Evening star., 1935-05-06
An Outsider" as Police Chief.

might be fOllnd VINO WOULD make an
excellent superintendent of police. but
Washingtons own experience with
such experiments indicates that such
a lucky find is the exception rather
than the rule. The search for the
right man. however. should be predi-
Gated upon certain conditions: First,
that there exists a vacancy in the
office now filled creditably by Maj.
Brown; second. that there is demon
strable lack of available officer per-
sonnel from which to choose a new
major and superintendent. and third.
that Police Department morale is
shattered to such an extent that the
only hope of repair lies in the choice
of somebody who has no present con-
nection with the force.
In the absence of such conditions,
it would be hard to conceive of any
single step more apt to destroy morale
and dampen the spirits of good men
on the force than the selection of a
stranger to fill the highest position
on the police force. The Army does
not go out looking for a successful
business man to take over the job
of chief of staff. And the position
of major and superintendent of police
should be filled only by qualified and
carefully selected men from the force,
fitted by temperament and possess
ing the professional knowledge and
administrative skill to qualify.
The Washington police force, to-
gether with the police forces of the
more progressive cities, is slowly work.
ing toward the perfection of a system
which should remedy many of the
difficulties experienced in the past
with weak officer personnel. The law
placing the local department under
the civil service was not enacted until
May Of 1919 and the first examina-
tions were held two years later. That
law carried with it the provision that
promotions from the ranks should be
based In part upon examinations,
which must be passed by all officers up
to and including the rank of captain.
The inspectors are chosen from the
captains. A possible weak spot in the
system now is found in the efficiency
ratings, which are made by the pre-
cinct commanders. There have been
complaints that the ratings, which
determine eligibility for promotion ex-
aminations, are sometimes based on ia
voritism and that they are not always
given the importance they deserve.
But while there may be defects In the
system, the system itself is funda-
mentally sound. 1t should eventually
eliminate the old method, which based
promotion on length of service plus
political and other types of favoritism.
Strengthened by impartial admins
tration and the Inauguration Of regu-
lar officer training courses, a promo
tional system based on merit and
achievement should produce men bet
ter qualified for the higher police
command than any other. But this
would in large measure be destroyed
by selection Of major and superin-
tendent Of police from outside the
ranks Of the department. If the Sc
lection were unfortunate, as has hap
pened in the past, 1t would mean
further disorganization and loss of
morale. If such a method for choos-
ing the major and superintendent be-
came the custom, the Office would
eventually become a political plum.
Politics does not mix with the police
force any better than it mixes with
public education.