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Police Interview Questions
Free Printable PDF

A one-page-per-value practice sheet you can print or save as a PDF: 30 original police interview questions grouped by the College of Policing's 2024 values, a STAR planner for your own examples, the official timings and one labelled example answer. Free, with no email or sign-up.

Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 20 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated

Short answer: where can I get a police interview questions and answers PDF?

Use the Print or save as PDF button on this page and choose Save as PDF in your browser. You get 30 original practice questions by 2024 CVF value (courage, respect and empathy, public service), a STAR planner, timings and an example answer, free and with no email. They are practice questions, not the real ones, which are confidential.

Contents
Print or Save the PDFThe Printable SheetHow to Use ItPDF or Online Practice?An Honest Note FAQs Sources

Print it or save it as a PDF

Tap the button, then in your browser's print window choose a printer or Save as PDF. On a phone, use the share or print option and choose Save to Files or Save as PDF. Only the sheet is printed, not the rest of this page.

Prefer to practise straight away? Every question below links into the free mock interview.

No email is needed to print or save the sheet. If you would also like to hear when we add new practice questions, you can leave your email below (optional).

Interview and assessment centre updates

New interview practice questions and model answers, by email

Leave your email and we will tell you when we publish new free interview practice questions and model answers, and when the assessment centre or interview format changes. Occasional emails, written by hand. Unsubscribe any time.

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Try one out loud. Answer a practice question free and get a scored result in about a minute. No account. Practise in the free police mock interview

PolicePay practice sheet, 2024 CVF

Police interview practice questions

Original practice questions written by PolicePay. They are not real assessment questions. Do not take this sheet into the online assessment: prepared notes or scripts may lead to an automatic fail. policepay.co.uk/candidates/mock-interview/

Timings (College of Policing online assessment interview)

Five questions. 60 seconds to think (you may make notes now), then up to 5 minutes to record each answer. About 40 minutes in total. Force interviews set their own timings.

Respect and empathy

  1. Tell us about a time you dealt with someone from a different background. Practise online
  2. Tell us about a time you helped someone who was vulnerable. Practise online
  3. Tell us about a time you listened carefully before making a decision. Practise online
  4. Tell us about a time you adapted your communication style. Practise online
  5. Tell us about a time you recognised that someone else was struggling emotionally. How did you respond? Practise online
  6. Tell us about a time you had to remain fair when other people around you were being biased. Practise online
  7. Describe a time you had to deal with a person who was angry or frustrated. Practise online
  8. Give an example of when you changed your view after hearing someone else's perspective. Practise online
  9. Tell us about a time you had to work with a member of the public who was distrustful or reluctant. Practise online
  10. Give an example of when you made a person feel heard even though you could not give them the outcome they wanted. Practise online

Courage

  1. Tell us about a time you challenged inappropriate behaviour. Practise online
  2. Tell us about a time you made a difficult decision. Practise online
  3. Tell us about a time you admitted a mistake. Practise online
  4. Tell us about a time you stood up for what was right. Practise online
  5. Tell us about a time you had to speak up when others preferred to stay silent. Practise online
  6. Describe a time you had to make an unpopular decision because it was the right thing to do. Practise online
  7. Tell us about a time you had to admit to a manager that something had gone wrong. Practise online
  8. Tell us about a time you had to make a decision without all the information you wanted. How did you make sure it was fair and honest? Practise online
  9. Tell us about a time you owned an error and corrected it before it became worse. Practise online
  10. Tell us about a time you identified a risk and escalated it quickly. Practise online

Public service

  1. Tell us about a time you put others first. Practise online
  2. Tell us about a time you improved something for a customer, colleague or community. Practise online
  3. Tell us about a time you worked under pressure. Practise online
  4. Tell us about a time you took responsibility for solving a problem. Practise online
  5. Describe a time you went above and beyond to help a member of the public with a problem. Practise online
  6. Tell us about a time you improved a process to make life easier for others. Practise online
  7. Give an example of when you took initiative to resolve an issue before it escalated. Practise online
  8. Tell us about a time you made sure a vulnerable person got the right outcome. Practise online
  9. Tell us about a time you had to manage competing priorities to serve others effectively. Practise online
  10. Tell us about a time you had to stay professional when a service user was unhappy. Practise online

STAR planner: memory hooks for one real example

Four or five words per box, not a script. Copy this grid for each of your six to eight examples.

SituationWhere, when, who. One or two sentences.
TaskYour responsibility and what made it hard.
ActionWhat you did and said, in order and why. At least half your answer.
ResultWhat happened, how you know, what you learned.

Example answer (invented by PolicePay, not a script)

Question: Tell us about a time you admitted a mistake.

S: In my weekend job at a garden centre I priced a delivery of plants at the wrong price and we sold about 40 before anyone noticed. T: I had made the labels, so it was my job to put it right, even though nobody knew it was me. A: I told my supervisor straight away, showed her the delivery note and offered to re-label the rest before we opened the next day. I worked out the loss so she had the real figure and I suggested we check new labels against the delivery note in pairs. R: She thanked me for owning up, the pair check was adopted for deliveries and there were no more pricing errors that season. I learned that telling someone early makes a mistake much easier to fix.

Before you answer, check

  • One real example that fits the question asked
  • "I", not "we", for what you did
  • What made it difficult
  • Your reasons, not just your actions
  • A result and what you learned or would do differently

How to use the sheet

  1. Read all 30 questions and tick the ones you could answer with a real example today.
  2. Fill in a STAR planner for six to eight examples that between them cover all three values.
  3. Pick one question per value and answer it out loud against a timer.
  4. Use "Practise online" to get a free practice score for the same question and fix your main gap.
  5. Before the assessment, put the sheet away. Only notes you make after seeing each question are allowed in the online assessment.

For a day-by-day routine, follow the 7-day or 14-day preparation plan.

PDF or online practice?

Both have a place:

  • The sheet is good for choosing examples and planning, away from a screen.
  • Speaking out loud is what the interview actually tests. Reading answers on paper does not practise that.
  • A scored answer tells you the gap you cannot hear yourself, such as a thin action or no reflection.

The free police mock interview gives a practice score out of 10, a pass or refer verdict and your main gap, up to 5 a day. It is a practice score, not the official marking.

An honest note about police interview PDFs

Search results for police interview PDFs are mostly paid downloads. Before you pay for one, check two things: whether it uses the 2024 values (courage, respect and empathy, public service) rather than the 2016 ones (integrity, impartiality, transparency) and whether it claims to contain real questions. The College's live questions are confidential, so no genuine list exists.

Independent guide, not official guidance

PolicePay is independent of the College of Policing, the Home Office and every police force. The questions and the example answer are our own. Sources were read on 20 October 2026.

Quick answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a free police interview questions and answers PDF?

Yes. This page has a free printable sheet of 30 police interview practice questions grouped by the 2024 CVF values, with a STAR planner, timings and one example answer. Use the Print or save as PDF button and choose Save as PDF in your browser's print window. No email or sign-up is needed.

Are these the real police interview questions?

No. They are original practice questions from the PolicePay question bank, written to practise the same skills. The College of Policing's live questions are confidential and no genuine list is published. Be wary of any PDF that claims to contain the real questions.

Does the PDF include answers?

It includes one example answer, written by PolicePay and labelled as invented, to show the STAR structure, plus a planner for writing memory hooks for your own real examples. We do not publish answers to copy: the College bans prepared notes or scripts in the online assessment and your examples must be your own.

Are the questions based on the 2024 CVF?

Yes. They are grouped under the three 2024 values: courage; respect and empathy; public service. Many paid PDFs still use the 2016 values (integrity, impartiality, transparency), which the College replaced in 2024.

Can I practise these questions online instead?

Yes. Every question on the sheet also opens in the free PolicePay mock interview, where you can answer out loud or typed and get a practice score out of 10, a pass or refer verdict and your main gap, up to 5 a day.

Can I take this sheet into the assessment?

No. The College says notes or scripts prepared before the online assessment may lead to an automatic fail. Notes you make after seeing each question are allowed. Force interviews set their own rules, so check your invitation.

Evidence

Sources and how we checked them

Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 20 October 2026. Rules and figures change, so check the source for the date you are reading this. Where we could not confirm something from an official or independent source, the page says so rather than guessing. Spotted something out of date? See our corrections policy.

  1. College of Policing: Online assessment process candidate guide (updated 21 July 2026) : five questions; 60 seconds thinking and 300 seconds answering; STAR; prepared notes or scripts banned; notes after each question allowed (accessed 20 October 2026)
  2. College of Policing: CVF values (courage, respect and empathy, public service), first published 8 May 2024 : the three values the questions are grouped under (accessed 20 October 2026)
  3. College of Policing: Competency and values framework for policing 2024 (PDF) : replaced the 2016 values (accessed 20 October 2026)
Related Guides

On this topic elsewhere

Police Mock Interview → Answer any question on the sheet out loud and get a free score. "Tell Me About a Time" Questions → 36 questions with tips and a worked example. Police Interview Questions and Answers → The full guide, with weak and strong answers. Police SJT Practice PDF → For the national sift, the stage before the interview. Interview Preparation Plans → 7-day and 14-day plans to use with the sheet.
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Guide CVF: public service The 2024 meaning of public service, where it is assessed and an illustrative STAR structure. Guide CVF: we take ownership Level 1 behaviours, level 1 versus 2 and how to own a mistake in a STAR answer. Guide CVF: innovative and open-minded Level 1 means learning, suggesting, reflecting and adapting, with an illustrative STAR structure. Guide CVF: other four competencies Where emotionally aware, collaborate, support and inspire and analyse critically are assessed. Guide Final interview by force The law now requires a force interview after the OAC; what all 43 forces' own pages say about it, with links. Interview Tell me about a time questions 36 past-behaviour questions by 2024 CVF value, each one linked into the free mock interview. Interview Scenario questions Where hypothetical questions come up, a simple order for answering and 18 practice scenarios. 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Disclaimer

PolicePay.co.uk is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with the College of Policing, the Home Office or any police force and it does not recruit, vet or assess applicants. Recruitment standards, assessment formats and vetting decisions are set by the College of Policing and each force and change from time to time: check the force you are applying to before relying on anything here. Details apply to England and Wales unless stated. Details are as checked on 20 October 2026.