New Police Commissioner focused on ‘core policing’

Wednesday, 20 November 2024

Newly appointed Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says he will be directing officers to be “absolutely focused on core policing”.

Chambers was announced as the new commissioner by Police Minister Mark Mitchell on Wednesday afternoon, the 30-year veteran taking over from Andrew Coster who left last week to head up the Social Investment Agency.

Having returned from working at Interpol in France, Chambers told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that he was honoured to be appointed and would bring “new thinking and new ideas” to the organisation.

“The men and women of New Zealand police do a strong job, and they do a tough job. I've always admired them, and I'll always continue to do my absolute best,” he said.

Mitchell said Chambers’ operational experience would be a major asset for police as the Government progressed its law and order plan.

“He is highly respected, a top leader, with a deep understanding of frontline policing,” Mitchell said.

Chambers’ appointment comes as police are tasked with carrying out the National-coalition Government’s tough-on-crime agenda, including a ban on gang patches due to come into effect at midnight, while at the same time grappling with a tight fiscal situation.

Demonstrating a responsiveness to the political environment, Chambers on Wednesday said he had four priorities for his five-year tenure as commissioner: Focusing on core policing; supporting the frontline’s safety and well being; connected and accountable leadership; and value for money.

“Our job is to enforce the law, and we do that a number of ways. We prevent crime and traumas, we respond and we investigate, and we have a role in the resolution … That is what we do, and we must remain focused on doing the basics.”

He also sought to separate himself from his predecessor, Coster, who when appointed in 2020 by the Labour Government spoke of the importance of “policing by consent”, a 200-year policing concept that Mitchell criticised Coster for.

“I don't talk about policing by consent. I talk about trust and confidence, and it is fundamentally important that the police have the trust and confidence of the public, and we've got some work to do at the moment,” Chambers said.

“I have been a little frustrated, shall I say, when I've heard about … globally, trust and confidence in policing is dropping. We're in New Zealand. We can be different.”

Mitchell said he supported that as “the best way to police by consent is by maintaining the trust and confidence for the people that you serve”.

Chambers said potential areas to improve frontline safety included whether officers had the right tactical equipment, and further considering body cameras. While he did not want to see police officers routinely armed, he would listen to his frontline staff.

“Having been offshore now for this year … I certainly have some ideas, but one of the things that I will ensure as commissioner of police is that I don’t bring my own ideas to the table, because I’m a leader who will listen to the frontline, and I will rely on what they feel that they need,” he said.

Chambers joined the police force in 1996 and started his career as a constable in Auckland City. He is also a qualified detective and has held a range of leadership roles across the country including sergeant, senior sergeant, inspector and superintendent.

In a policing career spanning nearly 30 years, Chambers has also been a District Commander in Auckland, Wellington, Tasman and Southern Police Districts.

Most recently, Chambers was seconded to Interpol as Director of Organised and Emerging Crime based in Lyon, France.

The Post understands Chambers could be in the role of police commissioner as early as Friday.

‘A morale boost’

For one North Island detective, who The Post agreed not to name to protect his employment, Chambers marked an “excellent choice”.

“I believe he has the backing of the troops, especially those that know him. He’s a very approachable chap. I think they’ve chosen well.”

Chambers, who was known to many officers by the nickname ‘Felix’, would herald a “good refreshing change”, another officer told The Post.

“We need someone tough on crime and the belief is that Felix will bring that. He’s streetwise and when he was district commander for Auckland, he was very well liked and approachable.

“He’s very down to earth. Felix needs to lead us in a time like this.”

The Post understands the nickname ‘Felix’ comes from Chambers’ running over a cat very early on in his career ‒ and a white stripe in his hair before he went grey.

Meanwhile, a frontline officer from Auckland said news of Chambers’ appointment was a “morale booster” for those on the ground.

“It’s fantastic news, a commissioner that is well connected with his staff and still knows what it’s like on the frontline,” the officer told The Post.

‘It’s straight into the hot seat’

Police Association President Chris Cahill described Chambers as a “very personable person who has an affinity with staff” who was “certainly qualified for the job”.

Cahill warned, however, that “it’s one thing to want the job, it’s another to put in the hard yards to make it work”.

“He’s going to need to set his priorities and get a team around him who will enact those.

“The Government certainly knows what their priorities are, so Chambers will need to make it clear how that will work with the resources police have and what is going to need to take a backseat. He’s got a lot of masters to please,” Cahill said.

Chambers’ appointment comes at an “interesting time”, he said, with new gang legislation set to come into effect on Thursday: “it’s straight into the hot seat”.

Cahill expects to meet with Chambers “very early on” to establish the parameters of their working relationship.

The end of ‘wokester’ policing?

Rumours about who was set to replace Coster began to swirl in the weeks after his resignation, with Jevon McSkimming understood to have been Chambers’ lead competitor.

Coster became police commissioner in 2020 and in July confirmed he would not be renewing his five-year contract, due to end in early 2025. His resignation, however, came as a surprise.

Like Chambers, Coster had an extensive career in police, including in senior leadership and as a commander of an armed offenders squad. He spent two years as a deputy chief executive at the Ministry of Justice, and was briefly a solicitor at law firm Meredith Connell.

But his appointment to commissioner under the Ardern government, and his comments about the policing philosophy of “policing by consent”, also made him something of a political punching bag.

In 2021, then-National justice spokesperson Simon Bridges called him a “wokester”.

After the National-coalition Government was elected in 2023, Police Minister Mark Mitchell said he had disagreed with the direction policing had taken under Labour and wrote Coster a letter setting out his “expectations”.

During the interview process for Coster’s replacement, Tania Kura was appointed as interim Police Commissioner but The Post understands she did not apply for the permanent role.