Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Labour’s police spokesperson Ginny Andersen exchanged criticisms over recruitment pressure and safety.
A constable who recently graduated from police college rolled a patrol car “multiple times” while driving on a highway north of Wellington, injuring himself and a colleague.
The patrol car was not involved in a pursuit, nor was it responding to an emergency with lightsand sirens activated when it crashed on Paremata Rd in Porirua on April 3.
The patrol car crashed about seven minutes’ drive from the Royal New Zealand Police College where the constable had recently completed training.
The Herald this week revealed a series of incidents that have raised questions about police recruitment standards amid the push to get 500 extra frontline cops by November 27.
The Government’s pledge, which is costing $191m over four years, was called a “priority” by the coalition Government when the policy was announced last year.
Labour has accused the Police Minister Mark Mitchell of putting pressure on police over the coalition's promise to boost police numbers.
Police are auditing hundreds of police recruit applicants over fitness standard breaches, and on Wednesday the Herald revealed 149 recruits graduated from police college despite skipping a swimming assessment.
Labour’s police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen said revelations of a recently graduated recruit flipping a patrol car on top of other missteps was worrying and she reiterated concerns about possible political pressure being applied to recruitment leaders.
It’s time he admitted he is putting undue pressure on the college
“As this is the third instance in a short period of time involving someone from police college, I am becoming increasingly concerned about how much pressure Police Minister Mark Mitchell is putting on the college with his failing 500 police promise.”
Labour's Police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen. Photo / Mark Mitchell
She felt pressure on police to hit the target could “undermine public safety” and claimed Mitchell was leaning on recruitment leaders to get results.
“It’s time he admitted he is putting undue pressure on the college, and instead of deflecting and shifting the blame, he should focus on helping police to ensure all graduates from police college are fit and ready to serve New Zealand.”
Mitchell hit back saying Andersen’s comments were an insult to all recruits.
“It is disrespectful to every police officer who has recently stepped forward for public service, undergone intensive training, and graduated from the Royal New Zealand Police College, to have Ginny Andersen suggest that because of one accident they are not fully trained, competent or professional police officers,” he said.
Both Mitchell and Andersen have worked for police, but Mitchell, a former dog handler and Armed Offenders Squad member, insinuated Andersen didn’t understand police standards as she never went through college.
“Unlike Ginny Andersen, I have undergone the training at the police college and understand the importance of standards,” he said.
The Herald asked Mitchell if he’d ever spoken to or pressured recruitment leaders or college staff about policy, strategy or standards.
“Standards will not be compromised to increase police numbers,” he said.
He has previously said there has been no political interference.
New Zealand Police Association vice president Paul Ormerod said he’ll be staying in touch with police following identified breaches in fitness standards, and the subsequent decision to audit hundreds of police college applicants.
“We appreciate police needs time to understand how widespread any deficiencies in recruit acceptance and training may be. We will continue to talk with police during the review,” he said.
He said maintaining rigorous processes when increasing frontline staff numbers was critical to ensure both officers and the public were kept safe.
Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won the best coverage of a major news event at the 2024 Voyager NZ Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald‘svideo team in July 2024.
