University honours pioneering commander

The first woman to achieve the rank of superintendent in New Zealand Police is to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Canterbury.

Superintendent Sandra Manderson, a born-and-bred Cantabrian and a Canterbury University graduate, is to be awarded a Doctor of Laws at a graduation ceremony in April.

She says the award is a great honour from her alma mater, where she has studied for and attained a BSc and two Masters degrees. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Canterbury University. It’s a great university.”

Sandra has chalked up a number of firsts since joining Police in 1978: as well as becoming New Zealand Police’s first female superintendent, she was the first female district commander, leading Canterbury District from 2002 to 2007.

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, in 2007, New Zealand Police’s first female attaché to the Americas, based in Washington DC.

Other posts have included contingent commander in Thailand after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. 

She was commander of policing around the visit of Prince Charles to New Zealand in 2012 and is presently national commander of policing for New Zealand’s involvement in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and FIFA Under-20 World Cup 2015.

Sandra has maintained strong links with the university, particularly during her time as Canterbury District Commander, and has served on the University Council.

“I’d like to see New Zealand Police work more closely with universities,” she says. “There are a lot of students who could offer a great deal to Police, including expertise in fields like policy and research. An internship programme would be mutually beneficial.”

The university says the award recognises Sandra’s services to the University of Canterbury and the links forged between policing, academia and the community.