By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
OVER a near three-decade long policing career, Paul Breen has had a number of highlights.
But as he wraps up his role as Casey’s police Inspector after two years, the seasoned officer said it had been the most “enjoyable role I’ve had”.
“I’m lucky enough to lead, in my view, the most energetic and professional work force that I’ve been involved with in in my time as a police officer,” he said.
“There is strong morale in a super busy environment.
“And I’m also lucky enough to be supported by six very competent senior sergeants.
“I couldn’t praise my senior sergeants and the sergeants enough.
“They’ve been quite outstanding.”
Insp Breen is moving into a new role with Victoria Police as the Investigation and Response Inspector for Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia.
And he’s very happy he’ll still be able to keep an “eye on crime” in Casey.
If Insp Breen leaves behind any legacy after finishing up next month, the 29-year police veteran said he’d like to think it’s the strong partnerships and links he has built up with Casey’s wide-ranging community groups.
“By doing that we’ve made them aware of the issues at hand and they’re made aware of the issues that we’re dealing with,” Insp Breen said.
“There’s been some terrific partnership building.
“What I found here in Casey, what I learnt very early on, was to get a strong gauge, go down to some of the soup kitchens, and I went down to Transit in Webb Street and met some amazing community people.
“Those types of community groups really inspire me.”
This isn’t the only legacy he’s leaving behind in Casey.
Insp Breen has been pivotal in setting up several police-led initiatives such as the ‘Chatting with Casey Cops’ local radio program, while he was also heavily involved alongside Casey council in pushing for extra safety precautions at Lysterfield Lake where there have been three drowning deaths since July 2000, according to Life Saving Victoria.
His continual support of the City of Casey saw Insp Breen receive many plaudits from a number of councillors during last week’s public meeting.
Insp Breen came over to Casey after serving as Local Area Commander for the Port Phillip region, a role that saw him based in St Kilda.
He said Port Phillip had its own challenges, its own “edginess” as a result of street prostitution and alcohol-fuelled crime, which put him in good stead when he walked in as the Local Area Commander for Casey, which has its own unique challenges.
It’s well-publicised that the City of Casey consistently has the highest family violence statistics in the state, while Insp Breen said the reality of having only one major arterial road – the Monash Freeway – results in road safety and road trauma being significant issues.
“In Casey the biggest challenge is how do we deal with such a vastly growing population in an enormous area?” Insp Breen said.
“And we’ve got to be so efficient and smart with our tasking.
“The challenge has been to really make strong inroads on reducing family violence and having a very strong effect on recidivist offenders.”
While Insp Breen is sad to be leaving his position at Casey, he’s excited to be once again stepping outside his comfort zone.
After all, he did exactly that two years ago and it brought him to Casey.
“It’s been a place where I’ve really enjoyed coming to work every day,” Insp Breen said.
