KARACHI, May 4: A total of 64 candidates appeared in a written test for the posts of station house officers (SHOs) for Zone South held here on Sunday.

The candidates included inspectors and sub-inspectors vying for the posts of SHOs, whereas a number of station house officers, already posted at various city police stations, also appeared in the test for an evaluation of their professional competence.

The new police high-ups have decided to conduct written tests for the station house officers and head moharrirs deployed at various police stations across the city.

The written tests will be followed by a viva voce, which will be conducted by a panel of senior police officials comprising DIGs and SPs, sources said.

A senior official said that the written test held on Sunday carried 50 marks while the viva, to be held on a later date, would also carry 50 marks. During the viva, a candidate’s past record, length of experience, service book and level of honesty would also be evaluated, he said.

He told Dawn that city police stations would be categorized on the basis of their workload into three categories, ones with heavy workload, medium and then police stations with a less load of work. The selected candidates will be posted into these three categories on the basis of their professional standings.

As per the decisions taken by the PPO and the CCPO, all those inspectors or sub-inspectors who would not appear in the test would not be posted as SHOs, said a police official. The written tests will be held in all the three zones to be supervised by the relevant deputy inspector-general.

A similar experiment was undertaken by a former DIG East. The DIG had conducted tests for the head moharrirs of his zone. A police official wondered if the high-ups would be able to ensure merit and could resist political recommendations which, he said, were part and parcel of every coalition government.