Building strong trust between police and new communities in
Brimbank and Melton has been Moses Lado’s passion for nearly four years.
The emerging communities liaison officer with Brimbank police has
received national recognition for his efforts.
Mr Lado, who came to Australia as a two-year-old from southern
Sudan, has been named one of the country’s 100 most influential
African-Australians. He received the Champion of Africa award at
Parliament House in Canberra on July 27.
Mr Lado said that when he arrived in mid-2009, there was a “high level of mistrust” between police and minorities.
“My focus was to bridge the gap,” he said. “Myself and other
services that work in the area worked hard to ensure trust between
police and our new communities should happen. I can proudly say we have
made some inroads in our engagement efforts with these communities.
“There is no doubt that we have established rapport with various
communities in this area, and this is shown by the community’s
confidence to invite police to attend community events.
“Also, the fact that members of the new and emerging community can
now come to police and ask for help with matters that affect them
demonstrates the level of relationship.”
