Some 60 recruits are expected to enter the Police Training Academy in St James on Monday but out of that number only 19 have passed the entry level requirement examinations. And president of the Police Service Social and Welfare Association Sgt Anand Ramesar who confirmed he was aware of the situation and has received calls from concerned officers at the academy, has called for the immediate revamping of the selection process of candidates wanting to enter the Police Service. According to police sources at the academy yesterday, this was not the first time that people who failed the exams were given the green light to become recruits.
Sources said the examination was divided into several categories including dictation, mathematics, polygraph and psychometric evaluations. Questions were also raised regarding the qualifications of an executive assistant at the academy after it was reported that she failed a polygraph test yet was allowed to deal with the polygraph forms of candidates. "Normally when a candidate failed dictation that person would have been eliminated. "Now they are being allowed to go through and an average of their grade is taken of all the other subjects," the source said.
He said, however, that criteria was only used for one group of candidates who applied in 2010. "That criteria was not done before or after so it puts other people at a disadvantage. "We are very concerned about the selection process of candidates because it would mean that people coming into the police service would not be of the best quality," the officer added. Concerns were also raised about the number of recruits passing out as not more than 230 have graduated from the academy in one calendar year when the stipulated figure was 400 per year.
Ramesar who described the situation as "very disappointing" called on provost of the academy Steve Watt to clear the air regarding the claims. "The Police Service is already going through a lot of negative especially where performance is concerned and if people who are unqualified and are being allowed to enter the academy that would only add to further detriment of the Police Service," Ramesar said. He added that instead of wanting to source quality candidates to eventually become leading police officers, emphasis was only placed on "showmanship" as it related to "numbers and not quality."
Requirements
A person seeking to be a trainee shall complete an application form and submit it to the police officer in charge of the police station nearest to which the applicant resides. A candidate for appointment as a trainee Police officer must:
• Be a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago0
• Be required to pass a medical examination conducted by a Government Medical Officer nominated for the purpose;
• Be required to undergo a polygraph test, psychological test and be tested for dangerous drugs at the cost of the Service;
• Be of good character as evidenced by a police certificate of character;
• Be not less than eighteen years and not more than thirty-five years of age on the 1st January of the year in which the appointment is made
• In the case of a male, be of good physique and at least one hundred and sixty-seven centimetres in height or a female, be of good physique and at least one hundred and fifty centimetres in height • Possess passes in five subjects in the CXC Examinations, including English Language, at General Proficiency at Grade I, II, or III or at Basic Proficiency at Grade I in all five subjects, or five GCE 0' Level passes, including English, at Grade A, B or C in all five subjects, or produce proof of having reached an equivalent or higher standard of education
• Possess a Trinidad and Tobago driver's permit with a class 3 endorsement to drive light motor vehicles.