Recruit Wing 300 and three new dog patrol teams
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