“Essentially, there had been instances where applicants seeking to start at the police college were being given exemptions or having discretionary decisions based on their applications.
“It was alleged at the time that it was allowing people who had not passed the fitness tests into the college, and that was of interest because police have always said, even with the new 500 police officer target that the Government introduced, that standards would not drop. The standards to become a police officer in New Zealand are still very rigorous and robust,” he said.
In this episode of The Front Page:
- What it takes to sign up to become a constable.
- Revelations from the police audit of hundreds of applicants.
- Police Minister Mark Mitchell’s comments about missed swim tests.
- Which high-ranking head allowed psychometric test exemptions.
- What we should expect next.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about the police recruitment process.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.