Dear Editor,
Mr. Harold Crook, in his recent review of the Belize Police Department, revealed that the system of promotion for members of the department was being conducted in a manner contrary to the rules and regulations, and recommended that it be done in a fair, transparent, and equitable way.
The Department acknowledged this flaw and vowed to return to the prescribed process outlined in the laws of Belize.
The Department apparently displayed seriousness about these changes when it announced a promotional exam to be held on November 29, 2010. Officers were delighted and were looking forward to this exam, feeling that the “status quo” officers being promoted on the basis of recommendation, which is termed by police officers as, “who knows who,” was being set aside, if not eliminated and abandoned.
Police officers, who knew they are qualified and experienced but are being denied opportunity for too long because of this flawed system of promotion, and for not being “the boss’s favorite,” had finally sighed and felt that this would be their only opportunity to excel .
The department even distributed extra study guides for police officers who will sit the exam.
Lo and behold! It was a slap in the face of officers who were waiting to sit this exam when it was confirmed that some officers were promoted before this exam, and of course, without sitting an exam.
How can the department improve its image if unethical decisions like these are made? Couldn’t at least these officers sit the exam and then be conferred the rank thereafter if the hierarchy of the department so insist for them to be promoted despite their exam results?
After all, officers who sit promotional exams never get a chance to see their exam paper after it has been checked, so none of them knows if the grade they were given was their actual score.
The atmosphere created by the administration of the Belize police impacts everyone within the Police Department, and by extension, the citizens of the country. Not only does the status quo of the department continue, but the morale of the majority of serving members, especially the lower ranks, deteriorates.
Police officers can only hope that some day, when their children’s children sit a police promotional exam, the process will be fair, impartial, and non-politicized.
In the name of Justice,
James Cal