The key focus for Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti’s new police boss

Superintendent Joel Lamb, the new Eastern District Commander, speaking during a pōwhiri at Napier's Pukemokimoki Marae. Photo / Helen Shea

Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti have welcomed a new police boss for the district, who says increasing recruitment is among his top objectives.

Superintendent Joel Lamb started last week as the new Eastern District Commander.

He replaces Jeanette Park who held the position for five years.

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Lamb and Park were both on hand during a pōwhiri at Napier’s Pukemokimoki Marae on Thursday, to welcome Lamb into the job.

Lamb is a third-generation police officer whose grandfather and uncle both served in the force. He was born in Nelson and grew up in Bay of Plenty.

Assistant Commissioner Jeanette Park, Superintendent Joel Lamb, and Commissioner Richard Chambers at the powhiri in Napier. Photo / Helen Shea

He has worked across New Zealand during his 27 years with the police, and even had a five-year stint in Indonesia.

Most recently, he and his wife lived in Wellington for a year, where he held the role of director of major operations.

He said his heart was in provincial policing, and he was honoured to take up his first district commander role.

“It’s really great to be back in provincial policing.

“I really like the aspect of how close the community and police work together.”

Increasing recruitment is among his top objectives for the district.

“I think one of the key things we need to do is recruiting.

“We are a great place to work, but it is a challenge to recruit good people, and we want the very best.

“That’s one of my key focuses is making sure we recruit the right people.”

He said there were vacancies and “we are down on numbers” at present. He did not have the exact figure of vacancies.

However, he explained recruitment was a long game, given the process to become a police officer included six months of police college followed by a 2-year probationary period.

He said across Eastern District, which covers Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti, there were about 650 police staff.

That includes more than 500 sworn police officers.

“The team here are doing really good work, and I want to make sure that work continues, and I can bring another perspective.”

He acknowledged a spike in homicides in the district in recent months, and said prioritising staff was important.

“Detectives fill a really important role but also, likewise, our ability to stop stuff happening before [it happens] fills an important role.

“So, there is always that blend of where do we put our weighting?

“We have our numbers, and we can surge and change, but what we need to do is make sure we get that balance right.

“That balance sometimes needs to shift [at a given time].”

Lamb’s office is at Hastings Police Station, but he plans to base himself across the district.

He will head north to Tairāwhiti within the next couple of weeks, including a visit to storm-stricken Te Araroa.

“I want to get up there and make sure I meet the people first hand, so I can understand what they have faced and look at where we can help.”

Lamb said other priorities in the role included engaging well with iwi.

Growing up, Lamb used to travel to Mahia to surf, and said he loved the East Coast.