ACT Policing blog

Detective Inspector Mark Rowswell is currently the Officer-in-Charge of Proactive Policing in the Community Safety portfolio of ACT Policing. His teams strive to tackle the root cause of repeated calls for police services to create more time and capacity for our response teams. This means faster callouts, more visible patrols and ultimately a safer Canberra.  

Detective Inspector Marcus Boorman started in policing 30 years ago, initially in Victoria Police before joining the AFP in 2006. Over the 30 years, he has worked internationally with the International Deployment Group (IDG), AFP National and ACT Policing.

Sue Smith is the acting Superintendent of Judicial and Family Violence Operations in ACT. She has a passion for working with young people and their families, and has spent most of her police career involved in this type of work. She believes our community are the eyes and ears of Canberra, and says police rely on family, friends, neighbours and colleagues of victims of family violence to be courageous and report when they feel something may be wrong. 

Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan is the newly appointed Chief Police Officer for the ACT and is excited to be back serving his local community. Canberra is evolving, and so is ACT Policing. CPO Gaughan says whilst a lot will change, the community can be assured that at its core ACT Policing will remain a hardworking, dedicated police force that puts its community first.   

This month, ACT Policing took part in the National Multicultural Festival where our theme was connecting people. We asked Tracey to tell us how she connects ACT Policing with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

As the Officer in Charge of City Station, Station Sergeant Adrian Craft has the responsibility for the patrolling of Canberra’s largest entertainment precinct, the Canberra CBD. He grew up in Canberra and chose to remain here to not only work but to raise his own family. For Station Sergeant Craft being a Police officer isn’t just a job; it’s a way to play a part in helping the community that his and all our officers' family live in.

Sergeant John Wong joined the Australian Federal Police in 2001. The organisation was undergoing rapid growth and transformation following the 911 attacks and it was arguably one of the most defining periods of the AFP’s history following its inception in 1979. 

Assistant Commissioner Ray Johnson joined the Australian Federal Police in 1985. He commenced the role of Chief Police Officer for the ACT on 12 November 2018. As another busy year comes to an end Assistant Commissioner Johnson wishes everyone a safe and festive season.

Assistant Commissioner Saunders has worked locally, national and internationally over her 29 year career with the AFP. Her final two years have been spent as the Chief Police Officer for the ACT. Assistant Commissioner Saunders is leaving the AFP to take up a position at the Australian Border Force.  

Detective Superintendent Jamey Bellicanta joined the AFP in 1985. He spent his first 15 years in ACT Policing working in General Duties, collision investigations and the Fraud Squad where he was designated a Detective. In 2000 he transferred to the AFP Tasmania office as an investigator, later returning to the mainland as an instructor at the Police College, School of Investigations.

Sergeant Grant Bluett has been a police officer for 10 years. He was looking for a career where he felt like he was contributing to society and had an opportunity to work in a variety of areas, and so far it is exactly what he was looking for. Sergeant Bluett has a broad range of policing experience across various areas in ACT Policing including General Duties, Criminal Investigations, Community Policing Liaison Officer with Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and Executive Officer to Chief Police Officer for the ACT.

As another year comes to an end and I wrap up my first year as Chief Police Officer for the ACT, it is timely to reflect on the past 12 months.

Detective Station Sergeant Matt Craft joined the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in 1999 after working with New South Wales (NSW) Police for 10 years. A highlight of Detective Station Sergeant Craft’s career with the NSW Police Force was being a part of general duties at Manly Police Station where he met his wonderful wife. Detective Station Sergeant Craft had always wanted to be a police officer as his dad was a retired Superintendent with a long career in ACT Policing.

Superintendent Corey Heldon has been a police officer for more than 27 years. Before Superintendent Heldon joined she was working at a bank and wanted a  more interesting and challenging role, so decided to join the Australian Federal Police (AFP), and is so glad she did. Superintendent Heldon has been managing ACT Policing’s Traffic and Emergency Management and Planning portfolio since April this year.

David Packwood has been an important member of ACT Policing for more than five years after he joined the Media Team back in 2012. Recently David became Constable Kenny Koala’s handler and has passionately taken on the role.