New Whanganui police recruits achieve their dream

Constables Matthew Kirkby, Janna Bensen (centre) and Daniella Smith are looking forward to working on the frontline.

Three new recruits have been welcomed into the Whanganui police family, fulfilling a lifelong ambition for all three.

Constables Janna Bensen and Daniella Smith graduated from the Royal New Zealand Police College in October while Constable Matthew Kirkby has five weeks of training to complete.

The trio were welcomed with a mihi whakatau (formal welcome), supported by kaumatua Kaunihera o Whanganui, at the Bell St police station yesterday and presented with a pounamu taonga by Senior Sergeant Andrew McDonald on behalf of Whanganui police.

Constable Smith said she had wanted to join the police "ever since I can remember". She and her twin sister were adopted from Romania when they were 10 weeks old and she grew up in Feilding and the Bay of Plenty before moving to Whanganui when she was 14.

After working as a caregiver for the past five years, Constable Smith has realised her dream of becoming a police officer.

"We are meeting different people every day and helping people in all sorts of ways. I did that as a caregiver and it's something I want to keep doing. I want to get a feel for things before I decide which area of policing I want to get into."

Constable Bensen, who grew up in Whakatane, spent seven years in Dunedin where she studied for a psychology degree and joined the Army Reserve Forces as a medic. She met her husband in the Army and they have three children. Before training as a police officer, Constable Bensen worked for the Red Cross.

"I've always wanted to join the police and contribute to helping the community," she said.

"I'm happy doing frontline work at the moment and maybe in the future I'd like to get into neighbourhood or community-based policing."

Constable Kirkby grew up in Whanganui and has worked for the Department of Corrections at Whanganui Prison since moving back from Australia three-and-a-half years ago.

"Since I was a little kid, about 9, it's been my aspiration to be in the police," he said.

"I've been working towards it since I got back to New Zealand and I want to eventually get into youth aid work. I was really pleased to be invited to be part of the welcome even though I haven't quite graduated yet."