New Zealand Police tout milestone as 2000th woman joins force

December 13, 2018

The new advert comes on the back of last year’s viral hit.

For the first time in New Zealand Police's history, more than 2000 full-time female officers are on the payroll.

The milestone was reached today with the graduation of Wing 321 at the Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua.

"It took more than 50 years for police to reach 1000 women on the frontline and only 22 years to reach 2000," Commissioner Mike Bush said. "We expect the next thousand to be reached much sooner as we are continuing to recruit more women."

In June, Wing 315 became the first batch of graduates consisting of more than 50 per cent women.

Mr Bush said today it is important for the police force to more adequately reflect New Zealand's population, with "people from all walks of life" joining its ranks.

The new officers bring the Government nearly a third of the way towards its goal of adding 1800 new recruits. Almost 500 officers have been added over the past 18 months, authorities said today.

"We're looking to recruit people who are compassionate and empathetic, and who want to make a positive difference in their community," Mr Bush said of the effort, which has included big-budget recruitment videos made with the intention of going viral.

The latest video, released in October, cost $480,000 to make - more than a third of this year's recruitment marketing budget for the agency.

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