Today 77 new officers celebrated their success with whānau and friends at the 367 police wing graduation.
Attending the ceremony today was Commissioner Andrew Coster; Minister of Justice and Acting Minister for Police, the Honourable Kiri Allan; and 367-wing patron, Gráinne Moss.
The wing is made up of sporting elite, selfless volunteers and many of the new constables have tertiary educations, extensive skills and qualifications in line with their new careers.
The Commissioner's Leadership Award Winner is Constable Maelega Lilo who is posted to Counties Manukau District.
Maelega Lilo is a New Zealand born Samoan. His work experiences have prepared him well for policing. He's worked as a Correctional Officer at the Department of Corrections and then as a youth worker for the Ministry of Justice. He's also been a leader at an Oranga Tamariki Youth Residence.
"I've worked with offenders and young people both in adult prisons and in youth residences. I am working for Police because I am passionate about service, serving my community and making a difference."
The Prime Minister's Award for Top of Wing after the collation of all course assessments goes to Constable Alexander Kerr, who is posted to Waikato District. Alexander has a Bachelor of Arts with a double-major in Psychology and Political Science. He credits his work as a sharemilker and as a carpenter as having prepared him for his new career.
"The Police has always been my foremost ambition and I am proud to have finally achieved it. I am looking forward to returning to my home in Hamilton to get started."
Awards:
Prime Minister's Award recognising top student - Constable Alexander Kerr, Waikato District. He is also the recipient of the Firearms Award.
Patron's Award for Second in Wing, recognising second top student Constable Andrew Best, Waitematā District.
Commissioner's Award for Leadership - Constable Maelega Lilo, Counties Manukau District.
Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award - Constable Brendan Asomua-Goodman, Auckland City District.
Driver Training and Road Policing Practice Award - Constable Pieter Swarts, Waitematā District.
Deployment: The entire wing will disperse to the following districts the week starting Monday 10 July:
Northland - 4, Auckland City - 7, Counties Manukau - 11, Waitematā - 4, Waikato - 6, Bay of Plenty - 4, Eastern - 12, Central - 8, Wellington - 8, Tasman - 2, Canterbury - 5, Southern - 6.
Demographics: 35.1 percent are female, and 64.9 percent are male. New Zealand European make up 70.1 percent of the wing, with Māori 13.0 percent, Pacific 9.1 percent, Asian 6.5 percent and Latin American, African and Middle Eastern (LAAM/other) is 1.3 percent.
Patron:
Gráinne Moss' career spans over 30 years in the public and private sectors across three countries, the UK, Switzerland and New Zealand.
Gráinne is currently a System Lead for Pay Equity at the Public Service Commission. She's formerly the Chief Executive of the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki, with a focus on enabling the wider sector to transform children's lives, partnering and building commitment, and focusing on growing capability and capacity in the sector. Before this Gráinne spent nine years with Bupa Care Services NZ, the largest aged care provider in NZ as Managing Director, and General Manager Care Services.
Gráinne was awarded an MBA (Hons) in 2003 from IMD Switzerland where she was recognised as one of the top five students and presented with the prestigious Gillian Welshe Award for the outstanding female graduate. Prior to studying for her MBA, she worked at Carter Holt Harvey Forests in the Central North Island as the Regional Operations Manager for Forests.
Gráinne holds a BSc (Hons) in Human Anatomy and Biology from the University of Liverpool and spent the early years of her career in the UK National Health Service prior to emigrating to New Zealand at the end of the 90s. Originally from Ireland, Gráinne is an accomplished long-distance swimmer. She was the first Irish woman to swim the English Channel and Cook Strait.
