KARACHI, May 1: New police high-ups have decided to give a written test to station house officers and head moharrirs posted at different police stations across the city in an effort to post officers on merit, it has been learnt.

The test would help evaluate the professional competence of SHOs, a senior police officer said.

The written test will be held in three zones supervised by their respective deputy inspectors-general.

“The tests are being held in an effort to select and post competent police officers,” remarked a DIG.

So far no date has been set for the test as the matter has been left to the discretion of the respective zonal DIGs, sources said.

However, a senior police officer requesting anonymity told Dawn the test should be held centrally and should not be left to the three zones. The central test would help establish a uniform scale for the SHOs which could vary in case of the three zones, he said.

A senior police officer said the new provincial police hierarchy had also decided to post only inspectors as SHOs in the sprit of the Police Order 2002. The Police Order calls for an inspector to be posted as an SHO and in case of a shortage of inspectors, a sub-inspector could be considered for the post.

The Lahore High Court has also issued a ruling on the issue, saying that an officer below the rank of an inspector should not be posted as a station house officer.

However, in Sindh there has been a tradition of posting even ASIs and sub-inspectors in the past government.

Even at the moment there are many sub-inspectors posted as SHOs across the city.

In the past even assistant sub-inspectors were posted as SHOs at different police stations of the city.

Sources said it had also been decided to increase penalty for station house officers.