Mall's police recruitment kiosk attracts its 300th candidate

New career: Former car salesman Saheer Mohammed was the 300th person to apply to join the police at a recruiting kiosk in Westfield Manukau City. Photo / Greg Bowker

A 44-year-old former car salesman seems an unlikely police recruit, but Saheer Mohammed was yesterday eager to sign up.

The Ranwick Park resident has been jobless since last August when he was made redundant.

He and his four children, aged between 7 and 16, have been surviving on his wife's income as a furniture saleswoman.

Mr Mohammed, a Fiji Indian who came to New Zealand from Nadi 10 years ago, yesterday became the 300th person to sign up at the Counties Manukau police recruiting kiosk in Westfield Manukau City since it was set up in May.

Mr Mohammed said he was very interested in joining the police force.

"It looks like a good career, looking after the community and working for the community."

The aim of the recruiting kiosk is to encourage local people to join the force and police their own community.

It was set up after the Government's announcement of 300 additional staff for the district as part of a $162.5 million police programme in the May Budget.

Counties Manukau District Commander Mike Bush, who was in the shopping centre with Mayor Len Brown to mark the occasion, said the area had an additional 100 recruits and aimed to have the remaining 200 started by the end of next year.

Mr Bush said people of all ages, cultures, shapes, sizes and sexes had signed up at the kiosk

"We encourage a policing population that represents the general population."

Len Brown said that, like Mr Mohammed, he had heard of several people who had been made redundant turning to the police for a "second career".

He said the demographic was changing in South Auckland - the Hindi population in Papatoetoe was up to 35 per cent - so having different cultures in the police force to represent the change were encouraged.

Mr Mohammed - and other would-be police officers - will now attend a seminar to learn more about joining the force.

He will have to pass fitness, academic and psychological tests before he is accepted into the five-month police college course in Wellington.