ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the debate over direct appointment versus promotion by merit. It describes patronage versus promotion by merit and aims to evaluate the century long debate over freemasonry and its effect upon appointments and promotions within the police. Writing in the 1920s, Nott-Bower thought that although contemporary practices of appointing chief constables had been effective during the early years of the police service, they were no longer a viable means of gaining the most efficient chief constables. Forms of patronage ranged from nepotism through family connections to patronage through social connections that are fostered through membership of secretive organisations. The source of patronage that has probably sparked off the most debate within the police, has been freemasonry. Allegations of corrupt and unfair patronage through the secret influence of freemasonry within the police service first emerged in the letters column of the Police Review during the early 1890s and have reappeared regularly ever since.
