Acting Assistant Commissioner Janelle Tonkin began her policing career in 2001 with the South Australian Police and worked in a number of areas including general duties, robbery squad, drug and organised crime and criminal investigations before she commenced specialising in sexual crime and child abuse investigations.
In January 2008, Janelle transferred to the Northern Territory Police Force where she was promoted to the rank of Detective Sergeant and spent seven years working in the remote town of Alice Springs specialising in the areas of domestic, family & sexual violence, homicide and child abuse. She was instrumental in the development of the Family Safety Framework, a whole of Government initiative, led by the Northern Territory Police as a response to the alcohol fuelled domestic violence crisis that was gripping the town.
In 2013, Janelle was promoted to the rank of Senior Sergeant and transferred to Darwin. There she managed the Sex Crime Investigation Unit and later the Territory Major Crash Investigation Unit as well as the Traffic and Road Policing Division.
Following promotion to the rank of Superintendent in 2017, she took on the role of Internal Investigations within the Professional Standards Command. In March 2020, Janelle was promoted to the rank of Commander and moved to the regional town of Katherine where she undertook the role of District Commander for the Northern Region overseeing the policing operations across 32 police stations.
In June 2022, Janelle’s returned to Darwin and took up the position of Commander Professional Standards Command, however she is currently undertaking the role of Acting Assistant Commissioner in the newly established Territory Community Safety Coordination Centre. In this role she is leading coordinated efforts across the NTG to address community safety and anti-social behaviour through strong leadership, policy development, a partnership approach to engagement and across government operational coordination.
In 2014, Janelle was awarded the Excellence in Policing for Women’s Initiatives award at the Australasian Excellence in Policing Awards. She has attended the Australian Institute of Police Management as a participant and Visiting Fellow. In 2020 she completed the International Executive Development in Policing Program in Canada and Hong Kong, where she was awarded an overall Executive Leadership Award. She is the holder of a Master’s Degree in International Executive Police Leadership, obtained through Charles Sturt University and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Janelle also devotes her time to mentoring up and coming female leaders across government.
