NCJ Number
130393
Journal
Policing Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1991) Pages: 61-79
Date Published
1991
Length
19 pages
Annotation
The system by which police officers are promoted in Singapore may provide a model of potential-driven career development and may be applied to the British police service.
Abstract
A career development system should be centered on the early determination of the potential of every promising officer in the police service. Chief constables should be relatively young upon their appointment in order to work to full potential, gain a large range of management experience, and offer a long tenure. A potential-driven system must attempt to get a fix on an officer's potential, institute a regular review process, and monitor the system on a national basis. The main objective of the appraisal system is to determine which qualities will allow a person to excel at higher levels of responsibility; the main quality appears to be technical capability in a specialized field coupled with the ability to view that field in relation to other areas. Appraisal panels or assessment centers can give the most objective evaluations of a person's potential. In Singapore, the potential-driven model consists of the individual appraisal, the panel appraisal, and an annual manpower development review. In addition, each promising recruit is assigned a mentor within the police department. This author believes that a similar model can be implemented in the U.K., including decentralized appraisals as well as a national development center. 1 appendix and 6 references