POLICE OFFICER
I LOVE WORKING IN THE COMMUNITY I LIVED IN WHEN I WAS GOING TO HIGH SCHOOL. it IS GOOD TO BE TRYING TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE HERE AMONGST MY PEOPLE. ZION LEAUPEPE
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VARIED, EXCITING CAREERS ON OFFER
NEW POLICE OFFICERS NEEDED writer PETER WHITE // photographer LOGAN WEST
Working with her people in her own community is what ZION LEAUPEPE loves most about being a Police Officer. The 26-year-old has been based in Manurewa, Counties Manukau since she graduated from Police College in 2017. “I am right in the thick of it. I work on the frontline, so we attend 111 emergency calls. Basically, we attend anything and everything in Manurewa,” says Zion. “I love working in the community I lived in when I was going to high school. It is good to be trying to make a real difference here amongst my people.” At the start of her career, Zion starred in some recruitment videos for New Zealand Police – she loved doing these and hopes they played a role in giving inspiration to her community. Zion originally wanted to join the New Zealand Army after she left Auckland Girls’ Grammar at the end of Year 11 but was too young to apply. To upskill, she signed-up for Skills Update training courses at their Kelston campus, which she says was a huge help in getting her focused on a future career. “They did pre-Army course training where you learnt things like fitness tests and some theory as well. It was fun but also really important for me. “There were people who came in to speak at those courses, like Army officers but also from the Navy and Air Force. It opened my mind up that there were other careers like the Police and not just the Army.”
Zion says there is a need for new Police Officers, and she encourages young Māori and Pasifika school leavers in particular to apply to join. “If you really care about your people then you would really want to be here and would really want to make a difference. I think that is what best suits someone to be a Police Officer.” And the career paths available once you get established in the Police are so varied. Zion says there are more than 100 options available, ranging from working with dogs, investigation work as a detective, special forces that only deal with firearms incidents or road policing. Her straight-forward advice to school leavers considering joining the Police is to stay fit and not to get in trouble. To relax away from work, Zion loves nothing more than putting on her rugby boots and scoring tries. She has not been playing the game very long but has quickly become a star player with Manurewa and also Counties Heat in the national Farah Palmer Cup competition. “You have to have some stress relief and sport is probably the best way to do that. Funnily enough, I wasn’t really that passionate about rugby but just went along and then fell in love with it. “You grow strong bonds with your team and your coach and they become like another family. That’s why I love rugby.”
KEY FACTS ■ ZION LEAUPEPE HAS BEEN A FRONTLINE POLICE OFFICER IN MANUREWA, COUNTIES MANUKAU SINCE 2017. ■ SHE SIGNED-UP FOR SKILLS UPDATE TRAINING COURSES AT THEIR KELSTON CAMPUS AFTER LEAVING AUCKLAND GIRLS’ GRAMMAR. ■ ZION RECOMMENDS STAYING FIT AND OUT OF TROUBLE FOR THOSE CONSIDERING JOINING THE POLICE.
LEAVINGSCHOOL.CO.NZ
| LEAVING SCHOOL ISSUE #21
For more information on courses offered by Skills Update, visit www.skillsupdate.co.nz For more information on joining the New Zealand Police, visit www.newcops.govt.nz
