Assistant Police Commissioner confirms retirement after 40 years

Monday, 15 September 2025

Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Basham has reportedly retired after 40 years.

Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Basham is retiring after 40 years of service.

In a statement on Monday evening, Basham confirmed that he had announced his retirement.

“I have had the privilege of working with many amazing people across several diverse roles, and I have had a wonderful, rewarding career with police.”

Paul Basham was one of the longest-serving commanders of the southern police district, which is the largest geographical police district in the country and is headquartered in Dunedin.

Basham said he remained passionate about the difference “police make for people and communities in Aotearoa New Zealand”.

Basham was previously one of the longest-serving commanders of the southern police district, which is the largest geographical police district in the country and is headquartered in Dunedin.

He took on the new role of assistant police commissioner in February 2024.

In his time in the police force, Basham had overseen a raft of major events and incidents, many of them laden with tragedy.

The list of such cases was “regrettably long”, he told Stuff last year, but came to mind in part for the “way our police family pulled together to support one another and our communities”.

They included “the impact of former constable Ben McLean’s murder of his wife in Invercargill just after I arrived in the district; attending a multiple fatal vehicle crash in Southland with Senior Sergeant Greg Ballantyne, Constable Julie Russell and other staff; and of course the recent death of Inspector James Ure”.