Andrew Coster: Outgoing Police Commissioner on his career, crime rates, new role leading the Social Investment Agency

Outgoing Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has accepted there'll be a range of views on whether he's been tough enough on crime. 

The top cop, whose been in the role since early 2020, is leaving the role earlier than signalled. 

He's stepping down as commissioner in November to lead the new Social Investment Agency. 

Coster copped criticism from current Police Minister Mark Mitchell, while he was in opposition. 

Andrew Coster told Mike Hosking it seems Police have been more 'in the thick' of politics. 

He says they got drawn in to a really law and order focused election. 

When it comes to his new job, Coster sees it as the ambulance at the top of the cliff, rather than the bottom. 

He told Hosking there's about $70 billion dollars of social services spending per year - something he says he wants to understand to get better results. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Is it quite possibly our most high profile police commissioners.
Leaving his job early, having already indicated he wasn't seeking
a second term, he will head to the Public Service Commissioners.
Secretary of Social Investment Andrew Costa is with us.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Good morning, Good morning mate.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
What are your observations of the politics of being a
police commissioner as you exit this particular role.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
I think it's been a really interesting time. I don't
know that this is unique to New Zealand, but it
seems that place has been a lot more of the politics,
not by intention, but really law and order focused election
and we got very drawn neck.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
What are your observations on the ability? What has interested
me about you most of all is your seeming, I guess,
and I go back to the words of the Prime
Minister yesterday which were very flattering, your ability to serve
the government of the day. In other words, you might
or might not have been doing what you wanted to do,
but you were under instruction. Is that fair or not?

Speaker 2 (00:57):
What is that job to serve the government of the day.
We're operationally independence, but that doesn't mean entirely independent, and
we respond to the government's priorities and that's exactly what
we've done with this new government. And you know, in
the end that's the job of every public servant.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
But have you seen the contrast, say, from the public's
point of view on what for one government you seem
soft on another government you seemed harder. Is that fair?

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Well, I definitely accept that that perception is there, and
we have pivoted to respond to a new government's priorities.
If you look at the everyday work of police officers
we're talking about, you know, the tenth percent of the
margins then remains pretty consistent year and year out.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
The COVID period. If it had never happened, how different
do you reckon it would be?

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Oh? Hugely. COVID has fundamentally changed what police are dealing
with every day. People are more polarized and more angry.
Kids have been disrupted in their schooling. That plays through
and to their offending. I know COVID pen and has
been used as an excuse, but it has a really
long tail and we're still dealing with it.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
How long do you reckon that tailor is.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Well, we've still got the economic impacts of it, so
that plays through and pressure on families and family violence
and even retail crime, for example. I would hope that
would turn the corner. But I think it's with the
economy terms of corner that you start to see that
really play through in terms of some different results in
terms of crime.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
And given all of that, what's your advice to people
who think that policing is a career is a good idea?

Speaker 2 (02:40):
I think it's a career is a great idea. It
has been a truly outstanding career for me. I've done
so many different things through the course of it. It's
a great set of people doing outstanding work in the community.
I couldn't recommend it more. When you want to be
the commissioner, well, a different question, but fosting is a

(03:00):
great job.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
What is social investment and how will it manifest itself
under your watch?

Speaker 2 (03:07):
I see social investment as at the other end of
the spectrum from work places. We spend a lot of
time at the bottom of the cliffs of social failure.
Social investments trying to change the settings at the top
end to get better outcomes in the community. It really
means looking across all of the social spends is about
seventy billion dollars and understanding how that can be applied

(03:30):
better to get better results.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
All right, appreciate your TI. I'm sure we'll talk again.
Andrew Costa, police sell outgoing police commissioner.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
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