Victoria's new chief police commissioner is promising to restore community faith in the force by tackling rising crime while acting with integrity. The government's hoping its decision to appoint from outside Australia will refresh both frontline police and command.
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00:00There's a new sheriff in town.
00:04Kia ora and greetings.
00:06And he hails from across the ditch.
00:08Mike Bush becoming the first foreign recruit to lead Victoria Police.
00:12And my mission is to ensure that everyone, again within the state of Victoria,
00:19not only is safe, but feels safe.
00:23Mr Bush led New Zealand Police from 2014 to 2020,
00:27overseeing the Christchurch massacre response and the White Island tragedy.
00:31He comes with a crime prevention record.
00:33Public trust went up and crime went down.
00:37You will find a guy who goes after the bad guys and pursues them
00:41and gives his men and women the tools needed to be very, very effective.
00:45It's been a tumultuous period at police command,
00:47with Shane Patton resigning after a no-confidence motion.
00:50Mike Bush walks into the job with the state facing rising crime rates
00:54and youth lawlessness, an issue he tackled in New Zealand.
00:58Providing interventions and opportunities for young people,
01:02and that's why it's a real partnership thing.
01:04It's not just for police to address that issue.
01:08It's a community issue. It's a government issue.
01:10There's a wealth of challenges that confront Mike Bush at Victoria Police.
01:14Low morale, poor culture and the recruitment and retention of staff.
01:18The decision to look outside Victoria was deliberate.
01:21The fresh set of eyes is what the government wants and needs to shake up the force.
01:26I think it was probably disappointing that we couldn't find somebody locally to do the job,
01:31but who'd want it quite frankly?
01:33We're optimistic that with change comes new opportunities for our members
01:37and for the Victorian community.
01:38And we've got morale and wellbeing issues in our force
01:41that are impeding our capacity to get out there and prevent crime.
01:45Mike Bush will take the reins in late June.
01:47He's already eyeing off changes, both cultural and on the ground.
01:51We actually exist to prevent crime and harm.
01:54So yeah, we will be taking a different look at that as to how we do that.
01:58There will definitely be more visibility.
02:00The Premier is banking on it.