Recruiting enough Kiwis to fill the Government's ambitious target to add 1800 extra cops by 2020 will be challenging, according to the Government.
Police Minister Stuart Nash told 1 NEWS it's finding enough people, not money or facilities, that will make the target a stretch to achieve, but at this stage recruitment is going well and the Government is on-track.
Mr Nash made the comments at a graduation ceremony for 78 officers at the police college in Porirua today.
"The quality of recruits that are coming through NZ police services - astoundingly good," he said.
"You had national reps there, you had people with masters degrees, you had law and commerce degrees, you had people from 13 different countries," he said about today's graduates, which ranged in age from 19 to 47.
The wing is the largest Auckland-only group to graduate in 40 years.
Mr Nash said he is taking criticism about the Government's 1800 extra cop target from National MP Chris Bishop "with a grain of salt".
"Between 2012 and 2017, the number of police in the police service actually dropped by about 70 officers so when people say you’re not doing enough to meet the 1800, I'm saying we're doing more than any government has ever done," he said.
Since the Government took office seven months ago, 455 officers have graduated.
The Government's aiming to recruit 1000 officers per year, with 400 to replace those who leave the police force and 600 to provide extra for the target.
It costs around $140,000 to train each police officer. It's also planning to add 485 office staff to support police on the beat.
Mr Nash said the reason the coalition agreement says "to strive towards" the target is because he is determined not to have the quality of recruits affected.
"Make no bones about it, it's an ambitious target but we're determined to get there because what we heard in the latest workplace survey was 60 per cent of officers said they experienced an undue level of workplace stress and 60 per cent of officers said they weren’t delivering on the promises they make to the community," he said.
"We need more Pasifika, more Maori, more Asian, more women because in my view the police service should absolutely represent the communities they serve.
"If you want to join the service now's the time, there's absolutely no doubt about that," he said.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush said the recruitment drive has started well, with a hugely-popular recruitment video leading to many applications to join the police force.
"The numbers are high, but we've got to maintain that so our focus is to maintain that, maintain the quality and maintain the diversity," Mr Bush said.
Mr Bush said entry requirements would not be changed to reach the Government target.
"It's more than double what we currently recruit so it's an obvious challenge but we're up for it, it's a great challenge to have but again it means we've got to reach out and find those great people."
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