Taiaroa case will be solved says top cop

CONFIDENT: Detective Superintendent Tim Anderson is confident the George Taiaroa murder will be solved. PHOTO/FILE

You can take the detective out of Rotorua, but you can't take Rotorua out of the detective.

Detective Superintendent Tim Anderson, formerly the Bay of Plenty crime manager, has been promoted to a new role overseeing the Central and Lower North Island regions.

He said even though he was now working from an office in Wellington he was confident one of his Bay of Plenty cases would be solved.

Mr Anderson, who is one of just three police officers holding Detective Superintendent rank in New Zealand, said he still held the George Taiaroa murder file.

Mr Taiaroa was shot dead in March 2013 while working on roadworks on Tram Rd at Atiamuri.

"Operation Kingswood is still one of the cases I'm involved with intensely and the work is still progressing on that case," he said.

"It's over two years but we still have staff working on it and it's one case I've still got my hands on."

He said he was confident it would be resolved.

Mr Anderson's new role involves working with four police districts, including the Bay of Plenty. Among his responsibilities are investigating any police shootings, investigations of a "sensitive nature" as well as reviewing old case files. His Auckland counterpart recently reviewed the Crewe murder files.

Cold cases were one of his main interests, he said. Mr Anderson was the lead investigator in the Rodney Tahu investigation. The petrol station worker was killed in 1979 and in December 2011 Menzies Hallett was arrested and charged with his murder. He was tried in 2013, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mr Anderson said he had enjoyed working in the Bay of Plenty. He moved to the district from Auckland in 2008. As well as his crime manager's job he was also acting area commander.

"I didn't really miss Auckland but I've certainly struggled in terms of leaving here. The people you work with, the investigators and staff across the board, are probably some of the best people I've worked with in terms of skill, capability, intelligence and really good team work."

He said he also missed "all that Rotorua" had to offer, including the mountain biking and running scene.

"Rotorua still has a bad name [outside Rotorua]. They perceive it to be worse than what it is but Rotorua is probably one of the best communities I've ever lived in."