The Star: June 25, 2020

The Star Thursday June 25 2020
14
OUR PEOPLE
DAVID HARVEY
Reality of police work from early age
David Harvey served
40 years in the police,
retiring in 2017. He
was made a member
of the New Zealand
Order of Merit as part
of this year’s Queen’s
Birthday Honours. Matt
Slaughter talks to the
former detective senior
sergeant about his time
in the police and what
he has been up to since
retiring
When did you join the police
and what was it like back then?
I joined in 1977 as an 18-yearold
and immediately was
confronted with the reality of
dealing with people whose life
experiences were well outside
mine at that stage. By that I
mean [I was] having to deal
with domestic violence within
relationships [which] I found a
real challenge considering the
age difference for whom we were
and the way that, historically,
domestic violence was dealt
with. The reality that domestic
violence, sexual violence and
violence in the family are much
more higher on the priorities,
which, to me, is so much better
than it used to be, creating
pathways for people to have
COMMITTED: David Harvey has been enjoying his golf since retiring from a 40-year police
career and is men’s club captain and a volunteer at Coringa Golf Club, Mcleans Island.
PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN
happier lives and [have] happier
resolutions.
What are some of the most
memorable moments you had
during your time in the police?
The honour that I have
received, I have to put it down to
the fact that I’ve worked within
and with so many motivated
investigators. So, there are
many investigations where
there have been highlights
as a result of it but all those
are team results. Challenging
investigations would be the
Ben Smart and Olivia Hope
[disappearance] investigation
because of the enormity of the
investigation that was required
[and] the reality of the number
of people that had to be spoken
to complete the investigation
and have many of those people
available to give evidence at the
trial.
Are there any other memories
that stick out to you?
I suppose, for me, police
work’s not about me, you know.
Memorable times was having the
victim, family or group of people
who had suffered from trauma
able to talk of how they felt
the investigation of the special
process went well for them. You
know, you feel that you’ve done
something good for people and
I don’t want to highlight any
particular individuals, but that’s
a positive for me.
What roles did you fill during
your time in the police?
Principally, I’ve always been
in Canterbury. I suppose, for
me, I spent many years as a
detective senior sergeant within
the Christchurch city area and
over that time, there were a
number of homicides centred
around the ladies of the night
and I was fortunate to work
with a group of like-minded
people who wanted to change the
susceptibility for those people
becoming victims.
What does it mean to you
to have been made a member
of the New Zealand Order of
Merit?
It was a great surprise and an
honour. [I] hope that we may
have changed some of the things
to make victims feel happier
with the police performance,
and victims, of course, also
include family members and
everyone else as you go along
that pathway.
• Turn to page 16
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