Neil Comrie

Neil Comrie AO, APM
18th Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police
In office 4 January 1993 – 9 March 2001
Preceded by	Kel Glare
Succeeded by	Christine Nixon
Personal details
Born	Murray Neil Comrie 10 March 1947 (1947-03-10) (age 64) Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	RMIT University Deakin University
Occupation	Police officer

Murray Neil Comrie AO, APM (born 10 March 1947 in Ballarat, Victoria), known as Neil Comrie, is a former Australian police officer. He was Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police from 1993 to 2001.

Police career

Neil Comrie joined Victoria Police in 1967, continuing a family line of Victorian police officers including his father and grandfather. Working his way through the ranks, he succeeded in attaining several high-ranking positions in the Queensland Police Force. In 1980 Neil studied at the State College of Victoria at Coburg (which later became part of RMIT University) to complete an Associate Diploma in Criminal Justice Administration. Later he completed a Bachelor of Arts (Police Studies) degree at Deakin University. He was appointed Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police in 1993, succeeding Commissioner Kel Glare.^[1]

In May 2000, Comrie considered resigning after facing political pressure from police minister Andre Haermeyer to appoint assistant commissioner Noel Ashby to the vacant position of deputy commissioner, over Comrie's preferred candidate Peter Nancarrow. In December, Comrie announced his retirement from Victoria Police, two years before the end of his contract.^[2] Ashby and Nancarrow were considered, but a panel consisting of Premier Steve Bracks, Haermeyer and Lynne Kosky eventually unanimously selected Christine Nixon as his successor.^[3]

Post-police career

In 2005, Comrie was appointed by the Commonwealth Ombudsman to investigate and report on the circumstances around the unlawful deportation of Australian citizen Vivian Solon to the Philippines. His report, "Inquiry into the Circumstances of the Vivian Alvarez Matter" was released in October, and was critical of the "catastrophic" handling of the case by the Department of Immigration.^[4]

In November 2009, Premier John Brumby announced that Comrie would be appointed to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Black Saturday bushfires.^[5]

Honours

• 1972 – Awarded Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in the New Year Honours list^[6]
• 1994 – Awarded Australian Police Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours list
• 2000 – Awarded Officer of the Order of Australia for service to the community as the Chief Commissioner of Police in Victoria, particularly through the development of strategies to address community safety issues, crime prevention measures and crime investigation.^[7]

References

1. ^ Alumni Profile: Neil Comrie APM AO, RMIT University.
2. ^ Chief police commissioner retires, Stateline Victoria (ABC), 8 December 2000.
3. ^ Silvester, John: Dangerous games: ex-police chief 'almost quit' over pressure to promote Ashby, The Age, 15 November 2007.
4. ^ Kirk, Alexandra: Immigration Dept handled Solon case catastrophically: Report, The World Today (ABC Local Radio), 6 October 2005.
5. ^ Neil Comrie Announced As Bushfires Royal Commission Interim Report Implementation Monitor, Premier of Victoria, 4 November 2009.
6. ^ COMRIE, Murray QPM, It's an Honour.
7. ^ COMRIE, Murray Neil, It's an Honour.

Police appointments
Preceded by Kel Glare	Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police 1993–2001	Succeeded by Christine Nixon

Persondata
Name	Comrie, Neil
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	10 March 1947
Place of birth	Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Date of death
Place of death