Andrew Coster
Andrew David Coster (born 1975/1976) is the current New Zealand Police Commissioner and former Deputy Police Commissioner. He has served as the New Zealand Commissioner of Police since 3 April 2020.[2]
Andrew Coster | |
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![]() Coster in 2020 | |
33rd Commissioner of Police | |
Assumed office 3 April 2020 | |
Preceded by | Mike Bush |
Personal details | |
Born | 1975/1976 (age 46–47)[1] Dunedin, New Zealand |
Early life
Coster was born in 1975 or 1976 in Dunedin, and grew up in Auckland.[3] His father is Professor Gregor Coster, the former Dean of the Wellington Faculty of Health.[1][4]
Coster holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Auckland and a Master of Public Management from Victoria University of Wellington.[5]
Career
Coster joined the New Zealand Police in 1997 and has worked in both frontline and investigative roles. As his career progressed he was appointed to a number of senior roles, including Auckland City Area Commander, South District Commander. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner, Coster was the acting Deputy Commissioner: Strategy & Partnerships. While in this role he oversaw the development of firearms reforms introduced by the Government following the March 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings.[3]
In 2004 Coster graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the University of Auckland,[6] and worked as a Crown prosecutor for Meredith Connell for less than a year.[3]
Coster has also spent time at the Ministry of Justice, having been seconded on a two-year term from 2016 to 2018 as the Deputy Chief Executive for the Ministry.[7]
Police Commissioner
Coster was appointed as the Commissioner of the New Zealand Police on 9 March 2020.[8] Another candidate as Commissioner was Mike Clement, the then-Deputy Commissioner. He started his term on 3 April 2020 at age 44, becoming the youngest person to assume the role.[9]
In mid-February 2021, Coster's efforts to combat gang and gun violence was criticised by the National Party's Justice spokesperson Simon Bridges, who described Coster as a "wokester commissioner" in a Twitter post.[10] On 25 February, Coster defended the Police's "policing by consent" policies in response to criticism by Bridges during a Justice select committee hearing at the New Zealand Parliament.[11]
During the 2022 Wellington protests, Coster unsuccessfully attempted to convince anti-vaccine mandate protesters to voluntarily remove their illegally parked vehicles from the area around the New Zealand Parliament in mid February 2022.[12] After protesters refused to vacate the Parliament grounds, he ruled out pursuing enforcement action against protesters due to concerns about violence. Coster instead announced that Police would pursue a policy of "negotiation and de-escalation."[13] Coster's decision to rule out "enforcement action" was criticised by the National Party's police spokesman Mark Mitchell, who claimed that Coster had lost credibility as Police Commissioner.[14] On 2 March, Police evicted the remaining anti-mandate protesters following a violent riot.[15][16]
Ranks and postings
- 1996–1997: Police Recruit, Constable
- 1997–2003: Various different frontline and investigative roles within Counties Manukau and Auckland Metro area
- 2005–2006: Response Manager/Section Supervisor, Counties Manukau West
- 2006–2008: District Deployment Manager, Counties Manukau
- 2009–2013: Area Commander, Auckland City Central
- 2011–2013: Armed Offenders Squad Commander, Auckland
- 2013–2015: District Commander, Southern Police District
- 2015–2016: Assistant Commissioner, Strategy and Transformation
- 2018: Deputy Commissioner, Resource Management (acting)
- 2018–2020: Deputy Commissioner, Strategy and Partnerships (acting)
- 2020–present: Commissioner of Police[17]
References
- Manson, Bess (31 May 2020). "National Portrait: Andrew Coster – Top Cop". Stuff. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- "New Commissioner of Police appointed". New Zealand Government. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- "Andrew Coster named as New Zealand's new police commissioner". Radio New Zealand. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- "Retirement of Professor Gregor Coster" (Press release). Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- "Commissioner, Executive and District Commanders". New Zealand Police. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- "Graduation Search Results". University of Auckland. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- "2-year secondment to Justice Ministry". Otago Daily Times. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- Manch, Thomas (9 March 2020). "High-ranking police officer Andy Coster appointed commissioner of police". Stuff. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- Vance, Andrea (20 February 2022). "NZ's top cop: Who is Andrew Coster, the man struggling to deal with the Parliament protests?". Stuff. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- "Police crackdown on guns held by organised crime groups and gangs". Radio New Zealand. 19 February 2021. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- McCullough, Yvette (25 February 2021). "Gang crackdown: Simon Bridges, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster face off at select committee". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- "Protest groups issue statement after top cop's warning – cars to be towed shortly". Newstalk ZB. 15 February 2022. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- "Enforcement action against Parliament protesters could lead to violence – Coster". Radio New Zealand. 20 February 2022. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- Neilson, Michael; Weekes, John (19 February 2022). "Covid 19 Omicron convoy Parliament protest: Calls for mayor to 'step up' as police backtrack on towing, focus on 'de-escalation'". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- "LIVE: Wellington protest appears to be at 'final standoff' on CBD street". New Zealand Herald. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Protesters set multiple fires on parliament grounds". The Spinoff. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "New Commissioner of Police appointed". The Beehive.
External links
- "Commissioner of Police, Executive and District Commanders". Police.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 April 2020.