Making it Happen!
The Australasian Council of Women and Policing held the Sixth Women and Policing conference at the Duxton Hotel in Perth, Western Australia from Sunday 23 August until Wednesday 26 August 200. The theme of the 2009 conference was “Making it Happen” and explored practical and innovative solutions to how justice, law enforcement and policing are being improved for women in the community, and how how agencies such as police services respond to their female employees.
Police, researchers, women and men from other justice agencies, similar occupations, women's organisations and advocacy groups participated in the conference and shared thier stories, their solutions and their achievements. The four main themes for the conferences were:
- Technology: friend or foe? - while technological advances provide considerable opportunities for women but is also being used against them.
- Finders Keepers? - finding and recruiting women to policing is difficult but keeping them seems to be even harder.
- Skills Development - skill development workshops will be offered at the operational and the leadership levels on a wide range of topics.
- Partnerships - exploring the practical partnerships that policing needs to make sure it responds to women it the community.
Speakers
As papers are received from speakers, they will be added.
Eleanor Alfred
Making it happen for the Children
of Mai Tafara, Zimbabwe
Eleanor Alfred is 45 years old and HIV+ and lives on the fringes of Harare.
Her husband contracted HIV and infected her and as a result her children who
all died of AIDS and and lost all of her 4 children under the age of 5. Eleanor’s
story since then has been one of inspiration working with 150 orphaned children
in Tafara and in “Caledonia Farm”, one of the areas cleared in Operation
Murambatsvina. Eleanor’s story will be a keynote paper in the session
International Change Agents and will provide the delegates with a perspective
about other women’s lives.
Barbara Etter
The MasterChef Phenomenon –
a new style of leadership for policing? (large file 5mb)
Barbara is an Assistant Commissioner with the Western Australia Police and one
of Australia’s most senior policewomen. Prior to commencing with WAPOL
in 2004, she was a Commander with the Northern Territory Police and the Director
of the Australasian Centre for Policing Research in Adelaide from 1999 to 2004.
She commenced her policing career with the NSW Police in 1981. Barbara holds
a Pharmacy degree, an Honours law degree, an MBA and a Master of Laws. She is
a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has been admitted
as a barrister and legal practitioner. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor
within the School of Law and Justice at Edith Cowan University. In October 2006,
Barbara won the WA Telstra Businesswoman of the Year.
Judith Fordham
Reflections on Making it Happen!
Judith is a workaholic. She started her career in science and later studied
law as a single parent. She then founded and ran her own law firm for far too
long. She eventually discovered the error of her ways, and is now an Associate
Professor in Forensic Science at Murdoch University running two postgraduate
courses, Forensic Science and Criminal Investigations. Judith is in the final
stages of research projects on jurors, juries and expert evidence, and now juror
intimidation at the State Attorney General's personal request. She has permission
for almost unprecedented access to jurors for post-trial interviews, normally
illegal in Australia.
Jan Jordan
Serial Survivals: A Multi-Victim Case
Study
Dr Jan Jordan is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Criminology, within
the School of Social and Cultural Studies, Victoria University of Wellington,
New Zealand. She teaches courses primarily related to issues of gender and crime;
policing; and sexual violence. She is a regular contributor to police sexual
assault training courses, and in 2004 published a book - The Word of a Woman?
Police, Rape and Belief - based on her analysis of New Zealand police sexual
assault investigations. In 2008 her book, Serial Survivors, was published by
The Federation Press, Sydney, examining the diverse ways in which women attacked
by the same serial rapist. survived the rape attack itself as well as subsequent
involvement in police, trial and counselling processes.
Christine Nixon
Ms Nixon was the Australasian Council of Women and Policing’s President
for 10 years. She was the Chief Commissioner of the Victoria Police for eight
years, prior to which she was a police officer with the New South Wales Police
Force for almost 30 years. Christine is now heading up the Victorian Bushfire
Reconstruction Authority. She chaired the Australian Police Professional Standards
Council, was Co-Chair of the Australian Institute of Police Management and Sponsor
of the Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau.
Karl O'Callaghan
Dr Karl O’Callaghan APM, Commissioner of the Western Australia Police
was born in 1956 in the United Kingdom and came to Western Australia with his
parents in 1970. He attended Kalamunda Senior High School and completed Year
12, before commencing employment with the Western Australia Police Service as
a Police Cadet in 1974. His qualifications include a Ph.D (Police Reform), Bachelor
of Education (Police Culture - 1st Class Honours) and Bachelor of Arts (Education),
from Curtin University of Technology. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor
at the Sellenger Centre for Research in Law, Justice and Policing, Edith Cowan
University. Karl O’Callaghan is married with four children and in his
spare time is a member of a local rock band called ‘The Filth’ and
is a regular radio presenter on one of Western Australia’s community radio
stations where he produces and narrates a regular program on rock music history.
His other interests include fishing, scuba diving and building live sound speaker
systems.
Tammy Hand
Ms Tammy Hand is currently a Ph D student in the School of Social Work and Social
Policy, University of South Australia. Her Ph D is focussing on heterosexual
dating relationships of 20-30 year old women and men. Her research interests
include dating and domestic violence, sexual violence, heterosexual dating relationships
and the use/abuse of information and communication technologies to stalk, monitor
and harass intimate partners. Tammy has undertaken various research and lecturing/teaching
positions within the university.
Heather Harker
Ms Heather Harker is the Deputy Commissioner of Community and Juvenile Justice
in Western Australia. She spent 30 years working in the criminal justice field
in Britain before emigrating to WA in 2005. She was the Chief Probation Officer
of the National Probation Service for England and Wales. Ms Harker chaired the
first Criminal Justice Board for South Yorkshire, and the Strategic Management
Board for the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements. She was also appointed
to the first Lord Chancellors Sentencing Advisory Panel, which produced sentencing
guidelines to the Court of Appeal and Sentencing Guidelines Council. Ms Harker
holds a BA (Honours) in Economic and Social History, a Diploma and Certificate
of Qualification in Social Work, and a Diploma in Management Studies.
Lisa Scaffidi
The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor, Ms Lisa Scaffidi, Lord Mayor, City of Perth was elected
the first female Lord Mayor of Perth in October 2007. She was educated at Methodist
Ladies' College after which she graduated as a dental therapist and worked for
a short period as an air hostess with TAA in the 1980s. Prior to winning the
Lord Mayoral title she was a director with think-tank Committee for Economic
Development of Australia (CEDA) for over ten years. She served two terms as
a Councillor, with her 2003 win being the most votes ever recorded by a City
of Perth Councillor, before running for Lord Mayor. Lisa is very interested
in economic and strategic planning issues within the City of Perth. Aside from
Council’s various internal Committee’s Lisa a current Committee
Member on the Heirisson Island Sculpture Park Committee and is the West Australian
Public Member on the Australian Press Council.
Caroline Taylor
Professor S. Caroline Taylor is the Foundation Chair in Social Justice at Edith
Cowan University. She has a strong track record in research and advocacy for
human rights, specifically in the area of sexual violence against women and
children and family violence and the legal response and treatment of victims
of such crimes. Her research interests also include trauma impact, recovery
and healing for child and adult victims. Professor Taylor's PhD was awarded
the prestigious Jean Martin Award by The Australian Sociological Assocation
2000-2001 for the most outstanding PhD in social sciences from any Australian
University. She was appointed to the Advisory Committee for the Victorian Law
Reform Commission's Inquiry into Procedural Law and Practice in Sexual Offence
Proceedings (2002-2004) and the commission drew significantly on her research
and published work to inform and support the 201 recommendations for reform
as detailed in the Commission's Final Report.
Leanne Wesche
A dynamic businesswoman with incredible drive and determination, Leanne Wesche
is the 2008 Australian Telstra Business Woman of the Year. Self-employed since
the age of 19, Leanne has successfully launched five different companies in
the manufacturing and fresh produce industries over the last twenty years. Leanne
currently owns and manages Pacco Group and Safeguard Innovations. Pacco Group
is Western Australia’s largest fruit and vegetable packing facility, while
Safeguard Fruit & Veggie Wash is an all-natural cleansing wash for fresh
produce that’s achieved sales into 11 countries in its first 9 months.
Sue Wilkinson
Sue Wilkinson is the Executive Director of the Australia and New Zealand Policing
Advisory Agency (ANZPAA). Sue moved to Melbourne to take up the post of Executive
Director of ANZPAA in November 2007. She was previously a Commander in the Metropolitan
Police in London, where she was responsible for a wide serious and organised
crime portfolio. She also led a major corporate modernisation program and the
serious and organised crime strand preparing for the Olympics in London in 2012.
Sue has a degree in History, and postgraduate qualifications in change management
and criminology.
Carlene York
Assistant Commissioner York APM joined the NSW Police Force in 1980 and is the
Director of the Forensic Services Group. Her career spans a number of areas
including general duties policing; prosecuting matters of a complex and sensitive
nature including murder, sexual assault, fraud and armed robbery in local, children’s
and licensing courts; the strategic review of diverse and complex issues within
field and specialist operations at an executive level; and various roles within
forensic services group. She is leading significant reform in the application
of science to law enforcement areas including the introduction of a ‘state
of the art’ multi-disciplined forensic laboratory in NSW Police Force,
the use of robotics to speed up DNA sample analysis, applying new technology
and practices to old unsolved crimes; the development of a mobile forensic laboratory
to take the laboratory to the crime scene, mobile fingerprinting devices, to
name a few.