I looked at the candidacy, application and selection procedures to become a chief officer in Chapter One. In this chapter, I examine chief officers’ individual and personal experiences of moving up through the ranks and the ways in which they were picked out to apply for promotion. Many of those interviewed commented on how the ‘golden finger’ touched them to indicate that they were ‘chosen’ to go further. The strong evidence is that identification of individual potential and the channelling of that potential into candidacy for chief officer is still very much rooted in a personal patronage exercised by senior officers. One chief officer told me how he had to wait three years before he could persuade his chief constable to recommend him for promotion – a delay which cost him some seniority compared with his fellow officers on that SCC intake. Another took his chief constable out for lunch to angle for a job overseas, only to hear his chief unexpectedly confirm recommendation for the assessment procss instead.

There are some interesting elements in the individual accounts of aspiration to the ACPO ranks, ranging from those who joined intending from the outset to get to the top, to those to whom the entireprocess was a series of surprises. The chapter then goes on to explore relationships within the chief officer role, asking about perceptions of security or uneasiness in the various jobs at this level, how chief officers regard their colleagues and what sorts of competition exist, process was a series of surprises. The chapter then goes on to explore relationships within the chief officer role, asking about perceptions of security or uneasiness in the various jobs at this level, how chief officers regard their colleagues and what sorts of competition exist, or are perceived to exist, around getting and holding on to these ‘top team’ jobs.