Hoping to end decades of tension over the advancement of minority officers, the Boston Police Department plans to overhaul a promotion system that has been criticized for contributing to a lack of diversity in the department’s upper ranks.
Commissioner Edward F. Davis is expected to send an e-mail to officers and command staff Thursday announcing a $2.2 million initiative to replace a written promotion exam used statewide with a testing system that could include interviews and other components designed to provide a broader measure of leadership and potential.
Comments
It sure seems like a return to quotas to me. Discrimination rather than merit. Special treatment for special interests. Dumbing down the "promotions". They can do what they want....just dont expect me to respect the new "leadership".
Instead of lowering standards. how about in addition to the current exam, add additional testing to include the interview etc; If the current crop of officers can't pass a multiple answer test,that is not a good indication of readiness to be promoted. Information should be standardized so that it is , or should be, clear enough for all to understand. Any time Menino is involved in making decisions, it is usually a bad indication for improvement.
"...to replace a written promotion exam used statewide with a testing system that could include interviews and other components designed to provide a broader measure of leadership and potential." why not add other components and keep to the written exam rather than do away the written exam? This sounds definitely like dumbing down. There is no clamor to introduce needed diversity to the NBA so why the need to have diversity in BPD? Diversity always results lower quality.
About time.
If you can't pass the same exam that everyone has to take in order to advance, you should not be promoted regardless of race. Why are lowering the standards to accomodate individuals who won't do the work it takes to pass? Do they use this same practice in medical school or pilot training? Come on guys!!!
"There's no one at the table that looks like us" He wants to see promotion of more people with dark skin pigmentation. He may or may not have a legitimate grievance, but one thing is guaranteed: if the BPD proceeds with this farce, they are setting themselves up for a lawsuit the first time a light-skinned officer gets passed over for promotion strictly because of his color. Removing neutral exams and substituting arbitrary interviews is not the way to promote on merit, in fact quite the opposite. I suggest that the BPL institute a training program to bring marginal officers up to par in the areas they are lacking, rather than dumb down their standards a la the failed 1970s affirmative action approach.
This PC baloney aside, what the BPD really needs is some salary diversity. Like maybe a few of the beat cops should be making less than 100 grand a year.
"replace a written promotion exam used statewide with a testing system that could include interviews" Right, because what could be fairer and more colorblind than a written exam? What could be more openenly manipulated and racially biased than a face to face interview? Way to go Boston.
You don't seem to understand. They don't even bother to hide it anymore; the goal isn't equality of opportunity, it is equality of outcomes. Fairness and ability have nothing to do with it.
After he fails to win a second term, Barack Obama could serve as the BPD hearing officer. After all, he has already displayed his deep knowledge of police affairs with his comments in the CPD dispute with Prof. Gates.