The police’s new training college in Auckland opened its doors this morning.
The facility on premises leased from Massey University, announced in March, was part of efforts to deliver the Government’s promise of 500 extra officers — offering senior training courses and a wing for 40 recruits.
It joined the existing Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua.
The new campus included multiple classrooms with the capacity to seat up to 155 people, a locker room, storage spaces, offices and carparks.
The police school also had access to a gym and recreation areas, as well as a small number of dorms allocated to police staff.
Commissioner Richard Chambers said he had set the bar high for outcomes from the new facility.
“I have made it clear my expectation is for high standards. That starts the moment a recruit walks into Police College and continues throughout their policing career,” he said.
The new recruit wing was aimed at encouraging more people to join the force.
“Being away from home for 20 weeks to attend recruit training in Wellington has been a deterrent for some people wanting to join police,” Chambers said. “Offering training in Auckland is one of the things we can do to attract as many quality applications as possible.”
Chambers said the new wing had a large number of recruits from Northland, who would be based in the dorms.
“Northland has been one of our priority districts for recruitment, and offering training closer to home has been a real drawcard.”
The new class of recruits meant the number of those training to be police officers now stood at 350.
Auckland recruits would still need to spend about five weeks in Porirua for training that could not be done at the new campus — mainly firearms and driving courses— but the “bulk” of the course would take place in Auckland.
“We will consider the possibility of future recruit wings later in the year, depending on demand and the schedule for senior courses,” Chambers said.
Chambers said the new facility would help free up space at the Wellington campus of some training courses for officers already on the beat. He said the Auckland campus would be important in making sure his expectations of “high standards” were met.
The courses for existing officers included training for detectives, leadership roles, and school community officers.
Chambers said that in recent years, police had needed to provide senior courses online and in districts to improve efficiency and free up space at the police college in Wellington.
“That is not possible for some courses, and bringing people together in person is an important opportunity for staff to learn from each other as well.”
While speaking to media this morning, Police Minister Mark Mitchell was asked whether the new campus was crucial to the Government’s goal of 500 new police officers.
“What’s been important for us as a Government… is that we’re prioritising standards,” he said.
“So yes, we want to hit our 500, that’s very important to us, but standards are more important.”
