Graham Bell (police officer)

Graham John Bell QSM (24 December 1946 – 7 October 2025) was a New Zealand police officer and television presenter. He was a police officer for 33 years, and had roles as a spokesperson in the 1980s as well as detective inspector in the 1990s, investigating several murder cases. After his retirement from the New Zealand Police in 2001, he hosted the true-crime television show Police Ten 7 from 2002 to 2015.

Bell was born on 24 December 1946, and grew up in the Hamilton suburb of Frankton.^[1] After early employment on the railways, and as a truck driver, he applied to join the New Zealand Police in 1967, following his grandfather and a number of cousins into the force.^[2][3]

Bell served as a police officer across the North Island for 33 years, retiring in 2001. As a senior sergeant in the 1980s, he was a spokesperson for Auckland police.^[4][5] He rose to the rank of detective inspector, leading investigations into several high-profile cases during the 1990s, including the murders of Beverley Bouma in 1998 and police constable Murray Stretch a year later. They were among the 19 murder cases he investigated during his career.^[6][7][8][9]

In 1997, Bell was involved in the Operation Rifle investigation into Tāme Iti, which resulted from a related investigation into a stolen Colin McCahon painting.^[10] When interviewed prior to retirement in 2001, he mentioned the 1978 rape and murder of 10-year-old Delphina Phillips in Ohakune as a particularly troubling case he had worked on.^[11][12]

Bell was honoured with a Queen's Service Medal, for public services, in the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours.^[7][9][13]

In 2002, Bell began hosting the true-crime television show Police Ten 7, after his involvement in a documentary on the investigation into the Bouma case.^[6][8] The show followed police officers on the job, as well as profiling wanted offenders and asking the public for help.^[8] Bell's presenting style was described as "straight-shooting",^[8] and he was known for his one-liners and colourful descriptions of perpetrators.^[14] He hosted the show for 13 years, before being replaced by Rob Lemoto in 2015.^[15] When the show was accused by Efeso Collins of promoting racist stereotypes, Bell defended the show, saying, "It's an unfortunate fact that certain sectors of our society are grossly over-represented in the crime statistics".^[15] After the show's cancellation in 2023, he described it as a victim of "wokeness and political correctness".^[16]

In 2019, Bell featured in the true-crime documentary series Who Killed Lucy the Poodle?, about an incident in Rotorua in 1986 in which a circus lion killed a poodle.^[17]

Bell was married for 57 years, and had three children;^[18] one of his daughters following in his stead as a police officer.^[19]

In 2008, Bell published an autobiography, Murder, Mayhem and Mischief.^[20]

Bell died of cancer at a hospice in Hamilton on 7 October 2025, at the age of 78.^[8][18][21] He was eulogised by the police commissioner, Richard Chambers, as "a bit of a legend when it comes to policing in New Zealand".^[18]

• Graham Bell at IMDb