George Ronald Richards
Introduction


**George Ronald Richards**  (27 November 1905 – 25 September 1985\) was a British\-born Australian police officer and intelligence operative. In 1953 he was closely involved in Operation Cabin 12, arranging the defection of [Vladimir Petrov](/wiki/Vladimir_Mikhaylovich_Petrov_%28diplomat%29 "Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov (diplomat)") from the [Soviet Union](/wiki/Soviet_Union "Soviet Union") to [Australia](/wiki/Australia "Australia"). In 1954, he was appointed Deputy [Director\-General](/wiki/Director-General_of_Security "Director-General of Security") of the [Australian Security Intelligence Organisation](/wiki/Australian_Security_Intelligence_Organisation "Australian Security Intelligence Organisation") (ASIO), roughly equivalent to the [FBI](/wiki/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation "Federal Bureau of Investigation") and [MI5](/wiki/MI5 "MI5"). He received the [Order of the British Empire](/wiki/Order_of_the_British_Empire "Order of the British Empire") in 1957\.


In what ways was the ASIO equivalent to other international security agencies?