Mounted police up for party season
The head of WA's mounted police says the section has been forced to adapt to the growing phenomenon of Facebook-driven out-of-control parties.
As the horses and riders are put through their paces ahead of another likely summer of alcohol-fuelled violence, Sen. Sgt Glen Potter said they were ready to meet any challenge.
"It's the people who have access to social media and are able to rev up others into behaviour which is inappropriate," he said.
"The out-of-control party thing has been a phenomenon not just here, but it has certainly been highlighted here. I travel to the US and they are seeing the same phenomenon, as are the UK. We've changed and adapted the way we deal with things. As we get better at what we're doing, as more information comes in on what the trends are, we're able to adapt and read the play."
Under legislation introduced last December, the organisers of out-control-parties can face up to one year in jail and a $12,000 fine.
Sen. Const. Regan Simpson, who has been in the mounted section for four years, was deployed to one of the State's worst Facebook-invite parties last September in Piara Waters.
Hundreds of drunken youths threw missiles at paramedics, riot police and mounted officers then vandalised houses as they were pushed out of the area.
"As soon as we got anywhere near them, they threw everything they could find," Sen. Const. Simpson said. "By the end of it, the road was shimmering with glass there was so much of it. The good thing about these horses is when the job's on, they just don't bat an eyelid."
It was the ability of the horses to stand firm in the face of danger which captivated 29-year-old Kristy Stephen, a first-class constable who grew up around horses.
Horses are flighty by nature, but the animals in the mounted section are conditioned to walk through fire, fights, flares and airborne bottles without breaking stride.
The intense training at the section's Maylands base prepares the horses for wild nights in Northbridge or suburban Perth.
"The more we can get a horse accustomed to noises, bright things, large crowds - it's all desensitisation for them and the more we do, the better they get," Const. Stephen said.
"At some of these out-of-control parties you will have bottles thrown or fireworks set off.
"In Northbridge, you've got noisy clubs, loud music, massive crowds and all sorts of things going on around them and the horses can just switch on and do their jobs.
"I never in my wildest dreams thought a horse could cope with those sorts of pressures."
The training is not only for the horses.
First class Const. Jodie Howard will have her first shift as a mounted officer today at the Railway Stakes at Ascot Racecourse.
A former traffic officer, the 27-year-old made it through the section's competitive selection process once before, in 2010, but a broken ankle took her out of contention.
"I always wanted to put the two things together -my police work and my love of horses," she said.
Although the public disorder drills are crucial to the section's performance, certain breeds - particularly draught horses - have physiques and temperaments which are better suited to the job.
Sen. Sgt Potter said the physical attributes of the horses made them invaluable in crowded, volatile situations.
"We're like the copper on the beat, except we can see 10 times further and travel 20 times faster," he said.
The good thing about these horses is when the job's on, they just don't bat an eyelid.
