00:01Grant Seabins, thanks for joining us. First of all, is there any update you can give us
00:06on the unfortunate stabbing last week in Elizabeth East?
00:10The offender is still receiving medical treatment and hasn't been spoken to by detectives. Having
00:16said that, and having seen the body-worn video of the incident, it's a rather compelling
00:21watch. The courage shown by both Jessie, the police officer who was stabbed in the neck,
00:28and her partner is something that I'm quite moved by. Jessie was incredibly unfortunate
00:37to have been stabbed, receiving a stab wound to the neck, but in the context of the injury
00:44she sustained, incredibly lucky as well. Quite a deep wound that missed anything critical.
00:52Did spend a few days in hospital, but my understanding is she's doing okay at the moment.
00:56I guess when you see a case like Raina Cruz where a female officer again was assaulted
01:02and then she's out on home detention, what was your reaction when you heard about that?
01:08Yeah, I was deeply concerned that a person who had been convicted of the type of offence alleged
01:19against Raina Cruz and given a custodial sentence was provided an opportunity to serve a significant part of that sentence
01:27on home detention.
01:29I was very pleased to see that that decision was overturned by the CEO of Corrections and that she was
01:36returned to custody.
01:37I think that is the right thing.
01:38But were you asked for a please explain and ask how this could have happened in the first place?
01:42We already have asked that and I've had conversations with the CEO of Corrections and I believe they have mechanisms
01:50in place now that will prevent that from happening again.
01:53Another frustration for police has been the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Gus Lamont. What can you tell us
01:59about that case?
02:00There's not a lot to update. We are continually reviewing information and data that we are collecting through technology to
02:07determine whether there are further search opportunities in that location.
02:10There's probably no exaggeration to say it is the most significant largest land search we have conducted in the history
02:19of the South Australia Police.
02:21Sadly without a resolution that would be to the satisfaction of our investigators or the family.
02:28Was there some frustration or what was your feeling with the interview that Josie Murray did when she went public
02:33and denied involvement?
02:35Look, I don't have a view. She is entitled to make any statement that she wants publicly.
02:42She chose to do that. That doesn't alter the course of our investigation.
02:45We continue investigating based on facts and information we collect.
02:49Another terrible case also happened recently down at Port MacDonald.
02:54Is there any update you can offer on that?
02:57No, there is no update. As we've already disclosed, we are treating this as a murder-suicide.
03:04There is nothing at this point to suggest anything different.
03:07We are continuing some searching activity to try and recover the missing infant.
03:13These are really troubling events that affect not just the family but all of those people who are connected to
03:19trying to establish exactly what happened and recover the missing children.
03:25Helena Wright had contact with police the day before the tragedy. What can you tell us about that?
03:30Well, I can't disclose the content of that interaction but we can confirm that Helena did go to the Mount
03:38Gambier police station and she was spoken to by a police officer.
03:42What are police doing now in terms of reviewing what happened with that interaction? Is there anything that police can
03:48glean and learn from straight away?
03:50Well, as with any significant incident, we do our own reviews but we are also obligated to prepare a report
03:58for the coroner in these circumstances and that is being undertaken now.
04:02The report for the coroner looks at the causes and circumstances leading up to a death.
04:07So it's not just about the incident itself where Helena is presumed to have taken her own life and taken
04:17her children with her.
04:18It will be about all of the events that led up to that particular point in time.
04:22So that will include interactions with police going back for as long as necessary.
04:26Was there more interactions than that one day before?
04:31I can't elaborate any further.
04:33We have made it quite clear that the obligation on South Australia Police is to provide a body of material
04:39to the coroner for the coroner to make a determination exactly what's occurred.
04:43I guess the point here is though the coroner's report might be still five years away, sometimes longer.
04:50Do you think the public would like to know more or do you think it would be important for police
04:55to perhaps learn some lessons from this long before that five year point?
04:58Well, as I said, we do the report for the coroner but we take away findings from our own point
05:04of view to make sure that if there are changes in service delivery, regardless of the circumstances or which event
05:10you're talking about, we do our own reflection and we make changes prior to any coronial inquest.
05:16So it's fair to say there's a review going on to see what could have been done better?
05:19Well, I'm not presuming we could have done things better but what I am inquiring into is did we get
05:28it right?
05:29And if there were opportunities for change then we would instigate those changes.
05:33In terms of your future, it's a tough job just looking at the things we've just discussed.
05:39Where are you sitting now? There was a no confidence vote by the Police Association.
05:45Where are you sitting at the moment in terms of your future?
05:48Well, you know, the no confidence vote by the union is a matter for the union.
05:53Their motivations are, that is a question for them to answer.
05:57I can say that notwithstanding that no confidence vote amongst the delegates, both the Deputy Commissioner and I have been
06:07overwhelmed by countless comments, emails, text messages, personal interactions, phone calls from people within Saypol and outside of Saypol expressing
06:17their support.
06:19I'm confident that we have the support of the Premier and the government.
06:23Will you go on beyond, I think is it early 2028 or what are you thinking?
06:2820 July 2028 and I'm not looking beyond that point at this time.
06:32That will be a conversation that I would probably start to reflect on as that point in time comes closer.
06:38The other suggestion was perhaps Governor Grant Stevens, is that something you would look at?
06:44No one in any position of authority has had a conversation with me about that.
06:49So, in my view, it's a rumour and I've still got about two years to go on my contract so
06:54I'll focus on that.
06:55But never say never?
06:56Never say never to anything. I've never been a big one for career planning.
07:00Never thought too much about what's next and that's where my mind is at this point in time is dealing
07:06with what I'm dealing with now rather than what might be around the corner.
07:10Grant Stevens, thanks for joining us.
07:11Thanks, James.
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