Police officer ‘just rapt’ to get amedal
It turns out police officers who have worked in the force as long as Sam Aberahama and seen it all, can still be surprised.
The Gisborne Taira¯whiti area commander said he was ‘‘overwhelmed’’ upon hearing he had received the Queen’s Service Medal for services to the New Zealand Police and the community.
‘‘I was just rapt with it all – I take it on behalf of this community. There’s a lot of people behind me who took on the success of Taira¯whiti in a whole lot of different ways, and I’m but one of a team.’’
Working in the police force since 1988, Aberahama has been the Gisborne Taira¯whiti area commander for 11 years.
On joining the force, he worked in South Auckland for 10 years as a detective constable. He was then promoted to sergeant and moved to Auckland City, working as a detective sergeant for a year.
In 1998, he transferred to his hometown, Hastings, and continued to police there for a further 10 years.
‘‘I did a lot of work in the criminal investigation branch and [was] then promoted to senior sergeant and on to detective inspector,’’ he said.
‘‘I was very fortunate to have a very good run at my career in Hawke’s Bay, then area commander came up in Gisborne 11 years ago. I put my name in and got that, and I’ve been here since.’’
Aberahama helped establish the Cook Islands Internal Support Network at the New Zealand Police in 2016.
He was chairman of the Safe Taira¯whiti Community Trust from 1994 until 2017 when Manaaki Taira¯whiti joined with Safe Taira¯whiti, Violence Free Taira¯whiti and the Prisoner Reintegration Network.
In 2013, he worked to establish the Nga¯ Ara Pai mentoring programme in Gisborne to help at-risk youth obtain their driver’s licences, which has had an 80 per cent pass rate.
In 2016, he helped create ‘‘Te Ha¯hi’’, a partnership between police and churches with a focus on family harm. It has since expanded into Rotorua and Hawke’s Bay.
Aberahama was instrumental in a range of successful community projects, including providing a safe network for families, suicide prevention, elderly home safety, and road safety.
‘‘It’s been an amazing journey. It’s been incredible leading a team of passionate police officers,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s about connecting with our people, showing them we really care.’’