A top police detective recognised in the New Year Honours says his award is a tribute to a great police team.
Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Turner, head of the Western Bay of Plenty CIB, has received the Queen's Service Medal for services to the New Zealand Police and the community.
"It's good reflection on the great team we have here in the Western Bay," he said.
Mr Turner has led many high-profile investigations, and said the stressful work did have its rewards.
"There's a sense of pride and professional satisfaction when you're able to go to the victim's family and knock on the door and let them know that you've apprehended someone, and then also when the conviction comes through," he said.
"You do maintain contact with a lot of those victims' families over the years, too. Time never heals for them and we never forget those victims either."
He led the investigation into the death of Scottish backpacker Karen Aim in 2008, who was killed with a baseball bat in Taupo by 14-year-old Jahche Broughton.
It was a challenging inquiry because of the many holidaymakers in Taupo at the time, and the demands of media from Aim's home in the Orkney Islands.
"We were lucky enough to secure a guilty plea from the 14-year-old after several months' hard work from a great team from across the North Island," Mr Turner said.
He has also been deployed overseas, spending two-and-a-half years in Papua New Guinea from 1996 to help with the Constabulary Development Project, a month-long assignment in Jamaica in 2002 investigating electoral malpractice, and eight months in Fiji supporting the High Commissioner.
He's now working with the Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme in Tonga, spending up to eight weeks a year in the Pacific nation, supporting services around domestic violence issues.
Mr Turner is also active in his community. As trustee for the annual Tauranga Police CIB Charity Luncheon for the past 10 years, he's helped raise about $1.9 million.
He's also a member of the Decision Reach Out (Toromai) Trust, which raises money to send Year 10 and 11 students with leadership potential to the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre.
"That's really rewarding, seeing how these kids grow in confidence and leadership," he said.
The 56-year-old said although his father passed away in February, the honour would be particularly special for his mother.
"Mum's been a huge influence on my life, and she'll be over the moon."
APNZ