Narelle Fraser Interviews

John Atley is the quintessential country cop. He grew up in Rochester Victoria on a dairy farm, was (and still is) part of a close family, played local footy like a lot of country kids and then his parents sold their farm and purchased a newsagency in Shepparton. John worked in the newsagent & some other short-lived careers, until this green country kid discovered the bright lights of Melbourne.  John joined Victoria Police at 24 and he never knew anything else for nearly 32yrs -  until just short of his 55th birthday. His first 10-12 yrs were spent Policing in Melbourne but then an opportunity arose for him to return to his roots in Rochester as a local Policeman. By then he’d met the love of his life Fiona and had a family. Their support of him and his career has never wavered and its one of the main reasons he was able to do what he loved for so long. A Police person’s family have to endure and absorb much of the daily highs & lows and challenges of incidents they are exposed to, however they feel and see the results. Fiona, Ben and Tara are no different. Being a country cop has many challenges a city cop doesn’t face – they often work one-up (alone) and attend incidents which involve people they know, maybe they grew up with, went to school with …..and yes, even family. And what about their social life? Everywhere they go, they are the local cop and I’d imagine its rare someone wouldn’t ask them something Police related. But opposed to that are the many advantages – of being present for all his kids & family celebrations and significant events.

I’ve been contacted a bit of late by some media organisations for my response to the news Police had arrested and charged a 45yo former childcare worker from the Gold Coast with 1623 child abuse offences — including rape, against 87 children in Australia. He had worked in multiple childcare centres in Brisbane and Sydney and another overseas where he’d collected nearly 4000 images and videos he allegedly shared on the dark web.The investigation was a joint investigation between the AFP, Qld Police & the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. I thought I might explain a little about the amazing, incredibly difficult but necessary work the ACCCE do, which I’m not sure, but I think they used to be what I knew as JACET – Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team. 

In 1998 Bags (Bagally) woke up and felt like painting – nothing in particular, just buying a brush and painting. And something clicked.Painting became his passion and Policing began to take a back seat. Bags loved being totally absorbed in what he was painting where he thought of nothing else. Knowing very little about art & its history, Bags educated himself through reading books, listening to arty CD’s and when he eventually retired from Policing, the transition to Painter was smooth sailing.Bags is now a renowned landscape and seascape painter, is an exhibiting member on the Council of the Victorian Artists Society, the Watercolor Society of Victorian, the Australian Guild of Realist Artists and the Contemporary Art Society & National Vice President and Treasurer of the Australian Society of Marine Artists to name a few.

In this episode we are discussing, in detail, the reasonably new offence (In Victoria) of Non fatal strangulation moreso in a DV situation – its pretty confronting, so just consider if today’s subject matter is right for you.TODAY I WANTED TO TALK MORE ABOUT STRANGULATION IN A DV SENSE, NOT WHAT SOME MAY DEEM PLEASURABLE. TODAY IS ABOUT THOSE WHO STRANGLE AS A FORM OF CONTROL, AS A FORM OF FEAR, USED AS A THREAT WHICH WE CALL NON FATAL STRANGULATION

Esther McKay served 17 years with the NSW Police where the majority of her career was spent in Forensic Services, where her expertise in crime scene, vehicle and document examination was often called upon from colleagues and the courts. What Esther was confronted with is often difficult listening, but they are stories which need to be told, to help in understanding the situations Police are so often confronted with in their quest to keep us all safe and assist in convicting those who have no concept or care of that safety we seek. Esther shares an amazing insight into some of the more memorable crime scenes she attended and the toll those crimes scenes eventually took upon her, particularly when a contract was put on her life, such was her level of knowledge and expertise.

Parole was a much talked about subject back in 2023 when there was a possibility Paul Charles Denyer could be released from prison after 30yrs behind bars for the brutal, sadistic murders of 3 young innocent women.This was a patreon episode where I explain a little about the parole system, the role of The Parole Board and Community Corrections Victoria in assessing whether someone is suitable for release into the community or too high a risk to community safety.I then share some of my thoughts on Paul Denyer and his obsession with vulnerable women and my hope he is NEVER released.