Towards Promotion
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X4001300412 |
| Published date | 01 October 1940 |
| Date | 01 October 1940 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Towards Promotion
No. II.
THE
QUALIFYING EXAMINATIONS
IN
recent years somecriticism has been focussed on the system
adopted by all professional bodies, and in the public services,
by which examinations in educational and professional subjects
are imposed on candidates for entry to the particular profession
or branch of the public service, and for advancement within
its ranks.
The
critics urge that selection and advancement by
examination rules out from consideration that large number of
people who, in their school or student life, failed to reach
average, or were below average, in the academic standards,
but
who nevertheless showed, and still show, those qualities
of judgment, resourcefulness and courage which are so
necessary in the leadership and direction of the common life
and work of the nation. There is much to be said for this, and
other, forms of criticism of what has been termed the examina-
tion fetish. But the criticism is not convincing, and if to
selection by examination be added a process of further selection
by scrutiny of personal and non-academic qualifications, a
compromise is possible and a true selection made. This is
the aim of that section of the Police Regulations which governs
the selection of candidates for the police service, and their
subsequent advancement in rank. Before proceeding to analyse
the subjects upon which Police Examinations are based, we
will quote the Regulations which are pertinent to our dis-
cussion in this article:
27. Promotion up to the rank of inspector shall, subject to
qualifying examinations in police duties and educational subjects,
be by selection.
28. (1) No member of a police force shall be promoted to the
rank of sergeant or inspector, unless
(a) if a constable, he has completed five years' service
448
TOWARDS PROMOTION
449
G
and has for the last two years been free from punishment
other than reprimand or caution, and if a sergeant, he has
completed two years in that
rank.
free from punishment other
than reprimand or caution;
(b) he has passed, after having completed not less than
four years' service, an examination in educational subjects and
an examination in police duties;
(c) he has had not less than one year's service in the per-
formance of ordinary outside police duty:
Provided that amember of a police force may be promoted
before he has completed 5 years' service, or may be permitted to
take the qualifying examination before he has completed 4 years'
service
if
the Chief Officer of Police, or, in the case of a Borough
police force, the Watch Committee, is satisfied that he possesses
special qualifications for the performance of the particular duties
on which he is to be employed.
(2)
The
requirement of paragraph (c) of this Regulation may
be dispensed with in the case of a man who was serving on August
zoth,
1920:
and the expression
"outside
police
duty"
shall
include detective duty.
(3)
For
the purposes of this Regulation, the expression
" years'
service"
means years of approved service as defined by
Section 7 of the Police Pensions Act,
1921.
29.
The
examinations shall be conducted by means of written
papers and/or oral examinations upon the following subjects:
(I)
Examination in educational subjects, including
(a) Reading aloud,
(b) Writing, including handwriting, spelling, punctuation,
and the writing and composition of reports,
(c) Arithmetic, for promotion to sergeant, first four rules,
simple and compound, including imperial weights and
measures, and simple fractions; for promotion to inspector,
first four rules, simple and compound, including imperial
weights and measures, reduction, vulgar fractions and
decimals (excluding recurring decimals), ratio and proportion,
averages and percentages,
(d) geography, especially the geography of the British
Isles,
(e) general knowledge and intelligence,
(f)
any special subject or subjects which may be required
in the circumstances of a particular force or forces;
45°
THE
POLICE JOURNAL
(2) Examination in police duties, including
(a)
Criminal law,
(b) Evidence and procedure,
(c)
general statutes, regulations and orders,
(d) local regulations and byelaws,
(e)
extra duties performed by the particular force con-
cerned,
(f) principles of local government.
(3)
The
papers on the educational subjects
(b),
(c),
(d) and
(e)
shall be set and marked by a central examining authority approved
by the Secretary of State, or such other competent examining body
as the Police Authority of the force may adopt.
The
examinations
in police duties, and, where necessary, the educational subjects (a)
and (f), shall be conducted by the Chief Officer of Police, or, where
the size of the force permits, a Board of officers acting under his
directions.
(4)
The
examinations shall be held in large forces periodically,
at least once in each year, and in smaller forces as often as may be
required, and, subject to the provisions of Regulation 32, any
sergeant or constable who has completed 4years' service and has
given due notice to the Chief Officer of Police, shall be entitled to
sit for the respective examinations for these ranks.
30.
The
object of the required examinations is to test the
educational and theoretical knowledge of the candidate, and the
fact that he has passed them shall not entitle him to promotion, or
to promotion before another member of the force who has passed
the examination at a later date.
3
I.
After each examination a list giving the names of the
candidates who have passed shall be published to the force or
forces concerned.
The
result of each examination shall be marked
on the record of each candidate so as to show that, on the date in
question, he passed or failed to pass, and a list shall be kept of all
members of the force who have passed the respective examinations.
32. Acandidate who fails to pass the examination in educa-
tional subjects or police duties shall be informed of the subject or
subjects in which he has failed to pass, and failure to pass shall not
disqualify a candidate from presenting himself at a future examina-
tion after an interval of not less than a year.
Regulation 29 prescribes two examinations, one in
educational subjects and one in police duties. Paragraph (3) of
this Regulation indicates the appointment of a
"central
To continue reading
Request your trial