In order to work for the Metropolitan Police, the UK’s largest police force, you’ll need to prove that you have what it takes to work in an extremely challenging, elite environment. Every day, Metropolitan Police Officers are faced with unique and dangerous problems to overcome. Operating within the confines of the city of London, Metropolitan Police Officers work to protect and assure the public.
In this article, we’ll guide you through the Metropolitan Police Officer selection process. We’ll show you each stage of the process, and offer great tips to help you succeed.
Certificate in Knowledge of Policing
In order to actually gain a place on a police training course, you will need to obtain a Certificate in Knowledge of Policing (CKP). The CKP is really important, as it shows that you have a good level of understanding of policing, the Metropolitan police as an organisation and how the police work with the community.
Registering with the Metropolitan Police
The first step in the Metropolitan Police Officer selection process is to register with the Met Police itself. In order to do this, you will have to sign up via the Met Police website. There are set recruitment windows for the Met Police, and you can only register as a candidate whilst one of these is open. The registration process will require you to submit your key personal details to the organisation, such as your name, address etc. Once this is done, you can move onto completing the Metropolitan Police Officer Selection Process Questionnaire.
Metropolitan Police Officer Selection Process: Job Questionnaire: Part 1
Following the registration process, you’ll need to complete a job questionnaire. This test will assess how well you meet the criteria required to be a Met Police Officer; and it will also give you some idea of what it’s like to work within the organisation. You’ll be required to answer several situational judgement based questions, and will then be given an overall rating of how well you meet the criteria to be a Police Officer. In your test, you will likely be given Police based situational judgement questions. To give you a better idea, a typical situational judgement question might be something like this:
You are the centre manager for a well-known writing retreat in the English countryside. Part of your role is ensuring that the centre is well staffed, food goes out on time and that the centre is kept clean and tidy. You have recently taken on a new staff member, who is struggling with his position. Today you have discovered that the new staff member has forgotten to pre-order food supplies, meaning that there is no way to cook dinner for the course attendees that evening. The staff member is fairly upset at his mistake. What do you say to him?
A. ‘Pack your bags. You’re sacked.’
B. ‘Mistakes happen. Let’s pull the team together and brainstorm some ideas as to how we can fix this.’
C. ‘Maybe you should consider whether this is the right position for you.’
D. ‘I’d like you to apologise personally to the course attendees. You should explain the situation, and whose fault it is.’
Answer = B.
The truth is that there isn’t a ‘right’ answer or a ‘wrong’ answer to this question. In the survey, you need to be as honest as possible. It’s for your benefit too, as you don’t want to be applying for a job that you are totally unsuitable for. In this instance, we’ve chosen B because it is the fairest and most liberal of the options. It shows that you aren’t someone who reacts rashly to certain situations, and that you are prepared to take a fair minded approach. You won’t be marked on this test, the test is purely to help you decide whether to continue with the Metropolitan Police Officer selection process application.
Job Questionnaire: Part 2
Following the above, you’ll be asked to fill in another Metropolitan Police Officer Selection Process Questionnaire, which tests you against the Met expectations. This will ask you questions about your flexibility, your professionalism and your general attitude to work. You will also need to answer eligibility questions. In order to join the Met Police, you’ll need to meet the following eligibility criteria.
You must be:
- Between the age of 18-57 when applying.
- A British national or a permanent resident of the UK.
- You must not have any past criminal convictions.
- You must have a good financial track record, with no instances of bankruptcy.
- You must not be a part of any discriminatory organisations, such as the BNP.
Job Questionnaire: Part 3
Next, you’ll need to complete another questionnaire. In this test, you will be given a number of statements. You’ll need to decide which of the statements you agree with the most, and which of the statements you agree with the least. You will be marked on this questionnaire and must pass in order to move forward in the process. The test will assess your behaviour and choices against the police core competencies.
These core competencies are as follows:
- Customer focus. Customer focus is essential for police officers. Your main job is to serve and protect the public. This means that you need to be able to demonstrate a great level of care for protecting the interests of the public, and show good customer service/people skills.
- Teamwork. Teamwork is really important for police officers. Police work is a multiple-person job, which requires the effort of many people and different agencies. Along with working with your colleagues in the police, you’ll also have to work with professionals from other agencies; to ensure that you can tackle crime and deliver the best possible service to the public.
- Communication. In line with the previous competency, communication is extremely important. Whilst working as a police officer, you’ll need to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing. At times you might be faced with dangerous situations, in which case clear communication with your team is essential. Likewise, you’ll need to file written evidence reports on important cases. These will need to be clear, coherent and able to be used in formal and legal settings.
For more Metropolitan Police Officer Selection Process Competencies, check out our guide on How To Become A Police Officer.
The questions in the third questionnaire will be similar in nature to the first situational judgement questionnaire, but your decisions here really count towards your progression; and you’ll need to make a decision on each of the answers rather than picking just one.
Job Questionnaire: Part 4
Next, you’ll be tested directly on your capacity to deal with Met Police situations. You’ll be given a number of situational based questions, using situations that you may or are likely to encounter whilst working in the Met. You will need to choose the response which you believe is the most suitable for each situation. The best way to tackle this section is to try and put yourself in each scenario, and then answer the questions with this in mind.
The London Factor
Next, you’ll take the London Factor Assessment. In this assessment, you will be presented with a set of statements about London, and policing in the city. You’ll need to read through the statements and choose which of the statements most corresponds with you. The core competencies will be crucial to your success in this section.
Met Police Application
Following all of this, you’ll need to complete another application form. The application form will require factual details about yourself, such as your name and address etc. Essentially, this is just another way of checking your details against the Met Police eligibility criteria.
Met Police Assessment Centre
Now, you will be nearing the end of the Metropolitan Police officer selection process. The next stage is an assessment centre, which takes place in West Brompton. The assessment centre will consist of:
- A 23 minute numerical ability test. In this test, you’ll face a series of challenging mathematical questions, which will require you to demonstrate prowess in areas such as fractions, percentages, graphs, addition and subtraction.
- A 30 minute verbal ability test. In this test, you’ll face a series of challenging literary questions, which will require you to demonstrate prowess in areas such as spelling, grammar, punctuation and attention to detail.
- Two 20 minute written exercises. There are a variety of exercises that you could be asked to do in this test. There is a strong chance that you might be required to submit a recommendation/report based on a piece of text.
- Four 5 minute role play exercises. During these exercises, you’ll enter a room which will contain a role play actor. You’ll play the part of a customer services officer or someone acting as a representative of an organisation, and will need to deal with the role play actor in a positive manner.
- A 20 minute interview. Finally, you’ll take part in a structured 20 minute interview. The interview will be conducted under strict time constraints, and during the interview you will have to demonstrate the core competencies at all times.
Final stages
Once you have received confirmed of passing the Metropolitan Police Officer selection process assessment centre, you will be called back for the final stages. The first of these is a health and fitness assessment. It’s important for the Met to make sure that their officers are in peak physical condition, and therefore you will need to prove this. You’ll likely be asked to take the bleep test, to show that you can meet the required standards. Finally, you’ll proceed through advanced vetting and security checks, and then your initial police training; before being officially recognised as a qualified member of the Met Police.
