NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has appointed Karen Webb APM as Commissioner of the NSW Police Force.
“Commissioner-elect Webb is a highly experienced police officer, with 34 years of serving the community behind her. She has a strong record in operational leadership roles, and has made both an outstanding Region and Specialist Commander. It was the depth and diversity of her experience which led me to promote her twice during my tenure – from Superintendent to Assistant Commissioner in 2017, and again to her current role as Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Services in July this year. The future of the NSW Police Force – and its 22,000 employees – is in good hands.” said Commissioner Mick Fuller.
Karen joined the NSW Police Force in May 1987 and has performed general duties and criminal investigations both in the metropolitan area of Sydney and Regional NSW. She has performed duties at the Child Mistreatment Unit, Drug Enforcement Agency, Detectives Training Unit and command roles at Forensic Services Group, Local Area Commands, Operations Manager, North West Metropolitan Region, Commander, State Surveillance Branch and Assistant Commissioner Police Transport & Public Safety Command and Traffic and Highway Patrol Command.
Karen has led high-level projects including a joint National Institute of Forensic Science/Prime Minister & Cabinet research project, National Accreditation of NSW Police Forensic Services laboratories, and 90 Years/100 Years of Women in Policing celebrations (Expo, state-wide baton relay, Government House Reception, Street Parade, Gala Dinner and Centenary Conference).
Karen has also commanded several large-scale operations including Invictus Games 2018, Australia Day 2018 & 2019, sporting events, crime reduction and public safety strategies and was a member of the World Youth Day command team. Karen was a Local Area Commander for the Merrylands High School riot, bias-crimes such as the Sri-Lankan acid burn attack and multiple drive-by shootings. These events received national and international media attention requiring high-level discussions and stakeholder engagement.
Karen has undertaken numerous internal and external courses. Career highlights include the Detectives Education Program, Bachelor of Professional Studies, Executive Master of Public Administration, and overseas study tours of the UK (2007) and USA (2015). She recently completed the Australia and New Zealand Police Leadership Strategy (ANZPLS) 2017-18 and International Action Learning Group (IALG) Pearls in Policing program 2018-19. Karen is currently participating in the NSW Government Leadership Academy program.
Karen was appointed the Corporate Sponsor, LGBTI (2006-2007), Women in Policing (2013-2017) and Victims of Crime & Customer Service in 2018-2020.
Karen was promoted in August 2017 to the rank of Assistant Commissioner at the Police Transport & Public Safety Command where she was responsible for a number of frontline and specialist commands including Police Transport Command, Aviation Command, Dog Unit, Major Events & Emergency Management Command, Marine Area Command, Mounted Unit and State Planning Unit.
In July 2018 Karen was appointed to the NSW Police Legacy Board and in October 2018 to the State Rescue Board. In July 2019 she was appointed the Deputy State Emergency Operations Controller and worked closely with all emergency service agencies during the 2019-20 bushfires, floods, and COVID-19 pandemic.
In June 2020 Karen was appointed as the first female commander of the Traffic & Highway Patrol Command.
In July 2021 Karen was promoted to Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Services. She leads the Communication and Security Command, Corporate Internal Audit, Digital Technology and Innovation, Education and Training Command, Financial and Business Services, Human Resources Command, Police Properties Group, Professional Standards Command and Shared Services.
Prior to joining the NSW Police Force, Karen was raised in regional NSW and moved to Sydney where she worked in the corporate sector (accounting). Karen has been a working mother throughout her career and is a proud mum to her two sons.
