Police Commissioner David Manning is standing by the integrity of the recent recruitment drive for the police reservist program, saying it was done professionally and with the intention to engage the best people for the job. Mr Manning said the reserve police recruitment was abused for so long. When he became Commissioner of Police he stopped the program and designed a revamped process that excludes nepotism, bias and corrupt practices. Mr Manning said to improve the impartiality and perceptions of the integrity of the whole process, critical functions of the recruitment process were out-sourced to an independent private company. “I am standing by the integrity of the recruitment process. Those making the allegations of corruption within the process must now back up their allegations,” Mr Manning said. He explained that the allegation that 16 names in the interview listing were not in the original eligible candidates listing was urgently audited on November 8 when it came to light. The results show unequivocally that the allegation is false. Every one of the 16 names was in the eligible list. “Therefore it would seem that the allegations are just stunts employed by people who have not met our criteria. These are definitely not the sort of people we want in the Police Force. “There was also an allegation that telephone calls and text messages soliciting payments in response for favourable selection outcomes were levelled by several candidates. I confirm that the allegations are being taken very seriously and I directed yesterday immediate investigations to identify the culprits behind these,” Mr Manning said. Mr Manning further explained that the NCD/Central Reservist selection centre (RSC) commenced on November 1 this year at the Bomana National Centre of Excellence and was done in three stages: credential screening (1 & 2 November), testing (3, 4, 5 & 6 November) and interviews (8 to 12 November). Mr Manning said candidates who failed at any stage were dropped from the process. Only those candidates passing successfully through every stage will be considered for Reservist Police Training. “We have determined that if the final number successfully completing the process exceeds the original target of 130, we will consider increasing the intake above the 130 level,” he said. Prior to the commencement of the RSC, the names of 1,161 eligible candidates were published in The National and Post-Courier newspapers. The same list was distributed via the RPNGC’s email distribution group and placed on the RPNGC and NCD/Central Police Facebook Pages. To improve the impartiality and perceptions of the integrity of the whole process, critical functions were out-sourced to an independent private company including: • The initial filtering of applicants against the eligibility criteria; • The marking of test papers; • Oversight of candidate interviews; and • The compilation of results, scores and name list at the completion of each stage. Stage One: Screening of credentials Due to Covid-19 concerns and the requirement to maintain groups of persons at 20 or below, the 1,161 were allotted, 150 to one of four 1 ½ hour time periods on November 1 and 2. In this way numbers were successfully controlled and Covid-19 compliance maintained. Two hundred and fifty (250) of the 1,161 eligible candidates did not show up for stage one and were automatically dropped from the process. In addition, another 131 candidates (from the 1,161) did not provide adequate documentary evidence of their eligibility and were dropped from the process. As such, 780 eligible candidates progressed to stage two, which was the testing stage. Stage Two: Testing During stage two, 780 persons were tested across three and a half days. They were seated in groups on chairs that were socially distanced by the selection centre staff. Entry at the beginning of the test sessions and exit at the end was controlled to ensure no mingling of numbers of people greater than allowed by the Covid-19 measures. All candidates sanitised their hands upon entry to the test hall and all wore face masks covering mouth and nose. Of the 780 persons tested, 333 achieved pass marks. The test papers and required pass marks were as follows: • Test Paper 1: Integrity and Aptitude Tests. The pass mark for the integrity questions was 5/5 (100%) and for the aptitude questions 12/23 or 52%; and • Test Paper 2: Reservist Entrance Test. This paper contains a written test and eight true/false questions. The required pass score is 8/11 or 72%. Stage Three: Interviews and fingerprinting All 333 candidates who have reached this stage are to be interviewed by a panel consisting of two RPNGC recruitment staff and one member of the private company. The member of the private company’s role is to ensure that the scoring methodologies are applied consistently across candidates. The scores for each candidate will be compiled and collated by the private company. After a candidate is interviewed, they will have their fingerprints taken. These will be used to cross- check against the RPNGC’s records and to commence the processing of Police Clearance Certificates. Final Selection Decisions Those candidates that pass through the selection centre and obtain a Police Clearance Certificate would be considered for a place on a Reservist training course. The decision as to whether they will be selected for training will depend upon: • The aggregate score achieved in the selection centre and the minimum cut off mark determined for the final selection decisions; • Whether the candidate passes a medical examination paid for and obtained by themselves prior to the start of training; • Whether they pass a physical training test at the prelude day to the commencement of the Reservist Training course; and • If there are enough training places for all selected candidates. “In conclusion I again reaffirm my confidence and trust in the integrity of the recruitment process that we have engaged for the Reservist Police branch of the Constabulary. Those making the serious allegations are urged to assist us by providing statements to support their allegations and enable us to take appropriate action if we need to,” Mr Manning said.