Murray Neil Comrie AO,

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(born 10 March 1947 in

Ballarat, Victoria Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australi ...

), known as Neil Comrie, is a former Australian police officer. He was Chief Commissioner of

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victor ...

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 The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...

) to complete an Associate Diploma in Criminal Justice Administration. Later he completed a Bachelor of Arts (Police Studies) degree at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

. He was appointed Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police in 1993, succeeding Commissioner Kel Glare. 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. Ashby and Nancarrow were considered, but a panel consisting of

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Steve Bracks, Haermeyer and Lynne Kosky eventually unanimously selected Christine Nixon as his successor.

Post-police career

In 2005, Comrie was appointed by the Commonwealth

Ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

to investigate and report on the unlawful deportation of Australian citizen Vivian Solon to the

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. 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. In 2008 Comrie undertook a confidential review which identified "unacceptable risks" within the prison system due to an inability to process intelligence about threats to gangland prisoners. Although the head of the Justice Department, Penny Armytage, was "very concerned", by the 2010 prison death of Carl Williams only some of the 32 recommendations had been implemented. In November 2009, Premier

John Brumby John Mansfield Brumby (born 21 April 1953) is the current Chancellor of La Trobe University and former Victorian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became leader of the Victorian Labor Party and premier ...

announced that Comrie would be appointed to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into the

Black Saturday bushfires The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that either ignited or were already burning across the Australian state of Victoria. Saturday, 7 February 2009 was one of Australia's all-time worst bushfire disasters. The fires occurred ...

. Comrie was appointed President of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade board on 30 June 2010. He held this post until December 2014 before resigning and being replaced by Andi Diamond.

Honours

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comrie, Neil 1947 births Living people Chief Commissioners of Victoria Police Police officers from Melbourne Officers of the Order of Australia RMIT University alumni Deakin University alumni Recipients of the Australian Police Medal People from Ballarat Australian recipients of the Queen's Police Medal