60 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 50

George's County Police. In addition thereto, the said Police
Commissioners shall appoint a Desk Clerk for the County
Police, who shall not, however, be a policeman, but who shall
keep the police records at the substation in the upper portion
of the County and perform such other duties as may be
assigned him by the Superintendent of Police. In case it
may be found by the Police Commissioners that it is impossible
or inadvisable for the police records at police headquarters
to be kept by the Clerk of the Police Court, as now provided,
then and in that event, the Police Commissioners are author-
ized to appoint an additional Desk Clerk for the keeping of
such records and the performance of such other duties as
may be assigned him by the Superintendent of Police, such
additional clerk, however, not to be a policeman. All appli-
cations for appointment to the Police Force shall be made
upon printed blanks to be furnished by the Police Commis-
sioners, wherein the applicant shall state, under oath, his full
name and age, his residence, the election district in which he
is a qualified voter, the place and state of his birth, his occu-
pation for two years preceding his application and such other
information as the Police Commissioners may require con-
cerning his merits and fitness. No person shall be appointed
on the Police Force of Prince George's County who is not a
resident and qualified voter of the County, or who is less than
twenty-one (21) years of age, or more than forty-five years
of age, except that these requirements may be waived by the
Police Commissioners in the case of the Superintendent. Each
applicant must pass a mental and a physical examination and
no person shall be appointed who has not successfully passed
such examinations, but applicants who are members of the
existing police force shall not be required to pass the physical
examination. The Police Commissioners shall prescribe the
manner and method of conducting the mental examinations,
which shall be public and intended to test the qualifications
of each applicant including, among other things, his educa-
tion, his experience and his mental adaptability. Public notice
of such examinations shall be given by the Police Commis
sioners by such advertisement as they may prescribe, which
advertisement shall include the last day on which applications
will be received for such examination. In the case of the
initial appointments to be made to the Police Force, the Police
Commissioners may, in their discretion, waive the age limit
and the necessity of the mental examination as to the mem-
bers of the existing Police Force in Prince George's County
who may be applicants for appointment to the force hereby
created. Each newly appointed officer shall serve a proba-
tionary period of six (6) months during which time he may
be dropped from the rolls at any time in the discretion of the