Promotion and Selection for Police Officers Policy
1. Policy Scope
Dyfed-Powys Police is committed to ensuring that all Supervisors and Managers have the necessary, skills, abilities and values to lead and direct teams.
This Policy and the associated procedure document set out the framework for the selection of suitably qualified and experienced officers for promotion to the next rank, covering promotions between the rank of Sergeant to Chief Superintendent.
Applies (but not limited) to: All Police Officers of both Federated and Superintending ranks within Dyfed-Powys Police must have due regard to the contents of this policy.
2. Policy Scope
The aim of the policy is to ensure that:
- Dyfed-Powys Police has efficient and fair promotion practices that support the delivery of an effective and high-quality service to the public.
- Dyfed-Powys Police use effective promotion processes, to ensure suitably qualified and skilled individuals are identified to fill all promotion opportunities in a timely manner.
- The selection of all individuals is conducted in a fair, transparent, consistent and non-discriminatory manner that provides equality of opportunity for all.
3. Powers and Policy/Legal Requirements
Equality of opportunity is an integral part of Dyfed-Powys Police’s recruitment and selection processes and the Force is committed to achieving a truly representative workforce and therefore welcomes applications from all sections of the community.
Under the Equality Act 2010 the Equality Duty covers the following protected characteristics:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender Reassignment
- Pregnancy and Maternity
- Race
- Religion or belief – this includes lack of belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
Section 60 of the Equality Act 2010 restricts the circumstances, in which employers can ask job applicants questions about disability or health. Any such pre-employment checks can only be conducted at the end of the recruitment process.
Regulation 10A of the 2003 Police Regulations and Regulation 1ZA of the Special Constables Regulations 1965 provides for the speculative searches to be undertaken on the fingerprints and DNA profiles provided by prospective police officers and special constables against the relevant local and national databases. Prospective relevant police staff may also be subject to the same checks.
Internal:
This policy relates to the National Police Promotion Framework (NPPF) Policy, the Performance Development Review (DAP) Policy, the Attendance & Performance Policy.
4. Options and Contingencies
Roles and Responsibilities
Head of Talent
The Head of Talent is responsible for ensuring sufficient resources and suitably skilled staff are available to support the promotion process and standard operating procedures.
People and Organisation Development
People and Organisation Development staff will provide officers and line managers with support throughout the process.
Electronic records of interviews, reasons for decisions made at each stage of the process and reasons for appointment or non-appointment will be kept by People & OD for 18 months following the conclusion of the promotion process, unless a longer period can be justified by the Head of Talent (and then only to the extent that is permitted by the Data Protection Act, 1998). Only those that require access for specific and authorised purposes will be able to access this information. Records will be disposed of confidentially.
Line Manager/Head of Department
Line Managers will provide support to individuals seeking promotion through providing balanced evidenced based promotion assessments and through the DAP process. Officers will be provided with feedback at Steps Three and Four of the promotion process and offered assistance to support them in developing a personal development plan.
The relevant Line Manager as detailed on the application form and the Head of Department must complete the relevant sections of the application form to confirm their support for the candidate prior to submission.
Officers whose application are not supported will receive feedback from the relevant Line Manager and/or the Head of Department. Areas for development will be agreed and included as an objective(s) within the DAP. The objective(s) will then need to be achieved to allow progress to a future promotion board.
Police Officers
Eligible Police Officers will be required to complete a promotion application form and are responsible for its submission by the specified closing date. Application forms received after the closing date will not be accepted.
Moderation Panel
All applications, including those not supported, will be shortlisted by a Moderation Panel consisting of Senior Officers and quality assured by a representative from People and Organisation Development, to ensure that all candidates invited for interview meet the required standard.
There is no right of appeal on the decision of the Moderation Panel. All unsuccessful candidates at moderation panel will receive detailed feedback.
Police Federation / Superintendents Association will be involved in the moderation process to ensure consistency and fairness. All applications will be anonymised to ensure transparency. Promotion decisions must be evidenced based, justified and documented.
Professional Standards
All candidates for promotion will be subject to clearance from the Professional Standards Department, prior to being invited for interview. Where a candidate is subject to a misconduct investigation or has an outstanding/unresolved complaint against them, the Head of Talent, in consultation with the Head of Professional Standards, will determine whether the officer’s application for promotion can be progressed.
In rare cases the Head of Professional Standards may highlight to the Head of Talent that, although there is no current conduct issue, the candidate has intelligence / historic issues that warrant further consideration prior to promoting the officer. If the Head of Talent believes as a result of this information / intelligence that it may be appropriate to delay promotion, the individual will be notified and given the opportunity to make representation themselves or via a police friend.
If a decision is taken to delay promotion, the officer must be set an action plan and a period of time for it to be completed. It is very unlikely that a delay to promotion of more than 12 months (if the action plan is adhered to) will be appropriate. In exceptional cases, the Head of Professional Standards may determine that the conduct matter is so serious that the officer must re-apply for promotion so that their suitability for promotion can be re-assessed in the light of their development after the outcome of the conduct case.
Delivery Principles
Equality and Diversity - Any qualifications or requirements applied to a rank/post that have or may have the effect of inhibiting applications from certain groups of the population will only be retained if they can be justified in terms of the job to be done. There will also be a separate Equality Impact Assessment process and document in being to run alongside this policy as appropriate. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled officers to ensure, so far as it is possible, that they are not placed at a disadvantage compared with non-disabled candidates. If reasonable adjustments are required the candidate must inform the force in good time, so that appropriate adjustments can be made.
Communication and awareness sessions - Staff will be provided with timely information on the promotion process, assessment dates, assessment requirements, awareness sessions and learning opportunities in order to allow them to plan and manage their personal development and career plans.
Monitoring and Evaluation - Candidate feedback forms are issued to all candidates attending Promotion Board / Step 3 NPPF and this information is combined with quantitative and qualitative data including the number of applicants, the results at each stage and diversity data. This information will be used internally to identify areas for improvement and to evidence performance through internal and external inspection requirements.
Confidentiality - Applicants, assessors and staff involved in the promotion process are required to maintain the integrity of the process and information obtained as part of that process.
Data and Documentation - Data obtained in connection with the promotion process will only be used for the purpose for which the information has been collected.
Information on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or belief, disability and age will be collected in order to monitor the numbers of applications from different groups. This information will not be used in the selection process or for any other use other than this purpose, excepting where information has been disclosed about a disability with the intention of seeking reasonable adjustments (in which case, that information will only be used or disclosed to the extent that it is necessary to do so to enable reasonable adjustments to be put in place).
The Code of Ethics principles are relevant to this policy and the associated procedure document -
- Courage
- Respect and Empathy
- Public Service
This policy aims to support the delivery of Our Plan and Our Culture Pledge.
5. Take action and review
This policy will be monitored by the nominated person within People and Organisation Development.
Review of these documents will consider the following -
- The effectiveness of the policy
- Any challenges to the policy
- Any changes to legislation and/or national guidance/processes
Any amendments to the policy will be implemented by People and Organisation Development following approval by the Strategic Workforce Planning Board.
CODE OF ETHICS CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Code of Ethics and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Code and the principles underpinning it.
HUMAN RIGHTS ACT CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Human Rights Act and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Act and the principles underpinning it.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the protected characteristics that qualify for protection under the Act as follows: Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation.
The public sector equality duty places a proactive legal requirement on public bodies to have regard, in the exercise of their functions, to the need to:
- eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is unlawful under the Act;
- advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;
- foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
The equality duty applies to all protected characteristics with the exception of Marriage and Civil Partnership, to which only the duty to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination applies.
Carrying out an equality impact assessment involves systematically assessing the likely or actual effects of policies on people in respect of all the protected characteristics set out above. An equality impact assessment should be carried out on any policy that is relevant to the public sector equality duty.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT COMPLETED: October 2025