General News
25 August, 2023
Sergeant's shift ends
Local police sergeant Mick Salter, 64, has retired after 44 years with the Victoria Police - 39 of them in the Wimmera, including nine months as a sergeant at both Warracknabeal and Kaniva stations, and as a senior constable at Rainbow, Jeparit and...
Local police sergeant Mick Salter, 64, has retired after 44 years with the Victoria Police - 39 of them in the Wimmera, including nine months as a sergeant at both Warracknabeal and Kaniva stations, and as a senior constable at Rainbow, Jeparit and Dimboola.
He was born and bred in Dimboola, and attended high school there before applying to join the Victoria Police in December 1978.
Mr Salter was invited to attend a two-day selection panel in Melbourne, which he passed, and on April 23 1979 he walked through the gates of the police academy.
“I had a number of really good friends who were already in the police force, and Dimboola was an exceptional recruiting ground for police at that time,” he said.
“There were probably about 15 people during the '70s and early '80s who left Dimboola and joined the police force, and I was one of those.
“A fellow who coached the footy side in 1978, Laurie Thomas - a retired policeman - also had an impact on me joining the Victoria Police.”
After graduating from the police academy in September 1979, Mr Salter joined City West Police Station on Williams Street, Melbourne, as his training station.
Mr Salter spent five years with the force in Melbourne before transferring to Horsham Police Station in December 1984, under the designation “senior constable”, and spent 16 years commuting from Dimboola.
Mr Salter was promoted to sergeant in September 1993, and served as senior sergeant a number of times over the years.
“In 1988 I sat my sergeant's exams, and in 1991 I attended the 12-week sergeants’ training course at the police academy,” he said.
“A sergeant's vacancy had come up in Horsham - I put in for that and got it.”
HIGHS AND LOWS
Mr Salter said the most challenging days he has faced include the 2006 Mount Lubra bushfires and Horsham’s Black Saturday fires in 2009.
“The hardest single day that I’ve ever worked was the Black Saturday fires here in Horsham,” he said.
“We were told, leading into that day, that it was going to be a really terrible day … we spent a number of days meeting with other agencies, planning, because we knew it was going to be bad.
Mr Salter was stationed in Melbourne during the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires and drew on his experience of that tragedy to guide him during Black Saturday, and said they were very similar incidents.
“It was a similar sort of day, we had a similar sort of carnage around Victoria, similar sort of deaths,” he said.
“The fires started here at around lunchtime, and we were very, very fortunate that no lives were lost in Horsham.
“It was just flat out. And then the days after that we went pretty much into a recovery mode.”
“The other particular period of time was the Mount Lubra fires - I think they went for about eight days.
“Again, there was a lot of infrastructure damage and half the Grampians were destroyed.”
Mr Salter said he had a lot of good memories about his time on the force, especially in regards to his role in the community, and that the ability to see the positives when they present themselves was key.
“I think a lot of the highs are about helping people in the community … through an investigation process you identify the responsible people and charge them appropriately, and then get back to the community,” he said.
“You’ve got to look at the positive of an outcome - you see a lot of fatal car accidents and you go to people dying, and that is difficult at times, but that's part of your job.
“The hardest thing you have to do as a police officer is tap on someone's door, whether it be night or day and tell them that someone has died - and they’re never the same.
“You had to be a contact for them and you had to give them information about services that can be provided to them.
“You had to be 100 per cent convinced that it was right for you to leave, that they were in a reasonable space, and hopefully they had friends, family or neighbours that could support them after you left.”
SAYING GOODBYE
“I only ever considered resigning twice during my career - and on both occasions, now, I think it would have been all for the wrong reasons,” he said.
“But after two years of being in the police force, I realised that I was starting to grasp the job and really starting to enjoy it.
“You have your bad days and your good days, and I'm very fortunate the good days really outweigh the bad ones.
“A lot of the highlights, since 1992 when I was given responsibility of the emergency management portfolio in a coordinator role - I’ve developed relationships with organisations and people, and they are long lasting friendships, even outside the work environment, because you work with them daily.”
Mr Salter is committed to staying in Horsham now that he is retired, and said he is confident the town and district are in good hands.
“It’s a fantastic town … alright, so you don’t get along with everyone, but the community of Horsham are really positive about policing,” he said.
“You jump out of the police van on a job, most people knew you on a first-name basis.
“When you look at Horsham, crime-wise, compared to the rest of the state, I think we are very fortunate.”