Police recruitment surge: Near-record number of new cops

The police national training college is turning out record numbers - but still failing to reach the target set by the Government.

Assistant Commissioner Jill Rogers told NZME: “2026 will be one of the highest years for graduates in the history of New Zealand Police”.

Between 720 and 730 recruits are expected to graduate from Porirua’s Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC) this year, which Rogers said is “almost 50% more than the average over recent years”.

Frontline capacity is set to reach 10,559 constables in active service.

Police data shows between 2001 and 2025, an average of 505 recruits graduated each year, dropping below 300 in some years.

The Government accepts it will not achieve its target of adding 500 extra police officers, admitting the target won’t be reached before the November 7 election despite ministers insisting it would be.

The number currently sits at 388 new cops from when the target was set in November 2023, plus 69 constables this month, and three further under training that will graduate in mid-December.
Police said state the target can be hit by the end of the year but will ultimately depend on attrition.

“Attrition remains low at 4.6 percent. It has fluctuated over the past 24 months, ranging from 4.4 percent to 6 percent, and remains the most significant variable affecting overall Police workforce growth,” said Rogers.

Assistant Police Minister Casey Costello, who is responsible for the policy, said “among the ”narrative of the 500, we lost the picture of actually how much is being achieved for policing”.

On top of the new recruits joining, she said 170 have also rejoined the workforce under the current Government’s term, and New Zealand is holding its own compared to other police forces, “particularly Australia, who have not been able to stay ahead of attrition at all”.

Four ex-Australian officers graduated this year alongside Kiwi recruits for the first time under a new accelerated police programme, which involved a 10-week training course rather than the usual 20 weeks undertaken by new recruits, and focuses more on New Zealand legislation.

Costello is confident the target will eventually be reached, but the focus needs to stay on ensuring recruitment programmes and marketing stay efficient to keep in front of attrition.

The Government and police have constantly maintained the target would not get in the way or compromise recruitment standards to fill wings.

Rogers said the pipeline leading into next year is otherwise “healthy” with more than 1000 people at various stages of the process, although wings have not always been at the maximum capacity.

The Police Association said it continues to monitor attrition as it works to hold people within the organisation.

“We are certainly faced with an ageing workforce at the moment, and we’re going to see that attrition start to rise over the next 5 to 10 years as more people move into that retirement bracket and choose to leave police,” said association president Steve Watt.

The union said it’s an “extremely complex environment” and although people leave the job for a multitude of reasons, a core one continues to be pay.

After three months of bargaining, Association pay negotiations have reached their climax, with issues last month going before final offer arbitration.

“We’ve been trying to get an uplift for our members so that they want to stay in police and they’re remunerated fairly for that,” said Watt.