Southern District Police will formally welcome their new District Commander, Superintendent Jason Guthrie, with a pōwhiri on Monday 22 July.

Also being welcomed is Inspector Daniel Williams, who is taking up the role of Southern District Māori Responsiveness Manager.

Superintendent Jason Guthrie has been a member of the New Zealand Police for 30 years.

The first 25 years of his Police career was spent in Dunedin in mostly operational roles, with 10 years of frontline and public order policing. He moved into the Intelligence Section as an analyst and then was promoted as the Officer in Charge of that section.

He was a member of the Armed Offenders Squad, spending 16 years there as a tactical operator, team leader, and commander.

His career progressed in Dunedin into the roles of Tactical Coordinator, District Deployment Manager, and Otago Coastal Area Commander.

He was deployed to Afghanistan with New Zealand Police in 2011/2012, and in 2016 he was a member of the security team that travelled to the Olympics and Paralympics in Rio.

More recently Jason has worked at Police National Headquarters in Wellington as the Justice Sector Liaison Officer, National Manager High Performance, Principal Advisor to the Commissioner, and the Director of Integrity and Conduct, which includes Professional Conduct and the National Integrity Unit.

Jason grew up in Port Chalmers attending Otago Boys’ High School and prior to joining Police studied accounting at Otago University graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce. He lives in Dunedin with his wife and two children, both of whom work for Police.

Inspector Daniel Williams (Ngā Puhi , Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha) will have 14 years of service with New Zealand Police in September this year.

Up until this year Daniel’s policing career was based in Northland District, where he has served as a Constable in Kaikohe, before working as a Public Safety Team Sergeant for six years across Kaikohe and Mid Far North.

In 2021 Daniel was promoted to Area Response Manager for Far North working out of Kaitaia. Earlier this year, Daniel made the move south after being promoted to Inspector and filling the role of Southern District Partnerships Manager, working alongside local Iwi and the many partner agencies Southern District Police enjoy strong relationships with.

In accepting the role of Southern District Māori Responsiveness Manager Daniel seeks to further enhance the cultural capability and responsiveness of Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa kaimahi at each level.

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