A group of First Division police officers are calling on the Government to review and amend the Police Service regulations relating to their promotion procedure.They claim the current system being employed by the Police Service, as amended in 2007, is unfair, unreasonable and lacks transparency.The group expressed those views at a meeting at the Police Adminstration Building, Edward Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday evening.
The officers said it was aware the issue was discussed in some of the recent anti-crime meetings between Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and members of the Opposition, and called upon both parties to seriously consider revamping it. Spokesman for the group, acting ASP Richard Corbette said: "What we are asking for is for the legislators to look at the regulations governing us and bring for us a transparent and less convoluted system that will evaluate us officers."
He said that of the 150 First Division officers in the service, the majority, including acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams, had been acting in their posts for several years. "We are all a bunch of actors," Corbette said.He said the existing system was a two-stage process-a multiple choice examination and an interview.Corbette said for the examination, officers are given up to nine textbooks which they have to study for three months before the examination.
"It is unreasonable to give you a bag of books and tell you to study without even a syllabus or course outline. Are we to read all the books from front to back," he asked.The officers' claimed these textbooks were written specifically for American police systems and were sometimes not relevant here.He said that the time-consuming study schedule was especially difficult for officers who worked in high crime areas and were active in the field.
He said that in 2011, Williams commissioned an internal study to analyse the promotion procedure.He said although the recommendations were given to Williams last year, no changes were made.
