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.
As a Senior Sergeant he was the officer in charge of Te Puke, and then a request to relieve in the human resources manager at district headquarters in Rotorua for a few weeks turned into 10 years.
During this time Mr Taylor filled in as area commander for Eastern and Western Bay of Plenty as well as district commander and road policing manager.
Mr Taylor said he looked forward to a change and new challenge.
"I will be joining a team of people who are passionate about policing and keeping their local community safe, and I will be embracing the chance to build on that good work," he said.
"The area is not without its issues. It has seen a rise in crime over the last few years and even though that has been tailing off there is still work to be done. There is also a big road trauma problem and there is a challenge to address a number of issues; particularly around high risk drivers, alcohol, speed and restraints which are contributing to too many deaths and serious injuries on our Eastern Bay of Plenty roads. So road policing is a centre in my mind and it's not just about enforcement; it is about changing culture and getting the community to come on board to reduce road trauma.
"Strong partnerships with local agencies and the community will be at the heart of my role as they are essential if we are to reduce the effects of crime and road trauma."