Police officer interview questions: 30 questions mapped to the values and competencies, with what good answers show

A police officer interview is not a job interview like any other. The candidate will hold powers over other people, act alone under pressure and be judged in court on what they wrote down. The police officer interview questions a panel asks therefore have to test something more specific than confidence and motivation: whether the person has already shown, in some part of their life, the values and behaviours the job demands.

This article gives 30 questions for a recruitment panel, grouped by the values and competencies that policing in England and Wales assesses against, with what a good answer shows. It adds scenario questions built on the duties the US Bureau of Labor Statistics describes, a scoring method, fairness rules and a note on what the interview cannot assess. Candidates can use it too: the questions show what the panel is looking for.

A panel's notes are evidence, and evidence needs a home. See how New Dynamics feedback keeps specific, structured observations where the people who need them can find them.

Map the questions to a framework

In England and Wales, the College of Policing's Competency and Values Framework “provides clear expectations for everyone working in policing” and “plays a significant role in the recruitment, assessment and development of officers and staff at every level”. It is made up of three values and six competencies.

The values: courage; respect and empathy; public service.

The competencies: we are emotionally aware; we take ownership; we collaborate; we support and inspire; we analyse critically; we are innovative and open-minded.

The framework's own guidance matters for interviewers. It says the behaviours it lists “should not be used in isolation or as a checklist”, because they “are just examples, and in any role there will be many other ways in which an individual might demonstrate the competencies and values”. Each competency also has three levels, so a panel for a constable assesses at the first level, not against the behaviours expected of a chief inspector.

Forces run their own recruitment processes and many use structured or values-based interviews built on this framework; check your force's current process before adapting the questions below. Outside England and Wales the frameworks differ, but the method, asking for evidence of behaviour against published values, is the same.

What the job asks for

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics describes police officers as people who “protect lives and property”, whose duties include responding to emergencies, patrolling, enforcing traffic laws, collecting evidence, writing “detailed reports” and preparing “cases for legal proceedings” and testifying in court. It names the important qualities as communication skills, good judgment, physical strength, empathy and perceptiveness, and describes entry as a high school diploma or more, a minimum age of 21, background checks, physical and psychological examinations and an agency training academy.

That list tells the panel what the interview is for. Fitness, background, health and training are assessed elsewhere. The interview tests communication, judgement, empathy, perceptiveness and the values.

Questions on the values

For every question, the good answer describes a real situation, what the candidate personally did, why, and what happened. Vague answers about what they would do in general are the weakest kind.

Courage

1. Tell us about a time you challenged behaviour you thought was wrong, when it would have been easier to say nothing. Good answers name the behaviour, what they said, the cost to them and the outcome.
2. Describe a decision you made that others disagreed with. How did you explain it and stand by it? Look for accountability: they owned the decision rather than hiding behind someone else.
3. When have you admitted a mistake that nobody else had noticed? The framework asks for professionalism in the face of criticism; volunteering an error is stronger evidence than surviving one.
4. What would you do if a colleague you liked cut a corner that put someone at risk? A scenario question; look for reporting it and the reasoning, not loyalty.

Respect and empathy

5. Tell us about a time you dealt with someone who was angry or distressed. What did you do to understand their point of view? Good answers show listening before acting, and patience where safety allowed it.
6. Describe a situation where you had to treat someone fairly whom you did not like or agree with.
7. When have you changed your mind after hearing another person's perspective?
8. How would you approach a member of the public who is frightened of the police? Look for awareness that trust is not automatic and has to be earned in the moment.

Public service

9. Why do you want to be a police officer, and what do you expect the job to cost you? Good answers are honest about shifts, risk and scrutiny as well as purpose.
10. Tell us about a time you put the interests of others ahead of your own convenience.
11. Describe a time you were given authority or trust. How did you make sure you used it responsibly? The framework speaks of respecting “the authority and influence afforded to us”; look for restraint and accountability.
12. What does providing an excellent service to the public mean when the public does not want you there?

Questions on the competencies

We are emotionally aware

13. Tell us about a time your own emotions got in the way of a task. How did you recognise it and what did you do?
14. Describe reading a situation where what someone said and what they felt were different. Perceptiveness, in the BLS's word.
15. How do you stay calm when someone is trying to provoke you? Ask for an example, not a technique.

We take ownership

16. Tell us about a problem you fixed that was not strictly your responsibility.
17. Describe a time you saw something through when it would have been easy to hand it on.
18. What have you done in the last year to make yourself better at something?

We collaborate

19. Tell us about working with a group of people who had different goals from yours. How did you reach a result?
20. Describe a time you had to rely on someone else's expertise and defer to it.
21. When have you shared information that helped someone else do their job, even though it cost you time?

We support and inspire

22. Tell us about a time you helped someone else perform better.
23. Describe a situation where your example changed how a group behaved.

We analyse critically

24. Walk us through a decision you made with incomplete information. What did you know, what did you assume and how did you check?
25. Tell us about a time you spotted that the obvious explanation was wrong.
26. How would you write up an incident you attended so that someone in court could rely on it a year later? The BLS lists detailed reports and testimony among the duties; look for accuracy, sequence and separating fact from opinion.

We are innovative and open-minded

27. Tell us about a time you looked for a better way of doing something instead of accepting how it had always been done.
28. Describe learning something from a person or a community very different from your own.

Scenario questions

29. You arrive first at a road collision with two injured people and a crowd forming. Talk us through your first two minutes. Look for prioritising life, calling for help, managing the scene and communicating, in a sensible order, with the reasoning stated.
30. A vulnerable person tells you something in confidence that you are obliged to record and act on. What do you say to them, and what do you do? Look for honesty about the limits of confidentiality, care for the person and the correct action.

Scenario questions test judgement, not procedure. A candidate without policing experience cannot know your force's protocols; score the reasoning and the values shown, not the jargon.

Scoring an answer

Use the same questions, in the same order, for every candidate, and score each answer against the value or competency it was written to test.

1. Situation. Was it real and specific, or general and hypothetical?
2. Action. What did the candidate personally do? Distinguish “we” from “I”.
3. Reasoning. Why did they act as they did? This is where values show.
4. Outcome and learning. What happened, and what would they do differently?

Score on a short scale your force agrees, record the evidence in a sentence or two per question, and moderate across panels so that the same answer scores the same in different rooms. Written evidence is what allows a decision to be explained to a candidate, an appeals panel or a tribunal.

Running the interview fairly

• Use a trained, diverse panel and the same questions for every candidate; add follow-up probes only to clarify an answer.
• Score against the framework's behaviours at the right level, and remember the framework's own warning that the listed behaviours are examples, not a checklist.
• Do not ask about health, family plans, religion or other protected matters; medical and vetting checks have their own lawful process.
• Allow adjustments for candidates with disabilities in advance and record them.
• Record evidence, scores and the decision, and keep them for the period your force's policy sets.

This is general information, not legal advice. Employment and equality law differs by jurisdiction, and every force has its own approved process.

What the interview cannot assess

The BLS entry lists physical exams, psychological evaluations, background checks and academy training as separate stages, and UK forces run fitness tests, vetting, medical assessment and initial training in the same way. The interview should not try to do their work. Ask the questions the interview is for, and let the other stages do theirs.

Frequently asked questions

What questions are asked in a police officer interview?

Most forces ask behaviour-based questions that map to their values and competencies: examples of courage, respect and empathy, public service, emotional awareness, taking ownership, collaboration, critical analysis and open-mindedness, plus scenario questions that test judgement. The panel wants a specific situation, what you personally did, why, and what happened.

How should I answer police interview questions?

Describe one real situation per question: the context, your own actions, your reasoning and the result. Be honest about mistakes and what you learned from them; volunteering an error you corrected is strong evidence. Avoid general statements about what you would do.

What is the Competency and Values Framework?

The College of Policing framework for England and Wales, made up of three values (courage, respect and empathy, public service) and six competencies (we are emotionally aware, we take ownership, we collaborate, we support and inspire, we analyse critically, we are innovative and open-minded). It plays a significant role in recruitment, assessment and development, and its behaviours are examples rather than a checklist.

Are the interview questions the same as the fitness and vetting checks?

No. The interview tests communication, judgement, empathy and values. Fitness, vetting, medical assessment and academy training are separate stages with their own tests, in the UK and in the US alike.

Can a civilian sit on a police interview panel?

Many forces include independent or community members on recruitment panels. Whoever sits on the panel should be trained in the framework, ask the same questions as everyone else and record evidence for each score.

Your next step: choose ten and write the evidence you expect

1. Pick one or two questions per value and competency, at the level the role needs.
2. Write, for each, the behaviour a good answer would show, before you see any candidate.
3. Agree the scoring scale and how panels will moderate.
4. Record evidence in the room, not from memory afterwards.

For the whole process from advert to offer, read and download our recruitment and selection guide. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.

Want panel notes, scores and development evidence kept in one place from the first interview onwards? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current process. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.