Visit of Garry Raymond APM OAM

This Sunday evening we are privileged to host Ret Chief Inspector Garry Raymond, APM OAM, at our 5pm congregation at Glenelg, where he will speak. Garry will also be speaking at a Men's night at Adelaide Congress Hall this Thursday evening, and on Sunday morning at ACH.

CHIEF INSPECTOR GARY RAYMOND APM, OAM (Rtd.)


BIOGRAPHY

Chief Inspector Gary Raymond APM has just retired after being a member of the NSW Police for 33 years. Prior to his retirement in December 2005, Gary was performing duty at the Blacktown Police Station as a Duty Officer specialising in Emergency Management and Crime Scene Management.

Prior to joining the police, Gary performed 5 years service as an Ambulance Officer with the NSW Ambulance Service in the Sydney metropolitan area.

Gary joined the NSW Police in 1972 and performed general duties at Redfern Police Station as a Probationary Constable. He was then chosen to join the elite NSW Police Rescue Squad.

As a member of the Police Rescue Squad, Gary performed over 1,500 rescues including 1,000 motor vehicle collision rescues, 200 cliff rescues, and 200 suicide negotiations at heights such as cliffs, buildings, bridges, roofs and towers. He also performed industrial and domestic rescues. He conducted searches both on land, air and sea whilst working as crew on the police helicopter. Gary has also performed duty at numerous siege and barricade situations as well. Gary attended and dealt with many identified explosive devices.

Gary performed duty at the Granville Train Disaster, Thredbo Landslide Disaster, the Newcastle Earthquake, Luna Park Ghost Train Fire and Hilton Hotel Bombing. Gary has received a number of awards for his bravery displayed during rescue and suicide negotiation missions.

In 1983, Gary was transferred to plain clothes policing for training. He qualified a Designated Detective. As a Detective Sergeant at Blacktown, Gary was involved and in charge of many successful homicide and other criminal investigations including the tragic murder of Nursing Sister Anita Cobby at Blacktown and the murder of six year old Tess Debrincat at Quakers Hill.

He has also received commendations and notations on his Police Service Register for performing acts of bravery during encounters with armed offenders. Gary physically arrested an offender (who was holding a female with a knife at her throat) without harm to the hostage, offender or himself.

In 1991 Gary was appointed as a Senior Investigator to the State’s Royal Commission into Corruption in the Building Industry in New South Wales. Gary’s team successfully prosecuted a number of organised crime figures, trade union delegates and construction companies during their two-year investigation into criminal activity.

Whilst stationed at Cabramatta Police Station, Gary received a Commander’s Commendation for the single-handed arrest of an armed robber after the offender held up staff at a fast food restaurant with a gun and stole money. The arrest was executed after a lengthy foot pursuit resulting in Gary arresting the offender at gunpoint without harm to himself or the offender. All money and firearm was recovered.

Gary was also involved in the crime scene command and successful investigation into Australia’s first political assassination, the shooting murder of John Newman, the State Member of Parliament in Cabramatta. Gary also commanded the Manly area for 3 years and gave evidence in the successful Police Integrity Commission Inquiry and Prosecution into police corruption in that area.

During this command, he was the officer in charge of the successful rescue of 800 passengers from a Manly ferry which ran aground at Little Manly Cove. Gary has been awarded the Australian Police Medal (APM), the National Medal with Clasp and the New South Wales Police Medal for 30 years distinguished police service that included a large number of successful rescues and suicide negotiations. He also has the
Granville Train Disaster Medal.

Gary was a member of the NSW Police Peer Support Working Party and was a Senior Peer Support officer along with Police Psychologists and Police Chaplains involved in helping traumatised or suicidal police officers. Gary was a member of the Crisis Team who assisted police and family members after the homicide of Constable David Carty at Fairfield.

Gary is leader of the Christian Police Association (CPA) (NSW Branch). This organisation provides Christian ministry, help and fellowship for both sworn and unsworn police employees.

Gary is a member of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International and attends the Blacktown Chapter in Sydney. He is involved in FGBMFI outreach including meetings, Mayoral Prayer Breakfasts and conventions.

Gary is Vice-President and Senior State Chaplain to the Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA) of New South Wales. This organisation has over 73 squads and 3,000 volunteers as members. The VRA provides land, sea and air patrol rescue capability. Gary conducts workshops to help people in the VRA become aware of Critical Incident Stress Management. He also defuses rescue squad operatives after high emotional impact rescue events referring them to professional help if needed. Gary has spoken both in Australia and overseas conferences including the Hendon Police Training College, London.
Gary is a member of the Rotary Club of Blacktown City and is a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow. He also received an Australia Day Achievement Award and Blacktown Citizen of the Year in 1993 for his commitment to Street Kid Programmes and Suicide Awareness Programs. Gary is a State member of the Drug Arm Board. The Drug Arm organisation facilitates street van teams and other street level drug prevention programs.

Gary conducts workshops helping people to defuse aggressive behaviour in the workplace. He also helps with the construction and rehearsing of risk management and emergency plans in the workplace.

Gary received the Police Commissioner’s Olympic Citation for his policing, planning and operational management during the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

In August 2002, at an International Conference in Melbourne, Gary was presented with a National Award of Excellence from the Critical Incident Stress Management Foundation of Australia for outstanding contributions to the field of Critical Incident Stress Management.

Gary was the Strategic Terrorism Risk Assessor for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He recently received a Commissioner’s Certificate of Merit for his risk management work during the Rugby World Cup security & safety planning. The Cup was the biggest public event in the southern hemisphere that year.

In November 2004, Gary was a keynote speaker at the Risk Management Institute of Australasia Conference in Hobart. He spoke on the Safety & Security Risk Management of the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

In February 2005, Gary went to tsunami affected Ski Lanka to help in the recovery effort. He helped in tsunami affected areas on the south, west and east coasts of Ski Lanka. He visited the site where the “Queen of the Sea” train was washed off the tracks by the tsunami drowning around 1200 people. Gary advised the Government Medical Officers at the Galle Hospital mortuary in dealing with the Disaster Victim Identification of hundreds of tsunami victim’s bodies. He performed training and education workshops to community and church leaders in Critical Incident and Post Traumatic Stress management of tsunami survivors and their family. Gary counselled a large number of tsunami survivors in refugee camps as well during his visit to Ski Lanka.

In March 2005, Gary was nominated by the Blacktown community as one of Blacktown’s Police Officers of the Year.

In February 2006, at a Blacktown City Council meeting, Gary was presented with the keys to Blacktown City by Mayor Leo Kelly for services to the people of the Blacktown Local Government area. This was only the fifth time this honour has been handed out in Blacktown the last one hundred years.

In February 2006, Gary went to the USA to lecture the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department (LCSD) on Suicide Negotiation techniques. He also spoke in a number of churches and Christian Police groups in the Los Angeles area.
In April and June 2006, Gary was called by Chaplaincy Australia to North Queensland to conduct trauma and suicide prevention workshops to the victims and emergency managers of Cyclone Larry. He also went into the field to counsel devastated cane and banana farmers in the aftermath of the cyclone damage.

In May 2006, Gary spoke at a FGB convention in Alice Springs. He lectured in a number of Alice Springs Primary and Secondary schools on trauma in the indigenous community.

In June 2006, Gary was invited to lecture at the Royal Fijian Police Academy, Suva, Fiji. He also conducted negotiation training to their Tactical Response Group (TRG).

Gary was a keynote speaker at a NSW Governor’s Prayer Breakfast and six Mayoral Prayers Breakfasts both in NSW and Queensland in 2007.

This year Gary has visited Lightning Ridge, Wee Waa, Narromine, Gunnedah and many other country towns presenting Suicide Prevention workshops for the farmers and graziers affected by the drought.

On Australia Day 2007, it was announced that Gary has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to the community on critical incident stress management and suicide prevention.

After retiring, Gary now presents workshops to the community and lectures at the NSW Police Rescue & Bomb Disposal Squad, NSW Ambulance Rescue Training School and NSW Volunteer Rescue Association Squads. Gary conducts Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Awareness, Evacuation and White Level Search education.

Gary presented at the recent Suicide Postvention Conference hosted by the Salvation Army in Sydney. Gary spoke on Suicide Negotiation in High Risk Situations and the Issues of Those Left Behind after Suicide.

Gary recently presented a paper on Suicide Negotiation for First Responders at a world conference conducted by the International Association of Suicide Prevention (IASP) at Killarney, Ireland in August 2007. He also lectured in London on the same tour.

Gary’s wife Michelle is a Primary School teacher at Caddies Creek Public School and they live at Glenwood, near Parklea Markets in Sydney. Gary and his wife are both uniformed members of The Salvation Army at Parramatta.