About the police officer application and selection process

Due to the nature of policing, our recruitment process may be more comprehensive than others you have experienced.

We are here to help you, find out more at some of our police officer information sessions (opens in a new window).

1. Submitting an application

The first stage is to complete the national application form which requires you to submit basic personal information such as contact details and eligibility information such as, right to work, tattoos you have, disability declaration and convictions and cautions.

Answer the questions on the form as carefully and as fully as you can.

Disability: please disclose any mental and/or physical disabilities so we can offer reasonable adjustments where possible.

A medical report will be required for dyslexia, please attach this when submitting your application.

The police officer detectives application form has an additional technical question.

2. SIFT and on-line assessment

Stage one: online national SIFT

After you've applied, the next step is SIFT, a national online shortlisting that consists of a situational judgement test (SJT) and a behavioural styles questionnaire (BSQ)

The situational judgement test is used to assess your judgement and decision-making skills in situations which are similar to those you could face as a police constable. It will take around 30 minutes to complete the 15 scenarios you will be presented with.

The behavioural styles questionnaire is used to see if you will have the right attitude and behaviours for the role. It is untimed and usually takes around 20 minutes to complete, you will be given 80 statements and asked the extent to which you agree or disagree with each.

Stage two: Online Assessment Centre (OAC)

After you have successfully passed your SIFT, you will be invited to complete the virtual assessment centre, which is at the heart of the selection process. It consists of:

• Competency Based Interview (CBI)
• Written exercise
• Briefing exercise

How do I find out if I have been invited to do an OAC?

Once you have passed SIFT, you will receive an invitation to the OAC with a set start date from our HR team.  The invite will go direct to your email, but please make sure you check your spam/junk folder.  

When do I get the link?

On the date your assessment opens, you will receive an invitation email with three separate exercise links.

Please remember to check your spam/junk folder.

How long do I have to take it and where do I take it?

You will have seven days to complete all three exercises. You can complete an exercise at any time during this week at your own place of choice.

Occasionally, we have a ‘Super Saturday’ where we invite candidates to sit their OAC at our office at Titan Court, Hatfield.  This is optional and will be available to those who would prefer to come in and complete the tests. We will provide a laptop if needed and secure Wi-Fi. We will let you know about this in advance if it is running that month.

What do I need to do to prepare?

To help you, we will send you a guide to the STAR approach to interviews, the Competency Value Framework (CVF) and Policing Principles to help you.

You can also attend one of our Insight sessions which you will be contacted about and encouraged to attend.

Competency-based interview

The competency-based interview will ask you five questions about how you have dealt with specific situations in the past. This is your opportunity to provide some examples of the key competencies and values that are important for police constables. You can use examples from both your work and personal life and it will take approximately 40 minutes.

Written exercise

In the written exercise you will assume the role of a police constable and will have to complete an urgent written task for your line manager. You will receive four items of information to help you with this task. This exercise will also take around 40 minutes to complete.

Briefing exercise

In the briefing exercise, you will assume the role of a police constable and will have responsibility for dealing with some issues presented to you. You will be tasked with providing a response to a number of questions in relation to this issue. You will be provided with preparation materials to consider your answer and it will take around an hour.

Reasonable adjustments and accommodations

Some people taking online assessments need extra help or more time.

If you have any condition that might cause you to be disadvantaged during the online assessment process, temporary or otherwise (for example, pregnancy, injury, medical conditions, disability or neurodivergence such as dyslexia and autism) you may be entitled to accommodation or reasonable adjustment.

Any accommodation or reasonable adjustment provided for the online assessment process will be based on the supporting information provided to your recruiting force in a relevant report, produced by an appropriately qualified professional.

3. In-force interview

If you pass assessment, you will be invited to attend an interview with Hertfordshire Constabulary.

This will be a competency-based interview based and test your knowledge of the Policing Principles. The interview will last for approximately 30 minutes and will be in-person. It is also your opportunity to ask questions about the role and Hertfordshire Constabulary.

If you are invited to interview you will be notified by email, usually at least seven days before the interview date.

You will be required to produce valid identification at the interview (a list of suitable ID will be emailed to you).

Conditional offer

If you are successful following the selection process you will receive a conditional offer and we will start progressing your pre-employment checks.

Until these checks are complete you should not hand in your notice with your current employer.

4. Pre-appointment checks

Medical

A work health questionnaire must be completed, you will need to complete this carefully and thoroughly. A full medical history must be disclosed and failure to do so may result in your application being rejected, if in doubt, disclose it.

Vetting

Our vetting e-form asks for more details about you and those you live with.

Biometric vetting

You will be required to undertake biometric vetting, which will involve recording your DNA, via a mouth swab and fingerprints.

Fitness test

You will be asked to run "to and fro" along a 15-metre track in time with a series of bleeps. If you reach the end line before the bleep sounds you need to wait for the bleep before resuming your run and adjusting your speed. The time between bleeps gets progressively faster and it becomes more difficult to keep up with the required speed. To pass you need to reach a minimum of level 5.4.

Drug testing

A hair specimen is taken and tested for the use of drugs, this specimen is approximately 1cm wide and will be as close to the scalp as possible.

References

These will need to be obtained from all employers (paid or otherwise) covering a minimum of five years.

Final offer

Pre-employment checks take between three and six months. Once all checks have been concluded and approved, and a start date agreed, a final offer and conditions of service will be issued.

Start date

New intakes happen throughout the year. You will be notified nearer the time what your likely start date will be.

Probation

You will be required to successfully complete either a two year probation period on the DHEP, IPLDP and ADCP programme, or a three year probation period on the PCDA programme.