Law Society of South Australia fears SA Police spelling, numeracy test cuts put cases in jeopardy

Concerns over SA Police cutting mandatory cadet literacy and numeracy tests has prompted warnings from the legal fraternity. Vote in our poll.

• Cops drop spelling, maths tests for cadets

Inadequate spelling and numeracy skills among police officers could jeopardise criminal court cases, potentially resulting in “not guilty” verdicts or dropped charges, warns the legal fraternity.

Concerns have been raised after SA Police scrapped mandatory spelling and numeracy testing of prospective cadets.

Police Minister Stephen Mullighan told state parliament on Thursday that the assessments had been abolished so more candidates, particularly young people, could be accepted into the Police Academy.

Law Society of South Australia president Marissa Mackie. Picture: Norman Waterhouse

However, Law Society of South Australia President Marissa Mackie on Friday said a “base level of numeracy and literacy should be required for members of the police force”.

“Police officers are required to regularly write statements and reports, which are often central to the prosecution of criminal matters,” she said.

“Poorly written statements can lead to misunderstandings and unreliable evidence, and therefore undermine the judicial process.”

Ms Mackie also stressed the importance of numeracy skills.

“Officers who are involved in collecting evidence and investigating crime scenes conduct tasks that require a basic level of numeracy, such as measuring distances and speeds, interpreting timestamps, and constructing timelines of events,” she said.

“A recent Supreme Court judgment has confirmed police officers are not required to be trained in the use of scientific instruments such as blood alcohol testing instruments – This further highlights the importance of officers possessing foundational numeracy and literacy to understand how the instruments operate.”

But Ms Mackie stressed the right balance needed to be struck between ensuring police officers possessed adequate literacy and numeracy skills, without excluding candidates who would be exceptional additions to the force.

“For example, potential candidates from non-English speaking backgrounds, or with learning differences, should not face unreasonable barriers if their numeracy and literacy challenges have no bearing on their intelligence or capabilities, or if candidates from different backgrounds might be ideally suited to certain roles within the force,” she said.

Police cadets graduating from the police academy at Taperoo. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Veteran Adelaide criminal lawyer, and former police officer, Michael Woods agreed it was “essential” that police officers possessed good spelling and numeracy skills.

“Spelling and grammar are two of the most important things in interpreting the law and applying the law,” he said.

Mr Woods said “if you lower the bar too low, you’re going to end in trouble”.

“You need a command of the English language to put the words down so some lawyer can’t twist them or a court can’t interpret them incorrectly,” he said.

SAPOL’s executive director for people, culture and wellbeing Kim-Sherie Summers said the testing had changed to “ensure greater consistency with recruitment testing undertaken in other Australian police jurisdictions”.

She also said it “acknowledges advancements in technology and contemporary tools that support learning requirements and job performance, including spell check and calculators”.

Originally published as Law Society of South Australia fears SA Police spelling, numeracy test cuts put cases in jeopardy