As the first woman to lead the New South Wales Police Force, Karen Webb has been described as a "true trailblazer" and a "force for change and reform".
But her leadership was not without controversy and her resignation was something her enemies within the force and critics in the media had been calling for almost since she won the top job.
She took over as commissioner from Mick Fuller in February 2022 after fierce competition for the role — with candidates including Mick Willing and Mal Lanyon.
Commissioner Webb, 55, had risen through the ranks since joining NSW Police in 1987.
She became the first woman to lead the Traffic and Highway Patrol before being promoted to assistant commissioner in 2017 and deputy commissioner in 2021.
Upon becoming commissioner she pledged to focus on children as well as victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Under her leadership police established the domestic and family violence register and an anonymous sexual assault reporting system.
She also helped secure an historic pay rise for NSW police officers — 19 per cent over four years.
Commissioner Webb recently announced an independent review into police culture after an ABC investigation revealed countless incidents of bullying, harassment and sexism.
Controversies and criticism
Paying tribute in parliament as she announced the commissioner's impending retirement, Police Minister Yasmin Catley said: "When others would be happy to stick with the status quo, Karen Webb has strived for more".
"She is a true trailblazer."
But Commissioner Webb had only been in the job for just over a year when she became mired in controversy over her handling of the tasering death of 95-year-old Clare Nowland by police officer Kristian White at a Cooma nursing home.
She was accused of a lack of transparency around the initial police response after the first statement omitted any mention of the taser being used.
After initially failing to front the media for three days after the incident, Commissioner Webb then tried to defend the decision not to provide that detail, saying police had to wait until Ms Nowland's family was notified.
When it later emerged her immediate family had already been told, Commissioner Webb famously told reporters that "hindsight is a wonderful thing".
She was also at the centre of a storm over her handling of the murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies by off-duty police officer Beau Lamarre Condon.
Commissioner Webb initially delayed speaking publicly about the case and then described it as a "crime of passion".
When later pressed on that decision, she responded with a reference to the lyrics of pop song Shake It Off, by saying: "There will always be haters. Haters gonna hate — isn't that what Taylor Swift says?"
It sparked an angry backlash in the LGBTQIA+ community and a fierce debate over whether police should march in the Mardi Gras parade that year.
In the end Commissioner Webb led police in the march, but not in uniform.
She came under pressure again last year after independent upper house MP Rod Roberts claimed she had used taxpayer money to buy more than 100 gift bottles of gin.
Under pressure to resign
In recent months, segments of the media including commentator Ray Hadley, had been calling for her resignation.
As recently as January, Commissioner Webb denied reports she was considering an early retirement.
During her time in the job, Commissioner Webb oversaw the response to the Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing, the Wakeley riots and the Dural caravan discovery which was initially thought to be a terrorist plot targeting a Jewish synagogue.
She recently told a parliamentary inquiry that she suspected the motivations behind the plot "early on", but rejected assertions she should have advised Premier Chris Minns not to rush new hate speech laws through parliament when she believed the plot to be a hoax.
