Meet David Marshall, Dannevirke’s new crime-fighting bodybuilding police officer

For one of Dannevirke’s new police officers, staying physically and mentally fit inside and outside the job goes hand in hand.

David Marshall, an amateur bodybuilder and former rugby player, likes to maintain a healthy balance between hitting the gym and hitting the streets to keep crime at bay.

“A lot of my downtime is either at the gym or focused on what nutrition I’m eating and doing the right things to look after myself and look after my body.”

He said it helped him to keep a positive mindset, focused and disciplined so that he could work hard.

David Marshall is excited to help the Dannevirke community.

“It keeps me mentally and physically fit for work.”

Marshall is in the second week of his temporary role as response manager for Tararua and joins from the Manawatū prevention team.

“I am really enjoying it out here and getting to meet the community.”

Previously from Palmerston North, Marshall worked as a supervisor for youth services and said his team focused on youth justice, care and protection.

“Anything youth-related where we can support young people and their whānau through whatever challenges they are going through.”

He spent the first half of his career in Counties Manukau and the second in Manawatū and he said he enjoys the job for the diversity of the challenges that come each day.

“You can’t help but keep growing and developing as a person and a leader in a challenging role like this. I always wanted to be put in the position where you are forever learning.”

Marshall has been relieving in senior sergeant police roles for the past two years, which is how he found himself in Dannevirke.

“I have been doing different roles at that next level up, so this is part of my development where I can support different areas.”

Marshall hoped during his time in Tararua to strengthen police presence within the community.

Marshall hopes to strengthen police presence within Dannevirke. Photo / Leanne Warr

“I would like to see much more visibility for the community, whether it’s our staff being on the beat doing foot patrols and on our roads for a prevention focus from our teams.”

He said police presence was an “obvious deterrent” and it made people feel safe through community engagement.

Marshall said they wanted to focus the prevention mindset with rural communities around thefts and burglaries to ensure people look after their property.

Also joining the team for three months is Constable Kim Miller. Constable Matt Gilligan has been appointed to a permanent position in Dannevirke.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based in the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.