Commonwealth Police
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The name Commonwealth Police was used by three separate policing organisations in Australia at various times in the 20th Century.
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[edit] Commonwealth Police Force (1917–1919)
The nation of Australia was established in 1901 however until 1917 there was no police agency to enforce national (Commonwealth) laws. Instead State police were called upon in an ad-hoc fashion by the Commonwealth as required.
During the latter stages of World War I there was considerable tension within Australian society, particularly over the issue of introducing military conscription. On 29 November 1917, at a public rally over the conscription issue in the rural Queensland township of Warwick, an egg was thrown at Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes. The offender was charged under Queensland state law whereas Hughes wanted a Commonwealth charge preferred. The incident, and perceived lack of action on the part of the Queensland Police, was the last straw to Hughes who had spent months arguing and fighting with the government of Queensland, led by anti-conscriptionist Premier T.J. Ryan, over a range of issues. Hughes doubted the loyalty of several prominent Queensland politicians and public servants, and felt that it was necessary to create a Commonwealth Police Force to ensure that Commonwealth law was adhered to in what he regarded as a "rogue" state.
Under the auspices of a War Precautions Regulation Hughes quickly created a plain clothed police force which commenced operations mid-December 1917. Hughes claimed Australia was at risk from possible revolt or similar action by subversive elements, particularly those associated with Irish nationalist movement Sinn Fein, the Industrial Workers of the World. At its peak the Commonwealth Police Force numbered about 50 men, almost all of whom were based in Queensland (despite the force notionally being a national one). Commonwealth Police had full police powers for federal offences but their main task was to report on subversive activities of those opposed to the war and / or the Commonwealth government. Tensions between the Queensland and federal governments flared up a number of times, including during a federal raid on the Queensland Government Printer's Office.
As 1918 passed it became apparent that the subversive threat was not as serious or widespread as feared and the Government began to wind the force down. In 1919 the force was formally disbanded and the few remaining officers at this time were merged with the remnants of the military's Special Intelligence Bureau to form the Investigation Branch (later to be called the Commonwealth Investigations Branch or CIB). Like the Commonwealth Police Force, the CIB was administered by the Commonwealth's Attorney-General's Department.
The Commissioner of the Commonwealth Police Force from 1917 to 1919 was William Anderson, a retired New South Wales Police Inspector. Major Harold Edward Jones replaced Anderson just before the Commonwealth Police was formally disbanded. Jones had been the head of the Special Intelligence Bureau and would go on to lead the Investigation Branch until his retirement in 1943.
[edit] Commonwealth Police (1927–1957)
This title was used by the police force in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) between 1927 and 1957. For more details see ACT Police.
[edit] Commonwealth Police (1960–1979)
The Commonwealth Investigations Branch (CIB) operated for almost two decades with offices located in most capital cities. The agency, never more than about 100 staff, had two roles. The first role was to investigate offences against Commonwealth laws and to better coordinate the investigative capacity of the various Commonwealth Departments. The second role was to conduct special intelligence investigations and mount surveillance on various subversive elements (internal security). During World War II (from 1942 to 1945) the CIB's special intelligence functions were largely handed over to the wartime Security Service. At war's end the two agencies were consolidated into the Commonwealth Investigation Service (CIS). In 1949 the Australian Government, at the insistence of British and US authorities, established the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and transferred the counter espionage and associated roles from the CIS to ASIO. This left the CIS to focus on the more traditional investigations duties.
Concurrent to these events the Peace Officer Guard (POG) had been established in 1925 and by the 1940's consisted of several hundred uniformed officers who primarily provided physical security at critical government locations across the nation. For administrative reasons the head of the CIS was automatically in charge of the POG (Superintending Peace Officer). Other senior CIS officers also occupied senior POG positions in an ex-officio capacity.
By the early 1950's the CIS was run-down and largely ineffective; it had lost a lot of its quality staff to ASIO, resources were limited and its role was in reality poorly defined. The POG was in a similar position. In 1957 the Commonwealth Government acted to address the situation and passed the Commonwealth Police Act. This led, in 1960, to the formal merger of the CIS and the POG into the Commonwealth Police (unofficially known as COMPOL). Over the course of the next two decades the Commonwealth Police expanded its roles and capabibilities. In addition to increasing the numbers of detectives to investigate crimes such as money laundering, damage to and theft of Commonwealth property, the Commonwealth Police developed forensic, training and administrative services for not only for Commonwealth matters but also to assist state police agencies. Commonwealth Police assumed responsibilities for policing Norfolk Island and Christmas Island, established intelligence liaison posts overseas and also conducted uniform policing duties at the nation's main airports. In 1964 Commonwealth Police (including a number of state police sworn in as special COMPOL members) deployed to Cyprus as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. In addition to providing physical security at many key government locations, the Commonwealth Police also took on a greater role in providing close personal protection to senior politicians and diplomats.
In early 1975 the then Labor Government moved to merge the Commonwealth Police with the ACT Police and Northern Territory Police (each agency was federally funded). The new agency was to be called the Australia Police and implementation planning was well advanced when the proposal was abandoned in late 1975. On 29 October 1979 however the Commonwealth Police and ACT Police were merged to form the Australian Federal Police (AFP). This was in response to the 1978 bombing of the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, and a subsequent review of Commonwealth law enforcement arrangements which strongly urged the creation of the AFP.
The Commissioner of the Commonwealth Police from 1960 to 1969 was Ray Whitrod, a former Detective Senior Constable in the South Australia Police and early member of ASIO. Whitrod had assumed the leadership of both the CIS and POG in 1953 and spent considerable energy and time in convincing the government to form the Commonwealth Police. After Whitrod left in 1969 to head up the Papua New Guinea Constabulary, Commissioner Jack Davis led the Commonwealth Police until the formation of the AFP in 1979.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
Other Australia law agencies:
