Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione ‘marches out’ after 37 years service: ‘Cop one, signing off’
WITH four little words, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione “marched out” after 37 years of police work today.
NSW
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WITH four little words, Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione “marched out” after 37 years of police work today.
“Cop one, signing off” rang out over the state’s police radio network before Mr Scipione marched down the front steps of Bankstown Police station and along a guard of honour on the closed-off Meredith St.
He hugged his sons Ben and Jonathan, kissed his wife Joy, and shook hands with his successor Mick Fuller before leaving in a dark car.
But before the procession, Mr Scipione faced his final press conference as the state’s top cop and began by thanking the media.
“Many of you I have known for a large part of my commissionership,” he said.
“We had a tale to tell, a story to get out there, a message to broadcast ... I just want to stop and say thank you.
“We couldn’t have done it without you, there’s simply no denying it.”
He thanked the NSW community for supporting his leadership and his own police force for driving crime down to “20-year lows” in many categories.
“It wasn’t me, it was the police, the police downstairs, the ones out there on the street, on the horses, controlling dogs, in highway patrol cars, knocking on doors, interviewing criminals,” Mr Scipione said.
“They’re the ones doing the heavy lifting ... I walk in the shadow of heroes and I will never ever forget it.”
But after a decade as the state’s top cop, he said it was immediate family and good mates who he now owed his time.
“The difficulty is you actually start to alienate people, you just don’t have time to continue in friendships, in relationships be it with the neighbour, your best mate, the postman.”
His son Jonathan, a Detective Senior Constable in the city, said it was the start of a “fantastic new chapter” for his father.
“You wouldn’t find a prouder son, or a better role model for a father,” he said.
Mr Scipione said he hoped the findings of a coronial inquest into the 2014 Lindt siege would have arrived before his retirement but he refused to comment on how he felt his force responded to the 17-hour stand-off before the findings were published.
The son of an Italian father and an Irish mother, born in London and raised in Bankstown, Scipione joined the police in 1980 after working as a customs official.
He returned to his old neighbourhood in 1983, joining Bankstown Police and becoming a detective the same year.
He was seconded to the National Crime Authority in 1985, beginning a 20-year rise through senior policing ranks before he became Commissioner, taking over from Ken Moroney.
Mr Scipione’s successor Mick Fuller was the last person to shake the Commissioner’s hand before the celebration ended.
The ceremony flipped public attention, even just for the day, back onto Mr Scipione after it had been fixed on the protracted search for his replacement.
Assistant Commissioner Fuller was given the role yesterday over higher profile candidates in Deputy Commissioner Cath Burn and former Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it was an “excellent” choice and lauded Scipione on his way out today.
“No words can express the deepest, deepest gratitude all of NSW feels for our commissioner,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“None of us can appreciate what it’s like to have his job unless you have his job.”
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