Andred Saker is raising funds to finance a customised smartphone app aimed at helping young people achieve their goals.
Former Wellington constable Andred Saker left Police with mixed feelings. In August 2019, after nine years, he took long-term leave without pay (LWOP), giving himself the option of returning while he made up his mind about “whether I was going to become a ‘lifer’ or try something new with my skill set”.
Policing had been Andred’s childhood dream, but he was at a crossroads. He was starting to feel like “just a number, a resource”.
He had been part of the neighbourhood policing team (NPT) in Hutt Valley when he applied for and started a role as a youth aid officer. But, after six months, he was needed back on the NPT.
“I didn’t have any control over my career.
I understand why Police needs to operate like that, but you’re not in charge of your own destiny and I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do.” LWOP provided that option.
He found that his policing experience and skills were well received in the job market.
A history degree, a diploma in product design and development and having previously worked for the Ministry for the Environment as a policy analyst probably helped too.
He was hired by the Teaching Council of New Zealand as an investigator, dealing with teacher code of conduct breaches. It was “quite a transition from uniform to a civilian role”.
Eventually he was within weeks of the deadline to return from LWOP. “I agonised over it… I kept pushing it out for weeks until the inspector told me I had to decide.”
Andred asked where they would put him – probably traffic or PST (public safety team) was the response, and that tipped the balance. “I was 38 with three young kids. There was no way I wanted to do night shifts again, so I pulled the plug.”
That was at the end of 2021 and since then he has taken on a role as the senior adviser in waste minimisation with the Hutt City Council. He says he’s thriving.
Although he knew he wouldn’t miss the stress of policing, he found he did miss the people, and he knew he still had a strong instinct for helping others, particularly young people. This was the catalyst to put renewed focus on another pathway, one that had its origins in 2016 when he was still with Police.
Andred tells the story of a family harm incident he attended that year. “It was pretty routine… a boy who was known for causing a lot of mischief. Everyone was focused on him. I looked over and saw his younger sister, who was 11, just cowering in the corner and looking totally neglected.
“I went over and started talking to her... She said she wanted to get into the army.
I said I hope you can do your push-ups and she sprang into life and started pumping out press-ups.”
He could see the girl had potential but was being overlooked. “I ended up doing some work with her and got her into the Naenae Boxing Academy, where she thrived, which started me thinking… We throw all these resources at young offenders, but what about the ones who aren’t offending? They are still brought up in these shitty situations. They are still part of the cycle... How can we reach them and help them?”
Andred says four out of every 13 young people don’t have reliable access to technology. “Youth workers say it is a huge barrier because they can’t communicate with kids.”
From 2016, with help from the Vibe Youth Centre in Lower Hutt and then software engineer students at Victoria University, Andred began working on his Spyre programme to give eligible young people a smartphone with a basic plan and loaded with a customised app that delivers incentives to attain certain goals. The app also includes a weekly interactive timetable, a secure messaging service, a rewards scheme and instant progress reporting.
Adult champions, such as social or youth workers, work alongside to help get them to school or courses and any positive extracurricular activities – all accessed through their phones. “The goals might be as basic as going to school one day a week, which is a challenge for many children. If they achieve that, and other goals, they get credits that can be redeemed for food vouchers, sports equipment, clothing or driving lessons.”
The target age group is 12-25. “We’d love to have whānau involved, but if they are part of the problem, we just want to focus on the young person and give them the tools.”
The prototype was developed in 2018, and the IT platform has largely been completed, but Andred hasn’t been able to trial it. He needs financial backing for user testing and a pilot programme. The project is in hiatus until he can raise $30,000 to move it forward.
In 2020, he set up the Spyre Charitable Trust (spyre.org.nz) to promote the programme and help generate funds for user testing.
“Ten dollars to a young person at the right time, in the right place is transformative. That’s what motivates me. It’s small change, but it means so much.”
During the research and feasibility phase, funded by the Vodafone Foundation, one boy said he wasn’t so much interested in the rewards. “He said, ‘All I really want is for someone to say good job when I’ve done a good job’. With the Spyre app, he could upload a certificate and send it to his youth worker who can instantly reply, thumbs up, you’re a champion!”
*To contact Andred, email [email protected]
The special tactics group (STG) detective had good reasons for quitting in 2021 after 11 years of service in Wellington. With his police work sometimes taking him away for days at a time and his wife, Ashleigh, in a demanding role with Corrections, the couple were finding it increasingly difficult balancing the needs of two young children with their work schedules.
To ease the pressure, Luke resigned and took on security consultancy work that he could do from home, along with his passion project – setting up a boutique coffee roastery in his garage.
The work-life balance was better, but 35-year-old Luke was surprised to find he was struggling with the pace of life outside Police.
Going from being part of a team to essentially working by himself, he realised how much he valued the camaraderie of the policing environment. “In STG, I was working with some of my best mates. Always laughing, having a good time.”
He missed being involved in the big jobs. That was brought home in March last year during the protests at Parliament: “Seeing my colleagues go through that and not being able to help when I knew I had skills that could have added value was so hard.”
In hindsight, Luke says, “I realised it’s where I need to be.” He has now gone through the recruitment rejoining process and been accepted for a detective role in Wellington.
“I don’t regret leaving. It’s been a very interesting year, getting my head around the changes.”
He values the new perspectives he’s gained. “I know [police work] comes with frustrations, but if you strip all that back, it is a pretty cool place to work.
“I had never intended to be in Police as a career for life, but it wasn’t till I left that I realised how good Police is, and it’s where my values lie,” he says.
Perhaps that’s not surprising considering his family background. His father and grandfather were police officers and his mother is a Police employee.
It’s those same values that he’s poured into his coffee roasting company, Zero6.
Luke says he’s always liked coffee – he’s a four-cup-a-day man – and it was an integral part of his police work during the long shifts and when debriefing with “black humour and a black coffee”.
He put his enthusiasm for the brew into action in 2021, learning how to batch roast beans, tweaking the process till he was satisfied, and in June that year he and Ashleigh launched Zero6.
The name came to him during a session at the gym. “It was 6am, or zero six in police speak, the time of day when you have a briefing, or when the kids wake up at home, and you have a coffee.” His STG call sign was Bravo 6, so that sealed it.
The small roastery kicked off with its signature blend – The Operator – another link to policing. For every kilogram sold, $1 is donated to a police mental health charity.
Luke recognises that the coffee market is tough, but he hopes Zero6’s points of difference will have an impact. “One thing I’ve learnt is that to have a purpose behind things is really important.”
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