One of the tallest men in New Zealand will graduate from The Royal New Zealand Police College tomorrow with Wing 224.
At 216cm (7ft 1in) tall, Constable Paul Randall has previously put his height to good use in the Hutt Valley Lakers and Wellington Saints basketball teams. He was also employed on The Lord of the Rings to help make actors look the size of hobbits. Constable Randall will be initially posted to the Wellington Traffic Alcohol Group and then to Porirua.
The prize for First in Wing goes to his colleague Constable Bridget Suckling, who has already made her mark in yachting in New Zealand. At 24 she was the youngest crew member on the all female team in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race (1997/98) and has since competed in the Volvo Ocean Race (2001/02).
As well as being First in Wing, Constable Suckling won the Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award and the HOLDEN Tactical Skills and Safety Prize (overall winner in defensive tactics, firearms and driving). She is being posted to Auckland.
Wing 224 will graduate from The Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua at 2:00pm on Thursday 30 June.
*67 recruits will graduate 51 male and 16 female
*The average age of wing members is 30 (the youngest is 20 and the oldest is 48)
Postings:
Northland: Kerikeri (3), Whangarei (4)
North Shore/Waitakere/Rodney: Henderson (3), Takapuna (4)
Auckland City: Avondale (3), Auckland Central (3), Downtown Auckland (2), Eastern Area (3)
Counties Manukau: Howick (2), Manurewa (2), Otahuhu (5), Pukekohe (2)
Waikato: Hamilton (5)
Bay of Plenty: Tauranga (1)
Eastern: Gisborne (2)
Central: Hawera (1), Levin (2), New Plymouth (1), Palmerston North (1), Wanganui (2)
Wellington: Lower Hutt (3), Porirua (1), Upper Hutt (1), Wellington (4), Wellington Traffic Alcohol Group (2)
Canterbury: Christchurch (1), Timaru (1)
Southern: Dunedin (1), Gore (1), Invercargill (1)
Wing 224 prize winners:
Minister's Prize for First in Wing was awarded to Constable Bridget SUCKLING posted to Downtown Auckland. Constable SUCKLING was also awarded the HOLDEN Tactical Skills and Safety Prize (overall winner in defensive tactics, firearms and driving) and the Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award.
Commissioner's Prize for Second in Wing was awarded to Constable Gregory CATER posted to Otahuhu. Constable CATER was also awarded the International Police Association Academic Prize (overall winner for academic exams) and the Ericsson Practical Prize (overall winner for practical assessments, file preparation and fingerprinting).
Patron's Prize for Third in Wing was awarded to Constable Mark GILBERD posted to Palmerston North.
The Meltzer Prize for Weapon Training was awarded to Constable Gordon NARBEY posted to Pukekohe.
The Driver Training Award was awarded to Constable Robert CAMPBELL, posted to Henderson.
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 Jon BISSET, posted to Invercargill.
Section Two, Constable Mark GILBERD, posted to Palmerston North.
Section Three, Constable Shane McCARTHY, posted to Tauranga.
Wing Patron: Trevor Grice MNZM
Trevor Grice is well known as co-author of The Great Brain Robbery, which he wrote with Tom Scott to provide simple information about the negative impact of drugs on maturing brains. He is also the founder and director of the Life Education Trust in New Zealand, whose mascot Harold the giraffe is well known to children throughout the country. The trust runs community-funded mobile classrooms with educators who visit schools to teach children about healthy food and harmful substances.
Alongside this work, Trevor is a private counsellor for youth at risk and their families and lectures in New Zealand and internationally on drug policy and education.
He has received many accolades for his work including being named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in 1997 and in 2000 he was given a UNESCO Peace Builder Award and voted Wellingtonian of the Year.
*********
For more information or to attend graduation please contact:
Toni Barlow, Communications Adviser - 04 238 3413 / 0274 419 216