Claire Pasvolsky, “The Policewoman” (2026)
Through the prism of the memories and experiences of Narelle Fraser as a police officer / detective, Claire Pasvolsky’s documentary “The Policewoman” examines the cumulative effects of near-continuous exposure to confronting and traumatic incidents of violence and abuse on the mental and physical health of people in emergency services occupations who are expected to have to deal with such incidents. The documentary is centred around Fraser who recounts her experiences in the Victorian state police force, starting from when she joined the force and experienced some sexual discrimination from senior male police officers in the 1980s, through to investigating serial rape cases and cases of domestic violence resulting in death, and to her work as a detective after a long period of gruelling study. All through her 27-year career in the police force, Fraser stoically put in long hours and effort in investigating and solving cases, each and every one of which would make most people, men and women, quail in fear and horror, until eventually she had nothing left to give and had to be discharged from the force with a diagnosis of PTSD. After receiving help and therapy, Fraser found a new career as a true-crime podcaster, public speaker and mental health advocate.
The film can be harrowing in parts, especially in those sections where Fraser talks about how she solved or helped solve particular cases of violence and abuse. Her memories and stories are augmented by live action re-enactments or dioramas featuring models of Fraser and other involved individuals created by Pasvolsky’s teenaged son. At the film’s heart is Fraser’s desire to help and comfort others in need, this desire being the motivation for Fraser to join the police force and to continue as a police officer / detective in spite of the mental and other pressures that built up over time and which often manifested physically as abdominal upsets and diarrhoea.
While the film is very good in emphasising that police officers and others in first response professions can be subject to enormous physical and psychological strain leading to PTSD, it does not do quite so well in advocating for more mental health support for these people from governments. The culture of the Victorian state police force, and indeed all other state police force cultures, and what those cultures offer in the way of support for their employees who must face potentially confronting and traumatic incidents and deal with potentially violent people, are not examined. We depend on the police to guard and defend those who cannot defend themselves, therefore we have a right and a duty to expect that our tax dollars be spent on helping and supporting the police in the work they do at the coalface. There is not much in the film to suggest that, all throughout her career as a police officer / detective, Fraser had much access to psychological support services in the force, not even support (apart from financial support perhaps) for her studies to become a detective.
Undoubtedly many viewers will be drawn to this film in the hope of learning about some of the more lurid crimes that have occurred in Australia in past decades, and how these were or were not solved. Some aspects of this film can strike viewers as rather sensationalist, and Fraser may not always be the most neutral or objective observer, given her empathetic nature. It’s rather unfortunate that “The Policewoman” does not offer a more analytical look at how an organisation’s culture can be a factor in causing or aggravating chronic stress that eventually can balloon into something much more serious that permanently affects individuals’ careers and relationships. One can hope though that the film will encourage a public conversation about how to better support police officers and other first response personnel.