LAHORE, Nov 24: The Punjab police have approved a new policy for the selection and posting of staff for police training institutions.

Police Training Directorate chief DIG Dr Azhar Hassan Nadeem and his team formulated the policy and sent it to IGP Malik Asif Hayat in September. “We have received the IGP’s formal approval,” the DIG told Dawn on Saturday, adding that steps were under way to implement the policy at the earliest.

The policy, which is aimed at improving police training, has divided the training institutes’ staff into two categories — the academic and field staff. It says the instructors would be selected by a board that would have the DIG as its chairman and two SPs nominated by him as its members.

The commandants of Sihala Police Training Institution and Lahore’s Elite Training School would monitor the officials under training in their institutions to chose future instructors.

Officials of the rank of DSP, inspector, inspector for legal affairs, sub-inspector and assistant sub-inspector will constitute the academic staff of the training institutes, according to the policy. No official with less than five years of service shall be made an instructor who should preferably be a graduate. The academic staff would be selected from amongst top five position-holders of the relevant course. The trainers would be eligible to one-step promotion on their previous ranks.

The field staff, which is being introduced for the first time in police training, is expected to take time to materialise. It will be constituted by officials from the rank of head constables to inspectors.

Drill and weapons instructors would be taken from amongst the top 10 position holders of the Basic Elite Course and Drill Instructor Course. Martial arts instructors should have a black-belt from a reputed institution and should have been among the top 10 qualifiers of the Martial Arts Instructors Course.

The incentives for officials to be posted as academic and field staff in training institutions include a 20 per cent pay raise, two additional marks for promotion and promotion courses on successful completion of a three-year tenure as instructors. The promotion incentive would be available to an official only once in his service.

The normal tenure of posting at a training institution shall be three years.

The staff qualified in accordance with this policy would gradually replace the existing staff of the training institutions.