Course offers stepping stone into police

Monette Maiava says she loves police work. Photo / Angela McCarthy

Unitec's preparatory police course provides a bridging opportunity for potential recruits who struggle with some aspects of the selection process.

The course, which is fully funded by NZ Police, concentrates on areas such as fitness, problem-solving and communication skills.

It was originally set up for Pacific Islanders and Maori, for whom there is a shortage of police officers, but now caters for other ethnic groups as well.

Students apply by attending one of the regular recruitment seminars at Greenlane recruitment centre and asking to go on the Unitec course database if they don't meet the Royal NZ Police College entry criteria.

After attending a pre-testing day where their numeracy, literacy and physical ability are assessed, several are interviewed by a Unitec staff member and a police staff member and 15 chosen.

The part-time course runs on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for 14 weeks. The course builds up students' speed with basic numeracy and problem-solving and improves their vocabulary and abstract reasoning.

It also concentrates on getting student fitness levels up to scratch.

Stephen Matai'a, who helped to set up the course, says the course is not really designed for school leavers, but 18-year-olds are accepted because of their maturity. Males outnumber females. The course's success rate with entry into Police College is about 80 per cent, although its students don't always get in on their first try.

The course was set up in 2005 as a joint venture between NZ Police and Unitec to attract more Pacific Islanders into the police force. It has since been redeveloped to attract more Asian participants and recently Unitec and Te Wananga o Aotearoa have combined to run a similar programme for Maori.

Graduate
Monette Maiava, 28
Police Constable, Henderson

I wanted to join the police when I left school but I wasn't fit enough and couldn't swim so I never applied, just went off and did random jobs, including administration and call-centre work.

I then worked in Australia for a while and when I got back a cousin told me about the Unitec course he'd done for Police College. He raved about how good the support was, so I applied and started in February 2007.

The course began with the basics of addition and subtraction which was good for me because my maths was really rusty. The teachers offered great support. As well as Unitec evening classes, we set up study groups and could text our tutors, no matter what time, to ask for advice. It was awesome.

We went for a run after every Unitec class and we sometimes went swimming. Some of us from West Auckland also practised swimming at West Wave, coached by a classmate who was a good swimmer.

Our class was like an extended family, pushing you but also offering help when you needed it. The tutors kept it pretty real too. They even helped a couple of people who were struggling with the fitness side by talking about diet plans and things like that.

I got into Police College because of the course and I also made great friends. In fact some are now at this station.

The course finished in May and we all sat the (Police College) entry test together. Six made it through first time round. I didn't! I failed the abstract reasoning so I had to stand down six weeks before trying again. I passed the second time. I'd been so worried about maths and English, I didn't put enough effort into it.

Then I failed my next fitness test. I couldn't believe it. It was so stupid of me. I missed the October intake and had to wait until January. You can imagine I passed my fitness that time and went through with two others from the course.

I graduated in May last year. I love it. Being on the street is really challenging. Every shift is different and I enjoy coming to work every day, which is a first for me!

In my wing of 60, there were only four Pacific Islanders. Most wings are similar so I think the course is needed to encourage more Islanders to join up.

Employer
Constable John Maea-Brown
Pacific Island Liaison Officer for Auckland City District

The Unitec course is successful; the course has produced 70 officers since it began in 2003. I'm one of the first graduates. When I joined six years ago, Pacific Islanders made up 2 per cent of the national force. We're now at 9 per cent and aiming for 14 per cent.

Unitec is a good location for the course, halfway between West Auckland and South Auckland.

As part of my Pacific liaison role, I'm involved with the course and look after the database at Greenlane (recruiting centre).

The emphasis is on maturity and life experience but that doesn't necessarily cut school leavers out. Maturity is important because police officers sometimes have to do things such as deal with dead bodies and inform parents that a child has passed away. The current course has two or three school leavers as well as a woman in her early 40s.

The course is designed so everyone works together to be up to scratch for the tests at the end of the 14 weeks. It really helps to be in a group working together for that common goal; Pacific Islanders like that family approach.

The police are strongly involved in the course. We visit every second week to encourage the students to stay on track and our physical training officers work closely with the students.

We're keen to help people that really desire to be police officers. Although our biggest need is for Pacific Islanders and Maori, we will help anyone that really wants to be a police officer.

A female Indian police officer from our course has just graduated into the force.

* angela@careerideas.co.nz

Training places

Qualification: Pre-police preparation course.
Where: Unitec and NZ Police Mt Albert Campus
Ph (09) 815 2945
0800 10 95 10
courses@unitec.ac.nz
www.unitec.ac.nz
Entry requirements: Same as NZ Police initial screening criteria.
Contact 0800 NEWCOPS or visit www.newcops.co.nz for details. Must attend a recruitment seminar at the Greenlane recruiting centre.
Starting dates: February and July.
Course costs: Fully funded by NZ Police
Intake numbers: 15 places. Attracts more than 40 applicants per intake.