Mid West-Gascoyne Superintendent Steve Post’s highlights and ongoing battles in year in review

In his role as the district’s top cop for nine months, Supt Post reflects on the highs and lows, looks ahead to 2023 and reveals he’s been a victim of crime himself.

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The district’s top cop has revealed he had fallen victim to one of the most repeated crimes around Geraldton — rock throwing.

In an end-of-year interview with the Geraldton Guardian reflecting on his nine months as Mid West-Gascoyne superintendent and looking ahead to strategies to be enforced in the new year, Steve Post said he knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of senseless crime.

When asked what crime he thought was an escalating issue, Supt Post said “rock throwing” and added that introducing strategies in hopes to curb it was a priority.

Supt Post admitted he’d been a victim himself when a rock was thrown at a work Subaru he was travelling in alone around mid-September. About 7.45pm, he said he was returning from a community meeting in an unmarked vehicle after engaging with a local Indigenous group to work on improvements and build relationships.

He said only this Tuesday did he sit down with the boy responsible for the dangerous act, who quickly apologised for his behaviour.

“Rock throwing and ginging continues to be an issue for the community at the moment,” he said.

“I’ve been on the victim’s end of rock throwing and it’s not very pleasant. So I can empathise with members of the community who have been in that situation.”

Supt Post said juvenile justice team meetings where face-to-face apologies occur was one strategy to defuse the issue.

He ensured the police response to catch people involved was prompt and appropriate, but noted the importance of educating perpetrators on the impact rock throwing could have on the community.

“When people throw rocks there can be serious consequences, death and serious injury,” he said.

Other issues Supt Post said remained a work in progress included the situation at the derelict Batavia Motor Inne. He said police would continue to liaise with responsible stakeholders who can provide alternative accommodation to rough sleepers and the owners to enforce demolition of the site.

Supt Post said when the time came to demolish the site, police would not have a problem moving squatters on and was confident there wouldn’t be any blowback.

“We have very good relationship with all the people that are there, we know who they are, and we have been engaging with them over several months,” he said.

“We won’t have people chaining themselves to the site and refusing to leave, I dare say. That’s the least of our problems.”

Supt Post said the state of the site was a disappointment, it created risk, an unsafe atmosphere and was not a good look for the community, but right now police were abiding by processes in place.

One of the top cop’s proudest moments this year was the successful search of a missing 80-year-old man located 160km south-west of Sandstone after he was lost in heavy bushland for two days in August.

“Three TRG officers tirelessly followed those tracks through the day and into the night. Had it not been for their persistence and perseverance, I don’t know that the gentleman would be celebrating Christmas with his family this year,” Supt Post said.

“I was confident they would find him, my concern was in what state. I can tell you, when I received the news that he’d been found safe, well and alive — that was a pretty special moment.”

Supt Post, who has been in the role since March, said he was hopeful there would be more resources injected into the Mid West-Gascoyne district after the State Government promised to deliver 950 officers into WA by mid-2024.

“We would always like more resources — that’s not just police — I’m sure that’s everyone in education, health and all the rest. We have the resources to cover the work that we need to do and we move those resources around as needed,” he said.

Supt Post said a number of officers had resigned in the district this year, noting the main reasons were due to new opportunities or lifestyle preferences.

“We haven’t been immune to resignations in this district,” he said.

“Unfortunately with policing we have tenure and we move our officers around. In some of those cases, people are looking for a little bit more stability in another job that allows them to stay where they want to stay, and I don’t blame them for that.

“We have certainly not seen a mass exodus of officers from this district.”

Supt Post said misconceptions he wanted to bust about police was that they ate doughnuts and only showed up when something went wrong.

“I think those are two popular misconceptions. We are a reflection of the community that we serve. We all have different views and interests, but we all have a common goal — to protect,” he said.

“Police are doing a really hard job in some of those isolated communities and whilst it’s lovely for me in Geraldton living by the sea, the officers who are in places such as Meekatharra are out there serving those communities, sometimes without their families.”

He hoped the Queensland tragedy of two slain police officers last week reminded the community the risks and sacrifices associated with the thin blue line.

Supt Post wished those in the district a peaceful Christmas and reminded the community to stay safe for the rest of December and into the New Year.

“Christmas is about family, giving and caring and I would just ask everyone to show consideration both in their homes and on the roads this Christmas,” he said.

“So I just ask people to be mindful that Christmas is a time of peace and to treat everyone with kindness.

“We would love to have nothing to do this Christmas so we can go home and enjoy Christmas with our families as well . . . We will have people on duty and ready to respond 24/7 as we always do.”