Bruce Russell may have had some explaining to do on Monday (5 June).
News that he¡¯s being made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the King¡¯s Birthday Honours came as a surprise to the former wingmates he's holidaying with - and even to his wife of 50 years, who he¡¯s kept the secret from for the past month.
The recognition is for Bruce¡¯s service to Police over five decades, most recently in his role as an investigator in asset recovery based in Tauranga.
It¡¯s an award Bruce says he 'anguished' about accepting. ¡°They give you about three weeks to respond and I really anguished in that time as to whether I would accept the honour."
Ultimately, he did so to recognise others: his wife Marilyn, who has stood by him through his 53-year career; his kids Garrod, Toni and Anna; and all those he has worked with.
The long weekend also happened to coincide with a trip away with five former wingmates who stood beside him in January 1970 when he joined up - so it may have been an interesting morning.
The honour will rank among the highlights of Bruce's career.
¡°My fond memories are not of one event but of periods of time,¡± he says.
Among those are running the Child Sexual Abuse Unit and, more recently, his work in financial crime.
¡°I¡¯ll have fond memories of the work I am doing now. I enjoy it, and I¡¯m going to miss it when I retire.¡±
Not that retirement is in the immediate future for Bruce. While Marilyn has been reminding him of the things they have planned once retirement sets in, Bruce says there¡¯s still work to do.
¡°I am passionate about completing some big jobs. I reckon I can put another $20 million in the Proceeds of Crime fund before I retire, if I do my job right.¡±
That¡¯s in addition to the $48 million that¡¯s been restrained so far.
While this type of work was almost unimaginable when he began his policing career, that¡¯s probably part of the attraction.
¡°I¡¯ve always been interested in new things ¨C that pioneering influence you can have when there is the opportunity to try something new.
¡°Once you get that knowledge it empowers you to do things better. It¡¯s challenging and the more complex the job the more satisfying. I really enjoy that puzzle-solving.¡±
And it goes right back to the reason he joined Police all those years ago ¨C ¡°wanting to do things for people¡±.
¡°That¡¯s never changed. I see myself as an advocate for people. I¡¯m pretty passionate about justice and I hate injustice. If I had my life again I would do it exactly the same way.¡±
In the meantime, he says, the honour will act as some form of acknowledgement to the way his family has been impacted by having a husband and father as a police officer.
¡°With 25 or 26 years in the AOS, callouts day or night do disrupt plans, whether that¡¯s a holiday you¡¯re about to go on or a birthday party about to happen that goes ahead without you. My wife has been a tremendous provider to the kids and myself.
"I¡¯d like to think this honour is not about me, but more about the great team of people I have had, and still have the privilege of working with. Our successes are most frequently because of the teamwork I am so lucky to be involved with."
A snapshot of Bruce¡¯s career
- Began in 1970 as a cadet
- Had a varied constabulary career including frontline (Auckland and Dunedin), and commencing with CIB in Dunedin in 1975
- Promoted to Detective Sergeant in Invercargill in 1978
- 25 years in Armed Offenders Squads (Dunedin/Hamilton)
- Established Waikato¡¯s first child sexual abuse investigation unit in 1988
- Joined the Proceeds of Crime unit as Detective Sergeant in 1993
- Worked for a joint UN/Commonwealth Secretariat initiative as an anti-money laundering advisor in the Pacific from 2002-2006
- Now works in a non-constabulary investigator¡¯s role in the Asset Recovery Unit based in Tauranga