Auckland focus for first Police graduation of 2020

  • Hon Stuart Nash
Police

The number of Police on the Auckland frontline is increasing with the graduation today of a special locally-trained wing of new constables.

Police Minister Stuart Nash says the graduation of eighteen officers from Recruit Wing 333-5 means that more than 1900 new Police have been deployed since the Coalition Government took office.

“The last Police graduation in December smashed all sorts of records for Police numbers and underlined the Coalition Government’s commitment to crime prevention and community safety. That is continuing during 2020.

“We are training Police at more than double the rate of previous years. During 2019 we deployed 854 new Police, an all-time record for a calendar year. During the nine calendar years 2009-2017, an average of 363 new Police graduated each year.

“Today’s graduation means the number of fulltime Police has grown by around 1047 officers since the start of the 2017/18 financial year, after turnover. In addition, a further 200 recruits are currently in training at Police College.

The new constables graduating today add to the growing diversity of the Police frontline. Six were born overseas and the recruits speak a range of second languages, including Mandarin, Korean and Russian.

“There are 11 women and seven men in the wing, with ages ranging between 20 and 50 years. Two of the new graduates describe themselves as single mothers, one of whom is returning to a career in Police after leaving 24 years ago.

“Careers in Policing continue to attract strong interest. In the just the first few weeks of 2020 there have been more than 200 applications from aspiring Police officers.

“Our historic Auckland training wings started in September 2018. They offer the first opportunity in more than 45 years for recruits to train in our largest city. Recruits last went through Auckland-based training during 1973-74.

“The 19-week Auckland wings offer a family-friendly alternative to the 16-week residential course at the Royal New Zealand Police College near Porirua. Recruits can return to their own homes at the end of the day, after study and training at the Unitec Mt Albert campus and other specialist sites.

“Many aspiring Police officers, especially those with young children, say it’s hard on their families to be away for 16 weeks at a stretch. We want our Police workforce to reflect the demographics of the communities they serve.

The new constables will have a one-week break before starting duties in their districts. The wing is being dispersed as follows:

Auckland City - 4

Counties Manukau - 9

Waitematā - 5