Commissioner of the North Borneo Police Force
Military commander and police chief of North Borneo (1881–1963)
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The Commissioner of the North Borneo Police Force was the Police Commissioner of the North Borneo Police Force, serving a dual function as commanding officer of the only military and police force in the country. Before 1950, this position was served by the Commandant of the North Borneo Armed Constabulary, and before 1926, it was known as the Commandant of the British North Borneo Constabulary.
When North Borneo was its own country, managed entirely by the North Borneo Chartered Company, the Commandants of the Constabulary were appointed by and served at the pleasure of the Governor of North Borneo, who served as the Commander-in-chief of the country, and the Company's court of directors in London.
After the Second World War, North Borneo became the Crown Colony of North Borneo. The Constabulary was re-established in 1946, and then re-badged in 1950 as the North Borneo Police Force. The Commissioners of the North Borneo Police Force here served at the pleasure of the Governor and The Crown, laterally reporting to the chiefs of the Colonial Office and the Colonial Police Service.
Commandants of the British North Borneo Constabulary
| Commandant of the British North Borneo Constabulary | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
 | |
| British North Borneo Constabulary | |
| Reports to | Governor of North Borneo |
| Seat |
|
| Appointer | |
| Formation | 1881 |
| First holder | Arthur Montgomery Harington |
.svg){kind=small} British North Borneo .svg){kind=small} | |||||
| No. | Portrait | Begin | End | Name | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
1881 | 1883 | Arthur Montgomery Harington | [1][2] |
| – |  |
1883 | 1883 | William James Foley | [3] |
| – |  |
1883 | 7 June 1883 | Edward Peregrine Gueritz | [4] |
| 2 |  |
7 June 1883 | 17 May 1885 † | Alexander Mortier de Fontaine | [1][5][6] |
| – |  |
17 May 1885 | June 1885 | William Raffles Flint | [7] |
| 3 |  |
? | 14 June 1886 # | John Smith | [8][9] |
| – | |
March 1887 | March 1887 | William Raffles Flint | [7] |
| 4 | |
August 1886 | August 1889 | Robert Dudley Beeston | [10][11] |
| 5 |  |
August 1889 | November 1896 | Edward Algernon Barnett[12] | [11][13] |
| – | |
November 1896 | February 1897 | William Raffles Flint | [14] |
| 6 |  |
8 February 1897 | 1899 | John Murray Reddie | [15][16][17] |
| 7 |  |
April 1899 | 31 May 1926 | Charles H. Harington | [18][19] |
Commandants of the North Borneo Armed Constabulary
| Commandant of the North Borneo Armed Constabulary | |
|---|---|
| |
| North Borneo Armed Constabulary | |
| Reports to | Governor of North Borneo |
| Seat |
|
| Appointer | |
| Formation | 1926 |
| First holder | Henry Stanley Bond |
| Abolished | 1950 |
| No. | Portrait | Begin | End | Name | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 |  |
1 June 1926 | 15 April 1931 | Henry Stanley Bond | [19][20] |
| 9 |  |
16 April 1931 | 16 May 1942 (POW) | Wilfrid Carne Cole-Adams | [21][22][23][24] |
World War II
**Wilfrid Carne Adams was the brother of Bernard Randall Cole-Adams, who was killed in the camps.**
During the Second World War, the Constabulary was split in function. While technically under the command of the Imperial Japanese Kempeitai, the Japanese secret police force – the continuity of government was maintained because all of the government administrators of the colony were interred in the same prisoner of war camps in Borneo in the initial phases of the war. Governor Charles Robert Smith was able to secretly maintain complete command and control over the Constabulary until the plot was discovered, and Lionel Matthews was executed by the Japanese.
.svg){kind=small} Japanese North Borneo .svg){kind=small}
From 1 April 1942 to 10 June 1945. | |||||
| No. | Portrat | Begin | End | Name | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – |  |
1 April 1942 | 10 June 1945 | Tatsuji Suga | |
| – |  |
1 April 1942 | 10 June 1945 | Kempeitai | |
.svg){kind=small} British Armed Forces .svg){kind=small} | |||||
| No. | Portrait | Begin | End | Name | Ref. |
| ? |  |
September 1942 | January 1943 | Alan Rice-Oxley | [25][26] |
| ? |  |
January 1943 | 2 March 1944  |
Lionel Matthews | [25][27] |
Postwar Reconstruction Era
After the war, the British Military Administration (Borneo) organized the re-structuring of the former countries and colonies of British Borneo. They established police headquarters at the Humphrey Street Police Station in Jesselton.
 British Military Administration of Borneo (1945–1946) | |||||
| No. | Portrait | Begin | End | Name | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? |  |
? | ? | ? | |
Postwar North Borneo
.svg){kind=small} Crown Colony of North Borneo (1946–1950) | |||||
| No. | Portrait | Begin | End | Name | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | |
? | ? | Alan Rice-Oxley | |
| ? |  |
1947 | 1950 | John Bartholomew Atkinson | [28][29][30] |
Commissioners of the North Borneo Police Force
| Commissioner of the North Borneo Police Force | |
|---|---|
| |
| North Borneo Police Force | |
| Member of | Colonial Police Service |
| Reports to | Governor of North Borneo |
| Seat |
|
| Appointer | |
| Formation | 1950 |
| First holder | ? |
| Abolished | 1963 |
| Crown Colony of North Borneo | |||||
| No. | Image | Begin | End | Name | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
1950 | 1960 | John Bartholomew Atkinson | [28][29][30] |
| 2 |  |
1960 | 1963 | Donald Matheson | [31] |
.svg){kind=small} Sabah State 
Royal Malaysia Police Force | |||||
| 1 | |
1963 | 1964 | Donald Matheson | [31] |
| – |  |
? | March 20, 1964 | E. O. "Chip" Plunkett | [32] |
| 2 |  |
? | 1965 | Roy Henry | |