The Star: November 30, 2017

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday November 30 2017 23
Our People
Constable Ben Rutherford, 27, has become a well-known figure on the Canterbury Police Facebook
page. He spoke to Bridget Rutherford about breaking down the barrier between police and
the public through humour
You first appeared on the
police Facebook page when
you made a young boy’s day by
delivering him a photo. Can
you tell me the story behind
that?
I was on an operation based
out of Hanmer. I just took a
photo of the sun rising near
Culverden and sent it to the
media team in Wellington and
asked if we could post it on
Facebook encouraging people
to drive safely on State Highway
7. Then I got a phone call from
the media team saying they had
heard from someone who said
her young son really liked the
photo and wanted a copy. I got in
touch with her and she said her
son wanted to be a police officer,
so I printed the photo and got
it framed and dropped it off the
next week. He was blown away,
I showed him all the switches
and dials in the police car and he
wanted to know what I did and
how long I’ve been in the police.
I can remember being that age
and knowing I wanted to be a
policeman but I didn’t know anyone
who was a cop, and finding
somebody who was and wanting
to ask all these questions.
What’s your job?
I’m on a specialist traffic group
and we do a lot of road safety,
attending crashes, speed enforcement
all that sort of stuff. But we
go to frontline jobs as well. We’re
district-wide and we get taskings.
So if we got complaints about
people going too fast outside
schools, we will go and sit the
police car outside the school at
8.15am, and it’s amazing the affect
that has on people.
How long have you been in
the police and what made you
want to join?
Four-and-a-half years. I
couldn’t do a desk job, I’m just
far too hyperactive. I like being
outside and meeting people. I
didn’t want to do a desk job that
required a degree, although I did
go to university before I joined
the police. I just wanted to be out
there doing it, plus I really like
having a positive influence on
people. People who are continuously
offending, there’s got to be
a reason why they’re doing that.
So I like talking to them and
finding out why and trying to
help them.
What did you study at uni?
I went to Lincoln and did sport
and recreation management.
I’m originally from Tauranga,
but I got a hockey scholarship to
Lincoln. I tried to join the police
straight out of school but
I’d just had a knee
operation and
they said
you’re
young
and
you
need
time
for your
leg to get
back to
normal
strength. So
they said go
get some life
experience and
come back.
Did you
come straight to
Christchurch when you
graduated?
No, I went to Counties Manukau
in South Auckland on
general duties for two years.
It was good, I was thrown in the
Ben Rutherford
Constable’s road to social media celebrity
PHOTO:
MARTIN
HUNTER
deep end. The training is really
good, how you get trained at
college is actually what you deal
with on the street. My wife Sarah
and I were doing long distance
then we got engaged and we
had to make the decision where
we were going to live our lives.
She’s from Christchurch and
I’d studied here so I transferred
back and went to Ashburton for
about eight months, then came
up here.
Do you play a lot of hockey in
your spare time?
Yes, it just consumes the
winter. I try and
keep fit and
our garden
at home
is pretty
high
maintenance
so
I spend
a lot of
time in
the garden.
Who do you
play for?
Southern
United.
Have you
played rep
hockey?
•Turn to page 24
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Now in its eighth year, the family-run AJ
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For the team, it is more fun
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along with the clients’
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Six weeks ago, the business
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You can browse round the
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at the same time, watch the
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“The possibilities for
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says.
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such as photos put on to the
glass. This is printed on, so
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“Clients have control of their design
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encourage that as it is their home they should
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The glass items can be
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“We are now looking at more
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To see many of the ways glass can be used
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phone 338 3733. Check out their website,
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Every now and then you can also catch the
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413 Tuam Street, ph: 338 3733 www.ajcreativeglass.co.nz