A message from the Chief Commissioner

In winter it’s important that we all take extra care on the roads. Driving is much more challenging in rainy and windy conditions, your visibility may be reduced, and trying to drive in flood conditions is extremely dangerous. I urge everyone to take special care on the roads over the next few months and stay safe.

This edition of Police Life features a special article on road safety and the devastating
impact of road traffic fatalities on families, the community, and also on our police who attend such scenes. We focus on the outstanding work of three policewomen in road policing, and the effect of road crashes on them personally. Their work is also having a real effect in attracting more policewomen to road policing, which has traditionally been seen as a male dominated area.

Policing is a fulfilling vocation which offers so many different careers, and some of these are highlighted in this edition. Whether it is search and rescue, crime scene work or forensics, working in a large national taskforce, or shutting down hoon driver behavior in outer Melbourne, our police have the opportunity to develop their skills across many different areas.

Fittingly, in a year commemorating 100 years
of women in policing, this edition of Police Life also celebrates the career of the late Catherine Margaret McVeigh, Victoria Police’s first ever female Chief Superintendent, who achieved so much during her 32-year career. We have come so far in 100 years – since the very early days of the 1950s, when there were fewer than 60 women in Victoria Police, to the extensive opportunities for women in Victoria Police now. We still have a way to go, but I am proud to see Victoria Police becoming an organisation that better reflects
our rich and diverse Victorian community.

Graham Ashton AM
Chief Commissioner

Follow CCP Ashton on Twitter at @GrahamAshtonCCP

Published in the Winter 2017 edition of Police Life