Ray Whitrod
Encyclopedia
Raymond Wells Whitrod AC
CVO
QPM
(16 April 1915 - 11 July 2003) was an Australia
n police officer
and criminologist
. He was considered a world leader in the way society treats victims of crime. He was known as a man of high professional standards, with a commitment to justice, equity and integrity. He became best known for his term as Queensland
Police Commissioner, resigning in protest in 1976 at the corruption then endemic in Queensland, and in particular over the appointment by the Premier of Queensland
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
of Terry Lewis
, as Assistant Commissioner.
Ray Whitrod was born in Adelaide
in 1915, attending Adelaide High School
. He joined the South Australia Police
(SAPOL) in 1934. He was engaged in detective work from 1937 to 1941. He left to join the Royal Australian Air Force
, seeing service as a navigator in north Africa and Europe. He then rejoined SAPOL.
In 1949 Whitrod moved to Sydney
where he helped establish the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
(ASIO), and was engaged in investigating Soviet
espionage
. He was at the centre of investigations into Vladimir Petrov
and his wife Evdokia, who defected in 1954.
He joined the Commonwealth Investigation Service as its director, moving to Canberra
. The CIS became the Commonwealth Police Force (now the Australian Federal Police
) in 1960, and Whitrod was its first commissioner. He remained in this post for nine years. He was the driving force behind the Commonwealth Police Act and the Australian Police College, now the Australian Institute of Police Management, at North Head
.
In 1963 he attained a Bachelor of Economics degree from the Australian National University
(ANU), which he had been studying part-time since the late 1950s. He attained a postgraduate degree in criminology
at the University of Cambridge
in 1965.
He served as the Papua New Guinea
Police Commissioner from 1969 to 1970. This came about after a casual telephone conversation with the retiring commissioner, a personal friend, who asked Whitrod to ask around to see of there was anyone willing to replace him. Whitrod agreed to make some enquiries, but could find nobody willing. He reported back to the retiring commissioner, who said that his departure date was fixed, and asked if Whitrod himself might be interested. Without even consulting with his wife, he agreed.
Ray Whitrod became Queensland Police Commissioner in 1970 and immediately set out to eradicate corruption, raise educational standards and bring women into all fields of policing. He organised for the Queensland Education Department to provide officers with classes in literacy and basic arithmetic. As an inducement to attend classes, he offered an extra week’s leave for every subject they sat. The Police Union objected with such vehemence that they by-passed both Whitrod and his Police Minister, Max Hodges, and complained directly to the Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen
. Bjelke-Petersen, himself a former Police Minister, endorsed the union’s stand and he publicly declared that "the Queensland people do not require their police to be Rhodes scholar
s." Whitrod clashed with the Premier on other matters.
The last straw was the appointment of the little-known Terry Lewis
to be Whitrod’s Assistant Commissioner. The position had become vacant, and Whitrod chose his preferred candidate. He advised the Cabinet of this name, and the names of two others also acceptable to him and to the Police Union. It had always been the practice for the Cabinet to endorse the Police Commissioner's recommendation for his assistant. In this case, however, they chose Terry Lewis, an inspector, who was known to be a close associate and bagman of the corrupt former Police Commissioner Francis Bischof
. He was also less qualified for the position than at least 60 other men. Whitrod believed all his efforts for seven years to eradicate corruption would be undermined if the appointment went ahead, and he asked to speak to Bjelke-Petersen. However, the premier refused to see Whitrod, nor would he allow him to address the Cabinet on the matter. That night, Whitrod wrote out his resignation. Terry Lewis was then appointed Police Commissioner. Prior to leaving Queensland for Canberra, Ray Whitrod and his wife were subject to harassment and intimidation. He would have unordered taxis turning up during the night, sometimes three or four times a night, to take him to the airport. He would receive calls from strangers enquiring about his health, although he had an unlisted number. A heart specialist came to his house at three o'clock in the morning because he'd been told by police headquarters that Whitrod was having a heart attack. He had a large load of gravel he had not purchased dumped on his front garden. He became so frightened of his and his wife's safety that he took to sleeping with a revolver under his pillow. A large number of personal files, detailing police corruption, were mysteriously lost in transit between Brisbane and Canberra.
After his resignation, Whitrod taught criminology as a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Sociology at the ANU from 1977 to 1981. He had been awarded a Masters of Arts in Sociology from the ANU in 1972.
The Fitzgerald Inquiry
in the 1980s revealed institutionalised corruption in Queensland during Bjelke-Petersen’s time, and vindicated Whitrod's stance. Terry Lewis had been knighted, but was later stripped of his knighthood and jailed for criminal activity. The Fitzgerald Inquiry led to Bjelke-Petersen's political downfall, and he himself was charged with perjury, the case being dismissed only because of a hung jury
, the foreman of which was an undeclared active member of Bjelke-Petersen's National Party
.
In 1979, Ray Whitrod and his wife returned to Adelaide. He founded the Victims of Crime (now Victim Support) Service, an Australian first. Under Whitrod’s guidance, the service went on to establish itself across the nation. He taught as a Residential Scholar at the University of Adelaide
from 1992 to 1995. In 1993 he began a PhD in Psychology.
Whitrod also played a significant role in forming the National Police Research Unit (now the Australasian Centre for Policing Research) in Adelaide, and the Australian Institute of Criminology
.
In retirement, his extensive community involvement included the first national presidency of the Prison After-Care Council, and membership of the South Australian Government’s Commission for the Ageing. He was also the driving force behind the establishment of the Australian Society of Victimology.
He was a major contributor to the introduction of uniform crime statistics in Australia.
Ray Whitrod's memoirs were published as Before I Sleep (University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Qld). He died in 2003.
in 1954. He was elevated to Commander (CVO) of the order in 1963.
He received the Queen's Police Medal
(QPM) in 1967. He was named Queenslander of the Year in 1972.
He was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia
in 1987 and in 1993 became a Companion of the order (AC).
He was honoured with a Laudatis from the World Society of Victimology in 1994.
In 1997, he received an honorary doctorate in laws from the Australian National University
.
On 24 September 2007, Mick Keelty
presented the inaugural Ray Whitrod Oration.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
CVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
QPM
Queen's Police Medal
The Queen's Police Medal is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for gallantry or distinguished service. Recipients may use the post-nominal letters "QPM", although the right to use these was only granted officially on 20 July 1969...
(16 April 1915 - 11 July 2003) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
and criminologist
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
. He was considered a world leader in the way society treats victims of crime. He was known as a man of high professional standards, with a commitment to justice, equity and integrity. He became best known for his term as Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
Police Commissioner, resigning in protest in 1976 at the corruption then endemic in Queensland, and in particular over the appointment by the Premier of Queensland
Premiers of Queensland
Before the 1890s, there was no developed party system in Queensland. Political affiliation labels before that time indicate a general tendency only. Before the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, political parties were more akin to parliamentary factions, and were fluid, informal and...
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
of Terry Lewis
Terry Lewis (police commissioner)
Terence Murray "Terry" Lewis is a former Queensland, Australia police commissioner who was convicted and jailed for corruption as a result of the Fitzgerald Inquiry. He was stripped of his knighthood and other honours and awards in consequence.In 1976 Lewis was promoted from obscurity to the rank...
, as Assistant Commissioner.
Ray Whitrod was born in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in 1915, attending Adelaide High School
Adelaide High School
Adelaide High School is a coeducational state high school situated on the corner of West Terrace and Glover Avenue in the Adelaide Parklands. It is the first government high school in South Australia...
. He joined the South Australia Police
South Australia Police
The South Australia Police is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. It is an agency of the Government of South Australia within the South Australian Department of Justice.-History:...
(SAPOL) in 1934. He was engaged in detective work from 1937 to 1941. He left to join the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
, seeing service as a navigator in north Africa and Europe. He then rejoined SAPOL.
In 1949 Whitrod moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
where he helped establish the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is Australia's national security service, which is responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically-motivated violence, attacks on the Australian defence system, and...
(ASIO), and was engaged in investigating Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
. He was at the centre of investigations into Vladimir Petrov
Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov (diplomat)
Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov was a member of the Soviet Union's clandestine services who became famous in 1954 for his defection to Australia.-Early life:...
and his wife Evdokia, who defected in 1954.
He joined the Commonwealth Investigation Service as its director, moving to Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. The CIS became the Commonwealth Police Force (now the Australian Federal Police
Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police is the federal police agency of the Commonwealth of Australia. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of...
) in 1960, and Whitrod was its first commissioner. He remained in this post for nine years. He was the driving force behind the Commonwealth Police Act and the Australian Police College, now the Australian Institute of Police Management, at North Head
Sydney Heads
Sydney Heads , is the entrance to Port Jackson in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.North Head and Quarantine Head are to the north, South Head and Dunbar Head are to the south. Middle Head, Georges Head and Chowder Head are to the west and within the bay...
.
In 1963 he attained a Bachelor of Economics degree from the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
(ANU), which he had been studying part-time since the late 1950s. He attained a postgraduate degree in criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1965.
He served as the Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
Police Commissioner from 1969 to 1970. This came about after a casual telephone conversation with the retiring commissioner, a personal friend, who asked Whitrod to ask around to see of there was anyone willing to replace him. Whitrod agreed to make some enquiries, but could find nobody willing. He reported back to the retiring commissioner, who said that his departure date was fixed, and asked if Whitrod himself might be interested. Without even consulting with his wife, he agreed.
Ray Whitrod became Queensland Police Commissioner in 1970 and immediately set out to eradicate corruption, raise educational standards and bring women into all fields of policing. He organised for the Queensland Education Department to provide officers with classes in literacy and basic arithmetic. As an inducement to attend classes, he offered an extra week’s leave for every subject they sat. The Police Union objected with such vehemence that they by-passed both Whitrod and his Police Minister, Max Hodges, and complained directly to the Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
. Bjelke-Petersen, himself a former Police Minister, endorsed the union’s stand and he publicly declared that "the Queensland people do not require their police to be Rhodes scholar
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
s." Whitrod clashed with the Premier on other matters.
The last straw was the appointment of the little-known Terry Lewis
Terry Lewis (police commissioner)
Terence Murray "Terry" Lewis is a former Queensland, Australia police commissioner who was convicted and jailed for corruption as a result of the Fitzgerald Inquiry. He was stripped of his knighthood and other honours and awards in consequence.In 1976 Lewis was promoted from obscurity to the rank...
to be Whitrod’s Assistant Commissioner. The position had become vacant, and Whitrod chose his preferred candidate. He advised the Cabinet of this name, and the names of two others also acceptable to him and to the Police Union. It had always been the practice for the Cabinet to endorse the Police Commissioner's recommendation for his assistant. In this case, however, they chose Terry Lewis, an inspector, who was known to be a close associate and bagman of the corrupt former Police Commissioner Francis Bischof
Francis Bischof
Francis Erich Bischof was a police commissioner in the Australian state of Queensland from January 1958 until his resignation, on the 13 February 1969, amidst allegations of corruption...
. He was also less qualified for the position than at least 60 other men. Whitrod believed all his efforts for seven years to eradicate corruption would be undermined if the appointment went ahead, and he asked to speak to Bjelke-Petersen. However, the premier refused to see Whitrod, nor would he allow him to address the Cabinet on the matter. That night, Whitrod wrote out his resignation. Terry Lewis was then appointed Police Commissioner. Prior to leaving Queensland for Canberra, Ray Whitrod and his wife were subject to harassment and intimidation. He would have unordered taxis turning up during the night, sometimes three or four times a night, to take him to the airport. He would receive calls from strangers enquiring about his health, although he had an unlisted number. A heart specialist came to his house at three o'clock in the morning because he'd been told by police headquarters that Whitrod was having a heart attack. He had a large load of gravel he had not purchased dumped on his front garden. He became so frightened of his and his wife's safety that he took to sleeping with a revolver under his pillow. A large number of personal files, detailing police corruption, were mysteriously lost in transit between Brisbane and Canberra.
After his resignation, Whitrod taught criminology as a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Sociology at the ANU from 1977 to 1981. He had been awarded a Masters of Arts in Sociology from the ANU in 1972.
The Fitzgerald Inquiry
Fitzgerald Inquiry
The Fitzgerald Inquiry into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted in the deposition of a premier, two by-elections, the jailing of three former ministers and a police commissioner who was jailed and lost his...
in the 1980s revealed institutionalised corruption in Queensland during Bjelke-Petersen’s time, and vindicated Whitrod's stance. Terry Lewis had been knighted, but was later stripped of his knighthood and jailed for criminal activity. The Fitzgerald Inquiry led to Bjelke-Petersen's political downfall, and he himself was charged with perjury, the case being dismissed only because of a hung jury
Hung jury
A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.- England and Wales :...
, the foreman of which was an undeclared active member of Bjelke-Petersen's National Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
.
In 1979, Ray Whitrod and his wife returned to Adelaide. He founded the Victims of Crime (now Victim Support) Service, an Australian first. Under Whitrod’s guidance, the service went on to establish itself across the nation. He taught as a Residential Scholar at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
from 1992 to 1995. In 1993 he began a PhD in Psychology.
Whitrod also played a significant role in forming the National Police Research Unit (now the Australasian Centre for Policing Research) in Adelaide, and the Australian Institute of Criminology
Australian Institute of Criminology
The Australian Institute of Criminology is Australia's national research and knowledge centre on crime and justice. The Institute seeks to promote justice and reduce crime by undertaking and communicating evidence-based research to inform policy and practice.The functions of the AIC include...
.
In retirement, his extensive community involvement included the first national presidency of the Prison After-Care Council, and membership of the South Australian Government’s Commission for the Ageing. He was also the driving force behind the establishment of the Australian Society of Victimology.
He was a major contributor to the introduction of uniform crime statistics in Australia.
Ray Whitrod's memoirs were published as Before I Sleep (University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Qld). He died in 2003.
Honours
Ray Whitrod was made a Member (MVO, later LVO) of the Royal Victorian OrderRoyal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
in 1954. He was elevated to Commander (CVO) of the order in 1963.
He received the Queen's Police Medal
Queen's Police Medal
The Queen's Police Medal is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for gallantry or distinguished service. Recipients may use the post-nominal letters "QPM", although the right to use these was only granted officially on 20 July 1969...
(QPM) in 1967. He was named Queenslander of the Year in 1972.
He was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
in 1987 and in 1993 became a Companion of the order (AC).
He was honoured with a Laudatis from the World Society of Victimology in 1994.
In 1997, he received an honorary doctorate in laws from the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
.
On 24 September 2007, Mick Keelty
Mick Keelty
Michael Joseph "Mick" Keelty AO APM , Australian police officer, was the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police from 2001 to 2009...
presented the inaugural Ray Whitrod Oration.