Another record police class: new police recruits to make North West safer
THE NSW Government is rebuilding the NSW Police Force, welcoming the largest attesting class in 14 years with 353 new probationary constables who will bolster frontline policing and and help keep communities safe across NSW.
Class 369 is the fifth consecutive class to set a new recruitment record, reflecting the Government’s efforts to rebuild the NSW Police Force and put more officers on the frontline.
The new officers will be sworn in today before they start 12 months of on-the-job training at their new home stations on Monday.
Probationary Constables will be deployed across NSW to where they are most needed including the North West Metropolitan Region with 67.
The class has a wide range of ages and backgrounds, with the eldest recruit being 59-years-old and the youngest 18. Paul Brown, 59, was previously a personal training business owner before choosing a career with the NSW Police.
Recruits are born in a total of 26 different countries and there are 15 First Nations peoples attesting today.
Class 369 is made up of 261 men and 92 women. Seven recruits are receiving awards for outstanding academic or physical achievement.
Five athletes have come through the Government’s Elite Athlete Program, introduced in 2025 to attract top-performing athletes to the NSWPF, including NRLW St George Dragons Player Tyra Ekepati.
- The 19-year-old says the Elite Athlete Program is the only way she can achieve both of her dreams – to help people as a police officer and play in the NRLW.
Additionally, 17 students from the latest Professional Mobility Program cohort will attest today, marking the first PMP class to attest on the parade grounds and at the same time as a Constable Education Program class, marking a major milestone.
Today’s record-breaking class shows the Minns Labor Government’s investment in police recruitment is turning the tide.
It follows our announcement that an additional class will be added this year, moving from three to four classes a year and giving more people the opportunity to join the NSWPF and protect their communities. Changes made by the Government include:
- Paying recruits to train at the Goulburn Police Academy, resulting in a 70% increase in applications to join the NSWPF.
- Establishing the ‘Be a Cop In Your Hometown’ program.
- Establishing the Professional Mobility Program to attract experienced officers from interstate and New Zealand.
- Establishing the Cadet Traineeship Program to create a new early pathway into policing.
- Establishing the Elite Athlete Program.
Establishing the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Command to support officers across their careers.
Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said: "Today, a record-breaking 353 new officers join the ranks of Australia’s best police force and will be deployed to communities across NSW.
“We inherited a police workforce that was going backwards. Experienced officers were leaving in droves, and not enough were being recruited. For three and a half years, we have worked every single day to rebuild the NSW Police, and a 70 per cent increase in applications and consecutive record-breaking attesting classes are prime examples of that work."
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