Daniel Andrews appoints Victoria Police deputy commissioner Shane Patton as Chief Commissioner

Daniel Andrews announces his pick to replace Graham Ashton as Victoria Police Chief Commissioner.

New Victoria Police Commissioner Shane Patton.

The Andrews government has promoted Victoria Police deputy commissioner Shane Patton to Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police.

Mr Patton replaces Graham Ashton, whose term expires at the end of this month.

Outgoing Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton.

Announcing the appointment, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he could not think of a better person to lead Victoria Police.

“In my dealings with Shane he is a consummate professional,” Mr Andrews said, outlining his 40 years of police experience.

Mr Andrews said there had been a “very impressive” range of candidates from “across the world”.

The Premier paid tribute to Mr Ashton as an “outstanding Victorian”.

Mr Ashton’s time in the top job has been coloured by several scandals, notably the Lawyer X royal commission and his decision to lay no charges over state Labor’s “Red Shirts” scheme, which saw taxpayers’ money used to pay political campaigners.

Mr Patton will take over from Mr Ashton on June 27.

He began his career as a police cadet in 1978m, rising through the ranks to take on roles in the Victoria Police Executive Command, including Deputy Commissioner – Specialist Operations and his current role as Deputy Commissioner – Regional Operations.

In his current job he has directed regional operations across the state, including through the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and bushfires, as well as setting up Victoria Police’s Counter Terrorism Command.

Mr Andrews paid tribute to Mr Ashton, saying he had made an “extraordinary contribution to Victoria police” since his appointment in 2015, “overseeing the single biggest expansion and modernisation of the force in its 167-year history and raising the priority on mental health within the force.”

“His leadership of the organisation has been exceptional, especially through the recent tragic loss of four Victoria Police members on the Eastern Freeway, the 2019/20 Victorian bushfires and during the coronavirus pandemic,” Mr Andrews said.

Asked whether he was prepared to learn the hard lessons from the Lawyer X scandal — which has seen convicted criminals walk free as a result of Victoria Police’s use of criminal barrister Nicola Gobbo as a police informer — Mr Patton said he would take “whatever steps are necessary” to reform the force once royal commissioner Margaret McMurdo hands down her findings.

Justice McMurdo’s final report is due on November 30.

“In regards to the royal commission, we've already taken a lot of changes along the journey but we are very much an organisation, a Victoria Police force, that is prepared to learn from our mistakes and do what we need to do to be better,” Mr Patton said.

Asked why the government had chosen a chief commissioner from within Victoria Police, given the organisation had been responsible for the Lawyer X scandal, Mr Andrews said he believed he had made the “best choice”.

“I can't think of anybody who would do a better job,” Mr Andrews said.

“He is the best person to lead Victoria Police, and I want to be very clear with you that one of the reasons why soon-to-be Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has been appointed to that post is that the (Police) Minister (Lisa Neville) and I, and I would hope all Victorians, had no doubt whatsoever that he is prepared to make the changes that are necessary so that this organisation can learn from mistakes that were made in the past, so it can be a stronger force in every way, and I'm very confident, in fact I'm certain of that.

“It's a very simple answer. It’s a long one, but it’s very simple, actually. He got the job because he's the best person for the job.”