National stage: Inspector Nicole Cantillon, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh and Leading Senior Constable Brooke Malane at the Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards held in Canberra on November 1. Photos supplied.
The CoolHeads Young Driver Program returns to Mooroopna on November 16, a fortnight after it was recognised at the Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Awards in Canberra.
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Leading Senior Constable Brooke Malane from the Mitchell proactive policing unit accepted the bronze award and said the CoolHeads program had a real impact because the speakers shared their personal experiences.
“It is very confronting,” Leading Sen Constable Malane said.
“Particularly for regional areas, having local speakers come out and speak to the community about collisions or road trauma in the area that they may know of.
Recognition: Leading Senior Constable Brooke Malane accepts the Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Award for the CoolHeads Young Driver program
“I think everyone has been affected by road trauma, whether they know someone or been directly affected — even though CoolHeads is targeted to 16- to 25-year-olds, it is a national problem.”
At the upcoming Mooroopna event, the audience will hear from Major Collision Investigation Unit Detective Sergeant Stephen Hill, Shepparton Search and Rescue president Nacole Stanfield, a local magistrate, an Ambulance Victoria representative and a young man who is talking about how his experience with road trauma changed his life.
Accepting the award in Canberra, Leading Sen Constable Malane acknowledged the program’s founders, Ian and Thelma Bull, and Trevor Collins, as well as her predecessor Glenn Gibson.
Important work: All the ACAVPA award recipients in Canberra.
“It was an absolute honour to receive the award and have national recognition for an initiative that came out of Greater Shepparton in 2008,” she said.
“Its longevity is thanks to the community for their support in attending CoolHeads and also for the speakers’ commitment; they volunteer their time to reduce road trauma in the area.”
She dedicated the award to the Victorian community because, “without them, there is no CoolHeads”.
The program’s success has seen it expand to other parts of Victoria — including the Mitchell and Benalla police service areas — and Leading Sen Constable Malane hopes it will go statewide.
The free event is being held on November 16 from 6.45pm to 9.30pm at Riverlinks Westside, corner of Echuca Rd and Homewood Dve, Mooroopna.
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