Northland's top cop is moving on after nearly five years as District Commander.
Superintendent Viv Rickard will take up the role of Commander for the police district that combines North Shore, Waitakere and Rodney.
"I'm excited about the challenges of moving. However, I'm sad to leave Northland. It has been my home
for a long time now," said Mr Rickard, who reckons his family's big move may happen next month.
Mr Rickard said he was proud of Northland police achievements, and crime-busting partnerships with government and community groups.
While he won't miss land disputes at spots like Waitangi and Ngawha, he will find it hard to farewell Northland's beaches and people.
"I make no secret of it - I think Northland is the best place I've lived in and policed in.
"Northland is the best place in the country. It's a good place to be a boss."
He is calling it a "sideways" shift, heading to an area with a population of nearly 500,000 and a police staff of 800, versus Northland's 150,000 people and 345 police.
Mr Rickard said his wife was a "Northland girl", and except when the boys in Cambridge-blue play his home team Bay of Plenty, he's been a loyal local rugby supporter - "I've suffered like everyone else in Northland".
A national police spokeswoman said a replacement for Mr Rickard had not yet been made, and an acting commander should be appointed "soon".
Before becoming top cop, Mr Rickard was Northland's Crime Services Manager, and over the past two decades he has worked in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty in criminal investigation and general policing.
In 2001, days into his role as District Commander, one of Mr Rickard's first jobs was looking at allegations Whangarei police had been using excessive force.
He is of Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Wahare and Ngati Rongomai descent on his mother's side and Ngati Porou on his father's side.
