New South Wales Police

From Freepedia

Image:NSW Police Badge.jpg

The New South Wales Police (also NSW Police or NSWPOL) is the primary law enforcement agency in the State of New South Wales, Australia. It has existed in various forms since the foundation of the colony of New South Wales at Sydney in 1788, when Governor Captain Arthur Phillip authorised the formation of a nightwatch to protect the infant town against thieves and petty criminals after dark.

The NSW Police in its current form was established in 1862 with the passing of the Police Regulation Act. Its current Commissioner of Police is Kenneth Edward Moroney APM. The Cabinet Minister of the State Government responsible for the policing portfolio is Carl Scully.

The New South Wales Mounted Police is the oldest continous mounted police unit in the world.

Like all other States of Australia, municipalities and shires in NSW have no or very limited law enforcement responsibilities. The Australian Federal Police is relatively unobtrusive and is not very visible in the day to day lives of New South Welsh residents. Therefore, state police forces—the NSW Police included—are much more powerful and ubiquitous than equivalent state or provincial police forces in other federal nations such as the United States or Canada, where the total law enforcement task is more evenly shared among three or four tiers of government.

Image:Lhhwp.jpg

This concentration of policing power in the NSW Police is thought to have led to the multi-generational and endemic levels of corruption, graft and vice that were revealed to the public in the 1990s at the Wood Royal Commission, a State-sponsored judicial inquiry into police corruption led by Justice James Wood of the New South Wales Supreme Court. This Royal Commission which lasted approximately two years uncovered many crimes and institutionalised corruption throughout the NSW Police Service (as it was then known) by a small number of officers, most notably Detectives. This unexpected discovery by the Royal Commission led to a widening of its terms of reference to include the investigation of paedophilia and sex crimes outside the Police Service and implicated members of the legal fraternity.

The biggest impact of the Wood Royal Commission was the uprooting of many corrupt detectives in the force (which, despite the almost daily revelations of depravity and criminality, consisted of only a small minority of the total Police Service) and the establishment of the Police Integrity Commission - an independent, permanent tribunal with some judicial powers that now stands as a permanent watchdog over police corruption, but is not part of the NSW Police (unlike the old Internal Affairs Bureau).

Critics of the Royal Commission argue that it should have had a wider terms of reference, namely NSW Parliament and NSW Criminal Justice System.

The NSW Police currently consists of 15000 officers, with a growing percentage being female and/or of an Non English Speaking Background; all are issued with firearms as a matter of routine, namely SLP's (Self Loading Pistols). Current policing policy favours community liaison over confrontation, however, much social tension still unfortunately exists between marginalized groups such as Aborigines, Middle Easterners and low-income groups on one hand, and the NSW Police on the other.

The NSW Police motto is Culpam Poena Premit Comes: "Punishment Follows Guilt Swiftly". Its coat of arms features the state badge of New South Wales, a soaring eagle carrying a scroll with the word Nemesis, a wreath and the Crown of the British monarch.

[[PEACEKEEPING:]] New South Wales Police Officers have served with distinction in Cyprus UNFCYP and East Timor UNTAET & UNMISET. New South Wales Police Officers are seconded to the Australian Federal Police and take an Oath or Affirmation of the AFP. Out of the three Australian Police Peacekeepers who have died on peacekeeping missions, two were from New South Wales. Two NSW Police Officers have been commended for courage whilst serving in UNTAET and UNMISET.

UNIFORM: New South Wales Police has two uniforms for general duties police officers, one operational and one ceremonial.

The Operational Police Uniform consists of: Navy Blue Cargo pants, with map pockets, ballooned at the bottom, light blue marle short or long sleeve shirt, navy blue baseball cap (fluro yello in the CBD of Sydney) and General Purpose boots. The leather duty jacket is worn mostly in the Sydney Metro area, whilst in the rural or provincial areas of the state, a navy blue polar tech jacket is worn.

HONOURS AND AWARDS:

HONOURS AND AWARDS highlight the bravery and sacrifice of members of the NSW POLICE. NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE is the only Australian Police jurisdiction to have been awarded the Imperial Honour, namely the George Cross and the Australian Honour the Cross of Valour.

Sergeant 3rd Class Eric George BAILEY GC was awarded the George Cross postumously on the 12 January, 1945.

New South Wales Police also has the distinction in having one of its members being awarded the highest civilian bravery award, namely the Cross of Valour. In its history only 5 people have been awarded that award. On the 3 May, 1996, Mr Sparkes rescued a boy trapped in a flooded underground storm water drain following record rainfalls at Coffs Harbour.

New South Wales Police are eligible for the following National Honours and Awards:

  • Australian Bravery Decorations, namely the Cross of Valour (CV), Star of Courage (SC), Bravery Medal (BM) and the Commendation for Brave Conduct.
  • Australian Police Medal (APM)(This Medal is awarded for distinguished service);
  • Police Overseas Service Medal (This Medal was established in 1991 to recognise service with international peacekeeping organisations by officers of Australian police forces. The Governor-General makes awards of the Medal on the recommendation of the Chief Officer of an Australian police force.);
  • National Medal (The National Medal is awarded for diligent long service to the community in hazardous circumstances, including in times of emergency and national disaster, in direct protection of life and property);
  • Campaign Medals such as United Nations Medal For Service.

National Medals are worn as left sided decorations.

New South Wales Police also have an impressive number of inservice Honours and Awards, awarded by the Commissioner of Police.

  • New South Wales Police Valour Award (VA);
  • New South Wales Police Commissioners Commendation (Courage);
  • New South Wales Police Commissioners Commendation (Service);
  • New South Wales Police Commissioners Olympic Commendation;
  • New South Wales Police Commissioners Community Service Commendation;
  • New South Wales Police Medal for Diligent and Ethical Service.

The in-service decorations are worn 5mm below the officers' name plate and are right sided decorations.

  • New South Wales Police Unit Citation - metal device, with silver laurel leaf surround, with light blue enamel centre(maximum 3 further awards are indicated by silver stars;
  • New South Wales Police Commissioners Community Service Citation (maximum 1 further award indicated by one silver star) - metal device, with silver laurel leaf surround, with white enamel centre;
  • New South Wales Police Commissioners Olympic Citation - metal device, with silver laurel leaf surround, with navy blue enamel centre and silver olympic rings in centre.

These inservice decorations are worn 5mm above the officers' name plate and are right sided decorations.


Contents

Commissioners

It should be noted that the term Inspector General was used until 1930.

  • William Spain: 1851
  • Captain William Mayne 1852–1856
  • Captain John McLerie 1856–1874
  • Edmund Walcott Fosberry 1874–1904
  • Thomas Garvin 1904–1910
  • Ernest Charles Day 1911–1915
  • James Mitchell 1915–1930
  • Walter Henry Childs 1930–1935
  • William John McKay 1935–1948
  • James Frederick Scott 1948–1952
  • Colin John Dalaney 1952–1962
  • Norman Thomas Allan 1962–1972
  • Frederick John Hanson 1972–1976
  • Mervyn Thomas Wood 1977–1979
  • James Travers Lees 1979–1981
  • Cecil Roy Abbott 1981–1984
  • John Keith Avery 1984–1991
  • Anthony Raymond Lauer (Tony Lauer) 1991–1996
  • Peter James Ryan 1996–2002
  • Kenneth Edward Moroney (Ken Moroney) 2002–

Timeline

  • 1862– Existing forces are amalgamated into the New South Wales Police Force headed by Inspector-General John McLerie under the Police Regulation Act 1862. Sub-districts, each led by Inspectors, are created across the State. Issuing of .36 calibre Colt Navy revolvers begins. Prior to this, police had use of various ineffective single-shot weapons.
  • 1871– Police have their wages reduced by sixpence per day. Many leave the Force as a result.
  • 1872– 70 new Police Stations established since 1862, with a total of 803 men in the force. Police begin photographing prisoners.
  • 1874– Edmund Fosberry becomes Inspector General of Police.
  • 1890– The Bertillon system of criminal identification is published by Alphonse Bertillon.
  • 1891– Juan Vucetich of Buenos Aires establishes the world's first Fingerprint Registry.
  • 1893– Police use bicycles in Sydney and some country areas.
  • 1894– Sydney Police are issued with firearms for general use.
  • 1900– E.R. Henry refines Vucetich's system of fingerprint identification by dividing print patterns.
  • 1903– The Police Fingerprint Branch is established.
  • 1911– Ernest Charles Day is appointed Inspector General of Police.
  • 1913– Telephones are being introduced into country Police Stations, vastly improving communications.
  • 1915– James Mitchell is appointed Inspector General of Police. The Police Prosecuting Branch is established. The first Police patrol car is brought into use in the state. Lillian Armfield and Maude Rhodes are appointed as the first Policewomen in the state.
  • 1916– Significant uniform changes occur and a new style of cap and tunic is introduced. Police motor cycles are introduced.
  • 1921– The New South Wales Police Association is formed.
  • 1924– New South Wales Police begin using wireless telegraphy.
  • 1925– The Public Safety Bureau (traffic unit) is established.
  • 1927– The Drug Squad and the Police Motor Vehicle Branch are established.
  • 1929– The Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) and the Consorting Branch are both established.
  • 1930– Walter Henry Childs becomes Commissioner of Police. The Missing Friends Bureau is formed (renamed the Missing Persons Bureau in 1974). The Bogus Agents & Company Squad is formed (renamed the Fraud Squad in 1961). The Modus Operandi Unit and Police Motor Squad are formed.
  • 1934– The first New South Wales Police Wireless Room is established.
  • 1935– William John McKay becomes Police Commissioner.
  • 1937– The Police Radio Telephone System is established.
  • 1938– The Police Scientific Investigation Branch is established.
  • 1941– The Police Prosecuting Branch is formalised and expanded. The Central Fingerprint Bureau of Australia is established.
  • 1942– The Police Cliff Rescue Squad is established.
  • 1946– New South Wales Police have further uniform changes. Open-necked tunics with ties are introduced. The Police Aviation Section is established.
  • 1947– The School Lecturing Section is formed.
  • 1948– James Frederick Scott becomes Commissioner of Police.
  • 1950– The Police Aviation Section is disbanded. It re-emerged as the Police Air Wing in 1979.
  • 1952– Colin John Delaney becomes Commissioner of Police.
  • 1953– The Police Flood Rescue Squad is established.
  • 1958– The New South Wales Police Driver Training School at St Ives is opened.
  • 1961– The New South Wales Police have more uniform changes. Tunics become optional dress in summer. There would be no more uniform changes until 1972. There are now 5717 men and women in the New South Wales Police Force, with 1700 serving in country areas.
  • 1962– The year of the Centenary of the New South Wales Police Force. There are 507 Police Stations in New South Wales. Norman Thomas Allan becomes Commissioner of Police.

Deaths in the line of duty

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/recruitment/related_information/rank_insignia2

Other Australia law agencies include:

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.freepedia.org/New_South_Wales_Police.html"


Views
Personal tools
Similar Links