List of commissioners of the New South Wales Police

The Commissioner of the New South Wales Police Force (known from 1851 to 1926 as the Inspector-General of the New South Wales Police Force) is the head of New South Wales Police Force. The post is currently held by Karen Webb, who replaced Mick Fuller on 1 February 2022.[1] The rank is usually referred to as the New South Wales Police Commissioner or simply just "Commissioner". The New South Wales Police Force has had 23 Commissioners since 1851.

History

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The role was established under the Act for the Regulation of the Police Force in New South Wales 1850 (known as the 'Colonial Police Act 1850'), which provided for the appointment by the Governor of New South Wales of an Inspector-General of Police.[2] This act was repealed with the passage of the Police Regulation Act of 1862, which amalgamated the various police forces in the colony into one force responsible to the Inspector-General in Sydney.[3]

The first Inspector-General of Police was appointed on 1 January 1851. The title was changed to be "Commissioner" on 8 January 1926, although the official title would legally remain as "Inspector-General" until the passage of the Police Regulation (Amendment) Act 1935.[4]

List of inspectors-general and commissioners

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Ordinal Officeholder Post nominals Title Term start Term end Time in office Notes
1 William Spain Inspector-General of Police 1 January 1851 (1851-01-01) 31 December 1851 (1851-12-31) 364 days [5]
2 Captain William Mayne 1 January 1852 (1852-01-01) 17 September 1856 (1856-09-17) 4 years, 260 days [6]
3 Captain John McLerie 28 October 1856 (1856-10-28) 6 October 1874 (1874-10-06) 17 years, 343 days [7]
4 Edmund Walcott Fosbery CMG 7 October 1874 (1874-10-07) 30 June 1904 (1904-06-30) 29 years, 267 days [8]
5 Thomas Garvin ISO 1 July 1904 (1904-07-01) 31 December 1910 (1910-12-31) 6 years, 183 days [9]
6 Ernest Charles Day 1 January 1911 (1911-01-01) 9 January 1915 (1915-01-09) 4 years, 8 days [10]
7 James Mitchell CBE 1 January 1915 (1915-01-01) 8 January 1926 (1926-01-08) 15 years, 78 days [11]
Commissioner of Police 9 January 1926 (1926-01-09) 20 March 1930 (1930-03-20)
8 Walter Henry Childs MVO 21 March 1930 (1930-03-21) 23 March 1935 (1935-03-23) 5 years, 2 days
9 William John MacKay 24 March 1935 (1935-03-24) 22 January 1948 (1948-01-22) 12 years, 304 days [12]
10 James Frederick Scott 18 February 1948 (1948-02-18) 13 October 1952 (1952-10-13) 4 years, 238 days
11 Colin Delaney CVO, CBE, QPM 14 October 1952 (1952-10-14) 27 February 1962 (1962-02-27) 9 years, 136 days [13]
12 Norman Allan CMG, MVO, QPM 28 February 1962 (1962-02-28) 14 November 1972 (1972-11-14) 10 years, 260 days
13 Frederick Hanson CBE, QPM 15 November 1972 (1972-11-15) 31 December 1976 (1976-12-31) 4 years, 46 days
14 Mervyn Wood LVO, MBE, QPM 1 January 1977 (1977-01-01) 5 June 1979 (1979-06-05) 2 years, 155 days
15 Jim Lees QPM 17 October 1979 (1979-10-17) 29 December 1981 (1981-12-29) 2 years, 73 days
16 Cecil Abbott AO, QPM 30 December 1981 (1981-12-30) 7 August 1984 2 years, 221 days
17 John Avery AO, APM 7 August 1984 (1984-08-07) 12 March 1991 (1991-03-12) 6 years, 217 days
18 Tony Lauer APM 13 March 1991 (1991-03-13) 19 September 1996 (1996-09-19) 5 years, 190 days
- Neil Owen Taylor APM Acting Commissioner of Police 20 February 1996 (1996-02-20) 29 August 1996 (1996-08-29) 191 days [14]
19 Peter Ryan QPM Commissioner of Police 30 August 1996 (1996-08-30) 17 April 2002 (2002-04-17) 5 years, 230 days
20 Ken Moroney AO, APM 18 April 2002 (2002-04-18) 31 August 2007 (2007-08-31) 5 years, 135 days
21 Andrew Scipione AO, APM 31 August 2007 (2007-08-31) 31 March 2017 (2017-03-31) 9 years, 212 days [15]
22 Mick Fuller APM 31 March 2017 (2017-03-31) 31 January 2022 (2022-01-31) 4 years, 306 days [16]
23 Karen Webb APM 1 February 2022 (2022-02-01) Incumbent 2 years, 272 days [17][18]

References

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  1. ^ AAP (26 June 2007). "Scipione to be new Commissioner". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  2. ^ "Colonial Police Act 1850 No 38a" (PDF). 1850 New South Wales Acts As Made Legislation. Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  3. ^ "The Police Regulation Act of 1862 No 6a" (PDF). 1862 New South Wales Acts As Made Legislation. Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Police Regulation (Amendment) Act 1935 No 13" (PDF). 1935 New South Wales Acts As Made Legislation. Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  5. ^ Bach, J. "Spain, William (1803–1876)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  6. ^ King, Hazel. "Mayne, William Colburn (1808–1902)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  7. ^ King, Hazel. "McLerie, John (1809–1874)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  8. ^ "Mr Edmund Walcott FOSBERY (1834–1919)". Former Members. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  9. ^ "LATE MR. THOMAS GARVIN, I.S.O." The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 8 February 1922. p. 14. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  10. ^ King, Hazel. "Day, Ernest Charles (1857–1915)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  11. ^ Last 'Inspector-General' and first 'Commissioner' from 9 January 1926.
  12. ^ Cain, Frank. "MacKay, William John (1885–1948)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  13. ^ Wotherspoon, Garry C. "Delaney, Colin John (1897–1969)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  14. ^ Acting Commissioner of Police.
  15. ^ Gerathy, Sarah; Blumer, Clare (2 February 2017). "New NSW police chief to be appointed in just two months". ABC News. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  16. ^ Ralston, Nick (30 March 2017). "Mick Fuller selected as the next NSW Police Commissioner". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  17. ^ Cockburn, Paige (24 November 2021). "NSW to appoint Karen Webb as first female police commissioner". ABC News. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Commissioner Webb formally appointed at ceremony in Boorowa". NSW Government. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
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