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Police - Appointment, Attestation, Service And Discharge (Ss 8-15)

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8.       Appointment of police officers

 

            (1) Subject to this Act-

     (a)     the Permanent Secretary to the President shall, after consultation with the Commissioner, appoint fit and proper persons to hold the rank of Deputy Commissioner;

     (b)     the Commissioner shall appoint fit and proper persons-

                     (i)       to hold any rank up to and including Senior Assistant Commissioner;

                    (ii)       to hold any civilian office in the Botswana Police Service, of a Grade up to and including Grade D1,

whether or not the person appointed is already a member of the Service:

            Provided that the first two years of the service of any person appointed to be a member of the Service, or such longer period as the appointing authority shall direct, shall be on probation and any service spent in a prescribed organisation may count towards this period.

            (2) A police officer appointed on probation shall, subject to this Act, be confirmed in his appointment, and admitted to the permanent and pensionable establishment of the Service only on the authority of the relevant appointing authority.

            (3) An appointing authority may appoint a police officer to act in a rank senior to his substantive appointment, and where the period of such acting appointment exceeds 28 days such officer shall, during such acting appointment, receive salary at the scale applicable to the senior rank at such incremental level as the appointing authority may decide.

 

9.       Declaration on attestation

 

            (1) Every person on joining the Service shall make and sign a declaration before a senior officer in such form as may be prescribed, and at the same time shall acknowledge his appointment as a member of the Service on such form as may be prescribed.

            (2) Every person shall, before making the declaration required by subsection (1), answer truly any questions put to him as to his previous service, academic qualifications, career and employment and as to whether he has at any time been convicted of any offence punishable by the laws of Botswana or the laws of any other country.

            (3) Any person who makes a false statement in reply to any question put to him under subsection (2) to obtain or to attempt to obtain admission to the Service shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding P500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both.

            (4) The Commissioner may dismiss from the Service any person who contravenes subsection (2).

 

10.     Pensions and gratuities

 

            The grant of pensions and gratuities to members of the Service shall be in accordance with regulations made under this Act.

 

11.     Permission for resignation

 

            No police officer shall be at liberty to resign from the Service unless expressly permitted to do so by the appointing authority.

 

12.     Restriction on retirement

 

            No police officer shall be at liberty to retire from the Service in time of emergency or war unless the Commissioner, acting with the consent of the President, orders otherwise.

 

13.     Interdiction

 

            (1) When any police officer is accused of a criminal or disciplinary offence against this Act or any other criminal offence under any enactment, the appointing authority may suspend such officer from duty for a period not exceeding three months pending the institution and determination of proceedings against such officer but the officer shall, during the period of suspension, continue to receive full pay and benefits.

            (2) Where a police officer, who is suspended under subsection (1), is charged before a court or a Board with a criminal or disciplinary offence, the appointing authority shall interdict him and the interdicted officer shall receive such portion of his pay, not being less than one-half, as the appointing authority may determine; if the proceedings against such officer do not result in his dismissal or other punishment, he shall be entitled to the full amount of the pay he would have received had he not been suspended.

            (3) When any police officer has been interdicted from duty under subsection (2) and is not under arrest, a senior officer may order that pending the institution and determination of proceedings against such officer he shall-

     (a)     be confined to his quarters or other place of residence during such hours as the senior officer may decide;

     (b)     restrict his movements to any area which such senior officer may decide:

            Provided that where any conflict arises between an order under this subsection and any conditions of bail imposed by any court, the latter shall prevail.

 

14.     Termination of appointment

 

            (1) An appointing authority may at any time terminate the appointment of a police officer serving on probation on first appointment if he considers that such officer is unlikely to become an efficient officer, but only after inviting him to show cause why his appointment should not be terminated:

            Provided that in the case of an officer of the rank of Deputy Commissioner, the appointing authority shall act after consultation with the Commissioner.

             (2) The termination of an appointment under this section shall not prejudice the granting of any terminal benefits the police officer would otherwise be entitled to.

            (3) The decision of an appointing authority under this section shall be final and no appeal shall lie to any other person or authority.

 

15.     Retirement, reduction in rank, dismissal

 

            (1) An appointing authority may, at any time-

     (a)     retire a police officer if a board of Government medical officers finds he is unfit mentally or physically for further service;

     (b)     retire a police officer on a reduction of establishment;

     (c)     dismiss a police officer if he is convicted of any criminal offence, or a disciplinary offence under this Act, or alternatively-

           (i)       reduce him in rank;

          (ii)       reduce his salary on the scale applicable to him;

          (iii)       withhold future increments of salary for a period not exceeding two years; or

         (iv)       retire him;

     (d)     retire a police officer if he displays an habitual inattention to orders, or fails to obey orders, or fails to co-operate with members of the Service, or manifests a quarrelsome disposition or want of courage, although he is not guilty of a specific offence;

     (e)     retire a police officer who marries or cohabits with a person with whom the appointing authority is satisfied it is not in the public interest for a police officer to associate closely; or

      (f)      retire a police officer who, whether he is eligible to retire or to be retired or not, fails, in the opinion of the appointing authority, to maintain a satisfactory standard of efficiency.

            (2) No police officer shall be retired under subsection (1) unless he is given such notice as may be prescribed of the intention so to retire him.