Frederick John Hanson, (26 May 1914 – 26 October 1980) was the

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of the

New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...

from 1972 to 1976.

Early life

Hanson was born in

Orange, New South Wales Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney on a great circle at an altitude of . Orange had an urban population of 41,920 at the 2021 Australia Census, 2021 Cens ...

, on 26 May 1914 and was educated at

Christian Brothers College, Burwood Christian Brothers College, Burwood (CBC Burwood) was a Catholic high school located in Burwood, Sydney Australia. The school was founded in 1909. It was announced on 25 March 2008 that the school would close at the end of 2009, due to a decli ...

. He worked as a manufacturing jeweller's assistant and a transit porter before joining the police force in 1936. He served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

from 1942 until 1946. He was rapidly promoted through the police ranks, becoming assistant commissioner in 1968 and deputy commissioner in early 1972. His nickname in the force was "Slippery".

Career

Hanson was promoted to commissioner on 15 November 1972, having been recommended for the role by his predecessor, Norman Allan, whose term had been tarnished by corruption allegations. Upon taking office, Hanson reportedly sacked 28 corrupt officers and announced that he saw drugs as the biggest problem facing police. As commissioner, Hanson reorganised the force structure, changed the police uniform, introduced Australia's first crime intelligence unit, and allowed women police officers to transfer to general duties for the first time. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in January 1974. He was occasionally referred to as a "playboy" for his personal habits while commissioner, and critics derided his term as undistinguished. As with his predecessor, issues of corruption and poor management continued throughout Hanson's term. The

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

settled a defamation action in 1976 after alleging the previous year that he held a financial interest in a gambling club; however, after his death in 1980 freed media to report without facing Australia's strict defamation laws, he faced repeated allegations of corruption, including having received money from illegal gambling interests and personal ties to various criminal figures. He retired early in 1976. Hanson sought successfully to have

Mervyn Wood Mervyn Thomas Wood, (30 April 1917 – 19 August 2006) was an Australian rower and police officer. He was an eight-time Australian national sculling champion, four-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist. He later rose to become the Commi ...

appointed as his successor; Wood, like Hanson and Allan, was dogged by corruption allegations and later unsuccessfully prosecuted. Hanson made an abortive campaign as an independent candidate for the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

seat of

Gosford Gosford is a waterfront city at the northern end of Brisbane Water on the Central Coast in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Gosford Waterfront is known for its boating and scenic views on the shores of Brisbane Water. Gosford is ...

at the 1978 election, but withdrew before election day.

Bob Bottom Robert Godier Bottom, , better known as Bob Bottom, is a retired Australian investigative journalist and author. Career In the words of Malcolm Brown in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', Bottom made "heroic, ground breaking efforts to expose orga ...

would later allege that his campaign had been motivated by anger at the decision of Premier

Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman o ...

to order the closure of illegal casinos. Hanson died in his car in his garage in October 1980. The engine was not running when the body was found. It was initially reported as a heart attack, but later understood to be from

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

. The coroner decided not to hold an inquest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Frederick 1914 births 1980 deaths Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Commissioners of the New South Wales Police Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air Australian recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Royal Australian Air Force officers People from Orange, New South Wales