1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,759 Speaker 1: The New Zealand Police have announced a change to their 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: eligibility criteria. They are now allowing people on restricted driver's 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: licenses to apply to become police officers. The change is 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: hoping to increase the potential pool of new recruits by thousands, 5 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: with apparently a quarter of a million people two hundred 6 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 1: and fifty thousand currently sitting on a restricted license. Jill 7 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,239 Speaker 1: Rodgers is the Assistant Commissioner with Police and is with 8 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:23,080 Speaker 1: us now, good evening. 9 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 2: Hi. 10 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 1: Isn't having your full driver's license just one of the 11 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: most basic requirements? 12 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, you would think, so that's for our candidates. We've 13 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 3: known that this has been one of the barriers to 14 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 3: the recruitment journeys with us, and so hence we've made 15 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 3: the decision to take the eligibility criteria back to what 16 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,479 Speaker 3: it was in twenty seventeen, actually so that we can 17 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 3: have people start the process, so we can start that 18 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,559 Speaker 3: recruitment journey for them while they were to get that 19 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 3: full license. 20 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: But if someone can't show the initiative to get a 21 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,120 Speaker 1: full license on their own, how do we know that 22 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 1: they have the capacity to be a good police officer. 23 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 3: It there's a number of different reasons as to why 24 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 3: people don't progress their licenses. One sometimes as age. Sometimes 25 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 3: it might be fiscal challenges and things. So we're working 26 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:17,479 Speaker 3: with partners and things that if support's needed, we can 27 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 3: help people get their full driver's license. Otherwise it allows 28 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 3: us as if you're to start that process while a candidate, 29 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 3: some work themselves through getting from their restricted into full 30 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 3: driver's license. 31 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: So to be clear, will someone be able to be 32 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: sworn in as a police officer without their full driver's license? 33 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 3: No, No, they will still have to go through the 34 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:41,679 Speaker 3: whole twelve step process. So no, they can't join without 35 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 3: a full New Zealand driver's license. 36 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:45,960 Speaker 1: How many people do you reckon have been turned down 37 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: in the past because they only had their restricted. 38 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:54,279 Speaker 3: We understand it's a decent amount. So we've been looking 39 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 3: closely at our recruitment pipeline for quite some time now 40 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 3: and this was the biggest barrier that we had that 41 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 3: we were able to do some research around people that 42 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 3: had landed on our pages and websites and things as 43 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 3: to why their interest hadn't translated into an application, and 44 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 3: we know that's not having a full driver's license was 45 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:15,240 Speaker 3: the number one barrier. 46 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 2: I just I don't know, it just seems it seems 47 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 2: crazy to me that that is a barrier, and yet 48 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 2: we're going to make someone who couldn't overcome that barrier 49 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 2: have the power to rast people. 50 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 3: There's a whole range of reasons that people no longer 51 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 3: may see that their driver's license was their priority. But 52 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 3: the excitest thing with this is it allows us to 53 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 3: start that process and so if we think they're an 54 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 3: excellent candidate and they're going to have the skills that 55 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 3: we need, then we can process that application. Obviously, that 56 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 3: doesn't mean that they're all going to get through. It 57 00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 3: still will require us to take a good look as 58 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 3: we always do to maintain and standards. So it's not 59 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 3: a changing standards. It's still the really high standards that 60 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 3: we expect the candidates to come through before they get 61 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 3: onto a recruit wing. 62 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 1: If it wasn't so tricky to recruit officers right now, 63 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 1: would we be making these changes. 64 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,799 Speaker 3: We know that delivering the eighteen hundred last year did 65 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,119 Speaker 3: make a big dent in the pipeline that we had, 66 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 3: so we've had to make some, you know, to have 67 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:19,799 Speaker 3: a look at the process, to have a lot how 68 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,080 Speaker 3: we can better support candidates through to make sure that 69 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 3: we're getting the absolute best of those that put their 70 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 3: names in. 71 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:31,519 Speaker 1: And from the recruit pathways that you have in place. 72 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: Are you on track to hit the five hundred new officers? 73 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 3: Do you think working really hard to deliver that that 74 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 3: you're on track? So we've seen applications up considerably this year. 75 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 3: So since the beginning of January, we've had a forty 76 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 3: percent increase in applications. Yeah, so on the new cop 77 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 3: site and that's where you can start your application process. 78 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: Thanks for your time. That is the New Zealand Police 79 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: Assistant Commissioner Jill Rogers. For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, 80 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: listen live to News Talks a B from four pm weekdays, 81 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.