Commissioner Andrew Coster

Commissioner, New Zealand Police

Andrew Coster became Commissioner of Police on 3 April 2020. His police career spans over 23 years and has a strong history of accomplishments following his graduation from Police College in 1997, including serving in frontline and investigative roles in Counties Manukau and Auckland.

Before being appointed as Commissioner, he was acting Deputy Commissioner: Strategy & Partnerships. In the period immediately after the tragic terror events in Christchurch, he oversaw the development of the Government’s firearms reforms, including the ban on semi-automatic firearms. Andrew has worked tirelessly to shepherd both tranches of reform through the legislative process.

Commissioner Coster has worked in a variety of Police leadership roles that have taken him around New Zealand.

He rose to Area Commander in Auckland City Central before becoming the District Commander for the Southern Police District in 2013. During his time as District Commander Andrew oversaw a significant culture change in the district, resulting in the district leading the country on total crime reduction, and in reducing repeat victimisation, reducing youth crime, and building trust and confidence.

On moving to Police National Headquarters in 2015 he was appointed Assistant Commissioner, Strategy and Transformation. In this role Andrew stepped in to provide leadership and co-ordination for Police’s largest IT project of the decade – the replacement of the organisation’s HR and payroll system. His restructuring of the programme team and
prioritisation of deliverables ensured the programme was delivered.

He has also spent some time as acting Deputy Commissioner: Resource Management.

Commissioner Coster has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Auckland and a Master of Public Management from Victoria University of Wellington. He has been a Solicitor in the Office of the Crown Solicitor in Auckland, and was seconded to the Ministry of Justice as Deputy Chief Executive in 2016. At the Ministry he led the development of a five-year plan to modernise courts and tribunals, before returning to Police.