Mandeep Kaur appointed Senior Engagement Advisor (Ethnic)
Wellington, March 8, 2021
Standfirst: When Mandeep Kaur Sidhu graduated as a Constable from Wing 214 at the Royal New Zealand Police College in Wellington on June 26, 2004, Indian Newslink was the first to report the entry of the first India-born woman into the Police Service.
We had quoted the then Police Minister George Hawkins as saying that the New Zealand Police should reflect the country’s increasing multi-cultural community.
“Police welcome applications from members of all ethnic groups wanting to train as Police and it is pleasing to see increasing numbers coming forward,” he said.
Steve Shortland, who was the District Commander of Counties Manukau, to which Mandeep was posted, said, “We can teach our staff to deal with different ethnicities but it does not match the knowledge and power of knowing in-depth and the cultures one is dealing with. We are proud to receive the first Indian woman Police officer. She is an ambassador who will encourage others to join the Police force and we hope she is the first of many.”
Today we are happy to report that Mandeep has been promoted to the rank of Senior Sergeant and posted to the newly created post of Senior Engagement Advisor (Ethnic) at the New Zealand Police Headquarters in Wellington.
Mandeep became the first India-born woman to become a Senior Sergeant of the New Zealand Police. She started her new assignment on Monday, March 1, 2021 with a welcome ceremony at which she received her epaulettes from Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and Deputy Commissioner Wally Haumaha.
Following is the story that appeared in today’s Edition of ‘Ten One Magazine’ of the New Zealand Police, reproduced with appropriate permission.
The dream that came true
To mark International Women’s Day, we spoke to Senior Sergeant Mandeep Kaur, who has overcome plenty of challenges since being told that she could not be a Police Officer because she was a girl.
As a girl growing up in Punjab, Mandeep Kaur wondered about joining the Police.
If you were a boy you could, her mother told her. The cultural barriers were too great, and Mandeep set off along different path.
It was a path that eventually brought her to New Zealand, to becoming New Zealand Police’s first Indian-born female officer, and now its first Indian-born female officer promoted to the rank of Senior Sergeant.
“It’s such a very, very big day for me,” she said after receiving her senior sergeant epaulettes in a ceremony at Police National Headquarters (PNHQ) in Wellington.
“More so because it is not an individual achievement – I see it as an achievement for the whole of my community. That makes it very special for me.”
Teenage bride and after
Mandeep was married in 1986, before the age of 18, and had a daughter Parneet Kaur and son Amardeep Singh.
At the age of 24, with her children four and two years old, she became a single mother. She had already attained a Bachelor of Arts degree with Sociology and Political Science and left India in 1996 to study further in Australia. However, a custody battle was under way and she had to leave both children with her parents in India.
In 1999, Mandeep moved to New Zealand, where she was later reunited with Parneet and Amardeep. She set about a variety of jobs to support the family including taxi driving, working as a forecourt attendant and as an administrator at a training institute.
Overcoming hurdles
But in 2002 her childhood dream of joining the Police resurfaced. The same gender barriers did not apply for applicants to New Zealand Police, but there were other hurdles to overcome.
“The biggest challenge was mentally preparing myself to wear a swimming costume in public to be able to learn to swim,” she said. But this and other challenges were overcome – in 2004, Mandeep joined New Zealand Police.
She has worked in metropolitan Auckland and in rural Pahiatua, often in family harm and community policing but also within Maori Pacific and Ethnic Services, and Intel. She has now taken another step, moving to PNHQ, with a promotion to Senior Sergeant and a role as Senior Engagement Advisor Ethnic in a new workgroup, Iwi and Communities.
New Unit launched
The new unit – tasked with preventing harm across New Zealand’s diverse communities – was launched on March 2, 2021. The launch included a Powhiri to welcome Mandeep and the new Unit’s Head, newly promoted Assistant Commissioner Chris de Wattignar.
Mandeep and Chris are long-standing colleagues from Counties Manukau, South Auckland, and old friends. They and Bruce O’Brien, also recently promoted to Assistant Commissioner, travelled through India together a few years ago.
After receiving his epaulettes, Chris turned to address Mandeep in front of an audience which included Amardeep and his wife as well as many Police colleagues.
“I know more about your story than you have told. I know the background that you have come from and I know the work, the energy and the dedication it has taken for you to get here today. So, I am absolutely proud of you. You have done an amazing job and I am really looking forward to working with you,” he said.
Significant milestones
Mandeep has passed many milestones since 2004. In 2012, she accomplished her dream of post-graduate study by completing a Diploma in Business Administration from Waikato University.
In March 2019, she featured in Women Kind, a Penguin Random House book profiling 52 New Zealand women who have made a difference in the world and their local communities.
Mandeep has represented the New Zealand Police nationally and internationally on Radio, Television and in written media but most importantly within the communities she has served over the past 17 years.
The Police Bhangra
She founded the famed Police Bhangra group in Auckland to encourage cultural connectivity (and Police fitness!) and is the proud grandmother of Oliver and Veera.
Mandeep is bringing that passion for connectivity to her new role, now on a national scale.
“I was that young girl who had a dream and today I am working at PNHQ, which is just a dream for many Police officers. For this to be coming true for me is beyond words. Words cannot explain how happy I am,” she said.
The above story has been sponsored by
