Today is the National Police Remembrance Day. Each year, on September 29, vigils, services and marches are held nationally to commemorate National Police Remembrance Day to remember and honour all police officers who have been killed in the line of duty, and also remember and honour officers whose death did not occur as a consequence of their duty. Last month, August 2023, the Queensland Police Museum applied for the name of Billy Esldale to be added to the Queensland Police Honour Roll, based on this research.
Read MoreThe Detective Office began on 1 December 1864, 11 months after the inauguration of the Queensland Police Force on January 1. Samuel Joseph Lloyd was placed as the officer in charge of the new branch. Lloyd immigrated to Australia from Ireland and joined the Victoria Police Force in 1855, where he served as a Detective for nearly a decade prior to joining the Queensland Police. Lloyd was OIC of the Detective Branch on and off for the next 32 years, until he retired in February 1896. The number of Detectives in the Office was nominal and drawn basically from the best police officers in Brisbane. There were 2 classes – Detective Constable 1/c and Detective Constable 2/c. Employed only on a part-time basis, the Detectives spent the other part of their time carrying out ordinary police duties. They received no extra pay despite the complicated character of their work and the long hours they often worked in criminal detection.
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