Local News in Brief : Police Adopt New Promotion System
The Santa Monica Police Department, plagued for the last two years with charges of discrimination against women and minorities, has adopted new promotion procedures, according to a report released Thursday by the Santa Monica Police Department Steering Committee.
One of the key revisions calls for removing “promotability” as a rating factor for promotion examinations. The promotability rating, based on a supervisor’s opinion of the candidate, made up 20% of the applicant’s final score under the old procedure, said Karen Bancroft, the city’s personnel manager.
“It left the promotion procedures open to the subjectivity and manipulation of supervisors who did the rating,” said Bancroft, organizer of the watchdog committee of rank-and-file police officers.
Other revisions will affect the selection of detectives and the process for filing discrimination complaints. Under the old system, all complaints were filed directly to Police Chief James Keane, but now officers will take their grievances to the 10-member steering committee.
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