Mr O’Brien has been officially named Patron of Wing 370, which will see him mentoring 60 police recruits as they begin their training on July 3.
The ILT president, high performance rugby sevens referee manager and former police officer and international referee joined the force in 1978 at the age of 19 and served until 1995, retiring at the rank of detective.
"Everything else I’ve done in life since all goes back to the learnings I got from being in there.
"Decision-making, communication, being decisive — all those things that I learned, I picked up through the police, and I’ve always been a huge fan of the work they do so it is a honour to be named patron."
Mr O’Brien cherished his time in the police, despite almost not joining the organisation.
"I didn’t really know what I was going to do in life and had a couple of mates that joined them, so I thought it was something I could do.
"It wasn’t something that I was thinking about for a long time — it was an overnight decision, really."
He said the police reputation and support had changed a lot since he was in the force and he was excited with the challenge of offering support and guidance to the next generation of New Zealand police officers.
"I’m going to do a couple of sessions with them during the four months’ training just using my experiences and basically you’re there ... if they need you.
"So it’s more just a support basis and having someone that they can hopefully look up to and share experiences with while they’re doing the training."
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said it would be an honour for their newest recruits to have Mr O’Brien as their wing patron.
"A patron can shape the ethos of the recruit wing and thus influence the lives of new police officers.
"As a role model, Paddy has had significant influence and impact in his career, as a former police officer and as an international referee, mentor and leader with the IRB [now World Rugby]."
