Rate My Professor Geoff Burns

Geoff Burns has been the Deputy Proctor at the University of Otago since 2018. He also serves as a Fellow at Arana College. With a robust background in law enforcement spanning 27 years in Christchurch, Burns started his police career in 1991 as a uniformed constable at Papanui station. He later served as a detective in the Criminal Investigation Branch and various specialist investigative squads. From 2005, he worked as a police forensic photographer, supporting the CIB across diverse crime scenes. In the six years leading up to his university appointment, he managed the New Zealand Police's South Island forensic photographers team.

In his university role within Student Services, Burns oversees an extensive CCTV network comprising more than 900 cameras across the Dunedin campus and other New Zealand locations. The system has proven instrumental in crime deterrence and investigation, with 236 review requests in 2020—90% from students—leading to offender identifications in assaults, burglaries, thefts, and wilful damage. Notable incidents include tracking an aggravated robber who changed clothes and stashed a knife, and capturing a hit-and-run vehicle's licence plate. In 2018, Burns personally reviewed footage following a Dundas Corner Dairy robbery, tracking the armed offender through North Dunedin, capturing images post-disguise removal, assisting in weapon recovery with Campus Watch team member Danella King, and enabling arrest by Senior Constable John Woodhouse. He describes the cameras as an invaluable tool for student safety and peace of mind. Burns leads safety initiatives, including party season preparations under the 'do no harm' mantra, proactive flat visits to prevent initiations, and nuisance fire reduction efforts in North Dunedin, for which the Proctor's Office earned a 2023 Risk Reduction Award from Fire and Emergency New Zealand. In 2020, he received the Disability Information and Support Appreciation Award for exceptional support to staff and students. Additionally, he spearheaded Campus Watch's 2019 Shave for a Cure participation, raising $1,020 for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand.