Sandra Manderson, QSM

Superintendent Sandra Manderson decided when she was six that she wanted to join the New Zealand Police, because she wanted to work in and for the community.

She joined the New Zealand Police in 1987. During her career with the Police, she has held a range of positions including Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), frontline and operational appointments. In 1993 she was awarded a Queen Services Medal for services to the community.

Sandra was the first female officer to be promoted to superintendent. After her promotion she became National Manager of Organisational Performance based at Police National Headquarters, which involved evaluating the police performance in the organisation. She became the first female to be appointed district commander, becoming Canterbury’s District Commander in 2002 a job she enjoyed, working with great staff, government departments, local councils and the community.

She has also achieved other firsts in her career: she was the first director of the Crime Prevention Unit in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Police’s first National Manager of Organisational Performance and the first female police attaché to the Americas, based in Washington DC.

When Prince Charles visited New Zealand in 2012 she was the commander of policing around the visits. She also was the national commander for policing for the 2015 FIFA Under-20 and ICC Cricket Cup. Sandra was subsequently based at Police National Headquarters, where she worked as the International Services Group Manager. She was also President of the Police Guild.

Sandra retired after 30 years of service in 2017.