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SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens back at work after death of son

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has spoken out about his return to the state’s top policing job after the tragic loss of his son.

Grant and Emma Stevens' Heartfelt Message

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said he never had the thought of not returning to his posting as the state’s police boss following his family tragedy last year.

The stoic police boss told FIVEaa radio on Wednesday he never really contemplated not coming back after taking some time away after his son Charlie Stevens, 18, was killed in a tragic crash at Goolwa Beach last year.

Mr Stevens said he was happy to be back at work, adding in some humour during his first media interview since his return.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

“My wife Emma has made it pretty clear that she’s happy to have dinner with me every night but she doesn’t want to have lunch with me every day,” he told FIVEaa.

“I never really contemplated not coming back … we are in some challenging times in policing in terms of recruiting and being able to maintain our establishment numbers and making sure that we can maintain the level of service that the community has come to expect of the South Australian police.

“I feel like I’ve got a role to play over the next few years to make sure that we’re as good as we can be and that we live up to those expectations.”

He said a priority was SAPOL’s recruitment program for South Australian residents and internationally, and to “make sure we’re looking after our people.

“That requires us to fill those vacant positions but also make sure we’re doing as much as we can to reduce the demand on our frontline police so that’s where our focus will be for 2024,” he said.

Mr Stevens made his first public return earlier this month when he was spotted attending a public ceremony.

Commissioner Grant Stevens and his wife Emma at Oaklands Park Skate Park to thank the South Australian community for their support. Picture: NCA NewsWire
Commissioner Grant Stevens and his wife Emma at Oaklands Park Skate Park to thank the South Australian community for their support. Picture: NCA NewsWire

He said he eased back into the role over the course of the past month, supported by the policing family.

“(I have gone) under the radar, just eased back into it gently and all credit to the team around me, they’ve been fantastic,” he said.

“I’ve got nothing but praise for the people who have been supporting me, Emma and my family.

“The team has been excellent, really supportive, very kind.

“A lot of good wishes and people were also giving me space to get on with the job which I’m really grateful for.”

He paid tribute to his deputy Linda Williams who has been the Acting Commissioner during Stevens’ leave.

“(Linda) has been doing a fantastic job. We’ve been a great team for over eight years now ... that’s the way we’ve approached it and we’ll keep doing it.”

Mr Stevens said while there were “some reminders inherent” in police work and his son Charlie, there were “so many more reminders around the place that we confront every single day”.

“So this (the job) is just another one of them,” he said.

SAPOL Commissioner Grant Steven’s son Charlie Stevens. Picture: Supplied
SAPOL Commissioner Grant Steven’s son Charlie Stevens. Picture: Supplied

Mr Stevens distanced SAPOL from current moves before state parliament to extend monitoring powers of high risk offenders including the likes of “bodies in the barrels” serial killing accomplice Mark Ray Haydon.

Haydon is due to be released on May 21 having served his sentence for assisting an offender in the notorious mass killing.

The parliamentary moves seek to extend the decision of a “high risk offender” to include people convicted of that offence.

Mr Stevens said it was a “matter for government” and SAPOL had not had any input into the proposed legislative amendment.

“If he’s released without any restrictions then he will be a member of the community as anyone else would be,” he said.

“I think everyone is interested in what the determination will be so we (police) are no different.

“If there are control orders or supervision orders in place, that will be a matter for the Department of Corrections and if there is a role for us to deal with in terms of (police) response we will take that on.

“But at this point in time there is no role for the police.”

Mr Stevens said SAPOL had not been consulted or engaged in any recent discussions or debates surrounding cashless debit cards that have been identified as a significant factor underpinning unrest in remote communities such as Ceduna.

The Advertiser this month revealed several disturbing videos had been posted to social media in the remote town.

He said SAPOL had not been “consulted or been approached for comment” regarding any changes to the cashless debit card.

“We made our position quite clear back when there were discussions about removing the card but we haven’t been contacted since,” he said.

“We supported the retention of the cashless debit card back when it was being discussed for being removed.”

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Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-sa/sa-police-commissioner-grant-stevens-back-at-work-after-death-of-son/news-story/86367997e5825e52b47a30f12bb21827