Page 12 - WMPF Federation Oct-Nov 2018-flip

Officer development

Promotions process

not fit for purpose,

says Federation

est Midlands Police Federation
says the promotions process is
Wnot fit for purpose and needs to
be over-hauled.
One of the key criticisms is that the
system for promotion is focused on its own
flawed process rather than the skills
required to do the job applied for. It may fail
to recognise skills outside of Neighbourhood
Policing roles especially those in specialist
posts. Learning to pass the process does not
in isolation make you a good candidate for
promotion the evidence suggests.
On the back of a number of complaints
about the promotions process from
members, Tim Rogers, deputy secretary of
West Midlands Police Federation, put West Midlands Police
himself through it to establish how it Our Leadership Promise –
worked in practice and to gain a better at expected and below standard
insight into where the issues were arising.
Tim has spearheaded the Police
Federation’s national campaign for a change Tim. role and the challenges that they would face
in the law to recognise the particular skills “I have worked at a strategic level, taking actually in that role.
and training of police pursuits drivers who the lead nationally on this and yet I am not “Some officers may, for example, have
can currently be prosecuted simply for seen as being capable of being an inspector never worked in PPU or may have quite a
following Force procedures and carrying out within the Force.” narrow area of expertise. The danger is then
their duties. Of course, on the other side of the coin, that they are potentially skilled within the
“This work has led to me working closely there are some officers who are making their promotions process itself, carefully picking
with chief officers, the National Police Chiefs’ way successfully through the promotions out the competencies required and
Council lead on roads policing, the Home process because they have extensive demonstrating these in the three sessions
Office, the police minister, MPs, senior experience and skills in neighbourhood designed to test this but then not actually
Government officials and a wide variety of policing. able to fulfil their role. We have already been
other interested parties and yet there was But difficulties are presenting contacted by a number of members who are
no mechanism in the promotions process to themselves because the Force appears to be struggling mentally as a result.”
recognise this work and I was unsuccessful encouraging people to pass a process, Under the current process which was
in my bid to be promoted to inspector,” says placing the emphasis on this rather than the introduced following the advice of the
“ they are working or importantly who they
College of Policing, every qualified officer can
apply for promotion regardless of where
I have worked at a strategic level, taking the
are working for.
lead nationally on this and yet I am not seen

Under the previous system, there were
as being capable of being an inspector within
concerns that conflicts between an
individual and their line manager, who
the Force.
would need to support their application,
could cause issues.
But, while this may have been addressed,
12 federation October/November 2018 www.polfed.org/westmids
“