Sixty-Seven More Police Join The Blue Family
Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura, members of the police executive and wing patron former police officer, Glenda Hughes congratulated the 67 graduating constables from Wing 385 today.
Also attending the graduation and presenting the prize to the top award winner was Minister of Police Hon Mark Mitchell.
Families and friends celebrated the newly attested police officers at Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua this afternoon acknowledging the successful completion of their initial training course.
There are some likeminded individuals in the wing with 13 of the graduates having family members currently working in the New Zealand police.
Four of those thirteen graduates were inspired by their fathers who are all constabulary working in Waikato District. The four new officers will be working in Waikato alongside their dads.
One proud father is Senior Constable Ross Moratti. 'I'm honoured that Jordan decided to follow in my footsteps, he's worked incredibly hard and will be a really amazing officer.'
Newly attested Constable Jordan Moratti says 'Growing up seeing my dad in police gave me some encouragement to do the same. I really want to help people and I needed a job that was inspiring and challenging – like policing is.'
Six wing members have family serving in police services in other parts of the world and twelve recruits were born overseas.
Two of the three award winners have made New Zealand their home.
Top award winner and winner of the Driver Training Award is Australian born Sophie Eskrigge. She put her study skills from university to good use, by capturing the top of wing prize. Sophie has a diverse education ranging from marine science, and chemistry, to finance and accounting and is now studying for a post graduate degree in property practice. She can now add initial policing skills and criminal law to that list of achievements thanks to her successful recruit training. 'Graduation is just the beginning. From here on, we must prove ourselves worthy every single day to the people we now serve.'
Sophie will be based in Auckland City District.
Second Top Award and winner of the Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award is Constable Holly Stuart. She is originally from the United Kingdom and previously worked for the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service as a call handler, dispatcher, and on-call firefighter. 'College has taught me so much about myself as well as others. I've found new strengths and learnt from a very skilled bunch of instructors. The pride I feel from graduating after my 20 weeks and placing second overall in the wing, is an achievement that will stay with me for a lifetime. I'm so excited to start my journey in the community that I now call home here in Aotearoa.'
Holly will be based in Central District.
Leadership Award winner Constable David Afamasaga is a former Corrections Officer and Court Security Officer for the Department of Justice. He's also a former top sportsman and captained the Manu Samoa Rugy Sevens Team from 2017 to 2020 and 2022. Like the other wing award winners David also won a second prize – the Firearms Award for wing 385.
'I am truly honoured to receive this award, and be recognised by my peers and our sergeants, but I humbly take it on behalf of all my wing-mates. The hard work and dedication we've all put in to making it to our graduation day shows that everyone is a leader in their own right.'
David will be working out of Counties Manukau District.
Deployment: Tāmaki Makaurau a total of 23 and broken down as follows: Waitematā 9, Auckland District 1, Counties Manukau 13, Waikato 11, Bay of Plenty 9, Eastern 1, Central 3, Wellington 8, Tasman 1, Canterbury 3, Southern 8. The new constables will start their first week of duty in their Police districts from Monday 7 July 2025 and will continue their training on the job as probationary constables.
All Awards: Minister's Award recognising top student and the Driver Training and Road Policing Practice Award: Constable Sophie Eskrigge posted to Counties Manukau District. Commissioner's Award for Leadership and the Firearms Award: Constable David Afamasaga posted to Counties Manukau. Patron's Award for second in wing recognising second top student and the Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award: Constable Holly Stuart posted to Central District.
Demographics: 28.4 percent are female, 71.6 percent are male. New Zealand European make up 67.2 percent of the wing, with Māori 10.4 percent, Pasifika 6.0 percent, Asian 14.9 percent, Other 1.5 percent.
385 Wing Patron: Glenda Hughes: Glenda Hughes has had a multifaceted career in sports, law enforcement, media and public relations, and local and central government. Her athletic achievements as a Commonwealth Games shot put champion and captain of the New Zealand Athletics Team are paralleled by her years of service in the New Zealand Police, where she handled serious criminal investigations, including drug investigations and high-profile cases such as the Rainbow Warrior inquiry. She was on the frontline of the Springbok Tour and Bastion Point protests. Beyond her police career, Glenda has made significant contributions in media as a consultant, journalist, and public relations expert who has trained New Zealand's top athletes in media communications. She is the author of Looking for Trouble and has contributed to Last Man Standing by James Shepherd and Organized Deception: My Story by Sharon Armstrong, both focusing on the dangerous world of international drug trafficking. Her leadership roles include Independent Chairperson of the New Zealand Racing Board and the Racing Integrity Unit, a member of the New Zealand Parole Board, Trustee of KidsCan and Chair of Pet Refuge. These highlight her commitment to serving the community. Glenda's academic background in sociology, criminology, and communications underscores her deep understanding of societal dynamics. Glenda values perseverance, integrity, compassion, and service. She credits her time in Police for her understanding of behaviours, motives, and options for handling various incidents. She believes Police offers a strong foundation for career development and the camaraderie fosters many lifelong friendships.
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Sixty-Seven More Police Join The Blue Family
Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura, members of the police executive and wing patron former police officer, Glenda Hughes congratulated the 67 graduating constables from Wing 385 today. Also attending the graduation and presenting the prize to the top award winner was Minister of Police Hon Mark Mitchell. Families and friends celebrated the newly attested police officers at Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua this afternoon acknowledging the successful completion of their initial training course. There are some likeminded individuals in the wing with 13 of the graduates having family members currently working in the New Zealand police. Four of those thirteen graduates were inspired by their fathers who are all constabulary working in Waikato District. The four new officers will be working in Waikato alongside their dads. One proud father is Senior Constable Ross Moratti. 'I'm honoured that Jordan decided to follow in my footsteps, he's worked incredibly hard and will be a really amazing officer.' Newly attested Constable Jordan Moratti says 'Growing up seeing my dad in police gave me some encouragement to do the same. I really want to help people and I needed a job that was inspiring and challenging – like policing is.' Six wing members have family serving in police services in other parts of the world and twelve recruits were born overseas. Two of the three award winners have made New Zealand their home. Top award winner and winner of the Driver Training Award is Australian born Sophie Eskrigge. She put her study skills from university to good use, by capturing the top of wing prize. Sophie has a diverse education ranging from marine science, and chemistry, to finance and accounting and is now studying for a post graduate degree in property practice. She can now add initial policing skills and criminal law to that list of achievements thanks to her successful recruit training. 'Graduation is just the beginning. From here on, we must prove ourselves worthy every single day to the people we now serve.' Sophie will be based in Auckland City District. Second Top Award and winner of the Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award is Constable Holly Stuart. She is originally from the United Kingdom and previously worked for the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service as a call handler, dispatcher, and on-call firefighter. 'College has taught me so much about myself as well as others. I've found new strengths and learnt from a very skilled bunch of instructors. The pride I feel from graduating after my 20 weeks and placing second overall in the wing, is an achievement that will stay with me for a lifetime. I'm so excited to start my journey in the community that I now call home here in Aotearoa.' Holly will be based in Central District. Leadership Award winner Constable David Afamasaga is a former Corrections Officer and Court Security Officer for the Department of Justice. He's also a former top sportsman and captained the Manu Samoa Rugy Sevens Team from 2017 to 2020 and 2022. Like the other wing award winners David also won a second prize – the Firearms Award for wing 385. 'I am truly honoured to receive this award, and be recognised by my peers and our sergeants, but I humbly take it on behalf of all my wing-mates. The hard work and dedication we've all put in to making it to our graduation day shows that everyone is a leader in their own right.' David will be working out of Counties Manukau District. Deployment: Tāmaki Makaurau a total of 23 and broken down as follows: Waitematā 9, Auckland District 1, Counties Manukau 13, Waikato 11, Bay of Plenty 9, Eastern 1, Central 3, Wellington 8, Tasman 1, Canterbury 3, Southern 8. The new constables will start their first week of duty in their Police districts from Monday 7 July 2025 and will continue their training on the job as probationary constables. All Awards: Minister's Award recognising top student and the Driver Training and Road Policing Practice Award: Constable Sophie Eskrigge posted to Counties Manukau District. Commissioner's Award for Leadership and the Firearms Award: Constable David Afamasaga posted to Counties Manukau. Patron's Award for second in wing recognising second top student and the Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award: Constable Holly Stuart posted to Central District. Demographics: 28.4 percent are female, 71.6 percent are male. New Zealand European make up 67.2 percent of the wing, with Māori 10.4 percent, Pasifika 6.0 percent, Asian 14.9 percent, Other 1.5 percent. 385 Wing Patron: Glenda Hughes: Glenda Hughes has had a multifaceted career in sports, law enforcement, media and public relations, and local and central government. Her athletic achievements as a Commonwealth Games shot put champion and captain of the New Zealand Athletics Team are paralleled by her years of service in the New Zealand Police, where she handled serious criminal investigations, including drug investigations and high-profile cases such as the Rainbow Warrior inquiry. She was on the frontline of the Springbok Tour and Bastion Point protests. Beyond her police career, Glenda has made significant contributions in media as a consultant, journalist, and public relations expert who has trained New Zealand's top athletes in media communications. She is the author of Looking for Trouble and has contributed to Last Man Standing by James Shepherd and Organized Deception: My Story by Sharon Armstrong, both focusing on the dangerous world of international drug trafficking. Her leadership roles include Independent Chairperson of the New Zealand Racing Board and the Racing Integrity Unit, a member of the New Zealand Parole Board, Trustee of KidsCan and Chair of Pet Refuge. These highlight her commitment to serving the community. Glenda's academic background in sociology, criminology, and communications underscores her deep understanding of societal dynamics. Glenda values perseverance, integrity, compassion, and service. She credits her time in Police for her understanding of behaviours, motives, and options for handling various incidents. She believes Police offers a strong foundation for career development and the camaraderie fosters many lifelong friendships.
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The group has just undertaken a research project looking at how lighting creates the perception of safety – or not – for women and girls at night. What they've learned, Hunt says, is that the accepted wisdom isn't always true. 'City centres use pole lights and flood lights – the logic is that brighter is always better,' he says. But that doesn't always hold true. Using data from Free to Be, an app where women can record their experiences in cities, the Arup designers and a team from Monash University found that lighting was a frequent feature in incidences of women feeling unsafe. But not just any lighting: light that was too bright or too harsh felt unsafe, creating stark shadows and areas that need to be avoided. Think of it like this: would you rather walk through a courtyard that has some patches of bright light, and some of strong shadows? Or a space where multiple, dimmer lights overlap? 'Going from bright to dark, bright to dark – that's a poor experience,' says Hunt. Strong overhead lighting means that your eyes can't adjust to seeing what is in the shadows. Lighting plans measure lux levels, which quantify brightness. But those measurements are of what hits the ground, not what is around a place. 'Tarmac is dark, and it's hard to make it feel bright,' Hunt says. 'It's light in the distance that can reveal spaces so that people feel safe, but that's not what we're asked to do as an industry.' When walking at night, most people prefer to be aware of their surroundings, not just seeing the path ahead of them. The official New Zealand and Australian lighting standards for public spaces have minimum lux levels that cities have to adhere to, but not maximums. The generally accepted wisdom is that more lighting can prevent crime – but that's really hard to quantify, especially because lighting isn't separate from other environmental factors. That's why they choose to focus on perception of safety, Hunt says, because it's easier to examine how different lighting set-ups in the same place make people feel more at ease. Many times when someone feels unsafe at night – having someone behind them who may or may not be following them, not being able to see the faces of people at a train station entrance – no particular crime has occurred, and there's unlikely to be an official record. Fear of harm at night, even if it's relatively unlikely, affects many more people than harm actually does. 'Where lighting is can affect your decision to use public transport or not, where you go at night, and how you get there,' Hunt says. Recent research from the Helen Clark Foundation shows that only 45% of women feel safe walking alone at night in New Zealand, compared to 71% of men. And while the stereotype of activity at night is people going out to events or restaurants, in winter it can get dark by 5pm; people have to navigate dark streets on the way home from work, or the way to work if they do shifts. When done well, lighting can make a difference. Work under way in the Auckland suburb of Avondale to improve lighting, install CCTV and revitalise the main street with a community centre and library has been celebrated as making it a more pleasant place to be. Upgrades to Wellington's waterfront lighting last year used lights on buildings as well as poles to make it easier for walkers, cyclists and scooter-users to traverse the area at night. Lighting has to work with human biology – our crucial sense of sight and ability to open pupils wider to see in the dark – and psychology. Hunt has had people tell him, for instance, that they feel safe when they're in a place that seems 'loved'. 'I've gone on night walks and asked people to shine their torches on the wall, then at the ground,' he says. Almost everyone prefers the ambient lighting bouncing off a lighter wall to light directed at the dark floor. 'Then I say, 'that won't meet the lighting standards'.' There are other reasons to rethink lighting standards. Artificial light can have an effect on plants and animals. Seabirds, bats and wētā can get confused, like the tītī in Kaikōura who crash into the road, mistaking it for the sea. As well as the way that ecosystems are affected, using too much light in the wrong places also represents wasted energy. The blurry light pollution you experience in cities, a haze that conceals the stars, is all made of light bouncing into the sky, energy going where it doesn't need to at all. Changing lighting is expensive. Hunt points out that the design of street lamps – light on a stick – was developed when streets were lit by costly gas lamps, which had to be individually ignited each night. Modern lighting doesn't have to mean big bulbs: it can be smaller, fitted into other infrastructure like a park bench or a bus stop. Over the past decade, many councils in New Zealand have changed sodium light bulbs for more efficient, and sometimes shielded, LEDs, which can be dimmed or change colour temperature. The results can be striking, even if the design continues to use overhead streetlights. People feeling safe at night is ultimately good for the economy, meaning more people might engage with local businesses at night, attend events or use public transport – services cities are also investing in. To Hunt, that's all the more reason for cities and developers to think about how to make everyone feel safe at night. 'Darkness [averages] 12 hours of the day, half the year – yet lighting is still treated like an afterthought.'
