When retiring Tairawhiti Area Commander Sam Aberahama was a child he saw a lot of Police.
In fact, they were often at his house taking his dad away after another violent outburst.
Police gave him and his whanau a safe place to remain and in those early years he decided he wanted, one day, to be part of that.
Now Sam - one of Police's longest-serving Area Commanders, having led Tairāwhiti for 14 years - is retiring after a 36-year career of keeping people safe.
Sam joined Police in 1988 in Wing 112 and started on the beat in Ōtāhuhu, South Auckland. He had a real love for the community from the outset.
“I knew all the local shopkeepers, I knew where all the scones were being baked and where to stop for morning tea,” says Sam.
Six months later he was in an I-car in a very busy Ōtara, attending plenty of family violence incidents and arresting a lot of offenders.
“I carried a lot of hurt for family violence victims and families because of what I had been through. So much so that I was arresting everyone – but I knew just arresting them didn’t help.”
He says he had to find another way to channel his anger.
After several years in Manurewa/Papakura and Auckland city, as a detective and detective sergeant working on many high-profile cases, Sam headed home to Hawke’s Bay as a detective sergeant.
Over the next decade, Sam promoted up the ranks to detective inspector and Crime Manager.
During his time in Hawke’s Bay, Sam did a lot of work with Pacific Island communities.
“One of their priorities was addressing family violence. I listened and started to look at it through a different lens. Instead of just arresting the perpetrators, I saw there is usually a bigger problem that needs to be solved.”
These insights from working with the community stood him in good stead when he was asked in 2009 to head up to Tairāwhiti as relieving Area Commander. The next year he applied for and was appointed to the role.
“When I arrived, we did a lot of work to develop relationships within the community and understand exactly what was going on and what their needs were.”
He says it was challenging and he quickly learned to open his mind and his heart to understand what was important for the community and how police could work with them to achieve goals which were not just crime-related.
“I was fortunate to be in a position where I could influence some change and work on problem-solving approaches to deal with issues in communities.”
Sam receiving his Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) from Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy.
In 2020, he became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for his service to New Zealand Police and the community in the New Year honours list.
Sam's citation listed his leadership of a host of community organisations and projects, partnerships and mentoring, including Nga Ara Pai - a programme with an 80 per cent success rate in helping at-risk youth get their restricted and full driver’s licences; the Te Hāhi partnership with churches; and a range of other harm prevention initiatives.
Sam says he will be forever grateful to the network of kuia and kaumātua who walked alongside him and kept him safe during his time in Tairāwhiti.
“What has been huge for me is opening my mind and listening and understanding other perspectives, because there is absolute strength in that.”
‘Everyone is different and it’s how we bring our strengths together.”
Sam has tremendous respect for his staff and says empowering them has been a real focus of his time as Area Commander.
“We have amazing people in Police. They come to work every day to give their best. My role as a leader has been to enable them to be their best.”
Sam’s heart has always been in the community and with his whānau, and it’s whānau that is his motivation to leave Police and Tairāwhiti.
“I will certainly miss the people, but when you decide to take that next step in life you celebrate that chapter and look forward to what’s next. I still have plenty of energy and look forward to leaning in and helping where I can.”