Alfred George Sainsbury JP (1856 – 1920) was an Australian police officer who served as
Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boa ...
from 1913 to 1919.
Early life
Sainsbury was born on 11 February 1856 in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
in the
Colony of Victoria
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
to John Sainsbury and Lucy Hood. His brother Henry Sainsbury was a
Member
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of the
Legislative Assembly for
Creswick from 1877 to 1880.
After school Sainsbury worked as a junior clerk at the
Oriental Bank Corporation
The Oriental Bank Corporation (), or "OBC", was a British imperial bank founded in India in 1842 which grew to be prominent throughout the Far East. As an Exchange bank, the OBC was primarily concerned with the finance of trade and exchanges of ...
.
Police career
Sainsbury joined Victoria Police on 17 May 1878, he was assigned registered number 2944 and was appointed to Colac as a mounted constable.
He served further at Boort, Bendigo and Benalla.
In 1884 he transferred to the Criminal Investigation Branch and that same year sat his examination for sergeant. He was later promoted to sergeant in 1886, although never held the rank of senior constable. He was subsequently promoted to sub-inspector in 1896, inspector in 1899 and superintendent in 1901.
After the retirement of
Thomas O'Callaghan, Sainsbury was appointed Acting Chief Commissioner of Police and then formally appointed to the role on 1 April 1913.
Taking command of the force for the duration of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Sainsbury had to oversee a wide range of extra duties undertaken by Victoria Police, including alien registrations, internments and the investigation and arrest of military deserters. It also included working with military intelligence conducting surveillance and investigations.
His tenure as chief commissioner also saw the appointment of the first woman police constables in Victoria and formation of the Police Association of Victoria in 1917. Sainsbury had initially blocked attempts to form the association believing it to be against the principles of the semi-military nature of the police force.
Sainsbury resigned as chief commissioner on 13 February 1919 and finished his term two weeks later on 28 February after 41 years on the force.
Personal life and death
In 1877 he married Margaret Cruthers the daughter of William Cruthers and Theresa Sign and had eight children, four sons and four daughters. One son, Herbert William Sainsbury was also a member of Victoria Police. Sainsbury died on 27 February 1920 at his home in Vine Street, Moonee Ponds, his wife, Margaret, out lived him for a further 15 years.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainsbury, Alfred
1856 births
1920 deaths
Chief Commissioners of Victoria Police
Police officers from Melbourne
People from Heidelberg, Victoria
People from the Colony of Victoria