Rob the dispatcher becomes a dogged detective
ESTA police dispatcher Rob Barton has been the calming voice at the end of the line for many years. But his reaction to a different crisis has seen him nominated for a Pride of Australia award.
Pride of Australia
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Keeping his community safe has long been a big part of Rob Barton’s life.
A veteran police dispatcher with the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority, he has been the calming voice at the end of the line for many years, dealing with a wide variety of emergency calls.
He remembers the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires like they were on Wednesday, and says domestic violence calls really hit home, sticking with him for years to come.
But it was a leisurely walk after work one morning which saw him on the other end of the phone, playing a key role in arresting an alleged offender on the beach at Oliver’s Hill in Frankston.
Only hours earlier, Rob had helped direct police officers who were chasing a driver involved in a car crash which injured an officer.
The car and the alleged offender had sped off, and police lost sight of the vehicle.
But Rob, who has been on the receiving end of calls to police for 24 years, diligently remembered the number plate of the wanted car, and to his surprise, stumbled across the alleged crook while walking his dogs.
“I finished work at about 6am that morning and just happened to be walking my two dogs, Jorja and Tilly, down the beach,” he recalls.
“I just happened to notice the car and I thought, ‘That’s a bit of a crapbox’ — and I thought that rego does sound familiar. And then the adrenaline went up.
“I walked past initially, thought about it, thought about what I was going to do.
“I don’t want to make myself too obvious, I don’t want to disturb him — I just walked a bit further down from where I was and rang it in (to police).’
The 45-year-old then helped with the police operation, which included the dog squad, the
Critical Incident Response Team and the air wing. He kept an eye on the alleged offender, who was asleep in his vehicle at the secluded spot, until police members pounced.
He praised the work of Victoria Police in co-ordinating such a response.
“I’ve been with ESTA for 24 years in a full time capacity … and to get a different perspective (of what police deal with) … it was completely surreal to be honest,” he said.
“It was a major operation. And I wanted him off the road.”
For his work as a dispatcher and his actions that day, which undoubtedly kept his community safe, Rob has been nominated for a Pride of Australia award.
Nominate your hero at prideofaustralia.com.au