Although Henry Inman was not in name a Commissioner of Police, he was nevertheless the 1838 first Officer in Charge of the South Australia Police Force. He was appointed as an Inspector  by Governor Hindmarsh; promoted to Superintendent by Governor Gawler; and was the 1840 driving force behind the original Police establishment and its early growth. Very little is documented about him, but it is believed that after he left the Force he returned to England and became a Church of England pastor in the town of Derby.