Do you know the initial screening process of your power?
Are you aware that police services can now choose which screening assessments they can use to assess candidates in the early stages of the screening process, usually shortly after the initial application is submitted.
It was updated by the Police College in November 2021.
The idea of initial screening is activated to ensure that only candidates who demonstrate the desired skills and values will be able to reach the final stages.
In this post we will review the three different screening options that each force can apply during the selection process to select candidates to be police officers.
What is Sift used for?
During a recruitment campaign a police service will receive hundreds (if not thousands) of applications to become a police officer, and there are usually only a marginal number of places available for each reception.
So in light of this, any police service will have to reduce the number of applicants for each campaign. This is usually reduced for the first time by a deduction from the examination of the initial application and eligibility criteria.
After this stage, the remaining candidates will be invited to make some initial assessments, which will test each candidate against a system of values and behaviors.
There are essential qualities that a person has if he is going to be a talented cop.
Values and behaviors are based on the Capabilities and Values Framework (CVF). In order to have any chance of succeeding in the screening process, you will not only need to have excellent knowledge of these, but will be required to demonstrate them during each assessment and interview. If you do not, you are likely to be rejected at this point.
In the following sections of this post, we will take a look at Three different types of debugging assessments that you can handle During this early part of the selection process.
If you are required to perform a power screening, you will be notified by the force to which you are referring as to what the assessment may be. If you look at the selection process of the power website, it may give you an indication of what the actual assessment might be. It may also depend on your route of entry.
Please remember, no matter what the assessment is, it will focus heavily on CVF. Please see the list below of possible evaluations you may need to take as a debugging evaluation:
- Verbal reasoning test
- telephone interview
- Video-based assessment
- Status judgment test
- Behavioral Styles Questionnaire
If the power you are applying to uses the national filter, then after you complete your initial request, you will be asked to meet the following two assessments:
Status Judgment Test: In this assessment you will be presented with 15 unique scenarios in which you can deal as a police officer. Along with the scenario, you will also be presented with four possible responses. Your task will then be to rate each of the answers on a scale from ineffective to highly efficient, the scale consists of the following rankings; Effective / Fairly effective / Ineffective / Ineffective. Again when rating answers, make sure you refer to the CVF and make sure your response matches the required behaviors and values. You will have 30 minutes to make this assessment. Please see sample question below:
Sample question: You go on a tour of the local neighborhood when a woman approaches you and your colleague. She is very angry and uses foul language.
woman: ‘Police scum. You can not trust old Bill, all they do is cover. When my house was broken into, the police did nothing! You’re both good for nothing, a waste of space. ‘
Please rate the comments below:
- ‘Ma’am, your comments are completely unacceptable. Unless you have a real complaint, get out of here
Effective / Fairly effective / Ineffective / Ineffective
- Ignore her. She will eventually disappear.
Effective / Fairly effective / Ineffective / Ineffective
- ‘Sorry, ma’am, I’ll ask you to retract your comments. Such a language is not acceptable, and if you continue, we will have to stop you. ‘
Effective / Fairly effective / Ineffective / Ineffective
- ‘I’m sorry for the trouble we caused you. We’ll do better next time to address your issues. ‘
Effective / Fairly effective / Ineffective / Ineffective
If you would like more practice on this variation of the cop’s situational judgment test, you can get it here.
Behavioral Styles Questionnaire: The next assessment that you will be required to perform in the framework of national screening again focuses entirely on the framework of skills and values. The test itself will present you with 80 statements that will evaluate your behaviors in the workplace. Your task is to choose from the answer that suits you best. A sample question might look like this;
Sample statement: ‘I put the needs of others before mine.’
You will then be presented with a selection of comments that will look something like this: Totally disagree, strongly disagree, disagree, disagree or disagree, agree, strongly agree and completely agree.
This assessment requires you to answer honestly, as to how you would normally behave at work, but please note, if your answer does not match the behaviors required of a police officer, it will most likely not be marked high.
How would you answer the question above? Please post your answer in the comments box at the bottom of the page.
You can find out more about the Police Behavior Styles Questionnaire here.
SJT Online Assessment Center
The last screening option available to you is a different variation of a situational judgment test. This version of SJT is the same test you may have faced in the past if the power you applied to use in step 1 of the online assessment process.
The difference between this SJT and the SJT discussed earlier, is that you will only need to select the most appropriate action from the answer options, and not rate each action. In total there are 12 questions.
If you need to perform this SJT, as it is also part of the online assessment process, you will also need to conduct the eligibility-based interview at that meeting. Therefore, when you decide to take this test, please make sure that you are willing to participate in a qualifying interview as well.
Please see the sample question below for this variation of this OAC judgment test question.
Sample question: You are on a tour, passing through Ficture Park when you notice a group of teenagers from the local high school. One of the teens appears disturbed and picks up items that have fallen off the ground from their backpack.
Do you:
- A) Go to the group, ask what they are doing and offer them to leave the park.
- B) Help the boy who collects his belongings and ask if anyone in the group picks them up.
- C) Keep an eye on the group as you continue your tour.
- D) Follow the group around the park until they leave.
How would you answer this question? Feel free to leave your comments in the section at the bottom of the page.
If you need practice in the OAC Situational Judgment test, you can find more material here.
