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South Australia Police
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South Australia Police
South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Police, who reports to the Minister for Police. SAPOL provides general duties policing, highway patrol, criminal investigation and emergency coordination services throughout the state. SAPOL is also responsible for road safety advocacy and education, and maintains the South Australian Road Safety Centre.
As of November 2023[update] the commissioner of police is Grant Stevens, who has been in the role since July 2015.
Formally established on 28 April 1838 under the command of Inspector Henry Inman, the force is the oldest in Australasia and is the third oldest organised police force in the world. The first force in the colony of South Australia consisted of 10 mounted constables and 10 foot constables.
In 1840, Major Thomas Shouldham O'Halloran was appointed as the first official Commissioner of Police. At this time, SAPOL consisted of one Superintendent, two Inspectors, three Sergeants and 47 Constables divided into foot and mounted sections. Between 1840 and 1842 O'Halloran led three "punitive expeditions" against Aboriginal people on the Coorong, at Port Lincoln, and on the Murray. This included reprisals following the Maria massacre where O'Halloran was sent out with instructions by Governor Gawler to execute "any number, not exceeding three" of the Aboriginal people identified to be involved.
The first police officer in Australia to be charged with murder was South Australia Police Force first-class mounted constable William Wiltshire. He is believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than 13 Aboriginal people, however his murder charge was eventually acquitted.
From 1848 to 1867, SAPOL also served as the state fire and rescue service, until the precursor of the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service was formed. They also supplied the Civil Ambulance Service from 1880 to 1954, when it was taken over by the St John Ambulance Service.
In 1915, the first two female police officers, Kate Cocks and Annie Ross, were appointed. This was six months after New South Wales commenced with two officers. It had been said "it is easier to get into heaven than to join the women police". Cocks retired in 1935, and was the officer in charge of the largest female detachment of all Australian state police departments of 14, which was double the size of the next-nearest of New South Wales.
In 1929, officer Daisy Curtis studied on a scholarship abroad to examine the 'methods of protecting women and children'. This included travels to the jurisdictions of Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States of America, and New Zealand. (New Zealand did not get its first female officer until 1941.)[citation needed]
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South Australia Police
South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Police, who reports to the Minister for Police. SAPOL provides general duties policing, highway patrol, criminal investigation and emergency coordination services throughout the state. SAPOL is also responsible for road safety advocacy and education, and maintains the South Australian Road Safety Centre.
As of November 2023[update] the commissioner of police is Grant Stevens, who has been in the role since July 2015.
Formally established on 28 April 1838 under the command of Inspector Henry Inman, the force is the oldest in Australasia and is the third oldest organised police force in the world. The first force in the colony of South Australia consisted of 10 mounted constables and 10 foot constables.
In 1840, Major Thomas Shouldham O'Halloran was appointed as the first official Commissioner of Police. At this time, SAPOL consisted of one Superintendent, two Inspectors, three Sergeants and 47 Constables divided into foot and mounted sections. Between 1840 and 1842 O'Halloran led three "punitive expeditions" against Aboriginal people on the Coorong, at Port Lincoln, and on the Murray. This included reprisals following the Maria massacre where O'Halloran was sent out with instructions by Governor Gawler to execute "any number, not exceeding three" of the Aboriginal people identified to be involved.
The first police officer in Australia to be charged with murder was South Australia Police Force first-class mounted constable William Wiltshire. He is believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than 13 Aboriginal people, however his murder charge was eventually acquitted.
From 1848 to 1867, SAPOL also served as the state fire and rescue service, until the precursor of the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service was formed. They also supplied the Civil Ambulance Service from 1880 to 1954, when it was taken over by the St John Ambulance Service.
In 1915, the first two female police officers, Kate Cocks and Annie Ross, were appointed. This was six months after New South Wales commenced with two officers. It had been said "it is easier to get into heaven than to join the women police". Cocks retired in 1935, and was the officer in charge of the largest female detachment of all Australian state police departments of 14, which was double the size of the next-nearest of New South Wales.
In 1929, officer Daisy Curtis studied on a scholarship abroad to examine the 'methods of protecting women and children'. This included travels to the jurisdictions of Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States of America, and New Zealand. (New Zealand did not get its first female officer until 1941.)[citation needed]
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