Tonga’s new Police Commissioner sworn in [1]
Tuesday, May 24, 2022 - 00:55. Updated on Tuesday, May 24, 2022 - 00:57.
Tonga’s new Police Commissioner Shane McLennan was sworn in on 19 May in Nuku’alofa.
He took his Police Officer’s oath and signed his employment contract with the Government of Tonga for three-years in a private ceremony, at the Tonga Police Headquarters in Longolongo.
The oath was administered by the Chief Magistrate Folau Lokotui.
Acompanied by his wife Sharron, he presented his credentials to the Prime Minister and Minister for Police. Hon. Hu’akavameiliku.
Commissioner McLennan is the first Australian to be appointed to the role of Commissioner for Tonga Police. It “is an absolute honour and a privilege that I do not take lightly.” he said, and stressed the importance of team work.
"It is important that all of us in the Tonga Police work together as a team, no matter where you are stationed or what your role is, we are Tonga Police, we are all on the same team, and we work together to help the communities of Tonga.”
He comes to Tonga Police with a broad policing career that spans over 40 years, having started with the Queensland Police Service as a police cadet at 15.
He served in Queensland for over 26 years before laterally transferring to the Australian Federal Police in 2008. He was a designated detective in both the Queensland Police Service and the Australian Federal Police.
He has experience in community policing, national and international level investigations, major event planning, search and rescue coordination, counter-terrorism, executive development and training, international liaison and diplomacy, project management and policy development.
Police Commissioner McLennan was also a Visiting Fellow at the Australian Institute of Police Management where he worked with the FBI in the USA and led the executive training program for senior officers on the Leadership in Counter-Terrorism-Pacific Region’ program.&
He is also the founding President of AFP Legacy, a not-for-profit charity supporting police families in need, in a long-standing leader and contributor to civil society with many past and current roles involving charity work for over 30 years.
With Masters level tertiary qualifications, he also has a special interest in crisis and emergency management, national security issues and international capacity development, having deployed internationally several times with the AFP and with the United Nations.
Isolated communities
When being briefed by members of the Tonga Police Senior Executive on the range of policing services undertaken by Tonga Police, the Commissioner was keen to understand the difficulties faced by officers across the country. When the isolation of the Niua Islands was discussed, Commissioner McLennan fondly reflected upon his time as a Sergeant when he was the Officer in Charge of Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria where he spent two and a half years with his family in 1992-94, when his two daughters were aged 2 and 4 at the time. The closest backup support was in Mt Isa which was on the mainland of Queensland and over 450 km away. Despite the isolation and remoteness of such a posting, Commissioner McLennan said it was some of the most rewarding times in his police career.
“It is in those isolated postings when you truly develop your skills in community policing, when you value and rely upon the community where you live and work, to assist you in your role as a police officer, and where respect is earned, not taken for granted. Those skills and experiences never let you down, no matter what role you are elevated to later in life, and they serve you well throughout your policing life, as they have done with me.”
Commissioner McLennan is married with two daughters and has four grandchildren. He enjoys the outdoors and all sports, and his current passion is sailing.