The South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Police, who reports to the Minister for Police. SAPOL provides general duties policing, highway patrol, criminal investigation and emergency coordination services throughout the state. SAPOL is also responsible for road safety advocacy and education, and maintains the South Australian Road Safety Centre.
the commissioner of police is Grant Stevens, who has been in the role since July 2015.
History
Early years Formally established on 28 April 1838 under the command of Inspector Henry Inman, the force is the oldest in Australasia and is the third oldest organised police force in the world. The first force in the colony of South Australia consisted of 10 mounted constables and 10 foot constables.
In 1840, Major Thomas Shouldham O'Halloran was appointed as the first official Commissioner of Police. At this time, SAPOL consisted of one Superintendent, two Inspectors, three Sergeants and 47 Constables divided into foot and mounted sections. Between 1840 and 1842 O'Halloran led three "punitive expeditions" against Aboriginal people on the Coorong, at Port Lincoln, and on the Murray. This included reprisals following the Maria massacre where O'Halloran was sent out with instructions by Governor Gawler to execute "any number, not exceeding three" of the Aboriginal people identified to be involved.
The first police officer in Australia to be charged with murder was South Australia Police Force first-class mounted constable William Wiltshire. He is believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than 13 Aboriginal people, however his murder charge was eventually acquitted.
From 1848 to 1867, SAPOL also served as the state fire and rescue service, until the precursor of the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service was formed. They also supplied the Civil Ambulance Service from 1880 to 1954, when it was taken over by the St John Ambulance Service.
Female officers In 1915, the first two female police officers, Kate Cocks and Annie Ross, were appointed. This was six months after New South Wales commenced with two officers. It had been said "it is easier to get into heaven than to join the women police". Cocks retired in 1935, and was the officer in charge of the largest female detachment of all Australian state police departments of 14, which was double the size of the next-nearest of New South Wales.
In 1929, officer Daisy Curtis studied on a scholarship abroad to examine the 'methods of protecting women and children'. This included travels to the jurisdictions of Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States of America, and New Zealand. (New Zealand did not get its first female officer until 1941.)
In 1999, SAPOL was the first Australian policing jurisdiction to appoint a female police officer, Senior Constable Jane Kluzek, to a tactical group.
In 2015, Linda Williams was made the first Deputy Commissioner of police.
Timeline of initiatives 1893: Introduced bicycles for metropolitan and country foot police 1893: Pioneered the fingerprint system in Australia 1987: The first Australian police service to introduce videotaping of "suspect person" interviews 1993: Introduced Operation Nomad, as a policing initiative to reduce the threat of bushfires 1996: Crime Stoppers launched 2000s: Established neighbourhood policing teams in various metropolitan areas 2011: The first police jurisdiction in Australia to launch its own web platform connecting mobile phone users to the latest police news
Responsibilities Commissioner The commissioner of police, in addition to leading SAPOL, also serves as the State Emergency Coordinator and is responsible for major emergency response and command and control of major disasters, including bushfires, floods, and earthquakes. Under an emergency declaration, the commissioner has extraordinary authority to create rules and regulations that may be enforced by police, for a limited time. Due to these laws, Commissioner Grant Stevens became a central figure in South Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The powers of South Australia Police are defined in the Police Act 1998.
Stevens is still in the position.
SAPOL In addition to general law enforcement such as patrols and investigations, SAPOL is responsible for other services throughout the state. These include:
Operating emergency assistance call centres for police, 000 (emergency telephone number) Non-urgent assistance call centres, 131 444 (non-emergency telephone number) Coordinating and managing emergency disaster response Road safety advocacy and education Registration and licensing of firearms Liquor licensing enforcement Security of public buildings and officials Police prosecutions Victim support services
Organisation SAPOL's structure consists of various units. Through the chain of command, all units are accountable to the Commissioner. Services are the largest units, and are headed by a sworn assistant commissioner, or for areas which are not policing specific, such as information technology, a civilian Director. Services are directly accountable to either the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner.
Services within metropolitan Adelaide are based on four different districts: Northern, Eastern Western and Southern. Each district has its own localised branch that provides specialised services or assistance, such as Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), family violence, and intelligence sections. There are seven Regions for remote and country areas within the remainder of the state.
Districts and Regions
Districts and Regions are the main organisational unit to provide policing services to the public. A district (metro Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western) and region (country Barossa, Eyre / Western, Far North, Hills Fleurieu, Limestone Coast, Murray Mallee and Yorke Mid North) contains a number of police stations, as well as specialist services to support frontline police such as detectives, crime scene investigators and traffic police. Each LSA has a designated office known as a 'Complex' where majority of operations in the area start. The LSA then have smaller community police stations for quick policing access.
Metropolitan Districts and Regions are divided between the Metropolitan Operations Service and the State Operations Service, which each have their own coordination branch and some other additional functions.
Metropolitan Districts (Metropolitan Operations Service) Eastern Districts Northern District Southern District Western District Metropolitan Operations Service Coordination Branch Public Transport Safety Section
Regions (State Operations Service) Barossa Region Eyre and Western Region Far North Region Hills Fleurieu Region Limestone Coast Region Murray Mallee Region Yorke Mid North Region State Operations Service Coordination Branch State Operations Support Branch Traffic Services Branch (Highway Patrol)
Security and Emergency Management Service Security and Emergency Management is led by an Assistant Commissioner. Security and Emergency Management Service Coordination Branch Communications Group Police Security Services Branch Security Advice Section Special Tasks and Rescue Group (STAR Group) STAR Group Police Tactical Group Dog Operations Unit Mounted Operations Unit Water Operations Unit PolAir Bomb Squad Negotiators Security Response Section State Protective Security Branch (Police Security Officers)
Operations Support Service Operations Support is led by an Assistant Commissioner. Operations Support Service Coordination Branch Firearms Branch Forensic Services Branch Licensing Enforcement Branch Prosecution Services Branch State Intelligence Branch
Crime Service Crime Service is led by an Assistant Commissioner, usually a former Detective. Serious Crime Coordination Branch Financial and Cybercrime Investigation Branch Investigation Support Branch Major Crime Investigation Branch Public Protection Branch Serious and Organised Crime Branch
Governance and Capability Service Governance and Capability is led by an Assistant Commissioner. Governance and Capability Service Coordination Branch Commissioner's Support Branch Communication and Engagement Branch Ethical and Professional Standards Branch Office of the General Counsel
Other services Each administrative service is led by a civilian Executive Director. Business Service Information Systems and Technology Service People Culture and Wellbeing
Ranking and structure Police Officers
+Constables and non-commissioned officersPolice ConstableConstable First ClassSenior ConstableSenior Constable First ClassBrevet SergeantSergeantSeniorSergeantSenior Sergeant First Class
All grades of constable perform the same basic range of duties, with the rank only reflecting experience. The rank of probationary constable is held for the first fifteen months of service. A constable with one stripe is qualified for promotion to senior constable. A senior constable first class is either an officer qualified for promotion to sergeant/senior sergeant or has won a senior constable first class position on merit. A brevet sergeant is the second in charge of a team and it can be a temporary designation for an officer in a particular position which would require specialised skills, such as a detective.
A sergeant normally manages a team during a shift. A sergeant may also manage a small country station. A detective sergeant is normally in charge of a team in an investigations section. As with a sergeant, a detective sergeant may be the officer in charge of a country CIB unit.
A new rank was introduced by SAPol on 9 January 2025, that being a Sergeant First Class which can be attained by a Sergeant with no less than 5 years of permanent appointment at that rank and promotion to that rank is automatic. The rank insignia (not shown above) is 3 chevrons and a bar above them similar to the Senior Constable First Class and Senior Sergeant First Class ranks.
A senior sergeant is the officer in charge of a section, including traffic, criminal investigation, and operations (uniform), and traditionally does more administrative work than active patrol duties.
+Officers of PoliceInspectorChief InspectorSuperintendentChief SuperintendentCommanderAssistant CommissionerDeputy CommissionerCommissioner
Officers of Police were formerly known as commissioned officers. This name was changed as SAPOL officers no longer receive a Queen's Commission. Officers of Police act primarily as managers and generally do not partake in operational policing. An Inspector is in charge of a section. A detective inspector is normally in charge of the whole station CIB. A uniform inspector is normally in charge of the station's operations.
A chief inspector commands a department at station level. A uniform chief inspector is in charge of all uniformed officers, regardless of their attachments to assigned areas (e.g. general duties, traffic duties etc.). Some country Regions have chief inspectors as the regional commander. A detective chief inspector is in charge of all CIB-related matters.
Superintendents may be the manager of a District, Region or Branch, such as the Major Crime Branch. A Regions commander is generally a superintendent. A chief superintendent may be the manager of a specialised area, such as a Service Coordination Branch.