Recruit Wing 300 and three new dog patrol teams ready to hit the streets

The newest intake of constables will parade at the Royal New Zealand Police College tomorrow, Thursday 20 October 2016, as part of Wing 300.

As well as New Zealand, the thirty-nine constables completing their studies tomorrow hail from many different countries, including India, South Africa, Iran, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The youngest recruit is 19 and the eldest is 44.

They have come to Police from many different jobs and possess a variety of tertiary qualifications which will aid them in their new roles as Police officers. Some constables have degrees in Science, Law, Social Work and Business.

Others have certificates in Personal Training, Child Care, Makeup Artistry, Management and Health Care Studies.

Several of the constables have worked for Police in other roles and a few others have served in the Armed Forces, and some have volunteered in New Zealand and overseas.

Many of the new constables also have a number of impressive sporting achievements.

Nicole Fairbrother has competed in athletics overseas and in New Zealand, as well as representing Auckland in netball and soccer.

Hannah Bayliffe has competed in New Zealand and overseas in water polo. Peter Stanley played rugby professionally in both Spain and the United States, while Deanne Smith represented New Zealand and Canterbury in softball in 2004.

Diverse backgrounds
Amanda Barker graduated as a Constable in 2008, but had to resign for health reasons.

She never lost the desire to be a Police Officer and she is proud and honoured to be wearing the Police uniform again after 8 years.

“It has been interesting to observe how the recruit course and overall culture of the organisation has undergone some positive developments over time,” says Constable Barker.

“The celebration of cultural diversity within the police, advances in technology such as mobility, and even the way in which the recruit programme is delivered, with a greater focus on practical, scenario-based learning are just some of the key changes,” she says.

Benjamin Wallbank also has experience working Police from his time as a Police officer in the United Kingdom, where he worked for 11 years.

Prior to joining New Zealand Police, he was a Search and Rescue Helicopter crewman here in New Zealand.

Mohammedhassan Karimi was a refugee born in Iran.

He has competed in the national and international martial arts champs in Iran and represented Maylaysia in martial arts.

He has also won a number of titles here in New Zealand.

Wing 300 patron
The patron for Wing 300 is John Allen.

A former Partner of Rudd Watts & Stone, he is the current Chief Executive Officer of the New Zealand Racing Board.

Prior to his current role John was the Chief Executive and Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, before that he was the Chief Executive at New Zealand Post. He is an experienced strategic leader, highly skilled in business and negotiation.

John is currently the Chair of the New Zealand Police Assurance and Risk Committee and the Be Accessible Charitable Trust, in addition to being a trustee of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Foundation.

Dog teams
Wing 300 will be joined by three police dogs and their handlers who have completed their training at the Police Dog Training Centre.

The average time it takes to train a patrol dog is ten months.

The training course programme primarily uses motivational training techniques with the dogs.

They are taught to track, search for people, and search for property, and apprehending violent or dangerous suspects.

They are also taught a variety of obedience exercises such as heelwork, agility, speak on command and food refusal.

The three dog teams are:

• Senior Constable Graham Hawkins with ‘Quadro’ from Hawke’s Bay (Handler’s first dog).
• Senior Constable Nigel Henstock with ‘Murk’ from Gisborne (Handler’s second dog)
• Senior Constable Mick Moorhouse with ‘Tala’ from Tasman (Handler’s fourth dog)

For Senior Constable Mick Moorhouse, he has completed training with his fourth Police dog Tala, who is one of only 12 female dogs now operational in New Zealand.

Prior to joining Police, Mick served with the British Army in Northern Ireland and Iraq.

Mick has a number of awards under his belt from his time with Police, including a Bronze Merit Award for apprehending an offender aiming a rifle at another officer, a Commissioner’s Commendation for entering a house fire to search for someone inside and a Long Service Good Conduct Award.

He also holds an Area Commander’s Commendation (locating and apprehending offender armed with a knife) and a District Commander’s Commendation (apprehending a vulnerable man armed with a rifle).

During his first year as an operational handler he was awarded the Erridge Cup 2004 – 2005, for Best Performance for a first-time dog handler in their first operational year.

The Attestation Parade will take place at the Royal New Zealand Police College on Thursday 20 October at 2.00pm.

The ceremony will be attended by the Minister of Police, the Hon Judith Collins, and Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers, representing the Commissioner of Police Mike Bush, along with distinguished guests and members of the Police executive.

ENDS

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