Police Minister Mark Mitchell has confirmed Richard Chambers will be the new Police Commissioner, citing his experience and calling Chambers a “top leader”.
Mitchell made the announcement at a press conference in Wellington, with Chambers in attendance.
Chambers said it was an “absolute honour” to lead the police. He had spent the year in France working with Interpol and he felt that would give the police “new thinking” which would help enhance public safety.
“It is good to be home.”
Chambers’ term was for five years, starting from November 25.
Chambers said he wanted to do a “shout-out to the front line”. He said he would do his best to ensure frontline officers were supported by him and his leadership team.
One of his priorities was an “absolute focus” on core policing, Chambers said.
He said it was important to focus on “doing the basics well”, something the current Government had put a significant importance on.
Another of his priorities was supporting the frontline and ensuring their wellbeing was maintained.
The next priority was leadership.
Chambers expected leaders throughout the country to be visible, connected to the front line and “accountable for results”.
His last priority was fiscal management.
Chambers acknowledged the police were going through “tough times” but he was convinced of his goal to provide good value for money.
On the safety of officers, Chambers said safety was a priority and cited his overseas experience, noting that he had some ideas about how to improve that. He mentioned body cameras and other tactical equipment that could potentially improve that.
Chambers didn’t believe police needed to be routinely armed. However, he noted policing everywhere was becoming more volatile and wouldn’t shut down listening to the front line about what they might need. Chambers said it was a significant debate the country would have if it came to it.
He wouldn’t elaborate on his position on body cameras for police, saying he wanted to be briefed by the police on the matter first. Chambers had returned from France in recent days and hadn’t set foot in a police station yet.
On the impending gang laws coming into force tomorrow, Chambers said the police’s job was to enforce the law.
“My staff are ready to go from midnight tonight.”
“I don’t talk about policing by consent, I talk about trust and confidence,” Chambers said. Policing by consent was an approach favoured by the former police commissioner.
Chambers conceded he was a “little frustrated” about how global trust in police was falling.
“In New Zealand, we can be different.”
“They’ve got some choices to make,” Chambers said of gang members.
Chambers said he was “focused on going forward” when asked about the potential for police to be politicised.
When asked if he was ready for the political pressure that could come his way, Chambers replied: “Absolutely.”
The Herald understood Chambers, currently Assistant Commissioner, would take on the commissioner role after Andrew Coster stood down before becoming the chief executive of the new Social Investment Agency.
The announcement is timely, given new powers targeting gangs come into force from midnight tonight, including the controversial gang patch ban.
The ban, which applied to gang patches in all public places and was supported by the Police Association, had prompted concern from Opposition MPs about the reaction from gang members and questions about how police would enforce it while maintaining their own safety.
The ban was one of several measures passed by the Government to target gangs, including the ability for police to issue dispersal notices to break up public gang gatherings and non-consorting orders to prevent gang members from communicating.
In September, the Herald reported how most police and political insiders believed the new commissioner would be a two-horse race between Chambers and Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming.
Chambers joined the police in 1996 and also worked on the front line in Auckland. After qualifying as a detective, Chambers later moved to Wellington and was appointed as the area commander for Lower Hutt in 2007.
Stints as the district commander for Tasman and Auckland followed before Chambers moved back to Wellington as an assistant commissioner in 2016.
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.