Shortcut: Closing the Technology Gap in Policing

Australian True Crime

Meshel Laurie

True Crime

4.6 • 979 Ratings

🗓️ 16 November 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.

David Bartlett is a former Victoria Police detective and Australian Crime Commission investigator with experience in counter terror work, international drug operations and organised crime.

He shares how early frontline policing, tech skills and major investigations revealed the growing technology gap that criminals are now exploiting.

David has since founded the Safer Places Network, a national voluntary CCTV register designed to get critical footage to investigators faster while protecting community privacy.

You can learn more about how you can get involved with the Safer Places Network here.

We're excited to announce the release of Sherele Moody's new podcast, She Matters. Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts, or find it wherever you get your podcasts.

Join our Facebook Group here.

Do you have information regarding any of the cases discussed on this podcast? Please report it on the Crime Stoppers website or by calling 1800 333 000.

For Support:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Blue Knot Helpline: 1300 657 380

CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie

Guest: David Bartlett

Executive Producer: Matthew Tankard

Editor: Michael Tankard

This episode contains extra content from The ABC.

GET IN TOUCH:

https://www.australiantruecrimethepodcast.com/

Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook

Send us a question to have played on the show by recording a voice message here.

Email the show at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Before we begin today's episode of Australian true crime, I want to tell you about a new project
0:04.5	we've been working on behind the scenes. It's called She Matters. It's a new podcast from
0:10.2	award-winning journalist and femicide researcher Shirel Moody. Each week, Shirel speaks with
0:15.3	families of women and children killed in Australia, sharing who they were, the joy they brought,
0:38.9	and the love they left behind. She Matters isn't a true crime podcast. It's about lives lived, lives loved and lives lost. She Matters is produced by Dashmade podcasts in association with bravecasting media. She Matters is available wherever you get your podcasts.
0:48.2	Our guest today is David Bartlett, a man with an extraordinary CV.
0:52.7	He's a former Victorian police detective with 11 years of service.
0:58.0	He spent six years with the Australian Crime Commission across operation and intelligence roles.
0:59.0	He has experience in major investigations into international drug operations and terror networks.
1:06.0	These days, David is focused on the technology gap between law enforcement and criminals.
1:11.6	He's the founder of the Safer Places Network, which is such a simple idea it's hard to believe it didn't exist already.
1:18.6	It's just about creating a register of CCTV cameras around Australia, and all of us can get involved.
1:26.6	David Bartlett joins us on Australian True Crime to talk
1:30.0	about the challenges facing modern policing and his work with safer places. This is Australian
1:36.7	True Crime. We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is created,
1:42.3	the Warrundri Woi Warang people of the Koolan Nation.
1:46.3	And a warning, this episode of the podcast contains graphic descriptions of violence.
1:55.8	You know, for me, I'm onto my fourth career, if you put it that way.
1:59.7	So I started out tech, went into the police
2:01.8	force. I then ran a private company for the last five years in the private sector in a different
2:05.8	industry, and now I'm back to working in the tech and law enforcement space. So, I don't know,
2:10.2	I think the world is so small now and so accessible that universities are going to find it harder
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 2 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Meshel Laurie, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Meshel Laurie and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.