Wing 227, which graduates from The Royal New Zealand Police College tomorrow, includes three recruits who also have active musical and theatrical careers.
Constable Reuben Boniface, who is being posted to Invercargill, has been a member of the esteemed City of Invercargill Pipe Band for eight years and has travelled extensively with the band nationally and internationally.
Meanwhile, Constable Ross Humphrey, who is being posted to Taupo, has had his first musical play produced while he has been at Police College. Swing was performed by Tauhara College in Taupo to much acclaim and has seen interest from other New Zealand theatre companies. Ross is already working on his next play.
Their colleague Constable Vatulele Tusitala, who is being posted to Howick, has recently completed three years with the New Zealand Youth Choir. He sacrificed a trip to the UK with well-known Auckland choral group The Graduate Choir to come to Police College. The choral group was invited to perform at the 20th anniversary of the Association of British Choral Directors in August.
All three have had to put their musical and theatrical careers on hold at Police College, but they say the sacrifice of the 19-week live-in course is worth it.
Wing 227 will graduate from The Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua at 2:00pm on Thursday 17 November 2005.
They bring the total number of Police graduates this calendar year to 474, with another 40 recruits expected to graduate in mid-December.
Regrettably new Police Minister, the Hon. Annette King, is unable to attend tomorrow's graduation, but is hoping to attend the year's final graduation.
* 77 recruits will graduate, 63 male and 14 female.
* The average age of wing members is 29 (the youngest is 19 and the oldest is 42)
Postings:
Northland: Whangarei (1)
North Shore/Waitakere/Rodney: Henderson (4), Orewa (1), Takapuna (3)
Auckland City: Auckland Central (7), Avondale (1), Mount Wellington (1)
Counties Manukau: Howick (4), Otahuhu (2), Pukekohe (2)
Waikato: Hamilton (3), Thames (1)
Bay of Plenty: Rotorua (3), Taupo (1), Tauranga (4), Tokoroa (1)
Eastern: Gisborne (3), Hastings (2), Napier (2)
Central: Feilding (1), Hawera (1), Levin (1), New Plymouth (2), Palmerston North (3), Wanganui (1)
Tasman: Greymouth (1), Nelson (2)
Canterbury: Christchurch (10), Timaru (2)
Southern: Dunedin (3), Invercargill (4)
Wing 227 prize winners:
* Minister’s Prize for First in Wing was awarded to Constable Riki VALENTINE posted to Tauranga.
* Commissioner’s Prize for Second in Wing was awarded to Constable Ian QUINLIVAN-POTTS posted to Henderson.
Constable QUINLIVAN-POTTS was also awarded the HOLDEN Tactical Skills and Safety Prize (overall winner in defensive tactics, firearms and driving), the Meltzer Prize for Weapon Training and the Driver Training Award.
* Patron’s Prize for Third in Wing was awarded to Constable Jacob LAWGUN posted to Takapuna.
* The International Police Association Academic Prize (overall winner for academic exams) was awarded to Constable Antony WALLACE, posted to Christchurch.
* The Ericsson Practical Prize (overall winner for practical assessments, file preparation and fingerprinting) was awarded to Constable Hamish KEIR, posted to Christchurch.
* The Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award was awarded to Constable Benjamin TURNER, posted to Hamilton.
Police Association prizes for section achievement:
This prize is awarded to an individual from each section who, in the collective view of the members of the section and the wing instructors, made the greatest contribution to the overall success of the team.
Section One: Constable Craig HADWEN, posted to Auckland Central
Section Two: Constable Shane KEOWN, posted to Christchurch
Section Three: Constable Damion RANGITUTIA, posted to Thames
Section Four: Constable Benjamin TURNER, posted to Hamilton
Wing Patron: Jenny Brash, Mayor of Porirua City
Porirua Mayor Jenny Brash has long had an interest in Porirua City and the Police College. As Mayor, she is active in promoting the city and voicing Porirua residents' regional concerns and interests. During her tenure, Porirua has developed considerably as a commercial centre. Her goal is to create a city where no young people are unemployed after leaving school and where opportunities are available so that all residents can reach their full potential and have a good quality of life.
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For more information or to attend graduation please contact:
Toni Barlow, Communications Adviser, 04 238 3413 / 0274 419 216