58 new constables will be graduating at the Royal New Zealand Police College tomorrow, Thursday 3rd of August, as part of Wing 306.
The new constables come from a variety of backgrounds and have various achievements behind them.
They will be welcomed to their new career by wing patron Andrew Bridgman, Chief Executive for the Ministry of Justice and Secretary for Justice.
A number of new constables have represented New Zealand in various sports, many have qualifications in fields such as criminology, psychology and forensic science, and nine have served in the New Zealand Army prior to joining Police.
As well as this, volunteering in our communities has been a focus for many. Some new Constables have been firefighters, volunteered in prisons, worked for community law groups, assisted charity and community groups such as Lifewise, City Mission, Community Patrols, Springboard Mentoring Programme, volunteered as a hospital counsellor and coached sports teams.
For Constable Taylor Smeath-Armstrong, heading to Canterbury district, it was her experience working at a safe house and on the crisis line for Aviva Family Violence Services, which inspired her to join Police.
“Working largely with women and children, I heard from their perspective not only the horrific ordeals they would go through with family violence but how they perceived police,” says Constable Smeath.
“While the feedback was largely positive, one of the recurring themes in their comments was the male presence in the police and how at times this would affect their comfort levels.
“I decided that joining the police was something that I was really passionate about, not solely from a need to diversify the frontline but because the job encapsulated so many factors that appealed to me – from the ever-changing job requirements, to the team aspect, working with the community and always pushing to make some sort of positive change no matter how small.”
Before joining Police, Constable Keith Murray, who will be based in Waitemata district, worked as a dog handler for Customs and placed 2nd and 3rd in the Police National Dog Trials. Following this, he worked for Police as an Authorised Officer, seeing it as a stepping stone to becoming a constable.
And Policing runs in the family for new Wellington District Constable Carley Riach. She was raised at the Police College Annex in Trentham, Upper Hutt, where her father was Senior Constable Brad Riach, the resident instructor and instructor with the Driver Training Unit at the RNZPC. As well as this, her mother worked in Recruit Training for several years, and before that at the Police Dog Training Centre.
Other graduates have already worked for Police in the Prosecution office, in the Police intelligence group and as authorised officers.
The new constables will be deployed across the country as follows:
District Breakdown Number
Northland 1
Waitemata 9
Auckland 10
Counties Manukau 2
Waikato 8
Bay of Plenty 1
Eastern 6
Wellington 6
Canterbury 14
Southern 3
Awards to be presented during tomorrow’s Graduation parade:
• The Commissioner’s Award for Leadership (in recognition of outstanding potential to lead self and others) and the Response Award (for demonstration of safe practices and tactical skills) are awarded to Constable James Allsopp – posted to Auckland District.
• The Minister’s Award for First in Wing and the Prevention Award (for demonstration of operational skills and prevention practices) are awarded to Constable Samuel Brown - posted to Canterbury District.
• The Patron’s Award for Second in Wing is awarded to Constable Veronica Roling - posted to Waikato District.
The Graduation Parade for Wing 306 will take place at the Royal New Zealand Police College on Thursday August 3rd at 2pm.
The ceremony will be attended by Police Commissioner Mike Bush, Wing Patron Andrew Bridgman, and other members of the Police Executive.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
Note to media: If you wish to attend the graduation or need more information, please contact Philippa Ormrod: Philippa.ormrod@police.govt.nz / 021 819 839.