NZ Police Recruitment (2017). 'Freeze'
https://www.youtube.com/embed/f9psILoYmCc
Context: "Prior to 2021, the New Zealand (NZ) Police had consistently struggled to meet the required target of recruiting new police officers. As a strategy to promote the NZ Police and to subsequently increase the number of officers within the force, a series of recruitment campaigns were broadcasted. Despite appearing to frame the career of a NZ Police officer positively, research has suggested that there is a lack of diversity within the police force with women and ethnic minorities consistently underrepresented, and inequitable working conditions, therefore leading the job to be perceived as unattractive to most. However, after the release of the 'Breaking News' recruitment campaign together with television advertisements and targeted websites outlining information on the recruitment process, the NZ Police successfully met their target with applications exceeding 600 per month" (Nairn, A. and R. Roebuck (2022). Context: "Turning a social media spend of [NZD] $1500 into a reach of 98 million in two weeks is no mean feat, but for the New Zealand Police Force, its viral recruitment video did just that, eclipsing all expectations and yielding results still being felt today. The [NZD] $350,000 blockbuster ad, featuring 70 staff including the NZ Police Commissioner, was designed to push past issues of ethnicity, race, gender and religion, which may have previously affected public opinion, and impeded the recruitment of trainee police. ... 'We deliberately designed the concept to be shared by incorporating key influencers, such as artist and online personality William Waiirua, popular radio DJs and prominent figures from the LGBTQI+ community,' [Regan] Grafton explained. ... Results haven't just been reflected through virality. NZ Police has already reported the largest number of female recruits ever to start at the Royal New Zealand Police College, directly attributed to the campaign" (McDonnell, J, (2018). Messaging: consider how this ad is intended to be interpreted when considered in relation to the UK Home Office https://www.youtube.com/@ukhomeoffice "Be a Force for All: Join the Police" (2019) ad the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDTIiGQzrCA or The Alexandria Louisiana Police Department Recruiting Video (2018) ad https://newpractices.co.uk/messaging/#sy_k7KC_d1g and the 2020 UK 'Army Confidence Lasts a Lifetime': https://www.youtube.com/embed/YnFCZzpu0i4 and the "Made in the Royal Navy: Ben's story" https://www.youtube.com/@RoyalNavyRecruitment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAMFQwebh6Q Bibliography: Nairn, A. and R. Roebuck (2022). "Promoting the police: A thematic analysis of the New Zealand Police recruitment campaigns and the construction of officers’ identities." Journal of Criminology 55(2): 221–238. https://doi.org/10.1177/26338076221085310 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/26338076221085310?download=true McDonnell, J. (2018, November 9). 'Behind the viral video that boosted New Zealand Police recruitment' - AdNews. https://www.adnews.com.au/news/behind-the-viral-video-that-boosted-new-zealand-police-recruitment Guardian staff reporter. (2017, November 27). 'New Zealand’s latest police recruitment ad goes viral'. The Guardian; The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2017/nov/27/new-zealands-latest-police-recruitment-video-goes-viral
