Graham Ashton

For the musician, see Graham Ashton (trumpeter).

Graham Ashton
AM APM
22nd Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police
In office
1 July 2015 – 26 June 2020
Preceded byKen Lay
Succeeded byShane Patton
Personal details
Born
Graham Leonard Ashton

1962 (age 61–62)
Aldgate, South Australia
OccupationPolice officer

Graham Leonard Ashton AM APM (born 1962[1]) is an Australian police officer who was the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police from 2015 to 2020. He also served in the Australian Federal Police for a long period.

Ashton was born in Aldgate, South Australia and lived there for a short time until his family moved to the Adelaide suburb of Dernancourt. When he turned 18, he left Adelaide and moved to Canberra to join the Australian Federal Police (AFP), and was later posted to the AFP's Melbourne and Brisbane offices. From 1995 to 1997, he served as the law enforcement liaison officer in Indonesia at the Australian embassy in Jakarta.[1]

In 2002, he returned to Indonesia as operational commander of the Australian police component of Operation Alliance, the joint investigation and victim identification process following the 2002 Bali bombings. In 2003, whilst serving as national manager of counter-terrorism, he was awarded the Australian Police Medal and was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his work on Alliance.[2][3]

In 2004, Ashton left the AFP after 24 years of service[1] and accepted a position at the newly formed Office of Police Integrity in Victoria. In 2009, he was made director of forensic services for Victoria Police, thereafter as Assistant Commissioner (Crime) and in 2012, Deputy Commissioner of Specialist Operations. In January 2015, he returned to the AFP as a deputy commissioner, but several months later was appointed as the chief commissioner of Victoria Police, replacing Ken Lay who had retired.[1]

After the AB v CD decision in the High Court of Australia case Ashton said that "Ethics is a murky, murky thing".[4]

During his time as Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Ashton had to deal with the following issues:[5]

In May 2020, Victoria Police confirmed that Ashton would retire at the conclusion of his five-year term at the end of June 2020, in keeping with his stated plans when he was appointed to the role. It was announced that his replacement would be appointed from within the force's senior command with Shane Patton taking over the role when Ashton left.[5][12]

  1. ^ a b c d "Graham Ashton, former Adelaide boy, appointed chief commissioner of Victoria Police". Adelaide Advertiser. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  2. ^ "ASHTON, Graham Leonard APM". It's an Honour. Australian Government. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  3. ^ "ASHTON, Graham Leonard AM". It's an Honour. Australian Government. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Lawyer X: how Victoria police got it 'profoundly wrong' with informant Nicola Gobbo". the Guardian. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b "'It's not that I don't have the passion to continue': Outgoing top cop reflects on eventful career". ABC News. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Three-month-old baby dies after Bourke Street attack". ABC News. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Flinders St driver spoke of Muslims' mistreatment but had no known terror links, police say". ABC News. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  8. ^ Bourke, Tom Cowie, Latika (28 July 2016). "Victoria's top cop says sex abuse charges against George Pell still a possibility". The Age. Retrieved 19 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ McCulloch, Jude; Maguire, Michael. "Lawyer X inquiry calls for sweeping change to Victoria Police, but is it enough to bring real accountability?". The Conversation. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Victorian quarantine inquiry finds hotel security was an 'orphan' with nobody taking responsibility". ABC News. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Victoria hotel quarantine failures 'responsible' for Covid second wave and 768 deaths, inquiry told". the Guardian. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  12. ^ Silvester, John (15 May 2020). "Hunt for new top cop with Ashton to finish up at end of June". The Age. Retrieved 15 May 2020.