The Commissioner of Police is the head of the

New Zealand Police The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...

and is currently held by

Andrew Coster Andrew David Coster (born ) is the current New Zealand Police Commissioner and former Deputy Police Commissioner. He has served as the New Zealand Commissioner of Police since 3 April 2020. Early life Coster was born in 1975 or 1976 in Dunedin ...

. The Commissioner is appointed for a term not exceeding five years by the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

, and reports to the Minister of Police. The position combines two functions, that of chief constable in charge of policing and cases, and chief executive responsible for assets and budgeting. In military terms, the rank is equivalent to Lieutenant General.

History

The Police Force Act 1886 split the police from the earlier body known as the New Zealand Armed Constabulary, which had performed both civil policing functions as well as being the standing army and militia, on 1 September 1886. Sir George Whitmore was appointed as the first commissioner, reporting to the Minister of Defence. Early commissioners came from the United Kingdom with military or law enforcement experience, such as Walter Dinnie, who had served as Inspector at

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

. In 2006, the commissioner was the highest paid person on the public payroll in New Zealand, earning $440,000. In 2017, Mike Bush was reappointed to a second term that will run until 2020. In early March 2020, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appointed

as the new Commissioner of Police, taking effect in April 2020.

List of commissioners

Notes

References

* *{{Cite book , last=McGill, first=David, title=No Right to Strike, publication-place =Wellington, NZ, publisher=Silver Owl Press, year=1992, isbn=0-9597979-2-0 * Lists of New Zealand people New Zealand