One News presenter Simon Dallow had a scoop of his own this month as he celebrated with the newly minted constables from the Simon Dallow Recruit Wing.
Police welcomed 58 new officers to the ranks on 1 August when Wing 376 graduated at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua in front of their families and friends, Police Executive members and Associate Minister Nicole McKee. They began their duties in their districts this week.
Simon Dallow, the son and nephew of former police officers, was proud to be Wing Patron. “You’ve done the mahi and learnt an incredible amount in the last 20 weeks,” he said. “Thank you for welcoming me into some of your training.
“Defensive tactics, arrests, baton training, Tasers, pepper spray, driving – that’s a lot of cool stuff, but you’ve learned so much more.
“Every day, try to be a better person and officer. I take this from the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen which is based on creating continuous improvement.
“Thank you for the opportunity to experience a taste of a recruit's journey. I have also learned a lot.”
He praised the RNZPC staff: “You clearly live the Police values and your commitment and dedication to their training and wellbeing provided them with first-class role models. Recruit wings are clearly in good hands.”
Simon’s father Ross Dallow served Police from September 1956 to February 1991, retiring as a Superintendent. His uncle Graeme Dallow served from August 1949 to May 1985, retiring as an assistant commissioner. In 1992 he was patron of Wing 134.
Wing members brought the customary diversity of backgrounds and career paths. Many had family links with Police or had worked in non-constabulary roles. Others had been in other services, or worked as volunteers, or excelled in high-performance sport.
Leadership award winner Constable James Cheng (Northland) previously served in the New Zealand Army.
During his speech to the wing he said: “To our parents, partners, children, other relatives, and friends we say ‘thank you’ for your support - it’s because of you we can stand here today and graduate.
“To our instructors and support staff, thank you for your patience and encouragement, we couldn’t have done it without you.
“To the rest of the wing, dig deep and believe in yourself. When you’re out there, be yourself and always remember your ‘why’.”
The Minister’s Award for First in Wing went to Constable Kieran Carter (Ngāti Awa and Ngāi Te Rangi – Wellington District), who also earned the prize for Physical Training and Defensive Tactics.
He is no stranger to service. Before joining Police, Constable Carter had been a communicator for Ambulance Emergency Communications, a member of the Royal New Zealand Navy and a volunteer firefighter.
The Patron’s award for Second in Wing went to Constable George Vance (Tasman), who also received the Firearms Award. He comes to Police with a strong sporting pedigree.
At a young age he won a scholarship to play rugby in England and in New Zealand was responsible for implementing the country’s first Rugby Youth Advisory Group.
He has been heavily involved in Tasman Rugby at a high level, for both the men’s and women’s codes. He has also managed international cricket appearances in Tasman for the BlackCaps and White Ferns. Perhaps it’s no surprise that he has a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education with a Major in Sport and Leisure Studies.
Constables Vanessa Preston, left, and Alexandra Hassall, second left, both achieved a long-held goal when they graduated. Constables Jessie Dunbar (Northland) and Chloe Crichton (Counties Manukau) wore their family heritage with pride - Jessie with a tartan-lined korowai reflecting her Māori and Scottish whakapapa, and Chloe with a lei made from US dollar notes by her American auntie.
Constable Vanessa Preston (Counties Manukau) comes to Police both with family links, as a relative of former Commissioner Bob Walton, and sporting prowess as a New Zealand representative synchronised figure skater.
“Finally getting to graduation is such a surreal moment – you go through the recruiting process, it sometimes takes a while, and then get to college,” she says. “I’m finally here and am so proud.
“I feel honoured to be able to wear the uniform, it’s such a privilege – and lots of responsibility with it. I hope to help someone out there. I want to be a role model in the community, not just while working but out in my community when off duty too.”
For Constable Alexandra Hassall (Counties Manukau), serving in Police is the realisation of a long-held dream.
“I have always wanted to help people, ever since I was a little girl,” she says. “Being the light at the end of the tunnel for someone was always my goal.
“The work is so interesting, no day is the same, so being able to go to something different every day is exciting.”
Constable Balvindar Teja (Auckland City) overcame a major hurdle when he applied to join Police, losing 75kgs to get in shape.
At his heaviest he weighed 195kgs - and it was seeing that number on the scales, with encouragement from a sergeant who frequented his family dairy, which prompted him to get out and get fit.
Constables Bavinder Teja, Sameer Zubeen and Luke Johnson.
Constable Sameer Zubeen (Counties Manukau) is a former 105 non-emergency line calltaker. He is also a former New Zealand football representative who has played in Fiji and Australia.
“My main inspiration for joining Police was to make my whānau proud,” he says. “Since a young age my family have wanted to see me in a uniform, giving back to the community, and that dream turned into one of my biggest motivations.
“I always knew that I wanted to do something where I can give back, especially to the Muslim community.”
Constable Luke Johnson (Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Maniapoto, Naitanui – Waikato District) had the honour of leading the Police haka.
After 12 years working in the field of disability he decided to join Police so he could give back to the community and provide knowledgeable service to minorities such as the disabled community.
Wing members had a good taste of frontline policing as part of deployment week, which has come in with the extension of initial training to 20 weeks. It sees recruits deployed in week 17 to gain experience of operational policing and the communities in the districts they will be posted to.
One then-recruit, who's now a constable in Wellington, attended and assisted at an incident involving an offender with a firearm. District staff and attending AOS staff say they were very proud of him, praising his decision-making during a fast-moving and volatile event.
Another recruit, who's now a constable in Counties Manukau, was helping execute an arrest warrant when he had to give chase, alongside a constable, to take the person into custody. The new constable's district praised him for his confidence, agility and willingness to help with the arrest.
Inspector Bernie Boyle-Tiatia says there’s no doubt deployment week is an impactful experience. “I’ve received great feedback from both recruits and districts – recruits say it really helps their training click into place, and districts are enjoying getting to know their new people.
“I’ve also been impressed by how well our districts are looking after and supporting the recruits and connecting back to the college to let us know what they’ve been doing and how they’ve managed the week.
“The refreshed course aims to give recruits insights into the realities of a frontline constable’s role, and deployment week is definitely helping us meet that goal.”
More about Wing 376
Awards
Minister’s Award for First in Wing, and Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award: Constable Kieran Carter (Wellington)
Patron’s Award for Second in Wing, and Firearms Award - Constable George Vance (Tasman)
Commissioner’s Award for Leadership: James Cheng (Northland)
Driver Training and Road Policing Practice Award: Constable Karl Northey (Southern)
Award winners, from left: Constables Karl Northey, Kieran Carter, George Vance and James Cheng.
Deployment
The new constables’ first day of duty was Monday, 12 August. They are dispersed as follows:
Northland 5, Waitematā - 5, Auckland – 3, Counties Manukau - 13, Waikato - 4, Bay of Plenty - 4, Eastern - 1, Central - 4, Wellington - 10, Tasman - 3, Canterbury - 4, Southern - 2.
Demographics
23.3 percent are female, and 76.7 percent are male. New Zealand European make up 56 percent of the wing, with Māori 11.7 percent, Pasifika 11.7 percent, Asian 13.3 percent and LAAM 1.7 and Other 5.0 percent.
About the Patron
Simon Dallow is well known on New Zealand television as a news presenter. As art of a Police whānau he says he grew up aware of the importance of the rule of law and community service.
The family moved frequently as his father promoted in Police, which meant Simon had to develop the skills to fit in anywhere and be able to deal with all types of people.
He studied law at university, practised civil litigation then became a criminal defence lawyer. He moved to London to practise law, but a stock market crash meant his job offer changed from litigation to bankruptcy and insolvency law, so he decided on a change.
With a love of travel and a fascination with the cultures, languages and history of Europe, Simon became a tour manager, guiding people from all over the world.
Returning to New Zealand, he took up an offer to read news at TVNZ, which he has done for the past 30 years. He has worked with many of our greatest broadcasters, covering events from Olympic Games and Rugby World Cups to the Christchurch earthquakes and terror attack.
He says what is most important to him and defines him more than anything else is being a father. He has young adult children who live in Australia.