Andrew Coster
Coster in 2020
33rd Commissioner of Police
Assumed office
3 April 2020
Preceded byMike Bush
Personal details
Born1975 or 1976 (age 47–48)[1]
Dunedin, New Zealand

Andrew David Coster (born 1975 or 1976) is the current Commissioner of the New Zealand Police. Having previously served as Acting Deputy Commissioner, he has served as the New Zealand Commissioner of Police since 3 April 2020.[2]

Early life

Coster was born in 1975 or 1976 in Dunedin, and grew up in Auckland.[3] His father is Professor Gregor Coster, the former Dean of the Wellington Faculty of Health.[1][4]

Coster holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Auckland and a Master of Public Management from Victoria University of Wellington.[5]

Career

Coster joined the New Zealand Police in 1997 and has worked in both frontline and investigative roles. As his career progressed he was appointed to a number of senior roles, including Auckland City Area Commander, South District Commander. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner, Coster was the acting Deputy Commissioner: Strategy & Partnerships. While in this role he oversaw the development of firearms reforms introduced by the Government following the March 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings.[3]

In 2004 Coster graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the University of Auckland,[6] and worked as a Crown prosecutor for Meredith Connell for less than a year.[3]

Coster has also spent time at the Ministry of Justice, having been seconded on a two-year term from 2016 to 2018 as the Deputy Chief Executive for the Ministry.[7]

Police Commissioner

Coster was appointed as the Commissioner of the New Zealand Police on 9 March 2020.[8] Another candidate as Commissioner was Mike Clement, the then-Deputy Commissioner. He started his term on 3 April 2020 at age 44, becoming the youngest person to assume the role.[9]

In mid-February 2021, Coster's efforts to combat gang and gun violence was criticised by the National Party's Justice spokesperson Simon Bridges, who described Coster as a "wokester commissioner" in a Twitter post.[10] On 25 February, Coster defended the Police's "policing by consent" policies in response to criticism by Bridges during a Justice select committee hearing at the New Zealand Parliament.[11]

During the 2022 Wellington protest, Coster unsuccessfully attempted to convince anti-vaccine mandate protesters to voluntarily remove their illegally parked vehicles from the area around the New Zealand Parliament in mid February 2022.[12] After protesters refused to vacate the Parliament grounds, he ruled out pursuing enforcement action against protesters due to concerns about violence. Coster instead announced that Police would pursue a policy of "negotiation and de-escalation."[13] Coster's decision to rule out "enforcement action" was criticised by the National Party's police spokesman Mark Mitchell, who claimed that Coster had lost credibility as Police Commissioner.[14] On 2 March, Police evicted the remaining anti-mandate protesters following a violent riot.[15][16]

Following the formation of a National-led coalition government after the 2023 New Zealand general election, Police Minister Mitchell met with Coster in early December 2023 to set out expectations on police and combating gangs. Coster agreed to the Minister's expectations.[17]

Ranks and postings

  • 1996–1997: Police Recruit, Constable
  • 1997–2003: Various different frontline and investigative roles within Counties Manukau and Auckland Metro area
  • 2005–2006: Response Manager/Section Supervisor, Counties Manukau West
  • 2006–2008: District Deployment Manager, Counties Manukau
  • 2009–2013: Area Commander, Auckland City Central
  • 2011–2013: Armed Offenders Squad Commander, Auckland
  • 2013–2015: District Commander, Southern Police District
  • 2015–2016: Assistant Commissioner, Strategy and Transformation
  • 2018: Deputy Commissioner, Resource Management (acting)
  • 2018–2020: Deputy Commissioner, Strategy and Partnerships (acting)
  • 2020–present: Commissioner of Police[18]


References

  1. 1 2 Manson, Bess (31 May 2020). "National Portrait: Andrew Coster – Top Cop". Stuff. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  2. ↑ "New Commissioner of Police appointed". New Zealand Government. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Andrew Coster named as New Zealand's new police commissioner". Radio New Zealand. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "Retirement of Professor Gregor Coster" (Press release). Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  5. ↑ "Commissioner, Executive and District Commanders". New Zealand Police. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "Graduation Search Results". University of Auckland. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  7. ↑ "2-year secondment to Justice Ministry". Otago Daily Times. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  8. ↑ Manch, Thomas (9 March 2020). "High-ranking police officer Andy Coster appointed commissioner of police". Stuff. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  9. ↑ Vance, Andrea (20 February 2022). "NZ's top cop: Who is Andrew Coster, the man struggling to deal with the Parliament protests?". Stuff. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  10. ↑ "Police crackdown on guns held by organised crime groups and gangs". Radio New Zealand. 19 February 2021. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  11. ↑ McCullough, Yvette (25 February 2021). "Gang crackdown: Simon Bridges, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster face off at select committee". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  12. ↑ "Protest groups issue statement after top cop's warning – cars to be towed shortly". Newstalk ZB. 15 February 2022. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  13. ↑ "Enforcement action against Parliament protesters could lead to violence – Coster". Radio New Zealand. 20 February 2022. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  14. ↑ Neilson, Michael; Weekes, John (19 February 2022). "Covid 19 Omicron convoy Parliament protest: Calls for mayor to 'step up' as police backtrack on towing, focus on 'de-escalation'". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "LIVE: Wellington protest appears to be at 'final standoff' on CBD street". New Zealand Herald. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  16. ↑ "Protesters set multiple fires on parliament grounds". The Spinoff. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  17. ↑ "Minister sets expectations of Commissioner". Beehive.govt.nz. New Zealand Government. 6 December 2023. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  18. ↑ "New Commissioner of Police appointed". The Beehive.
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