Critical Thinking Test
Part of the recruitment process includes the Critical Thinking
Test. This test contains written police-based scenarios. It’s not a
test of prior knowledge but of the decision making and problem
solving skills that you would be using as a Police Officer.
As a Police Officer you will have to make decisions in the
community on a day-to-day basis, and the CTT aims to test various
aspects of decision making.
You will be given full instructions on the day, including:
- Take your time – you have approximately 20 minutes to complete
the test
- Read each question carefully and make sure to answer every
question. If you fail to do so you will fail the test
- Progress simply from one page to the next, do not attempt to
skip forward or back
- Be as honest as possible when responding – this is not a test
of police knowledge, and there are no trick questions
Your final scores on the CTT are calculated from the range of
possible answers given by applicants. The information you provide
will be treated as sensitive data under the Data Protection Act
1998.
You will not receive the results on the day of the test. At a
later date you will be informed by one of our recruitment officers
whether you have passed or failed the test.
For those who fail the test we will be unable to progress with
your application. You will not be prohibited from applying to the
police in the future, however it’s recommended that you wait for at
least 12 months before reapplying.
If you do fail the CTT, you should consider carefully the tasks
and responsibilities you are likely to be involved in as a serving
Police Officer. You will have to deal with all members of
communities on a day-to-day basis and you will need to consider how
your own critical thinking, decisions and judgements will affect
your interaction with these different communities.
The critical thinking required for this test involves:
- firstly making a clear assessment of the relevant information
provided
- secondly to focus your decision making based on rational and
logical progression through scenarios
You will not be given any more feedback beyond what is provided
in this section, and what you will be told on the day prior to
taking the test.