Monash UniversityOccupational Health & Safety Conference

October 2014

John TodorSuperintendentVictoria Police

Specialist Response Division

Overview

• Why OH&S – What is it really about?• Role of Specialist Response Division• Response to Christchurch Earthquake

– OHS considerations in planning– OHS issues on deployment

• Changing the safety culture• Future OH&S challenges

Why OH&S – What is really about?

• It’s about people not stats.– Stats tell us if what we are doing to improve is working– People suffer

• Ouch, oh !@#% that hurt!• !@#$ I didn’t realise it was going to cost me money!• Whose doing the work while I’m not here?• We want our people at work doing the work.• We expect our people to go home at the end of their shift

in the same (or even better) condition then when they arrived at the start.

Specialist Response Division

• Our role is to provide specialist land, aviation and marine police services in support of local police operations.

• We do what the local cops can’t do,

• We are predominantly second response and the last line of defence.

22/02/2011 1251 HOURSCHRISTCHURCH NZ

WAS SHAKEN AND BATTERED

BUT ITS HEART BEATS STRONG

Superintendent John Todor

Victoria Police Contingent Commander

23/2/11 ~ 11/3/11

4th September 2010

• Magnitude 7.1* earthquake hits Chc NZ’s 2nd largest city**• No fatalities• Significant damage to CBD, eastern suburbs & infrastructure• Regular aftershocks continue***

40 km west of Chch 10 km deep *Population ~ Chch 376,000 ~ Canterbury 565,000 **5000 + aftershocks to date at least 2 more which have caused more significant damage***

Timeline

22nd February 2011• Magnitude 6.3**** earthquake hits Chch • Estimated over 200 people killed***** • Several hundred missing• Thousands flee• 1/3rd CBD destroyed• Entire CBD cordoned off• Eastern suburbs reduced to 3rd world conditions• 10,000 homes require rebuilding• Infrastructure destroyed• Around 8,000 people out of work• 30% Canterbury police officers directly impacted******• 1 Unsworn officer killed• Most other govt. agencies similarly impacted• Significant increase: family violence, road trauma, burglary, suicide 10 km south of Chch (Lyttelton) 5 km deep ****1st June 181 deceased none missing *****Total Canterbury Police Staff 1050 ******

Timeline

Timeline (NZDT)Tuesday 22nd February 2011• 1251: Earthquake hit Chc Wednesday 23rd February 2011• 0800: VicPol CCP received call from NZPol COP• 0815: A/C SESD tasked by DC Ops to deploy 100 GD officers to NZ ASAP• 0830: A/C OSD requested to supply total contingent• 0900: Contingent Commander appointed• 0930: Confirmed OSD can provide 100 GD personnel• 0930: Command & Support team identified• 1000: Command & Support Team briefed and tasked at VPC• 1200: SPOC Teleconference interstate coordination commencedThursday 24th February 2011• 1600: VicPol & NSWPol advance planning team arrived ChchFriday 25th February 2011• 1300: 110 NSWPol arrived Chch• 1500: 116 VicPol 32 SAPol arrived Chch• 1700: VicPol NSWPol & SAPol officers sworn in as Kiwi Constables^• 2100: 55 AFP sworn in • 2200: AusPol Kiwi Constables hit streets of Chch ^^

^ AusPol Cmdrs attest to Commissioner re worthiness of troops^^ 1st time in 170 years Australian Police Patrol in New Zealand

OH&S Considerations in planning

• OH&S reps, Union reps, Peer Support Officers

• USAR trained people – safety officers• Rules of engagement – how does our

system work overseas?• Firearms & operational safety equipment• Follow up on welfare

OH&S Issues on deployment

• Fatigue – shift lengths - rest days• Dust• Disinfection• Emotional trauma (psychs)• My personal challenges:

– Accepting responsibility for OHS– Reinforcing the safety message and keeping it sincere– Compromising the safety message by working in the HQ

Changing Safety Culture

• From Unavoidable to Unbelievable• 2010:

– Most incidents and injuries reported as “unavoidable nothing can be done” very few investigated.

– Little appreciation by managers of their OH&S environment– Safe-T-Work rating C C C

• 2013:– 100% of incidents and injuries investigated an action taken– Excellent understanding by managers of environment– Safe-T-Works Ratings A B B – first operational area to achieve A

rating – told it can’t be done

How did we do it?

• Debunking Myths– We do the hard stuff that no one else can do! –

The we should be able to do it better and do it safer, We are trained and equipped to meet the challenges

– It’s the nature of the work! – Most injuries are back of house!

– All our injuries are in training! – No they aren’t, and if they were, if we cant get it right in the training environment how we get it right in the operational environment – heightened sense of awareness in training

– Who do we work for? - We take more notice of our external regulators than our own? (CASA-ADAS etc)

– Micro management – or commitment and leadership?

• The following is the official New Zealand Police list of those who died as a result of the Christchurch earthquake. As at 8 September 2011, the official earthquake toll was 181 victims.

• 115 people died in the Canterbury Television (CTV) building

• 18 people died in the Pyne Gould Corporation (PGC) building

• 8 people died on buses in the central city • 28 people died in other areas of the central city • 12 people died in suburban locations