Over shared kai at Waiwhetu Marae, 12-year-old Teyana got the chance to talk to Detective Inspector John Van Den Heuvel. It may well be that this young wahine Māori will have his job in a few decades’ time.
Teyana wants to join Police and become a detective. And not just any detective. She wants to be an undercover super-secret squirrel detective because she reckons she’d be good at it.
After hearing about the Puhikura event being held at her local marae, she dragged Mum along to hear more about what a future career in the Police might be like. Details of future events around the country can be found below.
Puhikura is a recruitment campaign designed to attract wāhine Māori into a career with New Zealand Police.
The organisation has focused on attracting more wāhine Māori constables in recent years and made good progress, evidenced by the recent graduation of 24 wāhine Māori in Wing 355. However, there is more work to do to reach the same proportion of wāhine Māori in our communities.
Inspector Erin Hurley (Ngāti Rangitihi) described the campaign as a bold step taken by the organisation.
“I am really proud to be supporting Puhikura. Wāhine Māori are the most under-represented demographic in Police and Puhikura sets out to change this by capturing the powerful stories, by wāhine Māori, for wāhine Māori.
"The story telling approach beautifully acknowledges the Te Ao Māori (Māori World view) of interconnectedness to whakapapa, whānau, the whenua and the water through each of the stories from the wāhine.”
The documentary-style campaign features five stories of wāhine Māori, four of whom are aspiring to join Police and are at various stages of their recruitment journey. The fifth story features Southern District’s Constable Desiree Hoera. (You can watch them all, below)
The first Wellington District Puhikura event was hosted by Te Āti Awa Iwi at Waiwhetu Marae. Several members of the community and staff came along to hear more about the campaign.
Community members were welcomed onto Waiwhetu Marae in accordance with the kawa of Te Āti Awa.
The familiar and welcoming space of the marae created an environment for connection where prospective future men and women in blue could share a meal with their local officers and ask questions about the job.
Serving and giving back to the community is what drives most people to join Police.
Addressing those present, District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell expressed how much the community needs each one of them, and so too does New Zealand Police.
"If you take nothing else from today” said Corrie, “I hope you understand that your community needs you; your unique perspective, your experience, your skills, and your culture, more than you know.”
The Puhikura campaign doesn’t shy away from voicing the challenges wāhine Māori face. First, in the positive and negative engagements with Police which shape their perspectives, and in the recruitment process itself.
Sharing lessons from his own journey, Corrie encouraged those aspiring to a Police career to never give up on their dreams.
In his younger years, at about the same age as Teyana, an interaction Corrie's family had with Police left a profound impression that led him to pursue a career in Police. There were many obstacles along the way. Academic learning didn’t come easy, but he worked hard at it. It was three years before he was finally accepted.
“Follow your dreams and work your way through the obstacles and challenges that you encounter," he said. "Go all out for what you really want. Take courage, continue to hope, and persevere.”
Following the screening, a panel of wāhine Māori who work for Police and a candidate currently in the recruitment process took questions from the floor.
Questions varied from advice around practical aspects of the recruitment assessments, to what drives and motivates them, and their day-to-day work.
Walking into the most devastating moments of people’s lives and supporting whānau through a bad situation, as well as making a difference in the lives of young tamariki, were given as examples of some of the best parts of the job.
On the more challenging side, shift work and the realisation that Police can’t do it all.
Answering a question about why she chose to pursue a career in Police, a recruit candidate recounted how in her younger years she would always run and hide from Police. She didn’t like that and decided she wants to change it.
At the close of the evening, Iwi thanked Sergeant Aroha Morehu for bringing such a special event to their wharenui, and said they hoped there would be many more to come.
- There are a number of Puhikura events being held around the country, including in Invercargill tonight (11 July), Taupo on 12 July, Dunedin and Rotorua on 13 July, and Tamaki Makarau on 20 July. Other events in Eastern District, Southern District and more in Bay of Plenty and Wellington are to follow. See newcops.govt.nz/puhikura to find out when there is one in your area.
The wāhine featured in the Puhikura campaign
(Click on the images to go to their videos)
