Police are investigating after three applicants who failed physical testing were still admitted for training.
In a statement, assistant commissioner Tusha Penny said it was a clear breach of recruitment policy.
“Police recently became aware of three instances where applicants were approved to begin training at the Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC) without having met the full requirements for the Physical Appraisal Test (PAT).
“Our process does not allow for exemptions to the PAT, and this is a clear breach of the recruitment policy. 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.”
She said police had begun an audit into whether further breaches of the recruitment process had occurred, covering a six-month period.
The investigation would check whether the application process for recruits to the police college had deviated from the required standards, and the findings would be reported publicly.
Pressure is growing as the November deadline for the government’s promise to recruit 500 additional frontline officers nears, but Penny said Commissioner Richard Chambers had been “very clear publicly and internally that recruitment standards will not be compromised”.
“We have previously acknowledged the target of 500 additional officers by November 27, 2025 is ambitious, but we know this is a great opportunity and we are working hard to achieve the target,” she said.
“Police is looking into these matters and conducting an audit to establish if there have been any further breaches of the recruitment process.”
Police bosses in December told ministers it would be “very very challenging” to meet the two-year target, noting at the time total office numbers had decreased by more than 50.
In a statement on Monday, Police Minister Mark Mitchell said meeting the commitment — a National Party election promise which was committed to in the coalition agreement with New Zealand First — was an operational matter for police.
“There has been no political interference with police and its 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,” he said.
He said he and NZ First’s Casey Costello, his associate minister delegated responsibility for the target, had been clear “that standards were not to be dropped”.
“Minister Costello and I have unequivocally supported the Police Commissioner’s public commitment to the maintenance of standards and expect the police to maintain these standards.”
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