I Catch Killers podcast with Gary Jubelin: NSW police face too many choices

Uniformed cops have too many choices when it comes to tackling dangerous offenders, veteran homicide detective Gary Jubelin says in his smash-hit new podcast. LISTEN NOW

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A Smith & Wesson .38 revolver, a pocketful of bullets and a steel baton: that’s what cops were armed with when Gary Jubelin started out and the veteran homicide detective says it made “fighting bad guys” much simpler.

“I feel sorry for young uniformed police now, with all the tactical options they’ve got,” Jubelin says in the latest episode of his smash-hit podcast I Catch Killers with Gary Jubelin, which has been number one in Australia since its launch last week.

“They’ve got capsicum spray, Tasers, the expandable batons. When I came out of the (police) academy you had your revolver on your hip and a 22-inch steel baton. If you had to rely on those it was a pretty simple option,” Jubelin says.

Former Detective chief inspector Gary Jubelin has revealed what he thinks about young cops in the police force today. Picture: John Grainger

“Now there’s so many – and under a pressure situation – so many tactical options that they’ve got I understand the need to bring in options that aren’t lethal force but it makes it much harder. I preferred the simplicity of just having a baton, a gun and your fists if you needed them.”

Today’s NSW Police officers carry gear on belts or vests that can weigh up to seven kilograms when fully loaded with weapons, a radio, a mobile phone, a first-aid kit, ammunition and a torch, among other items.

Listen to Jubelin’s new podcast episode below.

Jubelin, who during his tenure as a detective inspector with NSW Police oversaw critical incident investigations into police use of lethal force, says he learnt as a young officer that the act of simply drawing a gun could escalate a tense situation into something potentially deadly.

“It’s an individual thing and I never judge anyone in a tactical situation because you’re making a split-second decision under extreme pressure,” Jubelin says.

“When you’re under that pressure you’ve got to react; it’s got to be your natural instinct.

“I’ve drawn my gun many a time while I’m working but once you draw your gun you’re really upping the ante so to speak, because once you’ve drawn your gun you’ve backed yourself into a corner.

“With the baton, the mere sound – we were taught the sound of a steel baton coming out of a steel ring is very chilling. It’s steel on steel. I did some time in the Tactical Response Group, the riot squad, and I know it’s a very intimidating sound if you’re drawing a metal baton from a steel ring.”

Ex detective Gary Jubelin (left) pictured with his old partner Jason Evers. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Jubelin also details the sometimes stressful relationship homicide detectives develop on the road during long and tough investigations. He and longtime detective partner Jason Evers once drove the entire six-hour journey from Coffs Harbour to Sydney while both sulking in complete silence.

“We’d been away for a couple of days with our informant Mr X, which is stressful in itself, and it didn’t go as well as we’d hoped so I was stressed. Jason was reading the paper and he read something out to me and I said: “I want to read that when I’m not driving.” That’s how the argument started. We got to about Port Macquarie and we decided we’re not going to talk.

“I thought: ‘Stuff you, if you’re not going to talk, I’m not going to talk either.’ I was too proud to tell Jason ‘I’m too tired to drive’, I was prepared to run us off the road, kill us both, in preference to saying ‘I’m too tired’.

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Gary Jubelin’s new book I Catch Killers. Pre-order it below.

“We got to a stop sign on the highway and I stopped the car and fell fast asleep at the wheel. So the only words we said on the whole journey was Jason said: ‘I think I’ll drive’.”

Listen, subscribe or follow I Catch Killers with Gary Jubelin at truecrimeaustralia.com.au, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast

Pre-order his book here.

Originally published as I Catch Killers podcast with Gary Jubelin: NSW police face too many choices