Having served many years as a Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner with Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police, now retired Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton knows the demands faced by those at the top of policing.
But since July 2015, when he became Victoria Police’s 22nd Chief Commissioner, he has noticed a weight upon on his shoulders in ways he previously hadn’t experienced. “I’ve been surprised how strongly I’ve felt a sense of responsibility every time a crime befalls our community,” CCP Ashton said. “Each morning, when I read the daily crime reports, I felt it more deeply than I did as an Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner. “It’s like it’s happened on your watch, and you feel badly about that – that you haven’t been able to stop that from happening, even though it’s sometimes an inevitability.” While that sense of responsibility sat heavily, it also drove CCP Ashton to strengthen Victoria Police to become more effective at keeping the community safe. He spent his five years in the top job developing and leading Victoria Police through a comprehensive modernisation program.
Goodbye Graham
Farewell to a modern-day Chief Commissioner
POLICE LIFE | WINTER 2020
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