Hip-hop cops take on the world

If you haven’t seen Police’s ‘running man’ video yet, you’re probably about to.

A group of Counties Manukau and Auckland City staff have taken the world by storm with their dance moves, videoed and posted on the New Zealand Police Recruitment Facebook page – along with a challenge to various other police jurisdictions to do better.

In less than 24 hours the video had reached a staggering 11 million people, with 3.7 million views on the Recruitment page alone, along with more than 40,000 shares – a record for a Police social media post. Over the same time the Recruitment page added around 13,000 new followers.

The story was picked up by New Zealand media outlets – and others as far away as Israel, the UK and US.

The running man challenge is a social media craze in which people video themselves dancing to the 1990s hit My Boo by the Ghost Town DJs and challenge others to do the same.

Of the ten police organisations we challenged, police on the Isles of Scilly - off the south west coast of Cornwall – were the first to react, though Scilly Sergeant Colin Taylor maintained their five officers and station cat were too old and preferred cake.

However New York Police Department has now risen to the challenge.

The Police video was choreographed by Constable Satele Brown and made by Shelley Nahr and Senior Constable Garry Boles, of the Auckland media team, from an idea by National Manager Brand and Engagement James Whitaker.

It features Satele and fellow Constables Trish Fatu, Josie Mehau, Junior Fuimaono, Lara Costello, Semone Moke-Pouwhare and Bharvi Bhatt dancing then being joined by Sergeant Sonny Iosefo, who shows them how it’s really done.

“It’s about showing Police having fun and building trust and confidence,” says Shelley. “Most of the staff in the video were either at a training day or came in on their day off to help. Thanks to everyone involved.”