New hub to help recruit 880 constables

Police has opened a new recruitment hub to help with the task of increasing our constabulary strength by 880 frontline officers by 2021.

The new Waiariki recruitment hub opened in Tauranga this week on Monday 21 Aug and will meet the recruitment needs of Bay of Plenty, Eastern, Waikato and Northland police districts.

The $388 million Safer Communities investment in policing means Police needs more recruitment staff to manage the increased flow of applicants.

“Police needs the recruitment process to be a positive, encouraging and professional experience for applicants,” says Kaye Ryan, Deputy Chief Executive of People.

“This new hub allows for expansion and further efficiency of our recruitment services.

When people apply, and as they go through the recruitment process, we want to be able to be as responsive as possible.”

Ms Ryan opened the new hub, with a number of recruitment and district personnel in attendance.

Around 200 new recruits per annum will be managed through Police’s now-three recruitment hubs.

The Waiariki hub joins the Tamaki Makaurau hub, which covers Auckland, Waitematā and Counties Manukau Districts, and the Te Whanganui-a-Tara Hub, which manages Central, Wellington, Tasman, Canterbury and Southern Districts.

As applicants progress through the selection process, they will interact with staff in one of these hubs.

Constable Melody Armstrong, a recent graduate of the Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC), who is now working as a frontline officer in her home city Rotorua, attended the hub opening.

Constable Armstrong says providing support and encouragement to people going through the recruitment process makes a huge difference to keeping them engaged - and to their final success in graduating from the RNZPC.
“I received fantastic support from all the recruiting staff throughout the process,” says Constable Armstrong.

“I had people around me who believed in me and gave me that extra little push when I was doubting myself.

I found getting back into study after being out of school, along with the physical component, challenging but I overcame those hurdles, one step at a time,” she says.

ENDS

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