In March 1881, the Victorian Government approved a Royal Commission into the conduct of the Victoria Police during the Kelly Outbreak. Over the next six months, the commission, chaired by Francis Longmore, held 66 meetings, examined 62 witnesses, and visited towns throughout "Kelly Country". While its report found that the police had acted properly in relation to the criminality of the Kellys, it exposed widespread corruption and shattered a number of police careers in addition to that of Chief Commissioner Frederick Standish. Numerous other officers, including senior staff, were reprimanded, demoted or suspended. It concluded with a list of 36 recommendations for reform. Kelly hoped that his death would lead to an investigation into police conduct, and although the report did not exonerate him or his gang, its findings were said to strip the authorities "of what scanty rags of reputation the Kellys had left them."