The man who has just taken over as the new Southern District commander has some new-fangled ideas about policing that his fellow officers might just find appealing.
Just days into the job Superintendent Bob Burns is already keen to show he will be challenging the traditional police mindset.
"I'm probably a little bit new-school, I guess. I don't believe in the old rank-oriented traditional policing. I feel that has been a huge block to any innovative or creative opportunities for police.
"A lot of people can hide behind rank. I'm a bit more inclusive. I like to involve staff in the problem-solving processes. I think you've got to provide an environment where police staff feel their contributions will be listened to and they are comfortable coming up with solutions."
As a result, he hoped the public would get an even better service than at present.
"I'm not sure that I can even quantify how we will do that yet, but . . . if we have got a more engaged and more satisfied workforce [the public are] automatically going to get a far better and more communicative response from police. Studies in private enterprises have definitely proved that."
Supt Burns was an accidental policeman. Aged 23, he and his mate drove their recently purchased Mark III Zephyr to a recruitment test, which his friend wanted to sit.
While waiting outside the office for his friend, he "basically got conned" by a recruiting sergeant to come in and sit the test.
"And before you know it, I'm in the police."
Twenty-seven years later, his mate has moved on from the force, but Supt Burns continues to work his way upwards.
After five years as a constable in Dunedin, with relieving periods at stations around the Dunedin area, he took a sergeant's position in Wellington, before moving to Wanganui where he became a senior sergeant.
Next stop was Nelson. He headed the armed offenders squads in both Wanganui and Nelson.
His most recent posting was Taupo, where he was area commander for nearly five years. During that time, he also had a 10-month stint as acting area commander of Western Bay of Plenty-Tauranga.
Supt Burns noted Otago had not changed much while he had been away, "although we have come back quite regularly because my wife's family are all living here".
He noted that the policing needs of the Southern District were "quite different" from those of other areas.
It was well known around the country that Southern police enjoyed great public support and that the community showed a keen interest in policing.
In general terms, Southern police already provided quite a good core policing service and the crime rate was not high compared with some North Island areas in which he had worked.
That was a good thing and a bad thing, because it meant drivers for obvious change were lacking, Supt Burns said.
"Southern doesn't really have that driving pressure that means you suddenly have to change your service delivery to address it, which can make it difficult to get buy-in from everybody when you go to change something."
Having only been in the job for two days at the time of this interview, he had not had a chance to absorb the local issues, but he had already received some emails from staff voicing their concerns.
"I've looked at the public satisfaction surveys. I've got some ideas. I'll be keen on getting a [high-visibility crash and crime reduction] model put in place here in Southern, but I don't see police officers' activities changing too much - just enhancing the stuff they already do quite well down here."
Supt Burns said he still had an interest in the armed offenders squad and police search and rescue, the organisation of which had "really impressed" him.
He also had a real interest in the community's involvement in policing. He said it was refreshing to hear how many people were already involved in community policing in Dunedin.
"That is the key for sustainability and community safety, I think, and for the community feeling safe. But they have got to be meaningful relationships. You can't just say 'Ah yes, well, I've met with the community' and tick a box. It's actually having a purpose to a relationship and a clear agreement as to what each party will do and some accountability in the process."
For the first few weeks, he will be busy catching up, meeting people and getting a feel for the district - his calendar was full even before he got here.
He had planned to get around the district in the next two weeks, but, with the state of his diary, it looked as though he would only be able to make a few "whistle-stop" visits before he headed back to his family at Taupo for Christmas.
Mrs Burns will arrive in Dunedin in the new year.
Asked what the main challenge of the Dunedin job might be, Supt Burns said the size of district was one.
"You've got 46 stations and that has problems all of its own. Those are the kind of things that keep you awake at night - you're constantly worrying about them."
AT A GLANCE
Robert (Bob) Burns
Age: 50.
Married to: Regan, a primary care nurse. The couple have two adult children.
Background: Born in Kakamega, Kenya, to Glaswegian parents.
Moved with his family back to Glasgow when he was 8 after his father, a district surveyor, decided it had become too dangerous in Kenya.
After a few years in Britain, his father found himself deciding between jobs at a Canadian university and the University of Otago.
Otago's Scottish heritage swayed the family in the end and off they went.
"Of course, we had visions of palm trees and diving for black pearls and suchlike. So that just shows you how much British people knew about New Zealand in those days."
After finishing school at The Taieri High School, he joined a survey firm in Dunedin before joining the police in 1981.
