At the time of the hearing Andrew Coster was the Commissioner of Police. With a career of over 25 years' experience including serving in frontline and investigative roles, Andrew Coster became Commissioner of Police in April 2020. Commissioner Coster worked in a variety of Police leadership roles that have taken him around New Zealand, including Area Commander in Auckland City Central and District Commander for the Southern Police District.  Commissioner Coster led significant policing developments and initiatives, including research into how Police can ensure it is delivering policing that is fair and equitable for all our communities and he was overseeing a major expansion of Te Pae Oranga (community panels) that seeks to keep low-level offenders out of the criminal justice system.  In 2020 Commissioner Coster introduced three new priorities to the New Zealand Police: Be first, then do (strengthening how and who we are as an organisation); Deliver the services New Zealanders expect and deserve; and focused prevention through partnerships.  Commissioner Coster spoke to those initiatives at the hearing.

Tania Kura

At the time of the hearing Tania Kura was the Deputy Commissioner – Leadership & Capability. Recruited in Invercargill where she was born and raised with a whakapapa linking her to Tainui, Tania Kura (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Te Kanawa) joined the Police in 1987. She worked in in a variety of uniform, investigative and leadership areas including youth, intelligence, O/C station and operational field training.  She was the first female police officer to be appointed to the position of Deputy Commissioner when appointed in 2020.  As Deputy Commissioner – Leadership and Capability, Tania Kura’s areas of responsibilities included Training (Royal New Zealand Police College), Employment Relations, Leadership and Development, Integrity and Conduct, Safer People, and Frontline Capability (including Emergency Communications Centres). Deputy Commissioner Kura spoke to Police culture and training at the hearing.