Sunday Star Times
December 7, 1997

Youthful chief out to turn tide in tough district
by Miriyana Alexander

'New Zealand's youngest police boss, Superintendent Clint Rickards, knows his new precinct -- the troubled Gisborne district -- has had more than its share of bad publicity in the last year.

Firstly, five officers were arrested on charges they supplied informants with cannabis (three have been cleared and two are before the court). Then came allegations that Mongrel Mob members were assaulted and not fed for days as prisoners at the Gisborne police station.

Morale among officers plummeted and many still speak of an orchestrated campaign by the gang to put local cops out of crime-fighting action.

It could be enough to keep the keenest of top cops away. But the disharmony doesn't daunt the affable Rickards (36). Speaking to the Sunday Star-Times soon after starting his new job, Mr Rickards dismissed talk of a police district in trouble.

Instead, he wanted to talk about targeting criminals and harnessing staff enthusiasm, commitment and loyalty. To the doubtful, he sounded overly optimistic -- but he was confident this year's headlines would soon be yesterday's news.

"Gisborne has had its problems, and no doubt there'll be more. It's unfortunate these things have happened, but let's move on. I'm just looking forward to those guys coming back to work," he said.

Born and bred in Rotorua, Mr Rickards has extensive experience. And he's well-qualified to be one of the first of a new police breed -- a district manager.

Last year he attended Sydney's graduate School of Police Management, while this year he completed a masters degree in public policy from Sydney's Charles Sturt University. He also has a business degree in human resources from Massey University.

Mr Rickards wanted to be a police officer since he was 10. "Like a lot of kids, there was the opportunity for me to go down a different path -- I could have been fronting court instead of supporting it.

"I was a bit of a troublemaker when I was younger, I got up to the usual mischief, and policing gave me the opportunity to see there was another side to things."

Mr Rickards, who will soon mark 20 years in the job, believed the New Zealand force was in good heart.

"A lot of people might disagree with me, but the direction we're taking now is positive. We're working smarter. I was brought up in an era of protracted, heavily resourced inquiries, but they're a thing of the past. And that's good. I don't see why I should have 10 to do the work of two."

Mr Rickards said dipping into government coffers should be a last resort, and the time was right to consider the privatisation of some police work.

"What about the transportation of prisoners, or prosecutions. Are they really police functions? If we're not the best people for the job, we should get out of it and get back to core police functions -- it's what the public wants."

And it's a community looking to its police boss for leadership. The job has been vacant since Rana Waitai left to become an MP last year, and Rickards is keen to get some direction back.

"We'll be targeting anything that's a problem, at-risk youth, drugs, traffic offences. We have got a criminal element that plays up, but they should realise that if they step out of line they will be dealt with."

And the crims should take note -- Mr Rickards, a former New Zealand heavyweight judo champion (who also represented his country at the 1986 Commonwealth Games), is not a man to be messed with.

"I'm fair, but I'm not afraid of making the hard decisions.

"I set high standards and expect them to be followed, I want loyalty and commitment from my staff and if I get it, I'll give it back.

"I've walked the beat, I've worked 50 hours straight on a big inquiry. If anyone says I don't understand, that I'm just some academic, well that's crap. "When I leave here, I hope the Gisborne police district will be one of the country's better-performing ones."

Mr Rickards is looking forward to doing his time in Gisborne. Of Tainui descent, he intends learning Maori and will finish a diploma in Maori development.

He has moved his family to Poverty Bay, and his wife Tania Eden -- a police sergeant -- will also be working in Gisborne. Between them, the pair have five children.

Mr Rickards is ambivalent about being the country's youngest police boss, and won't speculate on whether he'll chase the top job.

"I went through a rigorous selection process and would not have applied if I didn't think I had the skills for the job. I've moved around, seen many different police forces at work, and I've taken from them all."