Today the NZ Police force held a recruitment day in Christchurch. They need more police officers from different ethnic groups, especially in Canterbury. They hope to attract more Maori, Pacific Islanders, and Asians. The police force in Canterbury is made up of 89% European New Zealanders, 8% Maori, 2% Pacific Island and only 1% Asian. Canterbury has about 7% Asians living in the region.
Auckland on the other hand has 23% in the police force who are non-European but a 40% non-European population living in the city. 23% of Auckland’s population is Asian but most of the non-European police officers are Maori or Pacific Islanders. Wellington has a 16% non-European police force and a 23% non-European population.
Police believe that police officers should mirror our population so that they can relate better to all ethnic groups and to show that they are inclusive – they include all minorities.
Today, a large number of people from different ethnicities turned up to this recruitment day to find about more about joining the police force.
It is not easy to become a police officer. They have to be physically fit, be of good character and relate well to people. They need good written and spoken English.
Vocabulary
• recruitment – try to get people to join
• police force – ‘force’ comes from a word meaning ‘government’, organization of police officers, (similarly air force)
• mirror (v) – reflect
• relate well – have a sympathetic relationship to other people