Bonus: Probe The PoPo - Bomb Squad

You, Lawrence, tell me what you know.

We love the Victorian Police. And joining us today from the Victorian Police is the bomb Squad. Evan and Pete here. Good morning, no worries, Thanks for being in.

I mean you've rolled in in full uniform and it's hardcore. I mean that whatever Pete's wearing right now looks terrifying. No, we're going to get to your out in a minute, Pete. But first of all, what does the bomb squad here in Victoria do.

I've got a few different roles, but usually it's people leaving their stuff around the city.

So it is like when you hear them say don't leave you suitcase unattended at the airport, you would get the call and go we found a suspicious.

Absolutely, and it's whatever might make it suspicious. Some people just think it's suspicious by it's been left out in the public. Yeah, and Danguie wrong. A lot of the time it's nothing. It's someone's personal bag they've left behind, right and then every now and then you get something it's a bit more sus sorry.

Just so, if there was just a random bag suit case left at Clarendon Street out the front of our office here and someone called the police, you would get sent to do it or how do they like break down whether it's important enough for you to be there.

The uniform guys will turn up first and you guys going make an assessment and then yeah, if they think it's us, they'll they'll give us a bowl. But you know over on Clarence Street be a high value target.

Right, Absolutely, encouragement We okay gifts here?

Are we okay here? Because I remember back to my primary school days. Here we go and if there was anything suspicious, we've got to go home.

And then always be a threat on a test out.

To the school of exams was a big one.

Threats at school Yeah, around around exam time, big, big, big.

Time for to take it seriously, right.

Absolutely, but there's ways to deal with it and there's ways to work out whether it's legit or not.

Also a lot of fireworks, people storing fireworks. You guys get stored, you guys get called out too.

Yeah, fireworks are a big issue for us because I think the people associated with a bit of fun right and they are don't get me wrong, but yeah, they're explosives. At the end of the day, we go to probably two or three incidents a year where people being seriously injured or killed and sorry to bring the mood down.

Yeah, that's danger of reality.

Yeah it is. And then and the untold part is our guys go out there and then have to live with those images and the jobs that carry on. So yeah, we had one a couple of Christmases ago on Christmas Eve. So yeah, it's a big thing for their family. Obviously.

What sort of training do you need because it's not as simple as cutting the red or the black or the yellow or the green or the blue white?

What do you mean, like in leth Weapie.

I'm cutting the red wire? Okay, exactly what it's like? I mean you said, did I say blue?

Where did you say red? What color wire?

That actually sounds like me and Pete last year.

Is it really like do you cut the red wire the blue wire? Is it that simple? Sometimes?

No, it's not. And it's it's funny. It's like me saying, you know, long, long time listening the first time caller. It's like just evokes a bit of an eyeroll from a bomb tech. Yeah, so yeah, that gag. Yeah, No, look, I don't if I'm at a social function, I don't say that because it's the first thing, color of the wire, completely irrelevant.

Yeah, right, but you do.

But on a serious note, the training is obviously quite extensive.

Yeah, absolutely, And there's only fifteen of us and we've we've been in the force for what twenty five years and there's only been about thirty five of us, So quite a niche sort of anything about how many police have gone on through Vick Pole?

Can ik, what's been the scariest situation that you guys would have faced here in Melbourne over that time.

I get this question quite a bit, and.

Because I just don't know how common it is here in Melbourne, like do we have.

You know, Yeah, we do, we do. I don't. I wouldn't use the term scary, like we're well equipped, trained, all the methodology, all the intel. I don't think I've ever actually been scared on a job. That doesn't sound conceded, but.

We don't want you to want you to be confident.

But has there been a job where it's like we found a huge amount of explosives in quite a public place, or yeah.

We had a job in at Southern Cross Railway station that it was just one of those jobs that look at it just went up and down and there are a few markers about it that gave us the heb gebis. He was there with us, and yeah, it was a It was a bucket with a lid taped on it, which in itself is a little bit suss. Yeah, left on a train platform and yeah, someone's called it in And by the time we got there, looked back through the CCTV and it had been placed deliberately, with some

So what she was almost there, ready to film whatever it was about to happen.

Yeah, that was that was the feeling. There are there there are another market which I won't go into, that pointed it to it being explosive. So that was those jobs. Do you think it's nothing, but then all of a sudden you think it's something What.

It turned out to be?

Well, so we use portable x ray. That's one of our go tos.

And portable x.

Ray like like it goes in and like a robot and scans.

We've got what I knew at the moment. Portable x ray is that attached to the little robot.

That you touch the robot or someone can go down in the suit that Pete's wearing and just place it. But it gives us a pretty good idea of what's inside. And when we first saw it, I actually thought it was a fetus.

What it turned out to be a couple of chickens? That was it?

Yeah, buck at a meat.

And did they do it for a bit of fun to resu up?

They ended up they ended up catching up with the lady and she said, so she was jumping on a regional bus and she realized her meat from the VIC market wasn't going to last all the way.

Now that's us.

Now, look, we've got both of you in here, and I want to talk through the outfits and I also want to talk through what like do you stand a bit further back in that than what our friend Pete over here does in this suit, because this suits way more hardcore.

Yeah. Absolutely is a tool for every job. So the kid I'm wearing is pretty much our lowest level of protection, and Pizza in our highest.

You're you're just bossing them all around.

We're going to go to a quick break. When we come out, we want to run through the suit and the robot and.

I believe is there another have you a suit for?

Lauren?

Absolutely?

Can I go put it on?

How long is it gonna be? Take? And what's away?

Ways about thirty five kilo and takes about five minutes for us to put it on.

Okay, lots, you go get suited up. We are on the air with the Bomb Squad this morning. We are doing Probe the Pope host.

Okay, putage up.

On our socials as well if you want to check it out. Jason Lauren on Instagram going, I've a look at the stories. We'll continue our chat next still.

Over Lawrence, tell me what's our favorite segments.

We love the Victorian Police and we showcase a different area every couple of weeks. We've got Evan and Pete here from the Victorian Police bomb response units.

Now, now you know back in the day radio used to run beat the bomb?

Could they help us win that? I think it's a bit different. Yeah, okay, so next time the other radio stations running at Evan, I'll give you a call. Can you tell us stop? It's about to now, Lauren's gone to put the suit on. We're going to see the suit in the second first, So can you run a suit the robot? Yeah?

So the robot I've got today is the Dragon Runner. It's one of our smallest rus sounds cool.

I love control cars. So it's very similar to that.

Very similar, and it's very much just quick deployment. So the other robot's bigger, take a bit longer to get out of the trucks. So it suits that really quick sort of job where you just need to get it out.

Now, what can it do? Has it got next ray on? There, light sirens, anything like that. Oh, here it comes the Dragon Runner? The Dragon Runner. So it's got like a robotic arm.

Yeah, it's got the robotic arm. You can control it remotely a couple of cameras.

Doesn't shoot anything out or anything.

It's not loaded up with, but you can load up weapons on it. Yeah, it's functionality is okay, but it's probably not out.

Just say there was an explosive device and it detonates. Does that survive the boom.

Or you've got to go to JB and get another one.

No, we get another one. So we said that kind of hope for that day. Right, you got a brand new robot.

Yeah, so that wouldn't survive the No, okay, Now, speaking of surviving the we've got Pete here in the suit, in the full suit which people would have seen in all the movies TV shows when the bomb unit gets deployed. How much of an impact can that suit take? And do you train with the impact? Like, I know this is a stupid question, but do you like throwing sandbags at each other to get used to the impact.

It's so they're actually rated to five hundred grams of explosive at one meter, So if you've ever seen five hundred grams go off, it's actually quite a big bang, right, And it's designed to Yeah, I should save you.

But what will that do to the body, to be like being hit with a sledgehammer?

Right?

Oh?

Absolutely, yeah, and you still get pretty seriously injured. But it's just designed to keep your vitals going right.

And I noticed he's got because I'm quite jealous of it. It's got internal air conditioning. Sorry, I'm sorry.

He is so Lauren, she's here to save the day. Has just walked in wattled in. Actually, so we've.

Got Pete Evan and Miss Phillips from the bomb disposal unit is cooked.

How do you do it? It's like forty kilows.

Yeah, now you've got to get down on your knees and diffuse the bomb.

Yeah, it doesn't fling me if I get down on my knees on this, I'm not getting back up the heaviest like I actually can't explain how uncomfortable.

To fix this strap.

Yeah.

So it's got air con unit in the suit. You could be in there for like forty five minutes.

We trained for about yeah, forty minutes. And it's something you do when you're trying to get into the unit. Obviously you train it quite heavily to make sure the guys can put up with it, not only physically, but perform functions in it as well.

Like how long would you be in this for?

Yeah? Yeah, we try and keep it to about forty minutes, depending on the temperature as well, right, I have to the hottest day in summer. It's something you got to take into conisation.

Run in this because you just walk like the Michelin. You actually have to sometimes.

Run, sometimes run. But it's a bad day running mate.

You know what I was thinking, that's going to go off. You run, I take this off. I'm going to feel light as a feather.

Psychology of good psychology better than the gym. I don't know that the pink pumers don't really complete the look.

I didn't put the pants on just quickly.

Is there any TV show or movie that comes close to a realistic view of what you guys do? Twenty four? What about that? That was a good one? Twenty four was good? Tommy Lee Jones blown Away? Great movie?

Bombs or it's actually counting down like.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'd love to say yes, but you.

Don't know how much time you normally.

Thomas had a big, big bomb scare.

Yeah yeah.

And also in a country practice, I remember when the hospital had a box there.

Did you guys get called to that one? Wandon Valley? Someone's lost back back on Clarence.

We're having been fun this morning, but in all seriousness. You guys do an amazing and very important job. Thank you because.

Most of us wouldn't have the balls to do this, and good on you guys.

Thank you very much.

We very much appreciate the work you guys do. Evan and Pete from the Bomb Response Unit of Victorian Police. You can check out the get ups on our social The robots just left kind of get your breakfast laws.

As a questioned, I deserve some after this.

Jason Lauren Lauren wake up feeling good following them on the socials