“It’s all I have ever known and all I have ever wanted to know.”
That’s how Detective Senior Sergeant Rob Lemoto describes his policing career as it draws to a close.
The Tauranga-based policeman and former Police Ten 7 host will retire after 28 years on the force, a statement from NZ Police said.
Applying at age 20 and heading to police college at 21, there’s very little of his adult life that hasn’t been spent as part of the police whānau, the statement said.
“I’m proud of what we do. I always have been. When I joined, I just wanted to chase bad people and drive Holdens. I didn’t know what policing really was.”
It’s been so much a part of his life that it’s etched into his skin – a tattoo he got of the three things most important to him features the police chevron, alongside his family history including his daughters and his wife.
It’s not surprising it’s the other things that feature on the tattoo – his family - that are the pull behind Lemoto leaving.
Now he’s an empty-nester, and with the serious inquiries he’s working on in hand, there’s no better time to see what the next phase looks like.
He credited the support of his wife and girls for playing a massive role in his policing career, now it was time to enjoy the next chapter of his life with them.
“If I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it. In policing you work pretty hard, but you do it for the right reasons,” Lemoto said.
“It’s been a hell of a ride and it’s pretty hard not to get emotional about it. I’m really proud of what I have achieved.”
That’s included an “awful lot of homicides” in the Bay of Plenty – especially over the past three years.
He’s timed his leaving with the trial of those accused of the murder of Eli Johnson.
He chose his final day to ensure there was time to get the trial going and continued to watch on and support the family through to see the verdict - both offenders being found guilty of murder last week.
Bay of Plenty crime manager Detective Inspector Lew Warner said it was an example of the passionate and motivated investigator he is.
“He has been at the forefront of many serious crimes across the Bay of Plenty. His drive and determination to do what is right is second-to-none, and his selfless acts are too many to mention.
“I have nothing but admiration for Rob, who is a once-in-a-generation investigator who epitomises all that is good.”
Lemoto’s career began in Counties Manukau before he moved to Tauranga where he developed his niche in the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB).
“I’ve done some crazy stuff. I’ve hidden in a pantry to catch an offender, dressed up as a courier. The improvisation when I joined CIB was just next level.”
He’s also been a member of AOS and spent time working in Bougainville.
What he probably never envisaged was becoming one of New Zealand’s most recognisable officers, fronting TV show Police Ten 7 since 2014 until it came to an end last year.
He balanced filming one day a week with policing the other days – “the production company got it down to a fine art and everyone was so supportive”.
Lemoto was approached for the role and shortlisted, but it was a Western Bay colleague who talked him into it.
“He was the one who said, ‘you love policing, you’ll get to do it from the top to the bottom of the country in this role’.
“When production stopped on the show it was very disappointing. We got results – 100 plus apprehensions one year. It just worked and the executive producers changed my life by giving me a chance to host.”
When the show ended, other offers came in, with some people unaware that presenting Ten 7 wasn’t his fulltime job.
Some cases still occupy his mind where he wishes more could be achieved. The disappearance and likely death of a child in Ōpōtiki in the 1950s is one.
What came to him as a two-page job sheet ended with multiple ring binders of information.
“It would have been good to get him back.”
He admits there are a couple of other unsolved cases he would have liked to look into, but balances that with the outstanding results.
“There were a lot of CPT cases where, on the strength of the investigation, we got admissions. That meant we didn’t have to put young victims through the court process.
“One homicide case, more recently, we managed to get the body back for the family.”
Lemoto’s intrinsic involvement with so many serious crimes across the Bay of Plenty over recent years means he’ll still be fronting courts for some time to come – only this time as a civilian.
He said he was not entirely sure what’s next but had big plans to go fishing “more than three times a year”.
“I’ve worked across Western Bay of Plenty, Eastern Bay of Plenty, Tokoroa, Taupō, Rotorua... we have such good people. I’m looking forward to reading in the paper about those people who go on to promote.
“I’ll be reading those names with a heap of pride.”
District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said while Lemoto was very well known for his work on Police Ten 7 many weren’t aware that while he was filming he was also working incredibly hard with victims of serious crime and child abuse.
“He was filming the show one day, the next he was arresting offenders for abusing the very children they should have been looking after.
“Rob is known widely by his peers as a colourful character with a great sense of humour and a positive attitude.
“He was also relentless when it came to catching the offenders he was after, and he would not rest until they were off the streets and being held accountable for their serious criminal behaviour.”