On the first day at his job as Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has asked a slightly odd request of his staff.
With the safety of officers out and about a high priority, he’s had advice that beards will get in the way of masks that need to be fitted properly.
“Face masks are great, except for when you've got facial hair, so I've said to them today - my beard's coming off in solidarity with our front-line, who would probably be best to do the same.”
The new commissioner is not precluding tougher lockdown measures for the public, such as curfews or more checkpoints in the future.
“Stay near your home, other than when you need to access essential services or undertake a little bit of exercise. If we do the right thing we'll get through this and avoid what could be a very bad situation otherwise,” he says.
Mr Coster has been an officer for over 20 years and is one of the youngest Police Commissioner New Zealand has ever had.
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