321 go!

It was a day of milestones when Recruit Wing 321 graduated from The Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC) yesterday.

It included the graduation of the 1000^th new constable since the Government was formed – and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters visited the wing before their final parade to celebrate the landmark with them.

And it saw the number of female officers pass 2000 for the first time, a fact which drew applause when it was announced during the ceremony.

Dignitaries at the parade included Police Minister Stuart Nash, Commissioner Mike Bush and Wing Patron Brian Dickey, Crown Solicitor for Auckland.

All 80 members of Wing 321 graduated and are being deployed to each of the 12 Police districts. Most start work on Christmas Eve.

Constable William Lander (Central District), decided to join Police because he was impressed by the officers who dealt with him after he was attacked in Levin in 2010.

He suffered facial injuries and went home, but was awoken in the small hours by Constable - now Sergeant – Lionel Currie, who he knew from rugby. The initial contact, then the attitude of investigating staff, left a profound impression.

“The police were really professional about the whole thing – and I wasn’t really one for the police at that time,” he says.

“I started thinking ‘This is what I want to do, I want to be part of this organisation and help people’.”

A number of the new constables follow family members into Police, including Constable Sam Worthington (Eastern), whose sister Roxanna graduated from Wing 313 in May and now serves in Hamilton.

Sam became interested as Roxanna went through the recruitment process and had his own application in before she started at college.

“She gave me heaps of encouragement – words of wisdom, the ins and outs,” he says.

Roxanna says her advice was to study and work hard “and stay focused on why you want to be here”.

“I didn’t really need to give him much encouragement,” she says. “He handled it on his own.”

As for her own career, seven months in… “I’m loving it.”

Wing Patron Brian Dickey praised Commissioner Bush for his transformative leadership, as reflected in the diversity of Wing 321.

“I think you know how impressed I am by you,” he said to the new constables. “I’ve had the opportunity to see you in training… you guys work really, really hard.”

He said he had not seen a training organisation to compare with the RNZPC. “I think Police leads the country when it comes to training and development.”

The Deputy Prime Minister addressed the wing before the formal graduation parade, saying the Government was supporting Police in its aim to help New Zealanders be safe and feel safe.

“Take time to be proud of your achievements,” he said. “The Government is proud of you.”

Commissioner Bush said the Government’s commitment to provide an extra 1800 officers and 485 support staff was “an investment in Police but, more importantly, an investment in community safety”.

Since the current growth period began with Wing 308, which graduated in October 2017, 1,022 constables have graduated from the RNZPC.

Prize-winners

• Minister’s Award for First in Wing – Constable Madeleine Finch (Waikato)

• Patron’s Award for Second in Wing – Constable Michael Edridge (Wellington)

• Commissioner’s Award for Leadership – Constable Tremayne Bassett (Counties Manukau)

• Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award – Constable Tim Kirk (Bay of Plenty)

• Driver Training and Road Policing Practise Award – Constable Simone Head (Bay of Plenty)

• Firearms Award – Constable Prajdeep Kaur (Canterbury)

Deployment by district

Northland 4; Waitemata 12; Auckland 6; Counties Manukau 4; Waikato 7; Bay of Plenty 9; Eastern 3; Central 8; Wellington 7; Tasman 3; Canterbury 9; Southern 8.