Copper Becomes Window Cleaner

Victoria, Australia:

BANYULE'S top detective is about to swap cleaning up the streets for cleaning windows. Det-Sen-Sgt Ross "Chief" Indian, who has been with Victoria Police for 40 years and in Banyule for the past 15, said the prospect of leaving the force was "scary". "Retiring can seem pretty attractive when you're on holiday sometimes you don't want to come back but when it actually comes to the crunch, you can't help but face it with a bit of apprehension," he said. Det-Sen-Sgt Indian was first posted to Preston after joining the force out of school in the mid-1960s. "It was a pretty wild area in those days," he said. "East Preston was known as 'little Chicago'." He said policing had changed a lot since then, when "old-fashioned" policing occasionally involved meting out some "street justice". "There wasn't the scrutiny or knowledge of civil liberties we have now," he said. "Sometimes things didn't make it to court, and people were pretty happy with that." Over the years Det-Sen-Sgt Indian has worked across the northern suburbs and in different divisions including the homicide and major crimes squads, and the special operations group. He has received numerous commendations, including a bravery award for disarming a violent husband armed with a carving knife. He said he was most proud of managing the Greensborough and Heidelberg CIUs. "If ever we've had a series of offences such as burglaries or vehicle thefts we've been able to solve them quickly," he said. "The crime rates across the board in Banyule are significantly lower than most other municipalities and I think that's due in large part to my unit's quality policing." Det-Sen-Sgt Indian plans to join his son's Diamond Valley window cleaning business.