Summarised by Centrist
Police are investigating after three applicants who failed the required physical appraisal test (PAT) were allowed to begin training at the Royal New Zealand Police College, in breach of recruitment policy.
Assistant Commissioner Tusha Penny confirmed the error and said the force had launched a six-month audit to determine if other standards were compromised. “Our process does not allow for exemptions to the PAT, and this is a clear breach of the recruitment policy,” she said.
“Recruitment leaders have been reminded by email that there are no circumstances where discretion can be provided for applicants who do not pass the PAT.”
The controversy comes amid pressure to meet the government’s promise of 500 additional frontline officers by November, a target police officials have called “very, very challenging.” As of April, police were still 475 officers short.
Police Association vice president Paul Ormerod welcomed the audit but warned against broader softening of standards. “All recruits should be good to go when released to district,” he said, adding that efforts should focus more on pay and retention:
“Instead of so much effort put into new staff, pay officers more, improve the conditions that they already have, and retain the staff that we have.”
Police Minister Mark Mitchell denied any political interference, saying, “There has been no political interference with police and their recruiting programme. The coalition government set the police a recruitment target and the funding to increase police numbers by 500. The delivery of that is an operational matter for police.”
Labour’s Ginny Andersen, however, argued political pressure had compromised standards, calling it “completely unfair for New Zealand police to be held accountable for a political promise that they have always said was unattainable by the 27th of November this year.”
