Graham Ashton

Graham Leonard Ashton (born 1962

In 2002, he returned to Indonesia as operational commander of the Australian police component of Operation Alliance, the joint investigation and victim identification process following the 2002 Bali bombings. In 2003, whilst serving as national manager of counter-terrorism, he was awarded the Australian Police Medal and was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his work on Alliance.

In 2004, Ashton left the AFP after 24 years of service

During his time as Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Ashton had to deal with the following issues: January 2017 Melbourne car attack December 2017 Melbourne car attack whilst Shane Patton was acting Chief Commissioner Investigation of George Pell The Royal Commission into Family Violence The revelations about Nicola Gobbo and the associated Royal Commission The COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria

In May 2020, Victoria Police confirmed that Ashton would retire at the conclusion of his five-year term at the end of June 2020, in keeping with his stated plans when he was appointed to the role. It was announced that his replacement would be appointed from within the force's senior command with Shane Patton taking over the role when Ashton left.