Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan APM talks about his time as the Chief Police Officer (CPO) for the Australian Capital Territory. The experienced police officer has worked at the local and national levels for 40 years - starting as a general duties Constable in the ACT and ending up leading ACT Policing. On the way he held responsibilities for leading the Australian Federal Police's Counter Terrorism, Cyber and Organised Crime Commands, and the organisation's international engagements.

Having recently retired from the Chief Police Officer role, Gaughan talks about a range of issues including the unique challenges of policing the national capital, the impact of laws that have decriminalised the possession of most drugs, the impact of COVID-19 on ACT Policing, as well as aspects relating to the high-profile investigation into an alleged rape at Parliament House.

Author and APJ Deputy Editor, retired Detective Senior Sergeant Barry Fay, discusses his 2016 crime case article titled An Unexpected 'Mayday' in November – the callous murder of three men in NSW. The first two were shot inside a Sydney gun shop in 1977. The third victim was a police sergeant, gunned down in 1980 when he unknowingly asked too many questions of the offender in remote bushland to the west of Newcastle. The offender subsequently shot another police officer in an attempt to avoid capture.

This episode includes some of the actual police radio transmissions made in the aftermath of the murder of the sergeant and when the second police officer was shot.

This is a redux of Episode 2 - the sound quality of the original episode was affected by a poor telephone line.

Host: Jason Byrnes
Guest: Barry Fay

The story and more details about the APJ itself can be found at www.apjl.com.au

Music

Theme: Like We Do It by Grace Mesa, available at Premium Beat
End: Motivational Digital Piano & Cello by AudioChemicals, available at Audio Jungle

Interested in learning about the challenges of police leadership in the 21st Century?

The day before she retired from the role of Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service (QPS), Katarina Carroll APM spared some time to talk to Jason Byrnes about a range of topics. These included the challenges facing police now and into the future, the skills future leaders should possess, how the QPS responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact on the organisation in the wake of the murder of two police officers in December 2022. Ms Carroll also revealed the roles in her career she found challenging, gave an insight into her experience in previously leading Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, and also how she dealt with government, parliament and the opposition.

This episode continues the APJ’s efforts to inform and educate police and the community about the challenges of policing at all levels. It is particularly relevant for serving police from any agency, keen to gain an understanding of the priorities, pressures and opportunities that face senior police leadership.

Host: Jason Byrnes APM
Guest: Katarina Carroll APM

In 2002 three men died in grizzly circumstances in Melbourne, after a series of gang related incidents. One young man was hacked to death by offenders wielding samurai swords. Three of his friends were then chased into the cold Yarra River - two of them drowned.

Recently retired Detective Sergeant Brett Smith wrote the article ‘Asian Gangs Blood the Yarra’ in the June 2009 issue of the APJ. In the podcast Brett, and his then Senior Sergeant Jeff Maher, talk about the challenges facing them at the crime scene and during the investigation and subsequent court case.

The article can be read at the website: www.apjl.com.au.

Host:
Jason Byrnes APM

Guests:
Brett Smith and Jeff Maher

APJ Deputy Editor Barry Fay joins host Jason Byrnes to give an overview of the police investigation into a horrific 1978 crime where a mother and two of her young children were abducted from their home. The mother was raped and all three subsequently murdered.

Barry discusses the course of the investigation and explains some of the procedures used to identify and bring the offender to justice. As with many such investigations, chance played a major role a various points throughout the story of this case.

Barry's article, 'They Walk Amongst Us', appeared in the June 2008 issue of the APJ. It can be read at www.apjl.com.au.

LISTENER WARNING: Some of the discussion in the podcast is about the murder of young children. The comments are germane to the case study, but may be confronting to some.

Host: Jason Byrnes APM

Guest: Barry Fay

An arson at a major Australian naval base in December 1976 left the country without its naval surveillance and submarine detection capability for months. It was the most costly and complex fire ever to have occurred in the country, apart from major bushfires and some attacks during World War II.

In this episode APJ Editor Simon Bouda narrates the article titled: ‘How Teamwork Unmasked the Albatross Arsonist’, written by then Detective Chief Inspector Harry Delaforce, and published in the APJ in 1991.

Host: Jason Byrnes APM
Narrator: Simon Bouda AM

A gunman goes on a rampage in the national capital. He tries to murder two people, explodes his car and sets fire to an office building, recklessly endangers the safety of hundreds of people, and shoots at police. Specialist (tactical) police enter the burning building to hunt for the gunman, while firefighters rescue people stuck in a radio station on the building’s first floor.

In this gripping episode you will hear from police and a firefighter involved in the operation, and how they were able to protect public safety while under fire.

Host/narrator: Jason Byrnes.

Guests: Shane Connelly, Kim Francis, John Jeffery, Brian McDonald, Liz McDonald, Greg Mowle, Ian Prior, Darren Rath and Mark Usback.

Produced by: Adam Axelby and Jason Byrnes.

In-episode music: Luke Axelby.

In this special episode we learn about the planning and logistics involved in hosting National Police Remembrance Day (NPRD) services in the nation’s capital. The main Dusk Service involves police from across the county. This year the Commissioners from Queensland and Western Australia attended, along with the AFP Commissioner and the Governor-General of Australia. NPRD has significant resonance for the policing community in Australia, New Zealand and in the Pacific.

The main guest in the episode is AFP Superintendent Dean Elliott, whose Recognition and Customs teams are responsible for hosting the Dusk Service and supporting other services.

Also in the episode are this year’s Dusk Service addresses of the Governor-General of Australia and the commissioners from the Australian Federal Police, the Queensland Police Service and the Western Australia Police Force. The episode ends with a dramatic reading of the poem ‘I Am’, written especially to commemorate fallen police.

Host: Jason Byrnes APM
Guest: AFP Superintendent Dean Elliott

Speakers at the Service:
His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd)
Commissioner Col Blanch APM, Western Australia Police Force
Commissioner Katarina Carroll APM, Queensland Police Service
Commissioner Reece P Kershaw APM, Australian Federal Police

Poem: ‘I Am’
Written by: Vince Pannell APM
Spoken by: Rebecca Kotz and Greg Primmer

Music at the beginning of the episode
‘The Requiescat’ played by the NSW Police Force Band