Wednesday, 28 August 2019 - 12:28pm |
National News

Hip hop cop’s new beat – police graduation tomorrow

4 min read

Sixty new cops will be proudly keeping the beat when they march to their police graduation ceremony on Thursday at the Royal New Zealand Police College.

Hip hop dance led her to working with youth, and now it has brought her to a Police career. Constable Charlotte Codlin decided to join Police so she could make a difference for youth like those she helped through her hip hop dance school.

When she was 15 Charlotte and her sister founded a non-profit dance school in Marlborough to give disadvantaged youth the opportunity to learn to dance who would not otherwise have been able to afford it.

“When I was working as a dance teacher I found great satisfaction in being a role model for the youth,” Charlotte says.

“I enjoyed building trust with them and I saw positive changes in the time I was working with them. This made me want to do more to help my community and I couldn’t think of a better organisation that aligned with my goals than Police.” 

Constable Codlin is posted to Tasman District.

A 16-week course away from home learning to be a police officer is challenge enough, but two new constables know plenty about challenging themselves. 

Constable Lachlan (Lachie) Brownlie is a multisport racer, into running, biking and kayaking events such as the Coast to Coast. This year he won the two-day Coast to Coast event as an individual competitor, but he says he’s most proud of his efforts in the Godzone Adventure Race – a week of non-stop racing with team mates.

“Godzone took me to some of my toughest moments of physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation, and is a challenge that’s been instrumental in my personal development,” says Lachie. 

“I joined Police because I believe it will be an engaging career in which I can make a real difference in people's lives. Police College has been a fun and rewarding experience to undergo alongside my colleagues and I'm now looking forward to taking on the challenge of being an officer in my community.” 

Constable Brownlie is posted to Canterbury District. 

Losing weight and getting fit have been challenges Constable Isaac Fransen has met head on. Working as a chef but wanting a career in Police put Isaac on a journey of weight loss and fitness.

He lost 56 kilograms to be accepted into Police training, and says he wants to give back to his community while having an active and varied career. 

“I’ve really enjoyed the physical training at Police College,” says Isaac. “It’s a ton of fun in an awesome team environment. I’m excited to take the skills I’ve learnt and carry them to the frontline, and to continue to build on both them and my fitness as I continue my policing career.”

Constable Fransen is posted to Waikato District. 

Commissioner Mike Bush, other members of the Police Executive, Police Minister Hon Stuart Nash and wing patron Fa’amatuainu Tino Pereira MNZM will also be present at the graduation ceremony on Thursday 1 August.

Tino Pereira is a Pacific consultant on public sector issues and a key advisor to many government departments. He is Managing Director of Niu Vision Group, a specialist consultancy firm based in Wellington, and a noted governance practitioner and community leader with membership on many Government and private sector boards, committees and NGOs. 

Tino is a member of the Commissioner’s National Advisory Forum and helped to develop Police’s Pasifika strategy. He is of Samoan descent and holds the chiefly orator title of Fa’amatuainu from Lufilufi in Samoa. He was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in 2011 for services to the Pacific community.

Awards
Minister’s Award recognising top student – Constable Rebecca Fulton, Central District
Patron’s Award, recognising second top student – Constable Larissa Cowlrick, Eastern District
Commissioner’s Award for Leadership – Constable Angel-Gene Maynard, Eastern District
Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award – Constable Stephen Curac, Northland District
Driver Training and Road Policing Practice Award – Constable Stephen Curac, Northland District
Firearms Award – Constable William Wilson, Eastern District

Deployment information
The new constables will have a one-week break before starting duties in their districts. The wing is being dispersed as follows:
Northland – 4
Waikato – 9
Bay of Plenty – 8
Eastern – 4
Central – 8
Wellington – 10
Tasman – 1
Canterbury – 10
Southern – 6

Media
Media are welcome to attend the Graduation Parade which takes place at the Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua. The ceremony starts at 1pm on Thursday. Any media wishing to attend the graduation should contact the Police Media Centre by 5pm Wednesday at media@police.govt.nz.

ENDS

Issued by the Police Media Centre