Our People: Jane Searle

Jane Searle. Photo/Andrew Warner

Jaws have flapped, tongues clacked, teeth gnashed over it, some have marched against it but how many people really are constructively addressing this country's horrific child abuse tally?

Jane Searle is one who is. As chief executive of Child Matters, a government-contracted organisation dedicated to eradicating the abuse of our most vulnerable, Jane's at the coalface of this blight on New Zealand society, shamefully placing our country in the top tier of OECD countries where it's most rife.

If anyone has the credentials to carry out such an awe-inspiring role it's the former Jane Wilson.

Although now Hamilton-based, she's another whose upbringing and background's pure Rotorua.

She's home several times a month working here, as elsewhere, to slice into child cruelty; her parents and a brother still live here.

All the more reason for us to claim her as one of Our People's people.

Jane's qualifications for a role as daunting as her's are impeccable; her's is a subject she knows from both sides of the judicial divide.

After initially practicing law she moved to the police, where three out of her eight years was spent in the child abuse team.

It's the perfect balance to successfully deliver the programme she's charged with.

Before taking a closer look at this caring woman of our's who's passionate about tackling the realities of the worst side of life, let's hear her take on these realities; it's that child abuse is hard to quantify.

"That's because we don't actually know the true stats, cases like Nia [Glassie] and Moko [Rangitoheriri] get huge media coverage but the reality is this is happening every day all over New Zealand; there're a lot of myths about this abuse be it brutal, sexual, neglect. People think it's a lost cause, that it's restricted to one socio-economic group, but it's with us right across society. I was disappointed it wasn't a top election issue, that was a really lost opportunity."

With such sobering facts ringing in our ears we steer Jane down her own life's path.

She grew up on her parents' Horohoro farm, keeping pace with three strapping brothers, each of whom has a success story of his own.

Her Girls' High years carried her into Waikato University's law faculty.

Her admission to the Bar in the High Court at Rotorua was moved by one of the city's most senior practitioners, the late Doug Dillon, a Horohoro neighbour.

The following six months were spent clerking with local lawyer Rob Vigor Brown, before joining Tauranga's Sharp Tudhope.

"I was working across the legal spectrum, conveyancing, criminal litigation, making regular appearances in the district court."

It was there her career crossed the divide between defence and prosecution.

"One day I looked at the prosecutor and thought 'I want to be on that side', I had a brother in the police, I wanted to have a job where I could find out exactly what happened and have direct contact with people in the community."

This didn't mean she'd lost faith in the legal profession.

"To the contrary, I have a great respect for it and would still be practicing law in some form if I hadn't joined the police."

A chat with the prosecutor who'd inspired her to 'jump ship' pointed Jane in the recruiting sergeant's direction.

"He said 'I'll have you in police college in three months, go home and get fit'."

In mid 1997 Jane was Tauranga-stationed, on general duties there and at Mt Maunganui.

"I loved the different type of challenge it gave me, loved the team work. Someone said it will take 20 minutes in a patrol car to know if you want to do this, it took me five."

Three years on Jane was at the wheel of what became the most prominent patrol car in the country, driving immediately in front of US President Bill Clinton's limo in the motorcade for his APEC New Zealand visit.

"It was an amazing experience, we trained really hard for that, working with the military and secret service. We got to travel everywhere with him."

Her special assignment over Jane qualified as a detective and was seconded to the child abuse team.

On the personal front she'd met fellow cop, Peter Searle; then Auckland-based he transferred to Tauranga. They married in Rotorua.

Two years on they took leave without pay heading for London, training there, via university courses, as counter fraud investigators.

Once qualified Jane managed a National Health Service office.

"You'd be surprised by the amount of fraud there is among doctors, some consultants are very good at creating ghost patients. I was working with a team of ex-detectives from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa. Pete's speciality was banking fraud."

During a visit home the Searles bought land at Horohoro.

"We came back to see how we felt, as soon as we landed my husband said 'I want to stay here'. I was pregnant when came back."

Both the couple's daughters were Rotorua-born.

Jane set up her own locally-based fraud consultancy business, working closely with her brother, Brett Wilson, of Watchdog Security.

Her husband's appointment to a Hamilton-based heavy machinery company's sales team promoted her Waikato move.

For Jane it unlocked a new opportunity to tackle head-on her abhorrence of child abuse.

"I was offered a job with Child Matters Child Abuse Prevention Charity Trust, designed as a training organisation for those working with children and families. I went in as general manager, in March I became CEO, a planned transition tailor-made for me. I get to work with teachers, nurses, sporting and not-for-profit organisations supporting their professional development."

On the local front Child Matters has strong backing from the Energy Trust.

"Obviously because it's my home town I can really invest in supporting those here who work with vulnerable families to up-skill in the area of identifying and responding to child abuse.

"Being a Rotorua girl I try and pull as many connections to bring as much support to Rotorua as I can."

JANE SEARLE (NEE WILSON)
Born: Rotorua, 1971.
Education: Otonga Primary, Rotorua Intermediate, Girls' High, Waikato University.
Family: Husband Peter Searle, daughters Elyse, 9; Georgina, 7. Parents John and Lyn Wilson; brothers Brett (Rotorua), Mark (London), Antony (Auckland).
Interests: Family, fitness. "I'm at the gym at 5.30am every morning to be home when the girls wake up." "Outdoor things, biking, I rode horses for years."
On Rotorua: "What I love about Rotorua is the people are so authentic; they take great ownership of their community."
On child abuse: "It's exhibiting human nature at its very worst, there's a tendency to pull back from it when what's needed is for us to push forward - hard."
Personal philosophy: "It's not what you've got that makes you happy, it's what you appreciate."