Media Release

For Immediate Release
Thursday, 18 October 2007

Association Backs Police Rugby Sponsorship

“Police’s decision to sponsor the Auckland Secondary Schools 1st XV competition is an excellent initiative that has the full support of the Police Association,” Police Association President Greg O'Connor said today.

“This sponsorship will promote policing as a career option amongst young people who would make excellent police officers. 1st XV rugby players are young, fit, motivated and disciplined. These are young Aucklanders from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Surely these are exactly the sorts of people we would want as police officers,” Mr O’Connor said.

“The sponsorship will also build a positive profile for Police with players’ friends, families, supporters and wider communities. Communities will see Police putting its money where its mouth is, and demonstrating confidence in local youth. The value of that can’t be overstated.”

“It is disappointing that the knockers out there are all too quick to put the boot in to anything Police do. It’s time people stopped trying to build their own profiles by chasing easy, lazy, negative headlines. Totally unjustified attacks on Police just damage the morale of police officers and the public reputation of the organisation,” Mr O’Connor said.

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