After his predecessor was in the job for a brief four months, Dave Scott was appointed as his replacement, a job he considers a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” Despite there being a host of similarities between his previous role in the police force and his new role, he told Critic that it is the camaraderie in the police that he will miss the most. He explained that, “in the police you’re in a tight group of people often working in challenging environments so you’re always making good friendships and good bonds with people”, adding that, “after a 10 hour shift you probably know them [your workmates] better than you do your wife.” Let’s hope she isn’t reading this article...
When asked whether he would favour a hardline approach to tackling student misbehaviour or prefer a more compassionate approach, he diplomatically but rather predictably noted that he will deal with each case on its merits, as you “simply cannot have a predisposed way to deal with anything without understanding what it is you’re dealing with beforehand because there are always other factors involved.” He went on to accept the universal rule that “young people will always make mistakes” so he won’t be “smashing walnuts with sledgehammers.” “I intend to be fair and reasonable, but my main thing is to make sure the student has learned from the experience, so they will go away from Otago University a better person.”
Six weeks into the job, Scott is still learning the ways of the role. He is eager to meet other staff at the university, “work collaboratively with other student services… [although] at this stage it’s a case of learning how everything works without stepping on anyone’s toes.” Additionally, he is “getting to know Campus Watch, working with them and understanding what works well and what doesn’t work so well in order to develop the service”, with this being something he will actively work on in the foreseeable future.
Scott put himself forward to be Police Forward Commander of the Hyde Street Party following the 2012 event, in which a roof collapsed injuring several. His response to the question of whether he supports the Hyde Street party continuing into the future was meet with, “wow, that’s a loaded question!” After highlighting the uniqueness and unusualness of the event, the party’s focus undoubtedly being of binge-drinking above anything else, and the contribution of OUSA and other organisations to the safety of the event, he concluded that “my support there would continue.”