What You Should Know About Police Promotional Exams

By Olivia Cross


In many organizations, people are either promoted from within or recruited from both within and without. In the interest of fairness within law enforcement organizations, in order to move up the ranks, it is necessary to progress through a series of police promotional exams. This article takes a look at the law enforcement examination systems in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

What all examinations for promotion in the law enforcement sector have in common is the need for the candidate to be able to demonstrate the ability to reason independently. Many of the questions on an exam will describe a scenario and offer a number of choices for the correct response in that situation. Examiners also love setting questions that require the test candidate to give a numerical answer.

Most countries have a wealth of resources to support the candidate studying for a promotion. There are books, DVDs, specimen questions. Many law enforcement agencies hold classes, while some people prefer to study with external organizations. If you are serious about moving upward through the ranks, one of the biggest favors you could do yourself is to set up a personal timetable for studying.

One major factor that makes policing in the United Kingdom, including England, Wales, and Scotland, so different from the rest of the world is the limited number of officers who carry firearms. Opinion is divided on whether or not to arm more officers, but the majority do not want to carry guns. It is a fallacy that being armed saves the lives of more policemen in the United States.

On the other side of the world in Victoria, Australia, the local law enforcement contingent enjoy the confidence of the public whom they protect. More than 75 percent of residents there are content with the service they are receiving. Back in the 1820 Melbourne Police force, there were only 12 officers. Fifteen years into the third millennium, the force stood at 14,612 sworn officers, 329 stations and a 2.3 billion dollar budget.

The largest city law enforcement service in Canada is in Toronto. Containing 2.6 million residents, Toronto is the most diverse city in the country. One of the biggest problems in law enforcement recruitment and advancement appears to be ethnic inequality. In Niagara, Ontario, in 2011, at least six aspiring candidates for the rank of sergeant were disciplined for cheating on a test for which the questions and answers had been leaked by someone in Human Resources. The force had to scrap its testing program and redesign it from scratch.

In New Zealand, after two years working as a probationary constable, opportunities become available for dozens of different career pathways. Officers may choose to remain as constables, or apply for anything from protecting VIPs or joining the armed officer squad or even Interpol. Police in New Zealand respond to incidents, interview witnesses, present evidence in court, work with crime victims, advise and support the community and more.

Moving up the career ladder in law enforcement requires self-discipline, commitment and the ability to think yourself out of a paper bag. You need to keep a number of possible scenarios in your head and have the correct response ready to summon from your intellect on the spur of the moment. It can be, however, a rewarding career.




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