From top of the North to top of the class - Police graduation today

Fifty seven new constables will graduate from The Royal New Zealand Police College in Wing 266 today. Their wing patron is Mike Hall, Chief Executive Officer and National Commander of the New Zealand Fire Service.

Constable Ross Mason, posted to Kaikohe, has taken a 'hat trick' of prizes including the top award of First in Wing. Hailing from Kerikeri, Constable Mason says he has fulfilled a lifelong ambition by joining the New Zealand Police.

"My great uncle was a Police Dog Handler, one of his great catches was that of the infamous prison escapee George Wilder. My great uncle took me on a tour of the Hamilton Police Station as a youngster, and from that day I knew I wanted to be a police officer one day, and here I am."

Northland District Commander, Superintendent Mike Rusbatch, says he is looking forward to meeting Constable Mason.

"We congratulate Ross for coming top in his wing which is a direct reflection of his dedication and commitment to policing and we look forward to him applying his new found skills and knowledge in helping make the Kaikohe community safer.”

Prior to coming to the Royal New Zealand Police College, Constable Mason was beef farming in Northland.

A first for Police Commissioner Peter Marshall
The graduation ceremony will be the first the Commissioner has overseen in his new role. Commissioner Marshall attested the wing on Tuesday and personally signed off all the new constables.

Another first for the wing was that their progress could be followed on Twitter. Constable Julie Mason was chosen to 'tweet' about her experiences over the 19 week course. Her tweets were followed via www.twitter.com/nzpolicecollege. A recruit from the incoming wing 269 will continue her great work.

Photo: Constable Ross Mason

Members of Wing 266 have been posted to stations throughout the country.

They will be posted to:

Southern: Dunedin (1), Invercargill (1), Oamaru (1)
Canterbury: Christchurch (2), Timaru (2)
Tasman: Greymouth (1), Nelson (1)
Wellington: Lower Hutt (2), Wellington Central (2)
Central: Palmerston North (2), Levin (2), Wanganui (1)
Eastern: Gisborne (2), Hastings (1)
Bay of Plenty: Whakatane (1), Rotorua (1), Tokoroa (1), Tauranga (1)
Waikato: Hamilton (4)
Auckland: Auckland Central (3), Glen Innes (1), Mt Wellington (4)
Counties-Manukau: Otahuhu (4), Manurewa (2), Papakura (1), Pukekohe (1)
Waitemata: Henderson (5), North Shore (3), Orewa (2)
Northland: Kaikohe (2)

Wing 266 prize winners:

•Minister's Prize for First in Wing was awarded to Constable Ross Mason, posted to Kaikohe. Constable Mason was also awarded the Intergraph Computer Skills Prize (overall winner in computer studies) and the section prize for Section Three.

•Commissioner's Prize for Second in Wing was awarded to Constable David Goldfinch, posted to North Shore.

•Patron's Prize for Third in Wing was awarded to Constable Oliver Crellin, posted to Wellington Central. Constable Crellin was also awarded the Driver Training Award.

•The International Police Association Academic Prize (overall winner for Academic Exams 1, 2 & 3) was awarded to Constable Malcolm Fairhall, posted to Nelson.

•The Ericsson Practical Prize for the overall winner for practical assessments, skills files & forensic fingerprinting was awarded to Constable Paul Bailey, posted to Hastings.

•The Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award and the Holden Tactical Skills & Safety Prize (overall winner in defensive tactics, firearms & driving) was awarded to Constable Christopher Hey, posted to Lower Hutt.

•The Meltzer Prize for Weapon Training was awarded to Constable Seamus Doyle, posted to Papakura.

Police Association Prizes for Section Achievement:

This prize is awarded to an individual from each section who, in the collective view of the members of the section and the wing instructors, made the greatest contribution to the overall success of the team.

•Section One Constable Michael Abbot, posted to Manurewa
•Section Two Constable Israel Gardiner, posted to Christchurch
•Section Three Constable Ross Mason, posted to Kaikohe

Graduation will take place at The Royal New Zealand Police College, Papakowhai Rd, Porirua, on Thursday 26 May at 2:00pm. The ceremony will be attended by Police Commissioner Peter Marshall and the Honourable Nathan Guy, Minister of Internal Affairs, and Associate Minister of Transport and Justice.

Wing Patron: Michael (Mike) J Hall

Mike Hall is currently Chief Executive Officer and National Commander of the New Zealand Fire Service (NZFS).

Mike started his fire service career in Manchester in 1969, moving to the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service in 1974.

Mike has held every operational rank across the three services, with key functional roles such as strategic planning, human resource management, and technology integration.

In Queensland Mike played a fundamental role in defining, developing and introducing key organisational and cultural reforms into fire service management – a process he is now continuing in New Zealand.

Mike was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal in 1995 for work in communications centre reforms. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE), a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand Institutes of Management, and a Director of the Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC).

In his role as Chief Executive he is responsible for day-to-day management and appointments of all Fire Service personnel. The Chief Executive also holds the position of National Commander. The National Commander is the operational leader responsible for the prevention, suppression and extinction of fires and the safety of people and property endangered by fire.

The NZFS works closely with the New Zealand Police in many respects - a key one of those is that the three Communications Centres which coordinate the Fire Service response across New Zealand are co-located with their Police equivalents in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

The New Zealand Fire Service was one of the key developers of the Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) which is now in widespread use throughout the NZ Emergency Services environment. This provides for a common set of terminology and procedures which lends itself to multi-agency incidents.