Australian Police Recruits Fail Ethics Test
Jan 29th, 2007 • Posted in: NewsSYDNEY
About three quarters of police recruits in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, failed their ethics exam but were given passing grades anyway in order to get them on the street, according to an investigation by the Daily Telegraph, a Sydney-area newspaper.
The results prompted some at the academy to call the situation “a joke,” and others speculated that it could turn dangerous.
“It’s putting them in a really bad situation — these kids are going to come out and be totally unprepared for real police work,” one officer told the Telegraph. “It’s an embarrassment because they will literally come out knowing no better.”
Critics are charging that police recruits are being pushed through training in order to meet a campaign promise in which government officials pledged to increase the authorized force of the state police by 750 men and women, according to the Australian Broadcasting Company.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that several recruits also have failed physical fitness tests. Commander of Educational Services Tony Aldred told the Herald that there are more “mature” candidates in this year’s class, including recruits as old as 52.
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