It's great to be back in blue

Here are two more stories of former police officers who decided they wanted to be back in blue.

Rejoins are a fantastic way to bring back experience, help staff hard-to-fill locations and contribute to the delivery of the 500 additional officers.

The process for getting rejoins back on board has been refined – so whether you used to be a police officer and are thinking of rejoining, or know someone else who is, there's never been a better time to find out more or encourage them. 

Inspector Soni Malaulau

Soni was a keen 20-something when he joined the Trevor Gillies 106 Recruit Wing in 1987.

He was deployed to Porirua – where work was dominated by gang, youth and family violence issues – then qualified as a detective and worked on a variety of teams in Wellington.

He took charge of Lower Hutt CIB as a detective senior sergeant, then attained inspector rank.

He relieved as Area Commander in Porirua and Wellington City and completed a deployment to Afghanistan – but he could not find roles he wanted to promote to and resigned from Police in 2014.

He worked as a development consultant for government agencies but started to consider a return to Police because he missed the experiences and opportunities.

“I believe we have some hugely talented people in New Zealand Police, and we are privileged to be given experiences and opportunities that others wouldn’t get,” he says.

He rejoined in 2017 and, rather than go back to college, completed 22 modules while in district to catch up on changes.

He spent 15 months as a frontline constable in Kapiti and Porirua before returning to CIB as an acting detective sergeant on a Family Harm Team.

In recent years, Soni has worked in the National Command Coordination Centre (NCCC) as a shift commander, including as acting manager. He worked as Planning Manager during COVID-19 and National Manager for Community Policing.

Earlier this year he was promoted to inspector and left PNHQ for the role of Area Prevention Manager, Tairawhiti.

“I believe we need to constantly identify talent coming through and provide excellent mentoring and pathways for future leadership,” he says. “Not only in how to do the job, but in how to be good people and role-model leadership that reflects our values especially around integrity. 

“O le ala I le pule o le Tautua is a Samoan saying that means ‘the pathway to leadership is through service’.” 

Constable Brent Edwards

There were 26 years between first and second graduations for Brent (Ngāti Awa), but he returned to the blue in style.

Second time around, in January 2025, he graduated with Wing 381 with the Minster’s Award for First in Wing. He is now working in Tasman District.

“I missed the job and the sense of satisfaction you get from helping people and holding offenders to account,” he says.

Brent’s Police career started when he attended the RNZPC in 1999. He spent seven years as a frontline officer, which included working in intel and CIB in Auckland - a job he liked for the excitement and the people he met and worked with.

After that, adventure racing and multi-sport events took him overseas for several years. He also spent time in the New Zealand Army.

He was working with Nelson City Council when the lure of the challenge and uniqueness of policing brought him back.

“There’s no other job like it. But the main reason I’ve returned is the people.

"The organisation is full of good people who are doing things for the right reasons. It’s great to be part of it again.”