Preceded by Tony Lauer Spouse Adrienne Ryan Alma mater Macquarie University Education Macquarie University | Name Peter Ryan Succeeded by Ken Moroney Role Police officer | |
Born 18 May 1944 (age 79)
Lancaster, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom ( 1944-05-18 ) Books Reform of the New South Wales Police Service: Implementation Status Report : Phase One | ||
Peter James Ryan, QPM (born 18 May 1944) is a former British police officer, who was the Commissioner of New South Wales Police in Australia from 1996 to 2002. His appointment was controversial and he resigned two years early.
Contents
- Early life and education
- Police career in England
- Commissioner of New South Wales Police
- Honours
- Personal life
- References
Early life and education
Ryan was born in 1944 in Lancaster, Lancashire to Laurence and Maureen Ryan.
Police career in England
Ryan joined Lancashire Constabulary on 16 January 1961 as a police cadet. He completed the training course at Bruche Police National Training Centre in 1963, and on 19 May was given his first posting as a probationer in Little Hulton on the outskirts of Manchester. In 1968, Ryan was one of the first intake of police officers into the new University of Lancaster, and upon graduation with a Bachelor of Arts he was promoted to Sergeant, and in 1973 was promoted to Inspector stationed at the Lancashire's headquarters in Preston.
Ryan joined the Metropolitan Police Service in London, and was Chief Superintendent at Chelsea Police Station during the Harrods bombing in December 1983.
He was Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary and was the first National Director of Police Training at the Police Staff College, Bramshill prior to his appointment to the New South Wales Police in Australia.
Commissioner of New South Wales Police
Peter Ryan was recruited to the Commissioner's position from an international pool of applicants following the controversial Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service (Wood Royal Commission) into police corruption that ran from 1995 to 1997. He was appointed by the New South Wales Labor Premier Bob Carr. Ryans appointment proved controversial.
In February 1999, he was reappointed for a further 5 years. Some aspects of the new contract were kept secret but the controversy over it caused it to be released in its entirety, and a parliamentary enquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding its signing. The contract made Ryan the highest paid public servant in Australia.
Prior to coming to Australia, Ryan had risen rapidly to very senior roles in British police ranks. His British career culminated as the Head of National Police Training.
He resigned from the NSW Police Service in 2002, two years early, and received a payout of A$455,000, 12 months salary. Ryan has since worked on a number of security consulting projects. He is a security expert for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and was the Principal Security Advisor to the ATHOC (Athens Olympic Games Organising Committee).
Ryan was covered widely by the Australian media and is the subject of the 2003 biography, Peter Ryan: The Inside Story, by Sydney author Sue Williams.
Honours
Ryan has been appointed an Officer of the Order of St John (unofficial post-nominals OStJ, for internal use only within the Order), and awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM), NSW Police Ministers Olympic Commendation, NSW Police Commissioners Olympic Citation and the Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (for service in the UK Police Forces). He has a master's degree in science and an honorary doctorate in law from Macquarie University, Sydney.
Personal life
Ryan married his second wife Adrienne Ryan (née Butterworth), who moved to Sydney with him upon his appointment as Police Commissioner. They divorced in 2011 after a separation of about six years. While she continued to reside in Australia with their two adult daughters, Peter Ryan moved back to the UK. One daughter undertook legal studies in the UK and the other studied in Australia for a communications degree.