The interview and selection process is designed to test the following seven core competencies, deemed suitable for the role of a Police Officer which is constantly assessed through the full assessment process;
Problem Solving
Respect for Race and Diversity
Resilience
Effective Communication
Team Working
Customer and Community Focus
Personal Responsibility
Stage One – Application to attend an Information Evening
You must apply to attend an Information Evening at Police Headquarters when Bedfordshire are recruiting for PCSOs. You are not eligible to apply unless you have attended this event.
Stage Two – Competency Based Application
You must complete the initial competency based application form online. You may also be subject to preliminary vetting checks at this stage.
Stage Three – Assessment Centre
You will be invited to attend an Assessment Centre which is held at our Police Headquarters in Kempston. The Assessment Centre will last for approx 3 hours consisting of the following assessments:
- Competency based interview
- Written Test
- Interactive Assessment
- The Pass Mark for Bedfordshire Police is 55% overall
Stage Four – Full Vetting Checks
You may have already been subject to preliminary checks before the Assessment Centre, however if you have been successful at the Assessment Centre you will be required to undertake a full vetting check which checks not only you but your immediate family and any other individuals residing at your address.
Stage Five - Medical
You will be invited to attend a Medical Assessment with our Occupational Health Team at Halsey Road in Kempston. At this time you will also be expected to have passed your eyesight examination at an Optician’s at DVLA Group 2 standards.
Stage Six – Fitness Test
Once you have successfully completed your medical, you will be required to pass the Initial Fitness Test. The two elements are dynamic strength and endurance fitness.
Dynamic Strength
Your dynamic strength will be assessed by the use of a machine called the Dyno machine. The test involves performing five seated chest pushes and five seated back pulls on the machine. The average force of the sum of the five pushes and the average force of the sum of the five pulls will be recorded.
Pushing
You will sit upright on the Dyno machine with your back firmly against the padding. Your feet must be flat on the floor with your knees at approximately 90 degrees. A firm grip is taken of the push bar with your hands level with the middle of your sternum. (The test administrator will make sure you are in the correct position).
You will be asked to perform three warm-ups.
You will then be asked to perform five pushes at maximum effort with three seconds recovery between each. The average force produced during each effort will be displayed on the monitor and the average value of the five efforts will be displayed at the end of the set. You will need an average of 34 kgs to pass.
Pulling
This time you will sit at the opposite end of the machine with your chest pushed against the padding. Your feet must be flat on the floor with your knees at approximately 90 degrees. A firm grip is taken on both pull handles with your hands level with the middle of your sternum. (The test administrator will ensure you are in the correct position).
You will be asked to perform three warm-ups.
Then you will be asked to perform five pulls at maximum effort with three seconds of recovery between each. The average force produced during each effort will be displayed on the monitor and the average value of the five efforts will be displayed at the end of the set. You will need an average of 35 kgs to pass.
The best way to improve your upper body strength is to perform resistance exercises using your body weight, free weights or resistance machines. You can use weights and resistance machines at gyms or you can practice with press-ups. To improve your strength with press-ups, your hands should be shoulder width apart and your arms vertical; your head fixed with eyes looking at the floor. Keep a straight body position throughout the action, making sure you go all the way down to touch your chest bone on the floor and then fully extend your arms on recovery. Try to breathe in as you push yourself up and breathe out as you lower yourself.
Endurance Fitness
In this element you will be asked to run to and fro along a 15 metre track in time with a series of bleeps. If you arrive at the end line before the bleep sounds you need to wait for the bleep before resuming running and adjust your speed. The timing between bleeps is slow at first but the bleep becomes faster as the test progresses and it becomes more difficult to keep up with the required speed. You will run until you can no longer keep up with the set pace. You will need to reach a minimum of level 5.4 to pass.
To improve your stamina you should take part in sporting activities which last 30 minutes or more and get you out of breath such as football, netball or squash. You can also make rapid improvements by engaging in activities which create a large aerobic demand such as jogging, cycling, swimming and rowing. Try jogging for 20 minutes or more and as you improve, try to increase the distance covered in that time. Alternatively jog a set distance from home and back again and try to reduce the time taken to cover the distance. You should exercise three times a week for 20 minutes but if you are not used to exercise you should start with gentle sessions lasting no more than 15 minutes.
Stage Seven – Final Checks
The Recruitment Team will do their final checks before an offer of appointment which includes 10 years of work references and your nominated two personal references.
Please note the length of the Recruiting Process is approx 6 months