SA Police Assistant Commissioner Bronwyn Killmier appointed as next Commissioner for Victims’ Rights

SA POLICE Assistant Commissioner Bronwyn Killmier will replace longstanding Commissioner for Victims’ Rights Michael O’Connell when his term ends next month.

Bronwyn Killmier will become the new Commissioner for Victims’ Rights.

• Michael O’Connell — SA’s champion for voiceless victims

SA POLICE Assistant Commissioner Bronwyn Killmier will replace longstanding Commissioner for Victims’ Rights Michael O’Connell when his term ends next month.

Attorney-General Vickie Chapman made the announcement on Thursday morning following a panel selection process and approval from cabinet.

Ms Killmier, who has been a member of the police force for four decades, will resign from SA Police to take on an initial five year term from mid-July.

After 12 years in the role, Mr O’Connell was informed of the decision through a phone call from Ms Chapman, which she described as “cordial”, while he is away working in Hong Kong.

Mr O’Connell told The Advertiser in a statement he was “sad that I cannot continue to not only give victims a voice but also ensure their voices are heard and acknoleged”.

“Victims are no longer outsiders in our criminal justice system... I have a legacy that I pray will endure.”

Current Commissioner for Victims’ Rights Michael O’Connell will finish in the post next month.

Ms Killmier is currently Assistant Commissioner for State Operations Service, with responsibility for regional and remote South Australia.

She said victims in those areas would be a focus of hers, as well as those of child abuse.

“Victims are at the heart of policing. That’s one thing I’ll be concentrating on, perhaps how we can give them a bigger voice” Ms Killmier said.

“I do have a big interest in regional and remote areas of South Australia ... (and) indigenous issues.

“I’ve been a police officer for a very long time, so I’m slightly unshockable. You see horrible things happening across the state. There’s not too many victimless crimes.

“Child protection, and also family violence... they’re all complex issues that need some thought.

“Once I get into the role ... then I’ll make some decisions about what I’ll do differently.”

Ms Chapman said Mr O’Connell had significant experience and had made major improvements for South Australian victims of crime but it was “time now for a fresh start and to refocus”.

“To have someone with contemporary, comprehensive policing experience in this areas important to us,” she said of Ms Killmier.

“We’ve gone into a very serious era of dealing with child protection ... we continue to have serious felonies such as murder and we have a very strong focus, obviously, on domestic violence.

“Terrorism, child protection … even cyber security and cyber bullying, these are the new territory crimes that we have to deal with.

“It’s important to see that we’ve got someone fresh from the ground dealing with these cases to identify the extent of the victims.”

Ms Chapman said Ms Killmier would advise the Government on “everything from the simple questions of whether we should have a separate entrance for victims when they come into a courtroom, to whether there should be greater scrutiny in relation to the release of paedophiles” into the community.

Shadow Attorney-General Kyam Maher congratulated Ms Killmier on the appointment and thanked Mr O’Connell for his “frank and fearless advice to Labor in government”.

“South Australia has not seen a stronger advocate for victims,” Mr Maher said.

Mr O’Connell is also a former police officer, who began that career in the 1970s.

He was seconded to the Police Academy in the 1980s.

In 1999, he took on the role of the state’s inaugural Victims of Crime Co-ordinator, under the then Liberal government.

Mr O’Connell is known for working 14-hour days and going above and beyond his role description to help victims of crime.

In 2015-2016 alone his office assisted 19,000 victims, including 492 with compensation cases and 15 to write victim impact statements.

Over the course of her career, Ms Killmier has worked on road safety and major crash, managing offenders in custody, missing persons, firearms, licensing enforcement, counter terrorism, emergency management, low-level drug dealing and deploying STAR officers to high risk situations.

She has trained with the FBI Acadamy at Quantico in the US and served three months with the Kent Police force in the UK.