Farewell to Tonga's police commissioner

In his final week in office, Tonga’s outgoing Police Commissioner Shane McLennan shares a bittersweet sentiment as he prepares to hand over responsibilities.

Having served as the Kingdom’s top cop for three years, he was sworn in by Chief Magistrate Folau Lokotui in 2022.

He is the first Australian to hold this position following three New Zealanders, and brings over 40 years of policing experience.

A formal marching-out parade is scheduled for Friday, marking the official end of his service. Commander Geoff Turner from the Canberra Australian Federal Police will assume the role on 12 May.

Speaking to John Pulu on PMN Tonga, McLennan describes his departure as "happy in one way, but very sad”.

McLennan and his wife, described as “a policing team”, arrived in Tonga on a repatriation flight during the Covid-19 lockdown.

He says their arrival came shortly after the devastating Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption in 2022, the largest since the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia.

The disaster triggered a tsunami that resulted in three fatalities and left thousands homeless.

“The Kingdom has really turned around. From a Tonga police perspective, we've seen some huge changes and been through some tough times. But we've got ahead of steam now, doing some great work,” McLennan says.

Watch Shane McLennan's full interview below.

According to the Tonga Police Corporate Plan & Budget 2022/23, the Tonga Police had 502 established staff members, including 198 women recently celebrated as serving: 169 police officers and 29 administrative staff.

McLennan calls the past two years “a victory in the war on drugs”, highlighting the charging of more than 30 alleged traffickers and dealers, and its impact on the current narcotics market.

“What little methamphetamine that is around, once upon a time, was about the 300 top gram mark. We're hearing from our intelligence sources that that's now gone from 300 to 1500. That gives you an indication that we've put a major dent in the supply of drugs.”

McLennan says that while they have seen success in combatting meth, there has been a rise in marijuana use.

“That, on one hand, is not good. On the other hand, it is because it's a far less harmful drug, but still harmful enough. So that's what we're chasing now.”

There are just over 500 police officers in Tonga and 198 of them are women. Photo/Tonga Police/X

In expressing his gratitude to the people of Tonga, McLennan urges them to continue supporting their police force.

“I'd just like to thank the community for welcoming my wife and me into the Kingdom. Really keep getting behind your police. The police are here for the community, and we can't do our job without community support.

“We’re all human beings, we'll muck up, we'll make a mistake. When that happens, we'll be the first to apologise. But don't cast dispersions across the whole police force just because someone might step out of line.

“We’ve got some really good police here in Tonga, and so just get behind them and stay behind them.

Watch Shane McLennan speak about Tonga Police Reform and the Drug Task Force in 2022 below.

Turner will arrive this weekend to begin a thorough handover before officially taking over the three-year post.

McLennan, who has previously worked with Turner in United Nations policing in Timor-Leste, describes him as “a wonderful human being, a very experienced police officer, and he'll do a sterling job”.

His advice for Turner is to “take your time, have patience as you always do, no matter where you go into a new position, as he will do. Be prepared to sit and listen and get a good grip of the landscape before making any major changes”.