Building relationships and working together with the community will be a focus for new Eastern District Maori Responsiveness Manager Inspector Damin Ormsby along with seven new staff to the district.
Inspector Ormsby and the seven other new staff were officially welcomed to the District this morning (Tuesday 9 August) with a pöwhiri at Matahiwi Marae, Clive.
The role is something of a homecoming for Inspector Ormsby who grew up in the Eastern District when his father, also a Police Officer, was stationed in both Gisborne and Wairoa.
“In this position I will be focused on building partnerships with local iwi and the community so that together we can reduce the number of Maori who become victims of crime or are committing crime.
“Building on the strong and responsive relationship we currently enjoy with iwi is going to be crucial if we are to achieve more desirable outcomes for Maori communities and all society,” said Inspector Ormsby.
During his time with New Zealand Police Inspector Ormsby has been based in Waikato as a frontline officer and most recently has been based in Wellington as National Field Prevention Manager with Maori Pacific Ethnic Services.
“I am looking forward to getting back into an operational role and having a more direct impact on the lives of people,” said Inspector Ormsby.
As the Eastern District Maori Responsiveness Manager Inspector Ormsby will be based in Hastings.
Also joining the Eastern District are four new recruits who have recently graduated from the Royal New Zealand Police College.
The new recruits are Constable Damien Coker who is from Napier and was a chef before joining Police. Constable Jason Ingram who is joining Police at the age of 46 and was a school caretaker previously. Another new recruit and Hawke’s Bay local is Constable Jason Kitchin who joins Police from the New Zealand Army and rounding out the new recruits is Constable Hannah O’Leary who before joining Police worked for Child Youth and Family and the insurance industry where she got a passion for helping others.
Also joining the Eastern District team is Constable Freeman Ngawati who has been in Police for eight years and is transferring to the district from Northland.
Two non-constabulary staff, Staff Welfare Officer Sarah Graham and Health and Safety Officer Justine Pack-England were also welcomed to the district this morning.
Eastern District commander Superintendent Sandra Venables is delighted to be welcoming Inspector Ormsby and the other new staff to the Eastern District Police team.
“The pöwhiri today was an important introduction and welcome to the district for all our new staff as we continue to strengthen our relationship with Eastern District iwi and work together to build stronger, safer communities,” said Superintendent Venables.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
