The 363 wing will be attested and graduate from their initial training course on Thursday 2 March.
The 49 recruits have passed and are celebrating their success with their whānau and friends tomorrow afternoon.
Attending the ceremony will be Commissioner Andrew Coster, Minister of Police, Honourable Stuart Nash and the 363-wing patron, Black Caps retired cricketer, Grant Elliot.
Top of wing, recruit Emma Hensman, studied law and languages at the University of Auckland. She has also been a youth pastor at a non-denominational church, so she has a varied and wide set of skills to bring to the New Zealand Police front-line.
Emma has previously worked for Police in the roles of Authorised Officer and Police Prosecutor in Counties Manukau.
“I am honoured to have achieved this award,” says Emma. “I have joined the New Zealand Police as I care about our communities and I want to help people.”
She is looking forward to starting a job that will challenge her and help her grow.
Emma is posted to Counties Manukau District.
The Wing leadership award winner is recruit Anthony Tuitavake, who played Rugby Sevens for New Zealand and in 2008 became All Black #1072. Anthony continued his sporting career in Japan and France, where he also coached rugby.
He says “Giving back to the community is something that is important to me. The reason why I’ve wanted to join is to make a difference, serve and help our community feel safe. I wanted to sign-up after finishing school but it didn’t happen, but now I have come full circle and with a lot of life experience, and more to offer.”
Second in wing and posted to Eastern District is recruit Alexander Gunson.
Alex is a qualified builder who looks forward to getting into the busy district and helping out in the community. He is one of three recruits to be posted to Eastern District to start their careers.
There are four recruits who have worked for Police in other roles, such as File Management Centres, Emergency Communication Centres and as Authorised Officers.
Six of the recruits have been involved in volunteer work, such as Surf Life Saving, St John Ambulance or Community Patrols. Four recruits have been members of the New Zealand Defence Force.
Four of the recruits, Dean Naude, Jithran Pohl, Linda Nienaber and Scott Abbott are of South African descent and speak Afrikaans and have something in common with the Wing Patron.
Patron of the 363 Wing is Grant Elliott, who was born in South Africa and arrived on New Zealand shores in 2003, bringing significant cricketing skills with him. He was first called up to play for the Black Caps in 2008.
He has played more than 100 games for the Black Caps and is widely regarded by his teammates as a hard worker and a reliable player who always put the team first. His name was written into New Zealand cricketing folklore when he hit the winning six against his home country South Africa, propelling the Black Caps into their only ever World Cup final in 2015.
His international sporting prowess means he is well-versed in team culture, motivation and knows exactly what it takes to create a high performing team.
Awards:
Minister’s Award recognising top student – Constable Emma Hensman, Auckland City District.
Patron’s Award for Second in Wing, recognising second top student – Constable Alexander Gunson, Eastern District.
Commissioner’s Award for Leadership – Constable Anthony Tuitavake, Auckland City District
Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award – Constable Cameron Taylor, Tasman District
Driver Training and Road Policing Practice Award – Constable Mathew Atchison, Bay of Plenty District
Firearms Award – Constable Rawiri Bidois, Central District.
Deployment:
The entire wing will disperse to the following districts on Monday 13 March:
Northland – 1, Auckland – 7, Counties Manukau – 11, Waikato – 2, Bay of Plenty – 7, Eastern – 3, Central – 2, Wellington – 9, Tasman – 1, Canterbury – 3, Southern – 3.
Demographics:
25 percent are female, and 75 percent are male.
New Zealand European make up 65.3 percent of the wing, with Māori 10.2 percent, Pacific 12.2 percent and Asian 12.2 percent.
