Bruce O’Brien

Superintendent O’Brien joined New Zealand Police in 1999 and has worked most of his career in operational and investigation roles. While in a crime prevention role, he turned to available research on burglary which led him to Evidence Based Policing and the importance of Targeting, Testing and Tracking police strategies and tactics. Bruce has a strong interest in restorative justice and how it can be used to reduce recidivism and victimisation. He has contributed to research on Iwi Community Panels in New Zealand which use restorative justice principles with the intent of keeping low level offending out of the criminal justice system. In December 2018, Bruce was appointed as the inaugural Director of Evidence Based Policing in New Zealand and leads a large team of academics, data scientists and operational practitioners across New Zealand. In 2019 he graduated with a masters of Applied Criminology and Police Management from the University of Cambridge