Norman Allan
Norman Allan Commissioner of the New South Wales Police | |
---|---|
In office 28 February 1962 – 14 November 1972 | |
Preceded by | Colin Delaney |
Succeeded by | Frederick Hanson |
Personal details | |
Born | Lithgow, New South Wales | 3 June 1909
Died | 28 January 1977 Manly, New South Wales | (aged 67)
Norman Thomas William Allan,
Biography
A Protestant and Freemason, Allan joined the NSW Police Force in 1929, posted at
In 1953, Allan was awarded the Coronation Medal, and in 1957 he earned the Queen's Police Medal for Distinguished Service and the Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. He was also specially commended by the State Premier
Known unofficially as "Norman the Foreman," Allan finished his tenure during the years when Sir Robert Askin was Premier of New South Wales. While Allan was Police Commissioner, illegal casinos flourished in Sydney, in full view of both police and the public. Yet very few police raids ever took place. The collective annual turnover of illegal casinos in Sydney in 1974 was estimated to be $600 million[3] (or $3.8 billion in 2008 terms).[4] This netted the operators an untaxed profit of $16 million ($95 million in 2008) after all costs and alleged bribes had been paid off. A close associate of prominent Sydney racing identity Perc Galea claimed that Police Commissioner Allan and his successor Frederick Hanson were paid $100,000 a year each in bribes.[5]
One of the greatest challenges of Allan's tenure as commissioner was the Arantz scandal. Detective Sergeant Philip Arantz developed a computer program that gave accurate crime data. The new data showed that information previously published by the commissioner was misleading or incorrect. NSW Police refused to acknowledge the new data, which led Arantz to leak it to the press in November 1971. Following this, Arantz was forcibly admitted into hospital having been declared mentally ill by a police doctor. The police doctor later claimed that he had been coerced into doing so by senior police.[6] In 1972 Arantz was sacked from the force. Allan at first denied that the new information was accurate, but he later conceded its validity in a report tabled to parliament in September 1972.[7] Arantz was finally reinstated into the police force in 1989, after the NSW parliament brought in new reinstatement legislation.
In July 2008 Penguin published the book Gentle Satan: Abe Saffron, My Father by Alan Saffron, the only son of reputed Sydney crime czar Abe Saffron. The book contains allegations about Allan's supposed corrupt relationship with Saffron, claiming that Saffron regularly paid both Allan and Askin bribes of between A$5,000 and $10,000 per week each, that Allan was a frequent visitor to Saffron's office and home. Also included in the book is the allegation that Saffron paid for an overseas trip for Allan and an unnamed female companion.[8]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Whitton, Evan. "Allan, Norman Thomas (1909–1977)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- Sydney Morning Herald, 11 July 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2021
- ^ McCoy, Professor Alfred W. "Drug Traffic", 1980, p. 202
- ^ Reserve Bank Calculator – "RBA: Inflation Calculator". Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
- ^ Hickie. David "The Prince and the Premier", 1985, p. 59
- Sydney Morning Herald, Page 2, 11 October 1988
- Sydney Morning Herald, p 1, 7 September 1972
- Sydney Morning Herald, 27 July 2008