In June, Police launched Puhikura, a campaign which has been created to attract more wāhine Māori to join police.

The candid documentary series shows wāhine Māori police applicants telling their honest stories of what has held them back from being recruited into Police and what has called them forward.

The documentary/short films will be used as a focal point for community and marae-based recruiting seminars and events hosted by New Zealand Police targeting Māori – wāhine, tāne, iwi, whānau and friends. Our aim is to invite korero with us about individuals’ barriers or concerns.

We want other wāhine Māori to be able to identify with those profiled in the documentaries and hope the campaign helps us to better understand and be able to answer barriers for Māori from a Te Ao Māori perspective.

Details of event:

Location: Gisborne

Date: Wednesday 27 July

Address : Gisborne Girls High School, 555 Gladstone Road, Te Hapara

Time: 5.30pm

Contact/RSVP: Jamie.Hutana@police.govt.nz

Other events will be held across the country over the course of the next few months

On Thursday June 30 Wing 355, the Arihia Stirling Wing, graduated with 24 of the recruits identifying as wāhine Māori. Back in 2017, Police were achieving less than that number across the entire year.

We are excited that we will have a future constabulary workforce that will match or be very close to matching our population demographics.

But we are not there yet – and that’s why this campaign is needed, as although the numbers of Māori being recruited have increased substantially over the past four years, this is still a group that is under-represented, particularly wāhine Māori.

Diversity in Police is important for all New Zealanders, and we are absolutely committed to delivering the best possible policing service for New Zealanders.

We encourage any wāhine Māori, tāne, iwi, whānau and friends to attend these community events to find out more information and talk to recruiting or local staff.

To find out more about the Puhikura campaign and check for other community events near you check them out here: https://www.newcops.govt.nz/puhikura

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