Police education levels and promotions
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.033395
I note you seek access to the following information:
A Police education levels
1, Can you give me a breakdown of each of the Police ranks of Constable, Sergeant and Inspectors by highest qualification level held, Ie Levels 1-8.
B Total promotions to each of Sergeant and Inspector in each full year from March 2018 to April 2023 (or the most easily defined year)
What was the total number of promotions each year to Sergeant and Inspector
2, With regard to the total for all relevant years in each of Sergeant and
Inspector promotions what was
a, the average length of service,
b, the modal length of service,
c, the median length of service, at the time of promotion.
Do you keep the standard deviation of these scores?
3, of the constables promoted, to Sergeant, what proportion had more than 20 years service?
Decision
I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.
Please find below information pursuant to your request above.
Q1B - Total promotions to each of Sergeant and Inspector in each full year from March 2018 to April 2023 (or the most easily defined year)
What was the total number of promotions each year to Sergeant and Inspector
| Financial Year | Constable to Sergeant | Sergeant to Inspector |
| FY 18 - 19 | 449 | 178 |
| FY 19 - 20 | 481 | 135 |
| FY 20 - 21 | 1,118 | 352 |
| FY 21 - 22 | 3 | 323 |
| FY 22 - 23 | 730 | 371 |
| Total | 2,781 | 1,359 |
| Calendar Year | Constable to Sergeant | Sergeant to Inspector |
| 2018 | 449 | 176 |
| 2019 | 482 | 137 |
| 2020 | 489 | 352 |
| 2021 | 632 | 322 |
| 2022 | 726 | 372 |
| 2023 | 4 | 225 |
| Total | 2,778 | 1,359 |
Q2 - With regard to the total for all relevant years in each of Sergeant and
Inspector promotions what was
a, the average length of service,
b, the modal length of service,
c, the median length of service, at the time of promotion.
Do you keep the standard deviation of these scores?
Q3 - of the constables promoted, to Sergeant, what proportion had more than 20 years service?
Constable to Sergeant - successful candidates
| 2018 | Age | LOS |
| Mean | 35 | 11 |
| Median | 35 | 11 |
| Mode | 37 | 9 |
| St Dev | 6 | 5 |
| Pct >20yrs | 5% |
| 2019 | Age | LOS |
| Mean | 37 | 12 |
| Median | 37 | 12 |
| Mode | 38 | 15 |
| St Dev | 6 | 6 |
| Pct >20yrs | 6% |
| 2020 | Age | LOS |
| Mean | 38 | 11 |
| Median | 37 | 11 |
| Mode | 39 | 6 |
| St Dev | 7 | 6 |
| Pct >20yrs | 6% |
| 2021 | Age | LOS |
| Mean | 37 | 11 |
| Median | 37 | 11 |
| Mode | 32 | 7 |
| St Dev | 7 | 6 |
| Pct >20yrs | 5% |
| 2022 | Age | LOS |
| Mean | 38 | 12 |
| Median | 37 | 13 |
| Mode | 37 | 7 |
| St Dev | 7 | 6 |
| Pct >20yrs | 9% |
Sergeant to Inspector - successful candidates
| 2018 | Age | LOS |
| Mean | 42 | 17 |
| Median | 41 | 17 |
| Mode | 38 | 15 |
| St Dev | 6 | 6 |
| 2019 | Age | LOS |
| Mean | 41 | 16 |
| Median | 40 | 16 |
| Mode | 38 | 15 |
| St Dev | 5 | 5 |
| 2020 | Age | LOS |
| Mean | 42 | 17 |
| Median | 42 | 17 |
| Mode | 42 | 16 |
| St Dev | 6 | 5 |
| 2021 | Age | LOS |
| Mean | 42 | 16 |
| Median | 41 | 17 |
| Mode | 37 | 17 |
| St Dev | 6 | 5 |
| 2022 | Age | LOS |
| Mean | 42 | 17 |
| Median | 42 | 17 |
| Mode | 43 | 18 |
| St Dev | 6 | 5 |
Please note, this data relates to individuals who have passed their police promotion assessment centres.
Length of service is abbreviated at LOS
Q1 - Can you give me a breakdown of each of the Police ranks of Constable, Sergeant and Inspectors by highest qualification level held, Ie Levels 1-8.
In relation to question 1, there is no information held. I contacted SSCL, the Workforce Data team and Resourcing, who all sit under the umbrella of the Human Resources Unit, they all confirmed they do not hold this data. I also contacted the Learning and Development team who explained this information is not held, however the MPS has introduced a learning management system in August 2022, which may eventually hold this type of information.