Paul Ormerod: Police Association Vice President on the applications audit taking place after fitness test breaches

The Police Association is underlining why aspiring recruits need to pass the physical aptitude test before joining police college.

Police are doing an audit after revelations three applicants got in - even after failing to meet fitness requirements.

Association Vice President Paul Ormerod says the college requires learning across driving, firearms, hand to hand combat - and more.

"If your physical condition isn't up to at least the minimum level - invariably, you'll be injured and that'll put more pressure on your learning and it could probably even delay your graduation."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Father due to see Ellen. Okay, so the police fitness
by the way, coming up seventeen past five. Police are
ordering their recruitment process now because it was revealed this
morning that three applicants were allowed to join the Police
College despite the fact that they failed the fitness test. Now,
Paul Lmrod is the vice president of the Police Association
with US. Now, Hey, Paul, hey Heather, do we still

(00:20):
need them to pass the fitness test?

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Absolutely? You know, firstly, you do need a minimum standard
that all parties such as the union, police and government
have agreed to just to get into Police College. You
know that's a given. Secondly, Police College, you know it's
a pretty high pressure learning environment. It's not just class study.
There's driver training, firearms, taser, baton, hand to hand combat

(00:46):
and if your physical condition isn't up to at least
a minimum level, invariably you'll be injured and that'll put
more pressure on your learning and then it could probably
even delay your graduations. So you have to be fit
to get on there, to be able to not have
to concentrate on an added extra while you're at place.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
Carp Do you suspect that these three have been added
to try to make up numbers in order to get
to the target of five hundred by November.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
We haven't been told why these three, whoever they are,
have been given an exemption from the PA.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Is there possibly another explanation?

Speaker 2 (01:24):
No, I don't think so.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
So you think that it's to make up the numbers
to get to five hundred.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Well, the PAT the scoring system has changed. So when
I went in a number of years ago, you either
passed or you failed. So now that it's on a
points system, so you have to get eleven points of
the PAT and that's broken up into the run, the jump,
push ups in a grip test. So they've kind of

(01:51):
realized that maybe the heavier set BMI such as our
rugby players wouldn't fit into the mold. So they've gone, okay,
well we can score it differently and you know that
will help get people into colline.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
Is it possible that somebody who needs to get to
eleven points got to ten and almost there but not quite.
But then somebody up at the upper levels was like, look,
this person is a super brain. We need them to
come and do the scam fighting. So they're going to
be sitting behind a desk. They're not really going to
be tackling anybody on the street past them.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
No, because everyone has to do that when you start, Heather,
So it doesn't matter you know what your your cognitive
level is in that space. Yeah, you can move into
the area, but you're still a police officer, and a
police officer has minimum requirements and if you are sworn
then you're expected to be able to do the job
as every other police sworn police.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
Hey, Paul, thank you. I really appreciate your time.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Mate.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
This Paul Elmrod, who's the New Zealand Police Association vice president.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
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