Police Commissioner Andrew Coster confirms he’s leaving police at end of contract
Friday, 26 July 2024
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster will be leaving police at the end of his contract.
Coster took over the $700,000+ a year role in April 2020.
A police spokesperson confirmed on Friday that his term expired on April 2 2025 “and he expects to finish on that date”.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster will be leaving police at the end of his tenure as commissioner, police have confirmed.
Coster took over the $700,000+ a year role in April 2020.
A police spokesperson confirmed to Stuff on Friday that his term expired on April 2 2025 “and he expects to finish on that date”. Coster declined to comment further.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell told Stuff he’d had a conversation with Coster.
“But out of respect for him, I won’t be sharing details of that conversation.”
Police Association president Chris Cahill said in a statement to Stuff he wanted to acknowledge Coster’s “long and valued career”.
“[He] has performed a variety of valuable roles across the country and he should be very proud of his contribution to policing in New Zealand.”
Coster’s appointment could not have come at a more challenging time with the outbreak of Covid-19, Cahill said.
“This not only presented unique challenges but limited the program of work he likely intended to introduce. The tight fiscal environment has continued to present difficulties in making changes to the policing environment.
“The disconnect between frontline staff and senior executive is often a hard one to bridge and the environment he has faced has not assisted with this. However, frontline staff would acknowledge that the Tactical Response model championed by Coster has been a significant improvement in the quality of training and the safe deployment of officers.”
Looking to the future, Cahill said he was sure it would be a “very competitive process” to appoint a new Commissioner.
“From the Association’s perspective given the clear focus communicated by the government an applicant will have to have a strong operational background.”
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern selected Coster in early March 2020, praising his “positivity, inclusion and integrity”.
“I’ve observed his passion for a police force that knows its strength lies in what it can achieve with the community it serves,” Ardern said, announcing his appointment for a five-year term. At 44, he was the youngest commissioner in the service’s history.
According to police’s website Coster has led “ significant policing developments and initiatives”, including a review of frontline safety and the introduction of a new tactical response model.
“Throughout this time he has also led police’s Covid-19 response and he is overseeing a major expansion of Te Pae Oranga (community panels) that seeks to keep low-level offenders out of the criminal justice system.”
Coster’s police career has spanned more than 24 years. Prior to being appointed commissioner he was the deputy commissioner of strategy and partnerships. He’s held a variety of other roles including Auckland City Central area commander and Southern District district commander.
He has a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Auckland and was previously a crown prosecutor.
Attention will soon turn to who will replace Coster. The appointment is a statutory one that will be up to the Government.
After being appointed as Police Minister, Mitchell set out a series of “expectations” for the job of Police Commissioner.
The letter instructed police to focus on “serious youth offending” and alerted Coster to incoming law changes the Government planned to progress. Those changes included amending the Firearms Act, banning gang patches and restricting the rights of gang members to communicate with each other.
Mitchell’s letter also focused on gang convoys, telling Coster: “I expect police will use the powers provided to them in legislation to ensure gangs will not take over towns.”
The relationship between Coster and Mitchell had been tense in the past. Before and during the election campaign, Mitchell laid blame on Coster for concerns about a spike in youth crime and public disruption caused by gangs.
“We think that his failure to focus on public safety has made our country a lot less safe,” Mitchell said, a few weeks before polling day.
The rhetoric coming from both Mitchell and National leader Christopher Luxon indicated Coster’s job could be at risk in the event National won the election.
Given National did win, questions about Coster’s future continued to swirl.
In December, Mitchell indicated it could work out, saying they had a “very good working relationship”.