A former Te Puke Senior Sergeant has been named as the Eastern Bay of Plenty's new district commander.
Inspector Kevin Taylor takes up the mantle from today, succeeding Sandra Venables who took up the role of District Commander Eastern District in the Hawkes Bay earlier this year with a promotion to superintendent.
Mr Taylor, who is married with four children, has served the New Zealand community as a police officer for 31 years.
Aside from Lower Hutt and Hamilton, the majority of his policing career has been in the Bay of Plenty.
Mr Taylor was a sergeant in Tokoroa and later the officer in charge of Putaruru for six years.