‘Astronomical changes’ in the court system for police prosecutor

By Monique Preston

Nov 17, 2022

End of an era: Laslo Oroszvary is retiring after 42 years with Victoria Police. Photo by Megan Fisher

When Laslo Oroszvary started out as a police prosecutor he had no experience in the job and no training, but got the role because he had shown an interest in it.

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That was April 1990 — and a lot has changed for police prosecutors since then.

Sergeant Oroszvary saw all the changes first-hand, as he worked his way up through prosecutions in the Shepparton courts.

On Saturday, November 19, he will retire from Victoria Police, after 42 years in the job.

A whopping 32 of those were spent as a police prosecutor.

Sgt Oroszvary graduated as a police officer in 1981.

His first job was working in Tatura for six months, before moving to Melbourne, and then later Benalla where he spent five years.

Then it was a transfer to Shepparton and, as Sgt Oroszvary says, “the rest is history”.

While he spent more than three decades as a prosecutor, one of the standout moments in his policing career was while he was on the beat in Shepparton.

One time he was on a routine patrol near the Aussie Hotel when he saw a man run off.

Local beginnings: Laslo Oroszvary’s first job as a police officer was in Tatura. Photo by Megan Fisher

The man then turned and pointed a shotgun at him from 50m away.

“He’d had a dispute with someone at the Aussie and gone to get a gun,” Sgt Oroszvary said.

“That was a heart-in-the-mouth moment.”

Another incident that stands out was a fight he got involved in at the Shepparton court house when a person pushed a female police officer.

“We (the offender and Sgt Oroszvary) both crashed through the double doors of the court,” Sgt Oroszvary said.

In those days, fights at the court were not uncommon.

“I’ve lost count of the number of times there is a fight in the foyer of the court,” Sgt Oroszvary said.

He remembers his early days of working as a police prosecutor after transferring from Benalla in the hope he could do some court work.

“I had no experience at prosecution and no training for the first 12 months,” he said.

After he had been in the job for a year he was finally sent to Melbourne for training.

Sgt Oroszvary also remembers handwriting all his briefs into a book of briefs of evidence — a far cry from the computerised method that is used today.

When he started, there was only himself and a sergeant from Echuca working in prosecutions.

Nowadays, there is a team of 21 or 22 staff.

“The changes have been astronomical,” Sgt Oroszvary said.

Initially, the prosecutors in Shepparton would prosecute all cases — including inquests and committals.

“Any crime you could care to think of, we’ve had it in Shepparton,” Sgt Oroszvary said.

In more recent years, the Office of Public Prosecutions has taken over some roles from police prosecutors, particularly ones involving courts higher than the Magistrates’ Court.