Police veterans bow out
Two veteran policemen with almost 80 years experience between them are retiring from stations in the remote northwest.
Insp. Jim Cave, 60, has decided to put away his handcuffs at the Kimberley District Police Office in Broome after a career spanning 39 years.
And after 38 years loyal service, his 61-year-old colleague, John Burnby, has also called it a day as senior sergeant at the Aboriginal outpost of Warmum, 200km south of Kununurra.
Deputy Police Commissioner Chris Dawson marked the retirements in Broome last week by presenting the National Medal for Service to Insp. Cave and the Commissioner’s Certificate to Sen. Sgt Burnby, which acknowledged his efforts during the Warmum floods in 2011.
Insp. Cave graduated from the police academy in Maylands in 1974 and Sen. Sgt Burnby joined the ranks the following year.
Even though their career paths are significantly different, both officers have been drawn to policing in the WA outback.
Insp. Cave spent three years as officer-in-charge of Derby police station from December 2004, then taking on duties as the alcohol and drugs officer at Kununurra before moving to Broome a year later with the added responsibility of crime and support services.
He said the key to regional policing was understanding cultural differences between the metropolitan area and the Kimberley.
“From a management team perspective we have utilised the knowledge from a pool of senior officers, who have all spent valuable time here,” he said.
“That gives us a better understanding of dealing with local issues.”
Sen. Sgt Burnby was stationed at Roebourne in 1984, Broome in 2002 and Dampier in 2005, where he was officer in charge for more than five years.
He has been the OIC at Warmum for more than two years and carried out the role in a relief capacity at Halls Creek.
He said mutual respect was the key to good policing in his small community.
“My way of policing is always to show respect both ways, then you can demand respect,” he said.
“We have built up a great relationship with the people here — they have no problem talking to me and I have no
problem talking to them.”
Kimberley Police District Office Superintendant Mick Sutherland said officers of the experience and calibre of Insp. Cave and Sen. Sgt Burnby were hard to replace.
“Their experience and wisdom around law and order will be missed in the Kimberley,” he said.
“They are good ethical coppers who use common sense when dealing with challenges in policing.”
He commended their wives, Val Cave and Kathy Burnby, for supporting their police officer husbands as they served across regional WA.
He said Mrs Burnby’s efforts during the Warmum floods were recognised with a certificate of appreciation from the WA Police Commissioner
