Andrew Coster

Commissioner of Police

Andrew David Coster 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.

Coster holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Auckland and a Master of Public Management from Victoria University of Wellington.

In 2004 Coster worked as a Crown prosecutor for Meredith Connell for less than a year. 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.

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, Southern 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.

Coster was appointed as the Commissioner of the New Zealand Police on 9 March 2020. 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.

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