POLICE officers may be promoted more quickly as part of a plan to deal with the expected exodus of senior staff in the run-up to 1997 and beyond.
Force management is looking at scrapping the mandatory waiting period for some promotions.
Police think-tanks are also looking at the best way to accelerate promotions and develop more attractive prospects for officers in senior command and management positions, mainly those between the inspector grades and chief superintendent.
Another option suggests drafting officers to higher ranks on an acting basis.
News of the informal review underscores the pace with which senior police are planning for an imminent exodus.
At present, superintendents are obliged to serve at least four years before being eligible for promotion. Inspectors must wait a minimum of five years.
One of the chief proposals is the waiving of such requirements. If accelerated promotion is not undertaken now, scores of inexperienced officers may have to act in senior positions after 1997 for which they are ill-equipped.
