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 Mal Lanyon, who replaced Karen Webb on 1 October 2025. 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
The role was established under the Colonial Police Act 1850, which provided for the appointment by the Governor of New South Wales of an Inspector-General of Police. This act was repealed with the passage of The Police Regulation Act of 1862, which amalgamated the various police forces in the colony into one force responsible to the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.
The first Inspector-General of Police was appointed on 1 January 1851. The title was changed to be titled "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.
List of inspectors-general and commissioners
| Ordinal | Officeholder | Post nominals | Title | Term start | Term end | Time in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Spain | Inspector-General of Police | 1 January 1851 | 31 December 1851 | 364 days | ||
| 2 | Captain William Mayne | 1 January 1852 | 17 September 1856 | 4 years, 260 days | |||
| 3 | Captain John McLerie | 28 October 1856 | 6 October 1874 | 17 years, 343 days | |||
| 4 | Edmund Walcott Fosbery | CMG | 7 October 1874 | 30 June 1904 | 29 years, 267 days | ||
| 5 | Thomas Garvin | ISO | 1 July 1904 | 31 December 1910 | 6 years, 183 days | ||
| 6 | Ernest Charles Day | 1 January 1911 | 9 January 1915 | 4 years, 8 days | |||
| 7 | James Mitchell | CBE | 1 January 1915 | 8 January 1926 | 15 years, 78 days | ||
| Commissioner of Police | 9 January 1926 | 20 March 1930 | |||||
| 8 | Walter Henry Childs | MVO | 21 March 1930 | 23 March 1935 | 5 years, 2 days | ||
| 9 | William John MacKay | 24 March 1935 | 22 January 1948 | 12 years, 304 days | |||
| 10 | James Frederick Scott | 18 February 1948 | 13 October 1952 | 4 years, 238 days | |||
| 11 | Colin Delaney | CVO, CBE, QPM | 14 October 1952 | 27 February 1962 | 9 years, 136 days | ||
| 12 | Norman Allan | CMG, MVO, QPM | 28 February 1962 | 14 November 1972 | 10 years, 260 days | ||
| 13 | Frederick Hanson | CBE, QPM | 15 November 1972 | 31 December 1976 | 4 years, 46 days | ||
| 14 | Mervyn Wood | LVO, MBE, QPM | 1 January 1977 | 5 June 1979 | 2 years, 155 days | ||
| 15 | Jim Lees | QPM | 17 October 1979 | 29 December 1981 | 2 years, 73 days | ||
| 16 | Cecil Abbott | AO, QPM | 30 December 1981 | 7 August 1984 | 2 years, 221 days | ||
| 17 | John Avery | AO, APM | 7 August 1984 | 12 March 1991 | 6 years, 217 days | ||
| 18 | Tony Lauer | APM | 13 March 1991 | 19 September 1996 | 5 years, 190 days | ||
| — | Neil Taylor | APM | Acting Commissioner of Police | 20 February 1996 | 29 August 1996 | 191 days | |
| 19 | Peter Ryan | QPM | Commissioner of Police | 30 August 1996 | 17 April 2002 | 5 years, 230 days | |
| 20 | Ken Moroney | AO, APM | 18 April 2002 | 31 August 2007 | 5 years, 135 days | ||
| 21 | Andrew Scipione | AO, APM | 31 August 2007 | 31 March 2017 | 9 years, 212 days | ||
| 22 | Mick Fuller | APM | 31 March 2017 | 31 January 2022 | 4 years, 306 days | ||
| 23 | Karen Webb | APM | 1 February 2022 | 6 June 2025 | 3 years, 125 days | ||
| — | Peter Thurtell | APM | Acting Commissioner of Police | 9 June 2025 | 30 September 2025 | 113 days | |
| 24 | Mal Lanyon | APM | Commissioner of Police | 1 October 2025 | incumbent | 142 days |
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