Working within an organisation that reflects your values, morals and tikanga is important for Superintendent Scott Gemmell and his recent appointment as Director: Partnerships - Tāmaki Makaurau has reenergised those inherent philosophies and values.
A pōwhiri was held at Te Kura Māori o Nga Tapuwae, in Mangere today (Wednesday 19 April) to officially welcome Scott into the role.
“It’s both a privilege and a challenge to go to work every day with the opportunity to try and add value” - Scott has reflected on that many times over his 21-year career in policing.
He is acutely aware of the challenges that lie ahead and is invigorated and energised by them.
“Positions like this don’t come up very often," he says. "It’s brand new, it’s something that you can shape and it’s very exciting. It’s also a natural fit for me and in keeping with who I am. I’m very relational and values driven.”
All of which are great skills to have for Scott’s partnership role, as he has a large and wide-ranging group of internal stakeholders to manage - and community, ministry, and council leaders to form partnerships with.
Scott holds the Police Tāmaki Makaurau Partnerships portfolios for Māori, Pacific and Ethnic peoples, Civil Defence Emergency, Retail Crime and Corrections. He is also the Tāmaki Makaurau point of contact for partner agencies; Oranga Tamariki, Health and Education, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), ACC and Justice.
“Having the ability to form new relationships, and re-foster and rekindle relationships that I already have across Tāmaki whānui was a great opportunity and probably the number one thing that pushed me towards this role."
The Tāmaki Makaurau workgroup sits alongside the three Auckland policing districts. Its purpose is to provide a joined-up operational response that is fit for purpose across the wider Auckland region. It’s big, and it’s a unique challenge that is Auckland-centric.
The model launched in November 2022 and Scott’s appointment completes the management team structure comprised of Assistant Commissioner Sam Hoyle, who is supported by the three Auckland-based District Commanders, and two Directors: Superintendent Scott Gemmell and Superintendent Shanan Gray, Director - Tāmaki Makaurau Deployment.
The management teams’ joint vision for Tāmaki Makaurau is to form a collective group that is united and unique in Tāmaki purpose.
“We follow the intent that’s set by Sam, but individual intent alone isn’t enough. It takes a collaborative team to deliver that, which will reflect in shared deployment, and I look forward to that,” says Scott.
“A big part of my role is to build and foster a culture that is reflective of everyone being able to do the best they can do. Staff well-being is key. Caring, happy teams that are energised, engaged, smiling and resilient in what they are facing each day is important to me.
"Our teams deal with so much and having strategies to take time out, to settle themselves before they go home, and learning to leave stuff at the gate are so important.
"For me, all those strategies are geared towards optimism - rather than positivism, because it can be hard to be positive all the time. But if you have an outlook that’s optimistic, it’s a bit easier for you to ride the ebbs and flows. Culture is the most important focus – the work will follow if you have a really cool environment to work in.”
Superintendent Scott Gemmell with, from left, Acting Assistant Commissioner Jill Rogers, Deputy Commissioner Wally Haumaha, Acting Deputy Commissioner Sam Hoyle and Waitematā District Commander Naila Hassan.
Scott joined New Zealand Police in 2002 and has held numerous roles over that period, including roles in the Armed Offenders Squad, Special Tactics Group and Māori Responsiveness Manager to name just a few. Culture and values sit at the core of who Scott Gemmell is.
“As I’ve progressed through Police those values have always been inherent. In 2017, I had the opportunity to become the Māori Responsiveness Manager in Auckland City, and still to this day I say it’s the biggest leadership challenge I’ve ever had.”
Scott is passionate about striving for a fair and equitable police service for all - and he brings many of his learnings from past roles with him to Tāmaki Makaurau.
“It’s a personal passion to continue to create a safe place for young Pasifika, Ethnic and especially Māori to become Police officers - and many already have, but it still may not be considered the most viable career option.
"Within Police we are continuously working to improve and to remove past systemic bias, that have historically sat within our structures, our practices, our guidelines and our legislation that might be prohibitive to staff being empowered to make decisions they know are meaningful for a victim, witness or offender. We are getting better at listening."
Scott sits on an operational advisory group that is made up from an eclectic and diverse group across the motu.
“Each member brings their own story of what systemic bias might look like, and if we can make some changes in order to hit fairness and equity, then that will be awesome.
“If together, we can achieve our Tāmaki Makaurau goal of being united across the region and unique in Tāmaki purpose then that will be a massive achievement. I have confidence we’re on the right path but there’s still a lot to do.”