March 2000 Volume 81 Number 3 "serving the protectors"

Police Review Tribunal

The Police Association and SAPOL have, in recent years, attempted to break the nexus between rank and salary (eg incremental pay increases). But in reality, rank is still the major determining factor in police salaries, and the gauge by which many judge “success” in police careers. Consequently, the importance of a credible process to select members with whom to fill vacant promotional positions is paramount.

The new Police Act provides a right of review relative to selection for prescribed promotional positions. The application for review can relate to some irregularity in the selection process, or challenge the nomination on the grounds of superior merit - or both.

The presiding officer for the new tribunal, Mr John Lesses, has been appointed for a six-month period, after which the operations of the tribunal will be evaluated. The presiding officer will:

• Sit alone.
• Be independent of SAPOL
• Be appointed by the Minister in consultation with SAPOL and the Police Association.

It is important to remember that the selection process is not a science. It is obviously influenced by the personal views of the selection panel to the less-than-definitive definition of “merit” when comparing applicants.

The independence of the Police Review Tribunal will give members confidence in the system and hopefully assist in achieving consistency in its “reasons for decision”. This is a difficult component of human resource management and we wish Mr Lesses well in his role.

Hopefully, SAPOL’s selection processes will be of an extremely high standard, with referrals to the tribunal being the exception rather than the rule. It would also be hoped that such referrals only occur after an unsuccessful applicant has obtained feedback and reasons for non-selection from the Selection Advisory Committee - after the conciliation process has been exhausted.

The rights of the original nominee appearing before the tribunal are also made clearer by the provisions of the new act.


PETER ALEXANDER
President

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