COLUMNS

G'day from the Sentinel Team

This update focusses on Prayer for our Police with just one week to go before this year's National Police Remembrance day on September 29th.

In 2004 the Lord began to speak to us about focussing our prayers on Key Frontliners in our own localities, in particular our police. We set up our Pray 4 Australian Police Website in the hopes that it would encourage more people to uphold their local police in prayer.

Without the Police our communities would not offer the happy and secure lifestyles that we enjoy. They draw a line between light and darkness, good and evil, setting boundaries that hold back crime and ensure our safety.

Blue Ribbons are worn as a mark of respect for those who have fallen in the call of duty and Blue Ribbon Day apparently began in 1998 after the massive community response to the murders of Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rod Miller ... Every year since then Blue Ribbon Day has coincided with Police Remembrance Day.

Under His Banner

Bev Holmes-Brown

"Very few of us have to leave our homes every morning in the knowledge - however remote in our minds - that we may not return unharmed.

It's a situation that wives and families of police officers understand only too well.

Every day and every night, officers selflessly put themselves at risk in order to keep our societies safe and civilised - and it's a role the broader community often takes for granted.

Yet the community wants and expects police officers to be around when we need them. In the case of the officers we're honouring today, they were there when people needed them - and they paid the ultimate price.

I know from personal experience that to lose someone close, in violent circumstances, in the course of duty, is always desperately sad and can be extremely difficult to come to terms with.

But those in the police service - and the families that love and support them - must somehow manage that.

Part of the healing process lies in recognising the critical importance of the police function in upholding the rule of law. For without the rule of law in the house, the street, the suburb, the State or the nation, democracy itself is placed at heavy risk.

The rule of law is fundamental to the survival of the nation and its continuing prosperity. When it's eroded or ignored, we invariably see widespread corruption, crime and - if it remains unchecked - anarchy.

... As criminals - including terrorists - become more sophisticated in their methods, so police work will require a commensurate increase in skill levels and training, be it in intelligence gathering and analysis, forensic and scientific application, speed of response etc.

But the fundamental values and qualities inherent in a good police force will never change - personal integrity at all times, calmness and decisiveness in a crisis, courtesy and compassion, physical and moral courage, humour, and pride in the uniform and what it represents. (http://www.gg.gov.au/speeches/rtf/2003/sp030929.rtf)

UNITED KINGDOM : The Leicestershire Branch of the Christian Police Association prayed the following points at their National Day of Prayer for the Police Service :

• FOR PARLIAMENT : That they might resist the temptation to legalise sin. That they may pass laws that are right and not just political
  
  
• FOR SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS : That God may guide them as they liaise with politicians and community leaders. That they might have concern for officers of all ranks.
  
  
• FOR OFFICERS ON PATROL AND SUPPORT STAFF : That they might build confidence with the public. That they might have wisdom in all situations.
  
  
• FOR OFFICERS MAKING ON THE SPOT DECISIONS : Especially when making a wrong decision might lead to the escalation of a difficult situation. For those engaged in public order or other potentially violent situations.
  
  
• FOR THOSE SUFFERING STRESS : After dealing with sudden death, accidents or the victims of violent crime. When dealing with major disasters or the death of a child or young person.
  
  
• FOR INTEGRITY TO RESIST CORRUPTION : Through contact with those of a criminal disposition. Through temptation when in a position of trust.
  
  
• FOR THE ABILITY TO RELAX WHILST OFF DUTY : Officers are human beings and need to rest. For others to recognise that officers have a life to lead outside the Police Service.
  
  
• FOR THE FAMILIES OF POLICE OFFICERS : That they might know peace when their loved ones are on duty. That they might have understanding when those they love are under stress.

(CPA Link)

The front page said it all. Geoff O’Laughlin was not a happy man, and the full-page photo of him showed it!

The local paper captured the dismay he faced as the leading police officer in the northern region of Melbourne. Most of the officers under him were copping heaps because of the misplaced public perception of “corrupt cops”, but of course, pretty much all of them were really hard working people doing a great job.

The morale of the team was very low and it was affecting the way they carried out their work.

As I saw this article I wondered how our church could be the answer.

So here is what we did. We asked all our church people to bring a small gift to church for our local police officers. The next Sunday we filled a very big box with things like movie tickets, CD’s, kids toys, cakes, biscuits, chocolates, perfume, cosmetics, plus a whole lot more. We invited two police officers from the local police station to come to our Sunday morning meeting. They arrived at 11.30 am. We had about 6 people stand up and publicly thank the officers for the sacrificial way they serve in the community to make it a safer place for us all. We prayed for them and they responded with thanks and took the goodies home. No response followed, but I thought to write to Superintendent O’Laughlin and express our support as a church and how we believed that he and his officers were doing a great job in the community.

Superintendent O’Laughlin immediately phoned and came over to see me. He was moved deeply by the expression of support we had given and even went to the Victorian Police Commissioner and showed her (Ms. Christine Nixon) the letter. Straight away he asked how could the churches and the police work more constructively together to benefit the community?

The end result is that there is now a task force of about 14 local church pastors and all the top police officers in our region meeting monthly to work on building a better community. There is a real opportunity welcomed by the police to minister to the police force in general and to individuals in the force who experience trauma through prayer and chaplaincy offered by the churches.

Also Chris and I have been asked to be the Chaplains for the region under Superintendent O’Laughlin’s area. A door has opened to allow us into the lives of significant people to bring healing and salvation, to be a kingdom influence in our region.

by Pastor Craig Anderson, Plenty Valley Christian Outreach Centre, Melbourne, Vic.

Note: The faces of the police officers in this photo have been deliberately blurred to protect their privacy

QUEENSLAND : Queensland Police Service marked National Police Remembrance Day with services and marches around the State. The day is held each year to commemorate those police officers who have lost their lives while executing their duties. This year in Queensland [2004] 132 officers were commemorated.

For the first time candlelight vigils were held on the evening before Remembrance Day in Brisbane, Rockhampton and Cairns (Photo: Qld Police Commissioner, R. Atkinson)

VICTORIA : Dr Robert Haldane (right), historian and formerly a Superintendent with the Victoria Police was asked to give the address at the 2004 Remembrance Service, he began with the words, . "To those Police who created history without knowing it." I penned these words because, despite at that time having been a member of the Victoria Police for almost eighteen years, my four years of research for The People’s Force [magazine] exposed me for the first time to the many exceptional sacrifices, deeds and achievements made by Victoria’s police throughout their history .... Police Remembrance Day and the Blue Ribbon Foundation’s perpetuation of the memory of those members of the Victoria Police killed in the line of duty ensures that never again will they be forgotten and cast into the shadows. (Link) (Photo - left : Vic Police Chief Commissioner, Christine Nixon )

WESTERN AUSTRALIA : Wednesday, September 29, saw all retired and serving members of the WA Police Service, along with unsworn officers, across the State taking the time to remember their fallen colleagues.

Hosted by WA Police Legacy and the WA Police Union, National Police Remembrance Day honours the memory of the 78 officers who have been killed in the line of duty during the 170-year history of policing in WA. (Link) (Photo: WA Police Commissioner, Karl O'Callaghan)

NORTHERN TERRITORY : Commissioner Paul White invited members of the public to join police in memorial services in Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.

In keeping with tradition, the Katherine community gather at the grave of Constable Bill Condon at 10 am. Constable Condon was shot on duty in the main street of Katherine in 1952.
(Link) (Photo: NT Police Commissioner, Paul White)

Australian Federal Police : AFP Commissioner, Mick Keelty paid tribute to those police officers from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea killed in the line of duty, at the annual National Police Remembrance Day Service.

He was joined by His Excellency, Major General Michael Jeffery, Senator Chris Ellison, Minister for Justice & Customs, ACT Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Mr Bill Wood, MLA, High Commissioners from Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji and New Zealand as well as representatives from the New South Wales Police, the Australian Crime Commission, Australian Police Associations and the International Police Association.(Link) (Photo: AFP Police Commissioner, Mick Keelty)