Dr Chris Devery is Principal Research Officer for the NSW Police Force. His involvement with policing and police professionalisation dates from his work at the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research on disadvantage and crime, domestic violence, motor vehicle theft and crime mapping. In investigating these topics, he became interested in the role of police in the criminal justice system and the academic debates over the nature and role of police.

He began working NSW Police Internal Affairs just before the commencement of the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service. During this time, he was exposed to the best and worst of policing, and came to the view that professionalisation was of fundamental importance in the success of contemporary policing in Australia.

Since 1997, Chris has been involved in police education at the NSW Police College, and is currently working in Leadership Development. His research interests include crime rates and trends, police promotions, criminal profiling, police professionalisation and police culture.