It's time for - The Police Association Victoria

is inspirational. I still talk to him regularly.
He’s still razor sharp."
Police at the time saw the value and
importance of working the media to
benefit the investigation. In cases including
the Russell Street bombing and Turkish
consulate bombing Geoff was "virtually a
defacto member of the investigation".
The level of co-operation during the Russell
Street bombing investigation has never been
repeated. "Everyone was happy with what
they got."
And there was the Geelong Water Board
extortion bid when a media blackout was
negotiated by Chief Commissioner Miller and
his media director. "The media knew what
was going on and were briefed every day. It
held. I can’t imagine that happening today."
Awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1985,
Geoff travelled extensively looking at
overseas police forces. It was during this
trip that Geoff discovered Crime Stoppers
and was integral in the introduction of the
initiative into Victoria. Twenty-three years
later, Geoff is still on the Crime Stoppers
board and only recently resigned from the
Blue Ribbon Day Council.
Geoff has been held in the highest regard
by police and community leaders for
decades. During his time as the Chief
Commissioner’s Media Director, Geoff
developed a level of respect and trust
that has never been surpassed. He worked
with Mick Miller until his retirement
and then stayed on for another 12
months’with Chief Commissioner Kel Glare,
before leaving to take up a job with A
Current Affair in 1989.
All of this makes Geoff’s relationship with
the current Force Command even more
unbelievable.
Checks of Geoff’s phone records have been
made to establish who he is talking to.
Geoff is obviously angered and saddened by
the situation that came to a head when he
published a story on bikie gangs moving in
to Melbourne.
"Sadly, my relationship with recent Chief
Commissioners has not been quite as
positive as it was in the days of Reg Jackson
and Mick Miller. These days they’re more
inclined to run checks on my phone in a vain
attempt to find out where a story’s come
from. It’s appalling that they checked my
89-year-old father’s phone."
So how did Geoff find out that he was being
checked?
"A copper who had the misfortune of talking
to me when the story that upset them so
much appeared contacted me. The copper
had been interviewed and asked to explain
their relationship with me.
"Why that story would generate such a
reaction is a mystery to me. The bikie
gangs wear their identity on their backs.
People know they are here. Why they would
bother to waste time and resources to find,
unsuccessfully, where it came from, is a joke.
It is such a negative, reactive attitude.
ABOVE: John Silvester with Geoff Wilkinson after announcing his lifetime achievement award.
"I should be an ally of the Force and the
media unit − I understand the pros and
cons of where they are coming from and
how they can have a mutually beneficial
relationship with the media. I can’t tell you
the last time I was offered a story through
official police sources."
At the Press Club’s Quill awards, when Geoff
Wilkinson was honoured with his lifetime
achievement award he had no idea it was
coming. When his old mate John ‘Sly of the
Underworld’ Silvester began speaking about
crime reporters over the years he felt John
was laboring the point with the number of
stories that featured him.
He still wasn’t sure what was happening
when his wife, Dorothy, suggested he should
put his jacket back on. Geoff had arrived at
the award presentation dinner oblivious to
the fact that his father, Bob, and sons Dean
and Lee were there − all wanting to be a part
of his big night.
"Every man and his dog knew − except me. It
was the best orchestrated sting of all time," says
Geoff. "When I got to the stage I was in shock."
Mick Miller recorded a video tribute to the
‘scruffy scribe’. He said the thing that sold
him on Geoff over 34 other applicants was
his response to an "integrity test" question.
Mr Miller wanted to know how his
media director would portray the Chief
Commissioner in a good light at all times
and if he could pull stories if they didn’t suit
the chief or the police force.
"I was surprised at the responses I got
from some of those on the panel. When
it came to Geoffrey his response was
quite emphatic. He said, ‘at that point,
Mr Commissioner, you and I would have
reached the parting of the ways’.
"There were times when we disagreed,
but we disagreed like gentleman.
He could be depended upon to give advice
in the right measure and at the right time,"
Mr Miller said.
Over all the years two simple rules have
governed Geoff Wilkinson’s professional life
− always be right and assume nothing. Many
of Victoria’s leading crime reporters learnt
those rules under Geoff’s tutelage when he
was the chief crime reporter, working out
of a cramped office in the old Russell Street
police station.
Congratulations Geoff − keep those front
page stories coming.
The Police Association Victoria Journal May 2011
15