You can find out this information by spending time on the Police Service website. In addition to this there is also nothing to stop you from visiting your local police station and requesting information on the geographical layout of the constabulary. The best people to gain this information from are your local police officers and police community support officers.

How flexible you are with regards to becoming a police officer

Lots of people say they are flexible, but not many people actually are. Being flexible is a very important part of being a competent police officer, especially considering you will be required to work unsociable hours and shift work. If you can give an example of where you have already worked either shifts or unsociable hours before you attend the police officer final interview, then this will ensure you are able to provide evidence in this area. It is one thing telling the interview panel that you’re flexible and another demonstrating it.

Providing EVIDENCE of situational interview questions

We can almost guarantee that you will be asked questions during your final interview that require you to explain what you would do in any given situation. These types of question are more commonly called ‘SITUATIONAL’ questions and they require you to provide a specific answer to the question.

To help you prepare for this particular police officer final interview question, please watch the following video first:

This is a tough questions to answer, especially if you have little or no understanding of what “equality and diversity” means. To help you in your preparation, here is a sample response to the question.

Sample Response

“It is an unfortunate fact that certain groups in society are still more likely to suffer from unfair treatment and discrimination. It is important for the Police Service and its staff to strive to eliminate all forms of unfair treatment and discrimination on the grounds that are specified in their policies or codes of practice. Equality and fairness is the working culture in which fair treatment of all is the norm.”

Top Tips

1. Try to read the Police Service’s policy on equality and fairness. You may be able to find this by visiting their website or asking them for a copy of it to help you in your preparation.
2. Consider reading the Race Relations Act, and understand the duties that are placed upon public sector organisations such as the police.

Again, to help you prepare for this interview question, Richard McMunn has created a useful video below that gives you some great tips. Please watch the video below:

To compliment the above training video, here is a list of some of the effective qualities and attributes required to become a police officer:

• Driven, motivated and enthusiastic;
• Determined and persistent;
• Organised and capable of keeping an accurate and up-to-date diary;
• Mentally and physically fit;
• Punctual and reliable;
• Able to take, keep and record accurate notes;
• Flexible and happy to work shifts/unsociable hours;
• Able to identify my weak areas and take steps to improve them;
• Always looking for ways to develop and improve;
• Calm in a crisis;
• Able to work alone and unsupervised;
• An ability to defuse difficult situations;
• A good listener and communicator;
• A great team-worker and someone who fits in well to any team;
• A hard worker;
• Resilient and resourceful;
• Having a positive attitude and being a good role model for the police force;