Commander Stuart Bateson, Victoria Police

Rotary Melbourne Podcast

Commander Stuart Bateson comes with a diverse and broad range of experience with Victoria Police. Since his promotion to Detective 22 years ago, he has worked in a number of investigative areas including organised crime, counter terrorism and homicide. He was actively involved in resolving the Gangland murders and has been Police spokesperson on TV following several major incidents such as the Bourke St rampage several years ago, speaking with simple clarity. He was selected as a Rotary Peace Fellow graduating from our Chulalongkorn University program in 2013 and since has had 2 significant promotions, firstly to Superintendent with responsibility for North West Metro Division 2 serving a population of almost 500,000 people. He led significant reform to the way in which police respond to family violence forming a number of harm reduction partnerships with local drug and alcohol services. He was then promoted to Commander of the newly created Priority Communities Division which leads the work to ensure that all Victorians feel heard, understood and valued by Police. As well as being a Rotary Peace Fellow, Stuart holds a Masters of Business from the University of Newcastle and a Bachelor of Policing from Charles Sturt University. He was awarded the Australian Police Medal for distinguished service to law enforcement in 2017.