Richard joined New Zealand Police in 1996 and started his career as a Constable in Auckland City. He is a qualified Detective and has held a range of leadership roles across the country including Sergeant, Senior Sergeant, Inspector and Superintendent.
Richard has a strong frontline and operational background but he has also been responsible for leading the development of strategy and policy which included the implementation of Mobility devices for frontline Police.
Richard has been a District Commander in Auckland, Wellington, Tasman and Southern Police Districts. He has also relieved as Deputy Chief Executive: People and Deputy Chief Executive: Public Affairs.
In 2016 Richard was promoted to Assistant Commissioner and the Executive lead for Investigations, Serious and Organised Crime. This includes transnational organised crime, cyber-crime and cyber-enabled crime. He was also the Executive lead for financial crime including money laundering, asset recovery, financial intelligence and had overall Executive responsibility for Police’s covert policing resources. This role required Richard to work closely with international partners, particularly law enforcement and global technology and internet providers and platforms such as Facebook and Google.
As Assistant Commissioner: Investigations, Serious and Organised Crime highlights included advancing technology capability and discipline as an enabler to investigations and also being the Executive sponsor for the development of a reintegration programme for Police colleagues involved in critical incidents.
In June 2020 Richard was appointed Assistant Commissioner: Districts, requiring Executive leadership for all operational activity across New Zealand.
New Zealand Police is a single national Police agency with over 14,000 staff.
In February 2024 Richard was seconded to INTERPOL as Director: Organised and Emerging Crime based in Lyon, France. As Director he is responsible for INTERPOL’s global strategy and operations within three sub-Directorates; Criminal Networks, Vulnerable Communities and Illicit Markets. This includes organised criminal activity, human trafficking and smuggling of migrants, crimes against children and environmental crime.
Richard’s tertiary qualifications include an Executive Masters in Public Administration and a Bachelor of Commerce.
