many drinks you will have and stick to the plan by monitoring your drinking

• Book a taxi or designate a driver to ensure you and your friends get home safely

• Eat before and during drinking

• Alternate alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks at a sensible pace

• Avoid mixing drinks and finish each drink before you have another

• Do not leave drinks unattended

• If someone offers to buy you a drink, go up to the bar with that person and accept the drink there.

Further information and personal safety tips can be located on the Queensland Police Service

website at www.police.qld.gov.au

FROM the VAULT – The Early Days

$
0
0

After the colony’s separation from New South Wales in 1859, the young police force was mainly concerned with patrolling the largest city, Brisbane. Rural areas were still looked after by the NSW police. In 1863, a separate police act was endorsed and took effect on 1 January, 1864, and marked the beginning of an independent history for the Queensland Police Force.

On 31 December 1864 the total ordinary Police Force of all ranks in the colony numbered 176 men, who were distributed around 28 stations. During 1865, 15 new stations were formed, with a consequent increase of the force by 38 Constables, while the overall population of the colony increased by 13,052 stretched over 22,331 square miles of new country.

Four indigenous Troopers at the Mistake Creek Native Mounted Police barracks 1880s.  Image courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Four indigenous Troopers at the Mistake Creek Native Mounted Police barracks 1880s. Image courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

As the colonial Queensland urban landscape was still developing, predominantly rural Queensland was patrolled by Native Mounted Police. The Mounted Police, a branch of paramilitary character, existed in extremely rough conditions patrolling the ever-extending frontier of the colony. Each patrol included a number of European policemen and a number of Native troopers. In the overwhelming vastness of the frontier the bushrangers were in open confrontation with the mounted police, unconstrained by the urban landscape and sharpened by the hostility of the wilderness.

Between 1864 and 1870, the Queensland Police Gazettes, issued fortnightly for internal use by the Force, listed 37 murders (including discovered bodies). According to the Queensland Supreme and District Courts trials, there were six murder charges recorded for 1864.

One of the trials was of Alexander Ritchie, who was convicted for murder of Charles Owen of Yandilla Station. Disputes such as these were all too common in the early days of the colonial history.

Owen was driving home in a buggy after holding Court at Leyburn on the day in the absence of the Police Magistrate, when Ritchie rode up behind the carriage, shot him in the neck, and immediately made off. Owen owed the defendant £20 for erecting several huts. Two witnesses reported that they heard Ritchie saying that, if he didn’t get the money, he will have Owens life.

Ritchie was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. He was the first convicted offender to be executed at the Toowoomba Gaol. It was the first execution to take place in Toowoomba, and specialised preparations were made in order to carry out the sentence by the letter of the law. The usual structure for public executions was erected within the western end of the new gaol. On the day, shortly after eight oclock in the morning, the melancholy procession moved the condemned man from the cell and filed into the yard in which the scaffold stood erected. The prisoner’s demeanour if not defiantwas bold and determined and he marched to the gallows foot and ascended the scaffold without hesitation or assistance.

Addendum: This entry was largely informed by digitised records from the following online repositories:

Trove – Australian online resource for books, images, historic newspapers, maps, music, archives and more www.trove.nla.gov.au

The Prosecution Project – the project investigates the history of the criminal trial in Australia www.prosecutionproject.griffith.edu.au

____________________

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 Thursday 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 Early Days”  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

FROM the VAULT – Arthur Albert Bock

$
0
0

Arthur Albert Bock, previously a Labourer from South Australia, joined the Queensland Police as Constable 467 in May 1904. Between 1904 and 1915 Bock served at Roma Street, Charters Towers, Croydon, Toowoomba, Pittsworth and Oxley where the records show he was a competent policeman and a man of good character. After the Gallipoli landing, Bock, then married with three young children enlisted to the A.I.F.

Portrait of Arthur Albert Bock on his wedding day, 1912.  Image PM0792 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Portrait of Arthur Albert Bock on his wedding day, 1912. Image PM0792 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Private Bock, on a leave of absence for the Queensland Police, embarked aboard the HMAT Kyarra A55 on the third of January 1916. He served for three years in the 25 Infantry Battalion in Egypt, France and Belgium.  He sped up the ranks from Private to Second Lieutenant. He was awarded the Military Cross for his service during the attack on Polygon Wood on the 10 September 1917 during which he sustained wounds to both thighs.

“At Westhoe Ridge, Belgium during the attack on Polygon Wood on 10 September 1917. For conspicuous gallantry while leading his platoon of men up. When he encountered a series of four concrete dugouts, he rushed the entrance of one with a torch in one hand and a revolver in the other, and single handed captured seventeen prisoners. He then continued to lead his platoon with great coolness and courage until severely wounded in both legs. Throughout he set a splendid example of daring and coolness to all ranks.”

Mounted Police at the Brisbane show grounds c1912 – Constable A.A. Bock at left, Constable McPaul at right.  Image PM0110 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Mounted Police at the Brisbane show grounds c1912 – Constable A.A. Bock at left, Constable McPaul at right. Image PM0110 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

He was decorated at Buckingham Palace by H.M. King George V. He returned to Queensland in March of 1918, having been invalided home by war wounds. The following month he resumed duty with the Queensland Police and was stationed at Toogoolawah, Sandgate, Barcaldine, Longreach, Fortitude Valley and Roma Street. In the 1920’s he formed and controlled a staff of plainclothes police at Roma St Headquarters. Bock was also took charge of the Mounted Police Escorts to his Excellency the Governor and Royal Visitors to Queensland ‘34. He was promoted to Sub-Inspector in 1932 and Inspector four years later.

Left to Right: Sub Inspector Charles James Lisle Perrin, OIC Police Depot; Sub Inspector John Smith, Superintendent of Traffic and Licencing Inspector; Sub Inspector Charles Webster Watson, OIC Fortitude Valley District; Commissioner Cecil James Carroll, Inspector Arthur Albert Bock, OIC Brisbane Police District; Inspector James Edward Toohill, Inspector North Queensland; Sub Inspector Florence Michael O'Driscoll, OIC South Coast District.  Believed to be outside Parliament House, Brisbane, c1937.  Image PM3113 courtesy 'The Telegraph'.

Left to Right: Sub Inspector Charles James Lisle Perrin, OIC Police Depot; Sub Inspector John Smith, Superintendent of Traffic and Licencing Inspector; Sub Inspector Charles Webster Watson, OIC Fortitude Valley District; Commissioner Cecil James Carroll, Inspector Arthur Albert Bock, OIC Brisbane Police District; Inspector James Edward Toohill, Inspector North Queensland; Sub Inspector Florence Michael O’Driscoll, OIC South Coast District. Believed to be outside Parliament House, Brisbane, c1937. Image PM3113 courtesy ‘The Telegraph’.

Bock was awarded two favourable records: The first in 1927 for ‘good work performed in conjunction with other Police in connection with the arrest and conviction of Harry Collins for theft.’ The second in 1928 for ‘good work, in conjunction with other Police, in connection with the case of Rex. V. Nelson, Fox and McCabe, breaking and entering with intent.’ Bock was also granted a reward of ‘£ 25 by the Arson Award Agreement for good work, in conjunction with other Police in connection with the conviction of Mrs. Jane Campbell for arson at Bowen Hills.’ Bock, a noted disciplinarian, retired from the service in 1944, and died in Brisbane in 1966 at the age of 82 he was survived by his widow, two daughters and two sons.

Bock’s daughter Dulcie Jean Peterson (Nee. Bock) was a probationary officer in Queensland Police Service for a year before she left to serve in the Second World War. Sergeant Paterson served three years and 10 months as a Stenographer in the Australian Women’s Army Service. She married Constable Victor Henry Peterson in 1948.

____________________

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 together with Museum Assistant Georgia Grier.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday 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 – Arthur Albert Bock”  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

FROM the VAULT – Sly Grog Patrol

$
0
0

The following is an account by Albert Austin Montague, an American and former WWII Submariner and retired Sergeant Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, now deceased, of time spent in Brisbane, on sly grog patrol:

“In the early part of 1945 I was transferred from the U.S.S. STINGRAY to the submarine relief crew based in Brisbane, Australia.  I spent a very short time in the relief crew before being transferred to the shore patrol, and was then loaned to the [Queensland] Police Department’s bootleg detail.  Our main function was to buy illegal whiskey from anyone who would sell it to us.  My partner and I would operate with four Queensland police officers and acting very drunk we would go to known bootlegger’s houses and buy bottles of whiskey.  After making the buy we would tip our hats and the four police officers would make the arrest.

Submariner Albert A. Montague, c1941. Image courtesy of Young’s Funeral Home, Tigard, Oregon

Submariner Albert A. Montague, 1921 – 2014.
Image c1941 and courtesy of Young’s Funeral Home, Tigard, Oregon

Two of the arrests stand out in my mind as being somewhat unusual.  The first is when we made a buy from a female and when the officers arrested her, her husband went berserk.  It seems that he had just been released from a 6 month jail term that morning and low and behold they were taking his wife away for another 6 months!  I would have hollered too.  The second [memorable] case occurred when we were attempting to make a buy from a group of men and had a marked patrol car pass by.  The leader of the gang accused us of being undercover agents for the police and pulled a gun.  We had not as yet made a buy so could only talk our way out of the situation.  We finally got clear of the gang and advised the officers of what happened and they arrested them.  We felt kind of funny riding next to them in the police car.

Sketch of a Spirit Still. Image Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Sketch of a Spirit Still.
Image Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

My partner and I worked from 1500 hours to 2300 hours every other day.  Another thing that happened later on our tour with the [Queensland] Police Department was when we would encounter suspects that we had help arrest before and would again buy illegal whiskey from them which would lend to there being arrested once again.  After being in law enforcement for 20 years I can appreciate the professional way in which the [Queensland] police officers protected us during our tour on Brisbane bootleg detail.”

__________________

This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available.  The content was written by Albert A. Montague during his retirement, and compiled by Police Museum Assistant Georgia Grier.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday 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 – Sly Grog Patrol” 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

FROM the VAULT – Bank Bandit and a Wild Car Chase, Brisbane 1978

$
0
0

On 12 April 1978, just before the 10am opening time, notorious bank bandit David Lawrence Hunter entered the Bank of New South Wales on Waterworks Road of Ashgrove and held up the staff with his sawn-off .22 calibre rifle. He took possession of the money, tied the staff up and then ‘walked out past customers in a queue waiting for the 10 o’clock opening, holding two bags of money.’ (Telegraph, 12 Apr 1978)

Between April and November the previous year, Hunter had robbed three banks and taken a total haul of $58,522. Prior to each raid he had made an appointment to see the bank manager. On 11 April Hunter rang the CBC Bank at Ashgrove and made an appointment. This alerted the Criminal Investigation Branch Break & Enter Squad. On the morning of 12 April they were ready and waiting. However Hunter decided to rob another bank across the street, which threw all the police planning in turmoil. “I remember clearly,” Plain Clothed Constable Barry Krosch (now retired) recalls, “Detective Pat Clancy running up the street, and saying (puffing like mad) ‘VKR* – he did the wrong bloody bank!’” Hunter fled in his gold Chevrolet Impala sedan with $29,292.

A Courier Mail mud map of the crime scene, police chase and shooting, published 13.04.1978.

A Courier Mail mud map of the crime scene, police chase and shooting, published 13.04.1978.

The car chase that followed was “one of the most dramatic for decades. At one stage there three cars chasing Hunter. In order to isolate bandit in an area bound by Ashgrove, Toowong, and Indooroopilly, roadblocks were sent up on main roads and the Indooroopilly Bridge. Still, it was 80 long minutes before Hunter was sighted again. In the meantime, the robber returned to his house in Kenmore changed clothes and car to another Chevrolet. By then the police already knew the details of the second car registered into Hunter’s name. On their way to his house, Detectives spotted the car and engaged in pursuit, shots were fired:

I remember it well, because I was driving during the chase, and my partner Keith Green reached down and removed my pistol from my ankle holster. Green removed my pistol and emptied it firing at Hunter in his car. So when Hunter crashed I was in fear of my life, not knowing where he was and I had a pistol empty and no spare ammo.

The police shot out the back window of Hunter’s car along with the driver’s side quarter vent window. Closely followed by police cars, Hunter panicked and failed to notice he turned into Duke Street, a dead-end street in Toowong, where he crashed into a barricade and fled on foot, leaving the money bag but taking his rifle.

More details printed by the Courier Mail, 13 April 1978.

More details printed by the Courier Mail, 13 April 1978.

Detective Green went under the last house on the street and made a quick scan of the gully and the backyard. At this stage the dog handler Constable Close arrived with his dog and joined in the search. Shortly, Detective Green heard gunshots:

Detectives George Sieb and O’Gorman both fired at Hunter from about two feet away. Both fired (I thought) right between his eyes. I saw a hole fair between his eyes and I thought ‘Hell, both rounds have gone thought the one entry hole.’ But later forensic tests showed that Sieb’s pistol was the one that hit him.

I drove Hunter’s car back to Police HQ. I remember pulling up at some lights at Toowong and wondering why everyone was staring at me. The car was riddled with bullet holes.

Courier Mail header, 13 April 1978.

Courier Mail header, 13 April 1978.

*VKR – a CallSign issued to the Queensland Police in 1941 by the Australian radiofrequency regulatory authority, currently known as the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

____________________

This information has been provided by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available.  Personal recollections of the case were supplied by retired Inspector Barry Krosch, with the article written by Museum Volunteer and Crime and Policing Historian Dr Anastasia Dukova.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday 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 – Bank Bandit and a Wild Car Chase, Brisbane 1978”  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

FROM the VAULT – A Verbal Portrait

$
0
0

‘Signalment is the description of the one whom it is desired to identify.’

In 1882, Alphonse Bertillon developed anthropometry, a criminal identification system also known as bertillonage. Bertillon devised three kinds of signalment: anthropometrical (based on series of specific body measurements), descriptive and signalment by peculiar marks (such as tattoos, scars, birthmarks). Prior to Bertillon’s method of classification, historically the following judicial identification techniques were utilised:

(1) the impression of the tip of the thumb (China)

(2) the plaster cast of the jaw

(3) the minute drawing of the areola and denticulation of the human iris

(4) the impression, mould, or photograph of the ear, the hollows and projections of which present so great and individual variety that it is almost impossible to find two human ears exactly alike, with the shape remaining unchanged from infancy to old age

(5) the anatomical description of peculiar marks, beauty-spots, scars, etc.

Abstract of the Anthropometrical Signalment.

Abstract of the Anthropometrical Signalment.

‘Some one said long ago that it is impossible to find two leaves exactly alike. Nature never repeats itself’; applying Bertillon’s descriptive and athropometrical signalments, a drawing helped capture a fugitive Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, an ear, throat and nose specialist of Hilldrop Crescent, Camden road, London. When his wife, Bell Elmore, disappeared in January, 1910, Crippen claimed they had a fight and she told him she was leaving him. He told the police that she had gone back to America and eloped with a man with whom she had long been on too familiar terms. Mrs Crippen was last seen by her friends on the night of 31 January, 1910:

Crippen was an American citizen, and practised as a doctor in the United States prior to going to London as a medical agent for certain companies. He married Cora Turner (an actress, whose stage name was Belle Elmore) in America about the year 1903, and they lived together in England for 10 years. To their friends they always appeared to be on affectionate terms, but during the last three years at least Crippen was cherishing hatred of his wife, and misconducting, himself with a young typist, Ethel Le Neve. Shortly afterwards [after the wife’s disappearance] Le Neve was observed wearing some of the woman’s clothing and jewellery. (The Register, 24 Oct 1910)

A search of Crippen’s house revealed a dismembered set of remains buried in quicklime beneath the bricks in the cellar. Crippen later attempted to flee to Canada on a boat via Brussels with his secretary, Ethel Le Neve disguised as a boy. The fugitives were arrested on board the Atlantic liner Montrose bound for Montreal, Quebec. Sooner after, Crippen was tried and convicted of murder. He was executed on 23 November, 1910. Le Neve, ‘the infatuated typist’, was exonerated.

Nose and ears, Signaletic instructions including the theory and practice of Anthropometrical Signalment.

Nose and ears, Signaletic instructions including the theory and practice of Anthropometrical Signalment.

Anthropometry, as a forensic method of identification, did not stand the test of time and was discredited late last century due to its unreliability. The system could not be depended upon to significantly distinguish between two people whose body measurements and facial features were similar.

____________________

This information has been provided 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 Thursday 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 – A Verbal Portrait”  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

FROM the VAULT – Police Kit to Fit the Criminals

$
0
0

The first uniform forensic identification method was developed by Alphonse Bertillon over a hundred years ago. In the twentieth century, his descriptive signalment and signalment by peculiar marks methods were replaced by forensic art. In the 1970s, advances in technology took forensic identification methods a step further with the aid of Photofit kits. In its time, Photofit kit was hailed as ‘the world’s best criminal identification technique’ with a potential of making up nine billion faces:

Population of the earth is estimated at four billion, 81 million. A police Department spokesman said today the makers claimed Photofit was the ultimate identification unit. No additions would ever have to be made to it. Its potential for preparation of full-face likenesses of suspects was 9,81,979,200. (Telegraph, 10 Nov 1977)

'An example of what new QPS Photofit Kit can do', Telegraph 10 Nov 1977.

‘An example of what new QPS Photofit Kit can do’, Telegraph 10 Nov 1977.

Photofit boxes (one for male suspects and one for female) contained photos of sections of noses, eyes, chins, mouths, foreheads, hair, ears, brows, moustaches, beards, age-lines, wrinkles, hair style and eye and headwear. There were up to 300 images of some of these. The key disadvantages of the system were that the images were available only in black and white, while pre-set hair, facial hair, headwear and eyewear styles were swiftly going out of fashion and becoming obsolete.

Detective Sergeant Al Higgs, Telegraph 10 Nov 1977.

Detective Sergeant Al Higgs, Telegraph 10 Nov 1977.

Following Photofit the QPS employed a police artist in the early 1990s to compile freehand drawings from witness descriptions.  This was an effective method in the south east corner of Queensland, but was more difficult in regional and remote parts of the state.

Later the 1990s witnessed yet another jump in forensic facial identification methods with the introduction of Computer Facial Identification Techniques system, or COMFIT (Com-Fit). The original Com-Fit book contained 29 head shapes, 145 pairs of eyes, 80 hairdos, 36 noses and 27 mouths. ‘The computer [turned] these basic shapes into an infinite number of different modifications. The new system [did] in minutes what used to take an hour…The image which [resulted] from the new system was also very life-like making it easier for victims to confirm the likeness.’ (Vedette 154, Sep 1993). In 1999, a revised version of the COMFIT system was released. Developed by the Photographic Section of the Queensland Police Service, the new COMFIT saw the number of pre-programmed facial components expanded to 650, scanned at a higher resolution and with wider selection of contemporary accessories such as hair styles, glasses and earrings, etc.

The latest evolution in facial composite construction came with a launch of the Colour Comfit eBook in December, 2011. The eBook uses colour facial components, instead of traditional black and white, and encompasses more than 2,000 individual images sorted and categorised into gender and racial types allowing for easier navigation and more realistic images; ‘necks are now integrated into the face shapes, hair grows out of a scalp rather than just hanging in space’ with more up to date hair styles.

The progression of forensic identification.  Special thanks to Photographic Technical Officer Keryl Willis for these images.

The progression of forensic identification. Special thanks to Photographic Technical Officer Keryl Willis for these images.

According to Photographic Technical Officer Keryl Willis, the new colour version of Comfit should be more effective in triggering recognition, as feedback suggests that some younger witnesses were not always able to interpret black and white images due to their limited previous exposure to black and white television and photography.

____________________

This information has been provided 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 Thursday 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 – Police Kit to Fit the Criminals”  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


POLICE MUSEUM SUNDAY LECTURE – iDcare and how it can help you

$
0
0

iDcare and how it can help you

22 February 2015
11am – 12.30pm

 Police Headquarters
200 Roma Street
Brisbane  QLD  4000

FREE ENTRY

iDcare Banner

Have you ever lost your wallet? Had a burglar snoop around your home? Experienced the theft of your passport? Did you ever click on a phishing email?  All these unfortunate events could lead to your identity being misused.  Over one million people in Australia and New Zealand suffer information theft each year.  The scary thought is, it doesn’t necessarily happen immediately, your personal information may be used fraudulently years after falling into the wrong hands.

Dr. David Lacey, Managing Director of iDcare and Senior Research Fellow at the University of the Sunshine Coast, will speak about iDcare and how it can give personalised support to individuals concerned about their personal information.

During the lecture Dr. Lacey will share some insights about identity theft such as the misuse of personal information; the average amount involved per identity theft case; the average time taken to detect a compromise; and that cold-calling scams, the physical theft of documents, and email hacking are the top three methods used by criminals to obtain personal information.

This one-and-a-half hour presentation will begin at 11am on Sunday, February 22 and will provide educational and up-to-date content suitable for all audiences.

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 Thursday 9am to 4pm opening hours. Monthly Sunday openings feature guest speakers from across the historical and crime-solving spectrums.

NOTE:  Out lectures are proving to be very popular, so please arrive on time.  The door to the conference room will be accessible from 10.45.  When all seats are taken we cannot allow anyone else into the room.

The Police Museum will open Sunday February 22 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 seeing you soon.

FROM the VAULT – Crow’s Nest Police Station in the 1950’s

$
0
0

Sergeant 2/c Thomas Doyle was transferred from Toowoomba Police Station to Crow’s Nest with his family in 1949.  In November 1950 Sergeant Doyle requested a lawn mower for use on the station grounds: ‘The whole of the Police yard comprises “Kikuya” grass, and on account of the recent beneficial rains it is most difficult to keep it in check, particularly from the lengthy main entrance to the office steps.  I am doing all I can, with the implements available, to maintain the surroundings in a satisfactory condition, but with frequent rains and heavy dews this is difficult without the use of a lawn mower, which I respectively (sic) submit is a necessity under existing conditions.’

Upon this request the Police Commissioner wrote to the Under Secretary, Department of Justice, requesting the cost of a lawnmower be shared between the two departments, as the approach to the Police Station also serviced the Court House.  The Department of Justice agreed shortly after, allocating Requisition Number 62540 for the supply of a hand lawnmower, and Sergeant 2/c Doyle dutifully acknowledged receipt of one “Qualcast” lawnmower, size 14”, from Intercolonial Boring Co. Ltd, Ann Street, Brisbane on 21st December 1950, just in time for Christmas.

Portrait of Thomas Reginald Doyle when he was a Probationary (training), 1926.  Image courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Portrait of Thomas Reginald Doyle when he was a Probationary (training), 1926. Image PM0771 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

In 1987 the now retired Sub-Inspector Doyle was interviewed about his policing career, and provided the following on his time at Crow’s Nest Police Station:

“I moved to Crow’s Nest with my wife and three children in May 1949.  It is situated 45 km north of Toowoomba, on the New England Highway, and the centre of a farming, dairying and pastoral area, with State pine forests in the adjoining localities of Pechey and Hampton.  When I was there a branch of the Darling Downs Co-Op Association operated a butter factory in the town and it was also the terminus of a branch railway from Toowoomba.

In addition to police duties I again was appointed Acting Clerk of Petty Sessions.  I had one married Constable under my supervision. Two civilian Stock Inspectors were also stationed at this centre, under the control of the Department of Agriculture and Stock.  My duties of Acting Inspector of Stock were almost negligible.

The Sergeant’s residence, single man’s quarters, Police and Court of Petty Sessions Offices, Court Room and Stock Office were all contained in one building situated on a Police Reserve in the town. A feed room, one horse stable and a lockup were also provided.  A troop horse was not provided and any patrols necessary were made by private car for which a monthly allowance of £1-10-0 was made for petrol.  Privately owned saddle horses were available on loan, if necessary.

Another one of my duties was that of Chief Fire Warden for the District, also Labour Agent – registering unemployed once a week; if a job came out I would send them to it, but that was not very often.

Residents, generally, were law abiding and the few arrests made were for minor offences only.  There were three hotels in my area.  One in Crow’s Nest, one at Pechey and the other at Hampton, eight and twelve kilometres out of town.

What was regarded as the ‘big’ day at this centre was pig and calf sale day when all and sundry gathered at the sale yards.  Animals sold were later railed to the Darling Downs Assoc. Bacon Factory, Toowoomba, for slaughter.

There was radio, but no T.V. reception. A picture theatre was usually crowded on Saturday nights and dances were held in Public Halls and Schools in outlying areas.  Weekend sport consisted of golf, cricket, football, tennis and horse sporting programmes.

Crow’s Nest could be regarded in my time as a prosperous small country town with a well behaved community.  A Doctor, Dentist, and Community Hospital were available locally.”

Doyle was promoted to Sergeant Officer in Charge, and transferred to Kangaroo Point Police Station in 1952.  During the next 10 years he also policed Bowen, Innisfail, and Brisbane.  Doyle was promoted to Sub-Inspector in 1961 and then joined the Brisbane Water Police.  He retired from the Queensland Police in 1965.

__________________

This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available.  The content was supplied by Thomas R. Doyle during his retirement, and compiled by Police Museum Assistant Georgia Grier.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday 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 – Crow’s Nest Police Station in the 1950’s” 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

FROM the VAULT – The Patient and the Brave

$
0
0

On the 3rd March 1954 advice was received at the Ipswich Police Station that a man had armed himself with a rifle and fired shots at his father.  Constable C.H. Lebsanft, of Redbank, proceeded to the man’s residence at Riverview and found he had locked himself in the house, after firing shots towards his father.  Cons Lebsanft talked to the offender through a window of the house, and on requesting the rifle be handed to him, received the reply that his wife and two young children and also the Constable would be shot if he interfered.  The Constable considered the offender was quite capable of fulfilling these threats, and requested assistance.

A medal award ceremony on 11 May 1956 for several brave officers, including Detective Senior Constable Morgan Franklyn Clark (third from right) who received the British Empire Medal (Civil Division),  Constable 1/c  Wesley John Cooke (second from right) who received the British Empire Medal (Civil Division) and Constable 1/c Clifford Henry Lebsanft (far right) who received the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct (Civil).  Image No. PM2328c courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

A medal award ceremony on 11 May 1956 for several brave officers, including Detective Senior Constable Morgan Franklyn Clark (third from right) who received the British Empire Medal (Civil Division), Constable 1/c Wesley John Cooke (second from right) who received the British Empire Medal (Civil Division) and Constable 1/c Clifford Henry Lebsanft (far right) who received the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct (Civil).
Image No. PM2328c courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Detective Sergeant 1/c S.H. Hambrecht, Detective Senior Constables M.F.Clark and V.E. Gorey, Constable 1/c W.J. Cooke and Constable L.Ballin proceeded to the scene.  The police officers separated with a view to approaching the house unseen.  DSC Gorey stayed in a conspicuous place to keep the offender’s attention, while DSgt 1/c Hambrecht and Cons Ballin endeavoured to approach the house from the western side.  Cons Lebsanft walked to the bathroom window and engaged the man in conversation, while DSC Clark and Cons 1/c Cooke approached the house from the rear.

The British Empire Medal (BEM), officially the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the crown. Image courtesy of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The British Empire Medal (BEM), officially the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the crown.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Clark and Cooke gained entry to the house through a window and were investigating the interior of the house to enable them to approach the man, when he came towards them carrying a .22 calibre rifle in both hands, and pointing to the floor in front of them.  Cons 1/c Cooke requested the offender put the gun down, but he replied he would kill them.  The offender trained the rifle on each of the police officers in turn and again repeated his threat to kill them.  Both officers were armed with automatic weapons and could have shot the offender at any time after he first came into view in the house, but they kept these weapons concealed to refrain from antagonising him.  The offender, however, fired his rifle at Cooke who in turn fired his weapon into a kitchen cabinet in the hope it would shock the man to his senses.  Both officers then rushed the offender and grappled with him, pinning him against the wall.  A violent struggle ensued, but the man was overpowered.  He was arrested and charged with unlawfully attempting to kill Constable 1/c Cooke.

The manner in which DSC Clark, Cons 1/c Cooke and Const C.H. Lebsanft, under extreme danger of mortal injury, performed their duties is creditable to the highest degree.  Her Majesty the Queen was pleased to approve the award of the British Empire Medal to DSC Clarke and Constable 1/c Cooke, and the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct to Constable Lebsanft.

Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct. This bronze badge in the form of an oak leaf acknowledged brave acts of military personnel in non-warlike situations. Image courtesy of the Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company.

Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct. This bronze badge in the form of an oak leaf acknowledged brave acts of military personnel in non-warlike situations.
Image courtesy of the Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company.

 

This information has been taken from the Queensland Police Force Annual Report for the year ending 30 June 1956.  The article was compiled by Museum Assistant Georgia Grier.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday 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 Patient and the Brave 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

FROM the VAULT – Senior Constable William Conroy

$
0
0

Senior Constable William Conroy was transferred to Thursday Island in 1886. He became a well-respected officer.  On 1 July 1895 Amelia Tinyana went to the Thursday Island Police Station and complained to Sub-Inspector Urquhart that her husband had beaten her.  That evening Conroy reported to Sergeant McCreery that Frank Tinyana was quiet and reasonable and there were no grounds for arresting him.  On the 2nd a summons was served on Tinyana and Urquhart gave instructions that police should keep an eye on him.

On the evening of the 2nd, Tinyana went to Mrs Boyd’s house, where his wife was staying, demanding to know where she was.  Andrew Boyd told him to go away or he would call the police.  A short time later Boyd heard someone trying to break in through the back door. Mrs Tinyana jumped out of the bedroom window and called for the police, she ran to Smyth’s Hotel and found Senior Constable Conroy.

Boyd returned to his mother’s house and locked the doors.  He let Mrs Tinyana and the police officer in when then they arrived.  Boyd then left by the front door but forgot to lock it.  Conroy and Mrs Tinyana were in the backyard when Frank Tinyana ran through the house and out towards them wielding a knife.  He attacked his wife and she sustained a deep wound to her arm after which she ran back through the house and out onto the street.

Ten minutes later Conroy and his prisoner came out through the front of the house, both looked exhausted as they staggered into the front garden.  Constable Clines arrived and ran up to Conroy who handed the prisoner to him and said, “My God, is that you? Take this fellow, I must lie down, he has killed me”, before he collapsed. Senior Constable William Conroy had been stabbed seven times and could not be saved, he died at 10.30pm on 2 July 1895.  After a lengthy trail Frank Tinyana pleaded guilty and was sentenced to death. He was executed on 4 November 1895.

PM0158

Thursday Island was the final resting place of Senior Constable William Conroy, and this headstone is engraved with the following: “To the memory of William Conroy aged 33 years. Senior Constable of police who was killed at Thursday Island on the second of July 1895 in the faithful and fearless execution of his duty. Palmam qui mereif ferat. This stone was erected by the Queensland Government and the officers and men of the Queensland Police Force.”

____________________

This information has been provided by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available.  The article was written by Museum Curator Lisa Jones.

The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday 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 – Senior Constable William Conroy”  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

POLICE MUSEUM SUNDAY LECTURE – The Prosecution Project

$
0
0

The Prosecution Project
Uncover the details of Australia’s criminal past

 29 March 2015
11am – 12.30pm

 Police Headquarters
200 Roma Street
Brisbane  QLD  4000

FREE ENTRY

On 13 October 1941, Patrick Drew, a 49-year-old Brisbane painter, plead guilty to 51 charges of theft and breaking and entering, which he had committed over a period of thirteen years. Drew, who was liable for 600 years’ imprisonment, was described as Queensland’s ‘most successful burglar’ by Justice Philp. However, out of consideration for Drew’s war service, the judge sentenced him to only two years’ imprisonment.

In this month’s Sunday Lecture, hear how the story of Brisbane’s best burglar is one of many that has been uncovered by a team of researchers at Griffith University engaged in exploring the history of the criminal trial in Australia, with support from the Australian Research Council through the Prosecution Project.

During the lecture ARC Laureate Fellow, Mark Finnane and Research Fellow Alana Piper will speak about the Prosecution Project’s website (https://prosecutionproject.griffith.edu.au), outline its aims and how the digitised information can be accessed by the community. They will explain how the project will produce a rich understanding of how crime has been prosecuted in Australia, as well as how people lived, behaved, dealt with conflict and tragedy and how legal and political institutions responded to crime and its consequences.

This one-and-a-half hour presentation will begin at 11am on Sunday, March 29 and will provide educational and up-to-date content suitable for all audiences.

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 Thursday 9am to 4pm opening hours. Monthly Sunday openings feature guest speakers from across the historical and crime-solving spectrums.

NOTE:  Out lectures are proving to be very popular, so please arrive on time.  The door to the conference room will be accessible from 10.45.  When all seats are taken we cannot allow anyone else into the room.

The Police Museum will open Sunday March 29 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 seeing you soon.

FROM the VAULT – Police Women in Queensland

$
0
0

Historically, policing organisations were male-dominated and remain so to this day. The Queensland Police was no exception, in line with the majority of police forces, the department was exclusively male well into the 1900s.

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

Miss Dare and Miss O’Donnell worked under the supervision of the Inspector, 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.  Their tasks included escorting female prisoners, sometimes on long train journeys, and occasionally body searching female prisoners.

In March 1965, the first women were sworn into the ranks and in June the first uniformed police women joined in following regular probationary training.

On March 31, 1965 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.  Image No. PM2055 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

On March 31, 1965 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. Image No. PM2055 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

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 September 1 1970, 39 years after the first policewomen were appointed, and on the same day Ray Whitrod became Police Commissioner, equal pay was finally achieved.

Commissioner Whitrod’s programme called for tremendous changes in the organisation. He introduced the same introductory training for female recruits at the academy as men before being sworn in. The swearing in ceremony marked the end of 16 weeks training.

Newspaper article showing Constable Noala Holman demonstrating judo hold on Police Cadet Malcolm Taylor, 1967. Image No. PM1273 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Newspaper article showing Constable Noala Holman demonstrating judo hold on Police Cadet Malcolm Taylor, 1967.
Image No. PM1273 courtesy of The Sunday Mail.

The training course covered law and police duties, traffic lectures, report writing, typing, swimming, judo, karate, physical training, first aid, pistol drill, courts visits, visits to juvenile aid, scientific sections of the Police Force and to the Institute of Forensic Pathology. Commissioner Whitrod’s open door policy resulted in an influx of women applicants.

‘Aiming to Protect Us’ (The Courier Mail 12 Jan, 1972). Correct pistol stance was shown to Miss Linda Stephenson, 23, of Coorparoo, at the Police Depot, Petrie Terrace, by Officer-in-Charge of the Training Section Sergeant 1/c D.P. Bodenham. Image courtesy of The Courier Mail.

‘Aiming to Protect Us’ (The Courier Mail 12 Jan, 1972). Correct pistol stance was shown to Miss Linda Stephenson, 23, of Coorparoo, at the Police Depot, Petrie Terrace, by Officer-in-Charge of the Training Section Sergeant 1/c D.P. Bodenham.
Image courtesy of The Courier Mail.

On completion of their training, police women were posted to fill a whole range of police duties:

They joined the Traffic Branch where they took on point duty at busy intersections. They worked in mobile units, including an all-women traffic car. They participated in school liaison teams, controlled the desk in the operations room and performed beat duty on all shifts…They became qualified searchers in fingerprint department. They contributed as full members to the planning and searching section. They became plainclothes officers in the drug and criminal investigation sections…They joined the police pipe band. They became instructors at the academy. They joined the water police unit and the public order squad. (Whitrod, R. 2001)

Between 1976 and 1978, under the commissionership of Terrence M. Lewis, the department suffered a significant setback in recruitment and advancement of women in the Queensland Police with the number of female sworn officers dropping from eight per cent to five. The number of female recruits did not rise, and stabilise at around 30%, until the 1990s, when the Police Service Administration Act 1990 and the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 reinforced merit-based criteria of employment.

____________________

This information has been provided 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 Thursday 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 – Police Women in Queensland”  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

FROM the VAULT – Jupiter’s ready to take on the cheats

$
0
0

In November 1985, the Queensland Police created the first Casino Crime Squad in Australia. The Squad was set up at the Conrad International Hotel and Jupiters Casino at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast, and consisted of a Detective Sergeant 1/c in charge with a staff of three detectives. The Squad operated from offices within the Casino conducting electronic surveillance of suspects through the network of video cameras installed in and around the hotel and casino. Video surveillance utilised by the Squad led to the successful prosecution for illegal acts which otherwise would have been hard to discern by the untrained eye.

The Casino Squad worked under, and enforced, the Casino Control Act 1982, keeping a close watch over staff and management ensuring integrity of operations. It also worked in close operation with other specialist police squads, local plain clothes, uniformed police, assisted Federal Police and casino management in the protection of visiting VIPs on a number of occasions. More so, the mobility of the specialised unit guaranteed a reduction in the number of car thefts and theft and damage to motor vehicles in the vicinity of the casino.

Casino Crime Squad, 1997.  Image courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Casino Crime Squad, 1997. Image courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

The small team of detectives monitored a vast number of hotel and casino guests and visitors. The complex comprised of a 622 room hotel, 100-plus table casino, convention venue and entertainment complex. A survey carried out in 1986 showed that on a given off-peak season Saturday, 23,000 people were recorded visiting the Casino. During the first year of its operation, beginning November, 1985, the Squad arrested 32 persons on 328 charges, involving forging and uttering, stealing, wilful damage, fraud and drugs, and administering stupefying drugs with intent; one man was subsequently charged with 278 offences. Two individuals were extradited from New South Wales to appear on charges of armed robbery.

The December issue of the Daily Sun reported that ‘highly-trained international gangs would try to cheat Jupiter’s Casino out of millions of dollars’.  According to the newspaper, a former executive director of the New Jersey gaming enforcement division detailed the state had lost more than $3,000,000US to poker machine rip-offs alone and warned Jupiter’s video machines were vulnerable to sophisticated thieves, while the gaming tables could fall victims to cheats. Within months a man, whose name was not disclosed, was identified by the Casino Crime Squad as a member of an international gang of casino cheats which travelled widely for criminal purposes. A warrant was subsequently issued for his arrest.

Jupiters Casino, aerial shot taken c1985. Image courtesy of the Centre for the Government of Queensland.

Jupiters Casino, aerial shot taken c1985. Image courtesy of the Centre for the Government of Queensland.

New Jersey police lieutenant Steve Geraldo said cheats were learning to beat machine technology straight out of school. Some American casinos had systems allowing police to investigate jackpot winners almost immediately, he said. However, Deputy Premier Mr Gunn said he was confident Jupiter’s was ready to take on the cheats. (Daily Sun, 5 December, 1985.)

Currently, out of the four hotel and casinos in operation in Queensland, Jupiters Hotel and Casino continues to see the highest number of offences committed under the Queensland Casino Control Act.

____________________

This information has been provided 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 Thursday 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 – Jupiter’s ready to take on the cheats”  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


FROM the VAULT – Kiss-A-Cop

$
0
0

1979 started on a fonder note for the Queensland policemen and policewomen than usual. In December, 1978 a Kiss-A-Cop campaign was launched by the Queensland Police Force to foster public relations. The promotion was deemed a success, for in 1980, the second year in a row, the behaviour of crowds gathered at the Gold Coast and on the Redcliffe peninsula for New Year’s celebrations showed a marked improvement. No serious incidents were reported. “Most members of the public seemed to have accepted this campaign with a happy holiday spirit.” (Queensland Police Annual Report, 1980) The Superintendent for South Eastern Region reported the almost traditional bitter confrontations between revellers and the police were in the past. He observed, revellers in Surfers Paradise and Coolangatta, the areas known for the most boisterous New Year’s Eve celebrations, were more intent on celebrating with the officers of police than in having ‘fun’ at the expense of authority.

Kiss-A-Cop, mentioned in the Queensland Police Annual Report, 1980, page 43.

Kiss-A-Cop, mentioned in the Queensland Police Annual Report, 1980, page 43.

Over the next few years, this successful campaign went State-wide:

By inviting the public to join in the spirit of celebration with police officers during the celebrations, the Department is delighted to record that no serious incidents of crowd misbehaviour were experienced at any centre for the third year in succession. The small number of arrests which occurred on New Year’s Eve were not as a result of confrontation but because of minor street offences. (QP AR, 1982)

Soon after, amidst the fears of communicably transmitted diseases, including AIDS, which was first clinically observed in 1981 and was still little understood especially by the general public, the Queensland Police Department dropped its Kiss-A-Cop campaign. The Police Union President warned Gold Coast police over affectionate New Year’s revellers. He “has advised his members to be wary of people who insist on kissing police officers as 1986 starts. ‘We don’t like our members being kissed by strangers…’, he continued, ‘If anyone sees someone who is about to give them a kiss, I advise to turn tail and head for the hills’.”(Daily Sun, 4 Dec 1985)

In order to quash these fears, the Deputy Director of the Health and Medical Service, and a member of the national AIDS Task Force, Dr Ken Donald, stated on record that the chances of AIDS transmission through saliva were negligible:

To be at risk of contracting the disease, people kissing an AIDS carrier would need to swallow a milk bottle of that carrier’s saliva. If I’m asked about AIDS tonight during New Year’s celebrations, I will be giving a demonstration to show there are no problems… (Telegraph, 31 Dec 1985)

Police Commissioner Terry Lewis, warned as thousands of people were expected to flock to the city: “while we want people to enjoy themselves, revellers shouldn’t think that New Year’s Eve is a licence for excess.”

____________________

This information has been provided 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 Thursday 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 – Kiss-A-Cop”  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

POLICE MUSEUM SUNDAY LECTURE – QPS Diving Unit

$
0
0

Under Water Investigations: The QPS Diving Unit

  26 April 2015
11am – 12.30pm

 Police Headquarters
200 Roma Street
Brisbane  QLD  4000

FREE ENTRY

An appreciation of the value of a police diving squad was first realized in 1964 when the Danish dredge, the Captain Nielsen, capsized in Moreton Bay and police divers saved twelve lives. In the early days members of the Queensland Water Police, who dived in their spare time, donned a tank and a mask and lent their expertise for official police work.

Rescue operation for the capsized Kaptajn Nielsen, 1964.  Image PM2517 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Rescue operation for the capsized Kaptajn Nielsen, 1964. Image PM2517 courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Senior Constable Matthew Guitman of the Diving Unit will discuss the history of the Diving Unit and outline the common and not so common tasks undertaken by the police divers of today.

Senior Constable Guitman will outline how the Diving Unit usually undertakes searches and other work in limited or zero visibility conditions and whilst avoiding potentially dangerous hazards. He will illustrate the lecture with examples of the latest under water search equipment.

The one-and-a-half hour presentation will begin at 11am on Sunday, April 26 and will provide educational and up-to-date content 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 Thursday 9am to 4pm opening hours. Monthly Sunday openings feature guest speakers from across the historical and crime-solving spectrums.

NOTE:  Out lectures are proving to be very popular, so please arrive on time.  The door to the conference room will be accessible from 10.45.  When all seats are taken we cannot allow anyone else into the room.

The Police Museum will open Sunday April 26 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 seeing you soon.

FROM THE VAULT – ANZAC Day and the 100th anniversary

$
0
0

When WWI was announced, many Queensland police officers heard the call and took leave to join the Australian Imperial Force. Of those police officers who went to war, 30 paid the ultimate price and did not return home.  Tomorrow, and every day, we remember their sacrifice.

2015 sees the 100th anniversary of the first policemen who died in battle, or from subsequent illness caused by war.  These are the names of the eight Queensland Police Constables marking this milestone.

25.04.1915 Private Patrick Moynihan 9th Battalion AIF Killed in action at the Dardanelles in Turkey
02.05.1915 Private David Bourke 15th Battalion AIF Died from wounds at Alexandria in Egypt
03.05.1915 Corporal William Hughes 15th Battalion AIF Killed in action at the Dardanelles in Turkey
07.05.1915 Private John Johnston 15th battalion AIF Killed in action at the Dardanelles in Turkey
19.07.1915 Private Robert Ritchie 25th Battalion AIF Died from illness while on active service at sea
02.10.1915 Private Phillip Vowles 9th Battalion AIF Died from illness while on active service in London
15.10.1915 Private Eugene Nugent 25th Battalion AIF Killed in action at the Dardanelles in Turkey
22.11.1915 Trooper John Christiansen 5th Australian Light Horse Killed in action at Gallipoli in Turkey

 

Recruit course, Brisbane Police Depot, 1913. A number of these men volunteered for War service. Some did not return. Patrick James Moynihan (1888 - 1915) extreme right front row; John (Jack) Graham (1892 - 1917) on left 3rd row & Patrick Devine (1915-1917) on left back row at top of stairs. All three served with the 9th Battalion. Image No. PM0111 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

Recruit course, Brisbane Police Depot, 1913.
A number of these men volunteered for War service. Some did not return. Patrick James Moynihan (1888 – 1915) extreme right front row; John (Jack) Graham (1892 – 1917) on left 3rd row & Patrick Devine (1915-1917) on left back row at top of stairs. All three served with the 9th Battalion.
Image No. PM0111 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum.

__________________

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 Thursday 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- ANZAC Day and the 100th Anniversary” 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

FROM the VAULT – Real People…

$
0
0

The Police Museum’s image collection includes many interesting police related images. Today we show you five of the Curator’s favourites, in chronological order.

A SCRUFFY BUNCH Queensland Police Officers, c1864 Image No. PM1946 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

A SCRUFFY BUNCH
Queensland Police Officers, c1864
Image No. PM1946 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

WATER RATS Brisbane Water Police, c1875 Seated: Henry Roughsedge, Henry Ross, George Burge Standing: Henry Bycroft, Ambrose Taylor, James Wassell, Mathew Henning Anderson & William Henry Wardle Image No. PM0001 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

WATER RATS
Brisbane Water Police, c1875
Seated: Henry Roughsedge, Henry Ross, George Burge
Standing: Henry Bycroft, Ambrose Taylor, James Wassell, Mathew Henning Anderson & William Henry Wardle
Image No. PM0001 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

ONE IN, ALL IN A police officer, his wife and child, with the station tracker, standing outside a typical country police station, c1910 Image No. PM0618 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

ONE IN, ALL IN
A police officer, his wife and child, with the station tracker, standing outside a typical country police station, c1910
Image No. PM0618 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

SPOT THE POLICE OFFICERS Brisbane Victory in the Pacific Day (VP) celebrations, August 15, 1945  Image No. PM2137 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

SPOT THE POLICE OFFICERS
Brisbane Victory in the Pacific Day (VP) celebrations, August 15, 1945
Image No. PM2137 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

SHOW OFF Constable 1/c Bill English demonstrates the new reflector gauntlets which were used for directing traffic at night, 1958. Image No. PM1072 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

SHOW OFF
Constable 1/c Bill English demonstrates the new reflector gauntlets which were used for directing traffic at night, 1958.
Image No. PM1072 Courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

__________________

These images are from the collection of the Queensland Police Museum.  The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday 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- Real People…” 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

Thank you for 150 years of support, Queensland

$
0
0

As our 150th year of policing draws to a close, we want to say thank you to Queenslanders for their support.

This video is a reflection of the gratitude our officers have for the communities in which they work and live, across all corners of Queensland.

It is a chance to get a glimpse into the lives of individuals the community may not ordinarily get to know. These officers are ordinary people doing an extraordinary job. 150 years of policing resonates with each of them and the anniversary gives them a chance to thank you the community of Queensland for allowing them to do the jobs they love.

Viewing all 663 articles
Browse latest View live