The application process
Becoming a Special Constable is a voluntary role like no other.
Special Constables have the same powers and responsibilities as our regular officers, pursuing criminals, prioritising victims and protecting vulnerable people. As such, we need to ensure that we select the most suitable candidates. The application process is therefore thorough, and it can usually take around six months before an applicant successfully completes the process and can begin their training. We understand this can feel like a long process, however you will be supported throughout so don’t let this put you off!
You can find out more information about the whole process below.
The first step will be an online application process which includes some eligibility ‘killer questions’. If you pass this stage, you will be required to complete several online tests and an application form.
Each applicant must complete the national sift which will include two tests that every applicant must complete (regardless of qualifications). These are the Situational Judgement Test and a Behavioural Style Questionnaire. Both must be passed in order to continue in the application process.
Please note that this test can only be completed once in a three-month period or twice on 12 months.
Situational Judgement Test (SJT)
The Police Situational Judgment Test assesses your judgement and decision-making skills in relation to job-relevant situations. In the test you will be presented with a series of scenarios which reflect challenging situations that you may face when working in a PC role. For each scenario, you will be presented with four possible actions that could be taken. You will be asked to rate each of the four actions in terms of its effectiveness in addressing the scenario. The scale you are required to rate the actions on is shown below:
- Counterproductive - An inappropriate action that will have a negative impact or make the situation worse.
- Ineffective - A poor action which will not help the situation.
- Slightly Effective - An action that would have a small positive impact on the situation.
- Effective - An action that would have a reasonable positive impact on the situation.
- Very Effective - One of the best actions that could be taken in response to the situation.
The test does not require any specialist knowledge to complete. Your responses should be based solely on the information presented in each scenario.
Behavioural Styles Questionnaire (BSQ)
The Police Behavioural Styles Questionnaire measures your typical behaviour and preferences at work. The purpose of the questionnaire is to assess whether you have the right behaviours and attitudes to be effective in the role. This questionnaire invites you to review a number of statements and indicate which statements you completely agree with or completely disagree with on a sliding scale. In the questionnaire, you will be presented with these statements about your typical behaviour at work in blocks of four. You will need to read each statement carefully and then decide the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement using the rating scale below:
- Completely Disagree
- Strongly Disagree
- Somewhat Disagree
- Neither Agree nor Disagree
- Somewhat Agree
- Strongly Agree
- Completely Agree
Depending on your responses, you may also be asked to rank particular statements in terms of how well they describe your typical behaviour at work. There is no time limit, but it should take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete the questionnaire. The test does not require any specialist knowledge to complete.
Your interview will be based on the competencies contained within the role profile which was attached to the advert.
Use examples from your work, social, domestic or educational life to answer the interview questions. In these examples, we are looking for evidence of specific behaviours which research has shown to be essential to police work.
Be specific: we want to know what YOU said or did on a given occasion to deal with the situation. It’s therefore important that the examples you provide are your own experiences and as detailed as possible.
Try to use examples that you found difficult or challenging to deal with. These answers tend to achieve better marks.
We expect your answers to be relevant and focused. Please refrain from the use of jargon and slang as this is unacceptable.
Don’t leave it until the last minute to research the competencies required within the role profile and also the South Wales Police website.
Fitness test
Policing can occasionally be physically demanding, so you will need to be in fairly good physical condition to pass the fitness test. The test will basically measure whether your fitness levels are high enough. For the endurance test, you will be asked to run back and forth a 15 metre track in time with a series of bleeps. As the test goes on, the bleeps become increasingly faster to level 5.4.
You will also be required to attend a pre-appointment fitness test approximately prior to the anticipated appointment date and you must pass this to progress your application.
Medical assessment
Due to the nature of police work, good health and fitness is paramount. However, applications are welcome from people with disabilities and every effort will be made to make reasonable adjustments if required. If you are successful at the interview stage you will undertake a medical examination.
There are certain medical conditions and disorders that may have a detrimental effect on your ability to conduct the role effectively; each case will be considered carefully as part of the medical process. The standard requirements you need to achieve for the medical assessment may vary depending on the role you are applying for.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Your weight range will be assessed during your medical assessment. The healthy weight range is based on a measurement known as your body mass index (BMI). This can be determined if you know your weight and your height. The actual calculation is your weight (in kilograms) divided by your height (in metres squared). Guidance and easy to use charts on how to calculate your BMI can be found on the NHS website.
The NHS advises that a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 suggests a normal healthy weight. This means your body is not at risk of weight-related disease.
BMI standards for Special Constables are set by the Home Office. The current Home Office circular 59/2004 outlines this as between 18 and 30. Applicants who do not meet this standard may find their application delayed and / or will not be appointed.
Inaccuracies in BMI can occur if you are athletic or very muscular as this can give you a higher BMI even if you have a healthy level of body fat. In these cases, as part of the recruitment process, we will be able to provide a simple test to assess the percentage of your body fat.
Vetting and references
References are required to cover a minimum of 5 years of continuous employment history. If you have not been in employment for 5 years we will look to obtain education and personal references.
Drugs test and biometric vetting
You will also be asked to undertake a drugs test and provide information about any medication you may be taking. Legislation has been introduced that requires applicants to undergo biometric vetting.
On the day we will be asking you to sign a consent form to take your fingerprints and a sample of your DNA for the purposes of a speculative search and for your fingerprints and DNA profile to be retained on the Police Elimination Database (PEDb).
The purpose of obtaining fingerprints and DNA samples is to allow for a speculative search to be made against the local and national databases prior to your appointment to the police force. This is to ensure that you have not previously come to adverse police attention, which you have not informed us of, and also that you are not linked to any outstanding crime scenes.