Women thrive after 75 years in the force
It has been 75 years since the first intake of women into police training at the Newtown depot in Wellington in June 1941.
A nationwide torch relay has been travelling the country to celebrate the achievements of women in the New Zealand Police.
The torch was handed over to Counties Manukau police this month for four days of events, including a march through Otara Town Centre and a ceremony at the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple in Flat Bush.
Counties Manukau East area commander Inspector Wendy Spiller says the events were very positive and provided a great way to engage with the community.
Spiller joined the police in 1987 with the aim of making a difference.
At that stage, she says, women were rare commodities, making up only five per cent of the entire force.
‘‘I never had anything that the blokes thought they could do, that I thought I couldn’t,’’ she says.
‘‘I think one of the big things for me was I never wanted to be one of the boys.
‘‘That was something I held true in my beliefs, that I just needed to be myself.’’
Spiller says the police force has changed monumentally during her career, but there has been particular growth in the past five years.
Constable Tess Logie began her career two years ago and says within that time the amount of females has doubled, if not tripled.
‘‘The guys treat us the same and we have some pretty strong females here as well, so we hold our own,’’ she says.
‘‘But being a female you still get the odd look every now and then and people are quite sur- prised that I amactually allowed to do this job by myself.
‘‘It’s like they are scared for me in a way, whereas I’m perfectly fine with it.’’
Spiller says she hopes the 75th anniversary will mark a change in attitude, where policewomen are no longer seen as a novelty.
‘‘Instead of talking about policewomen, I would like us to be able to talk about police officers and the good work that everyone is doing within that,’’ she says.