Police Scotland
Group Task Practice
The group task is the first assessed exercise of the Police Scotland assessment day: 10 minutes' reading, 30 minutes' discussion and briefing, then 10 minutes of questions. This guide explains it from Police Scotland's own pages, lets you try a full brief under time for free and walks through two worked examples written for this page.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 22 October 2026 · Scotland unless stated
A 50-minute exercise on the morning of the assessment day. You read a short, policing-related scenario of about 500 to 600 words on your own for 10 minutes, then your group has 30 minutes to discuss it and brief the assessors on the task items, then the assessors ask questions for 10 minutes. Police Scotland assesses its exercises against its Competency and Values Framework. It does not publish the group size, the marking guide or a pass mark.
The format, timings and assessment framework on this page come from Police Scotland's recruitment pages, read on 22 October 2026. Police Scotland does not publish its group task scenarios, its marking guide or a pass mark. Every brief, discussion excerpt, model briefing, practice question and timing plan below is original PolicePay practice material. None of it is Police Scotland's.
What the Police Scotland group task is
Police Scotland's recruitment page sets out the group task in three parts. Its own words are short and worth reading closely, because every part of your preparation hangs off them:
| Part | Length | Police Scotland's description | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 10 minutes | "10-minutes independent reading and comprehension of a short, policing-related scenario (approx. 500-600 words)" | On your own. Nobody speaks. This is where you find the facts you will use for the next 40 minutes. |
| Discussion and briefing | 30 minutes | "30-minute group discussion about the scenario and briefing to assessors to address task items" | The group talks through the task items, agrees a position and briefs the assessors, all inside the same 30 minutes. |
| Questions | 10 minutes | "10-minute assessor Q&A" | The assessors ask about what the group concluded and how it got there. |
Three phrases matter most. "Independent reading and comprehension" means the first 10 minutes are yours alone: no talking. "Briefing to assessors" means the group must produce something, not just talk. "To address task items" means the scenario comes with specific questions and the briefing should answer them.
Police Scotland says: "All of the exercises are assessed against the Police Scotland Competencies and Values Framework (CVF)." It adds that all of the competencies and values are assessed across the assessment day. The candidate portal's reasonable adjustments page calls the same exercise the "Group exercise", so you may see both names.
Where it sits in the day
| When | Exercise | What Police Scotland says |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Ice breaker | Police Scotland's candidate portal calls it an "unassessed ice breaker activity" |
| Morning | Group task | 50 minutes: the exercise this page is about |
| Morning | Situational Judgement Exercise (SJE) | 60 minutes, spoken, reactive, with no reading time; each candidate answers individually in the group setting |
| Afternoon | Competency-based interview | 20 minutes, four questions; only for candidates who are successful in the morning |
Police Scotland's public page says that if you are successful in the group task and the Situational Judgement Exercises you progress to the afternoon interview. So the group task is part of the gate to the interview, not a warm-up. The full day is covered in our Police Scotland assessment day guide.
Try a free group task brief
Below is one complete brief from our pack, Skate park complaints on a housing estate, free to use. It runs in Police Scotland's published shape:
- A 10-minute reading timer with the scenario, the task items and a notes box. Optional prompts help you read with purpose.
- A briefing plan builder: a box for each task item, a briefing box with an "insert a structure" button that lays out an opening, one line per task item and a close and contribution notes with one-tap chips such as "bring in anyone who has not spoken yet by name".
- A self-check against what assessors could observe in a strong contribution. It is our checklist, not Police Scotland's marking guide.
The free brief does not mark your plan. The Assessment Day Pack (£24.99, 12 months) adds AI feedback on your plan and 12 briefs in all. The brief is original PolicePay material, not a Police Scotland scenario.
Group task practice
Skate park complaints on a housing estate
A housing estate on the edge of a town in central Scotland · 551 words
- 10 minutes: read the scenario and the task items on your own. Make notes.
- Plan: what you would argue for on each task item, the briefing you would give the assessors and how you will help the group. On the day this is a 30-minute discussion and briefing.
- Check: a self-check against what assessors observe.
The 50 minutes, minute by minute
Police Scotland publishes the three blocks: 10, 30 and 10 minutes. It does not say how the 30 minutes should be split between discussion and briefing, or how many task items there are. The plan below is our advice for using each block well. If the assessors give you a different instruction on the day, follow theirs.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Reading, minutes 0 to 1 | Read the task items before anything else. Write each one as a heading on your notes, leaving space under it. |
| Reading, minutes 1 to 5 | Read the whole scenario once at a steady pace. Mark facts and figures, the people involved and anything that sounds dangerous. |
| Reading, minutes 5 to 8 | Read it again against the task items. Drop each useful fact under the heading it answers. Note gaps and anything that does not add up. |
| Reading, minutes 8 to 10 | Write one opening point for each task item and name the person or group most at risk. Stop reading new detail. |
| Discussion, minutes 0 to 2 | Agree the order of the task items and a rough time for each. Offer to keep time, or ask who will. Keep this short. |
| Discussion, minutes 2 to 20 | Work through the task items. If there are three, that is about six minutes each. Summarise each one in a sentence before moving on. |
| Discussion, minutes 20 to 24 | Agree the briefing: one recommendation and one reason for each task item, plus who will say what. |
| Discussion, minutes 24 to 29 | Brief the assessors, unless they have told you a different arrangement. Keep it tight and in task item order. |
| Discussion, minute 29 to 30 | A buffer. If you finish early, a one-line close ("the first thing we would do is...") is better than new ideas. |
| Q&A, minutes 0 to 10 | Answer briefly and honestly. Let others answer too. Own any gap the assessors find. |
Groups run out of time far more often than they run out of ideas. The briefing is how the assessors hear that the task items were answered. Agreeing it takes longer than people expect, because it forces the group to settle points that felt settled while talking. Starting it with ten minutes left gives you room.
How to read 500 to 600 words in 10 minutes
Five or six hundred words is about one side of A4. At an ordinary reading pace that takes a few minutes, so time to read is not the problem. The problem is reading in a way that leaves you ready to speak. Our advice:
- Task items first. Read them before the scenario. Every fact you then read has somewhere to go. Without them, you read everything with the same weight.
- Mark facts, not sentences. Numbers, dates, budgets and counts are what make a point sound grounded. "Fourteen incidents in three months" is stronger than "lots of trouble".
- List the people. Write down every person or group mentioned, even once. The one mentioned once is often the one the plan should not forget.
- Find who is at risk. Ask who could be hurt now and who is vulnerable. Safety usually comes first in any priority list.
- Find the gaps. Look for claims nobody has checked, figures that do not match and opinions dressed up as facts. Spotting these is exactly what the CVF means by spotting gaps and inconsistencies.
- Find the limits. Money, staff, time, distance. A plan that ignores them will be tested in the Q&A.
- Write your opening lines. In the last two minutes, write one point you could make on each task item. That is what gets you speaking early.
A simple marking system makes the second read faster. This is one we suggest; use any you like:
| What to look for | How to mark it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Numbers and dates | Underline | Budgets, counts of incidents, times of day, how long something has gone on. Groups that use the numbers sound grounded. |
| People and groups | Circle | Everyone affected, including people who are mentioned once. The overlooked group is often the point. |
| Risk of harm | Mark with ! | Anything that could hurt someone now: injuries, children, vulnerable adults, fire, traffic. |
| Gaps and contradictions | Mark with ? | Claims nobody has checked, figures that do not match, a view stated as fact. |
| Constraints | Box | Limits on money, staff, time or powers. A plan that ignores them will be challenged in the Q&A. |
| Task item links | Write 1, 2 or 3 in the margin | So you can find the right fact fast when that task item comes up. |
Police Scotland does not say whether you can write on the scenario or keep notes into the discussion. If you can, the marks above help. If you cannot, read twice and fix the three or four most important facts in your head.
What assessors can observe
Police Scotland's framework is modified with permission from the College of Policing's, keeping the same six competencies at level 1 for constables, but underpinned by Police Scotland's own values. Police Scotland does not publish which behaviours it looks for in the group task. The right-hand column is our reading of how each competency could show in a group discussion, not Police Scotland's marking guide.
| Competency | Level 1 behaviours, in summary | What could be observed in a group task |
|---|---|---|
| We are emotionally aware | Respect, tolerance and compassion; staying calm when provoked; clear, simple communication | Listening without interrupting; inviting a quieter member in by name; staying calm when someone disagrees with you; noticing how people in the scenario might feel |
| We take ownership | Responding to problems; doing what you say you will; admitting mistakes | Offering to keep time or summarise and then doing it; correcting your own point when you got a fact wrong; saying who would lead each action |
| We are collaborative | Working cooperatively; being approachable; understanding other perspectives | Building on someone else's idea and saying whose it was; helping the group reach a shared briefing; naming partners outside the police |
| We deliver, support and inspire | Taking on challenging tasks; understanding the wider service; using resources well | Keeping the group on the task items and the clock; making sure every task item gets an answer; using a budget or staff realistically |
| We analyse critically | Sorting relevant from irrelevant; weighing pros, cons and risks; spotting gaps | Prioritising; using the facts in the scenario; spotting missing or contradictory information; weighing the downside of a recommendation |
| We are innovative and open-minded | Openness to new ideas; adapting to change; learning without preconceptions | Changing your view when someone makes a better point and saying so; suggesting a practical option nobody has raised; not assuming who is to blame |
Police Scotland's values are integrity, fairness, respect and human rights. They show less in what you say about the values and more in how you treat the other candidates and the people in the scenario:
| Value | The CVF, in brief | In the group task |
|---|---|---|
| Integrity | Balancing competing principles; thinking about options before acting so decisions withstand scrutiny; taking personal responsibility; challenging conduct that falls below standard | Being honest in the Q&A about what the group missed; not overstating your own part; refusing to build a plan on a rumour |
| Fairness | Understanding the cultural and social needs of individuals and communities; approaching situations calmly and tolerantly; self-control and impartiality | Not treating a whole group (young people, tenants, visitors) as the problem; hearing more than one side of the scenario |
| Respect | Being considerate of others' needs while acting politely and professionally; treating all people humanely and with dignity | How you speak to the other candidates and how you talk about the people in the scenario |
| Human rights | A rights-based organisation: using force only where strictly necessary; treating everyone under investigation as innocent until found guilty by a court | Putting safety and the vulnerable first; choosing proportionate options; not naming suspects on rumour |
Do not say "this shows I am collaborative". Assessors see collaboration when you build on someone else's idea by name. They see analysis when you use a figure from the scenario. Let the behaviour carry the competency.
Our Police Scotland interview guide has the fuller level 1 summaries for each competency.
Helpful and unhelpful group behaviours
General advice based on what the exercise is said to assess (all the CVF competencies and values), not official criteria:
| Helps | Hurts |
|---|---|
| Speaking within the first few minutes, briefly | Waiting for the perfect point and never making it |
| Using a fact from the scenario to back a point | Arguing from opinion or from what "usually happens" |
| "Building on what Priya said..." | Repeating someone's idea as if it were new |
| Asking a quieter member for their view by name | Talking over people, or finishing their sentences |
| Disagreeing with a reason and offering an alternative | Agreeing with everything to keep the peace |
| Offering to keep time, then actually calling time | Announcing yourself as leader |
| Summarising where the group has got to | Reopening a task item the group has already settled |
| Naming who outside the police should act | Making every action a police action |
| Pointing out a gap in the information | Inventing facts to fill the gap |
| Checking a sum before the group relies on it | Recommending something the budget cannot pay for |
| Changing your mind out loud when persuaded | Defending a point long after it is lost |
| Admitting in the Q&A what the plan does not cover | Bluffing when the assessors find a hole |
Notice how many of the helpful behaviours are small. You do not need the best idea in the room. You need to be the person who makes the room work better: someone who brings facts, brings people in and helps the group finish.
Handling dominant and quiet group members
Every practice group has someone who talks too much and someone who barely talks. How you deal with both is some of the clearest evidence of emotional awareness and collaboration you can give. These lines are our suggestions:
| Situation | What you could say | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| One person is doing most of the talking | "That is a strong point, Mark. Can we hear from everyone on this item before we decide?" | Credits them, then opens the floor. It is not a put-down, so it does not start a row. |
| Someone keeps talking over you | Let them finish, then: "Can I come back to the point I was making about the children?" | Calm and firm. Assessors notice who stays composed. |
| A member has not spoken for ten minutes | "Aisha, you have not had a chance yet. What do you think we have missed?" | An open question is easier to answer than "Do you agree?" and gives them something to add. |
| You are the quiet one | Plan two short contributions in the reading time. Say the first one in the first five minutes. | Once you have spoken, the next point is easier. Short and useful beats long and late. |
| Two people are going round in circles | "Could we note both options for the briefing and move to item two? We are at 12 minutes." | Uses the clock, not your opinion, to move things on. |
| The group has agreed too fast | "Before we lock that in, what is the risk of doing it?" | Shows analysis without blocking the group. |
| Someone states a fact that is not in the scenario | "I might have missed it: where does it say that? I read that the figure was..." | Corrects the record politely and keeps the group on the actual information. |
| Someone gets upset or defensive | "I think your point about the residents is right. My worry was only the cost." | Separates the person from the point. Emotional awareness in action. |
Two cautions. First, do not police the group so hard that you become the dominant member yourself: one invitation to a quiet person is enough; do not keep pointing them out. Second, use names. Learning names during the unassessed ice breaker makes this much easier.
Disagreeing well
A group that agrees on everything has not tested its own plan. Assessors cannot see analysis or open-mindedness if nobody challenges anything. The skill is disagreeing in a way that moves the group forward. A simple pattern:
- Acknowledge what is right in the other view.
- Give your reason, ideally a fact from the scenario.
- Offer an alternative or a way to combine both.
- Hand it back to the group with a question.
| Weak | Stronger |
|---|---|
| "No, that is wrong." | "I see why you would start there. My worry is the hospital figures: they suggest injuries are the bigger risk. Could we put that first?" |
| "We should just do what I said." | "Can we test both options against the budget? If mine does not fit, I am happy to drop it." |
| Saying nothing and sulking | "I still think we are missing the carers who use the bus. Can I add them to the briefing as a risk?" |
| "Everyone knows that does not work." | "The scenario says lighting was reported two months ago and nothing happened. That makes me doubt it will be fixed in time." |
| Reopening the point after the group moved on | "I am content with the group's view on item one. For item two..." |
Once the group has decided, let it go. Saying "I am content with the group's view" after losing a point shows more maturity than reopening it. If you still think there is a real risk, ask for it to be named in the briefing as something the group would watch.
Keeping time and the briefing structure
Someone has to keep time. If nobody offers, offer. Do it by calling the time and the item ("we are at 12 minutes; shall we move to item two?"), not by cutting people off. Keep the task items visible in your notes and tick them off.
For the briefing, a fixed structure saves the group from arguing about how to present. This is the shape our free brief's "insert a structure" button lays out, with suggested timings:
| Part | Time | What it covers | How it might start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening | About 20 seconds | What you were asked and what you recommend in one sentence | "We were asked three things. In short, we recommend that ... because ..." |
| Task item 1 | About 60 to 90 seconds | Recommendation, the main reason from the scenario, the risk you weighed | "On the first item, our priority is ... The scenario tells us ... The risk is ..." |
| Task item 2 | About 60 to 90 seconds | As above, plus who else is involved and what they do | "For the second, we would ask the council to ... and the school to ..." |
| Task item 3 (and any more) | About 60 to 90 seconds | As above, plus how you would know it had worked | "We would know it was working if ... We would check after ..." |
| What we could not resolve | About 15 seconds | A gap or disagreement, stated honestly | "We did not agree on ... We would want to find out ... first." |
| Close | About 15 seconds | The first action | "The first thing we would do is ... because ..." |
A briefing of four to six minutes is plenty. It leads with the recommendation, follows the task items in order and does not try to report the whole discussion. Assessors heard the discussion: the briefing shows what the group decided.
Delivering the briefing
Police Scotland says the 30 minutes include a "briefing to assessors to address task items". It does not say how the group must present it, who should speak, or for how long. Everything below is advice. Agree your approach a few minutes before you start, so the hand-offs are smooth.
| Option | How it works | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| One spokesperson | One candidate delivers the whole briefing the group agreed. | Quick to organise. The others must still be visibly part of it; agree it openly rather than letting someone take it. |
| One speaker per task item | Each person, or pair, briefs the item they knew best. | Shows shared ownership. Needs a clean handover ("Sam will take item two") and a strict time per item. |
| Opener, items, closer | One opens, others take items, one closes with the first action. | Gives more people a voice without too many handovers. |
| Whatever the assessors ask for | Follow any instruction given on the day. | Police Scotland does not publish how the briefing must be delivered, so instructions on the day override any plan. |
Whoever speaks, a few habits help:
- Speak to the assessors, not to your notes. Look up at the start of each task item.
- Say "we", because it is the group's briefing. Save "I" for the Q&A when asked about your own part.
- Credit ideas where it is natural ("as Jo pointed out, the thefts were never reported").
- If you are not speaking, stay engaged. Nodding at a point you raised is fine; whispering corrections is not.
- Stop when you have finished. A clean close is better than adding new ideas the group never discussed.
The 10-minute Q&A
Police Scotland's page describes a "10-minute assessor Q&A" after the discussion and briefing. It does not publish the questions or say whether they go to the group or to individuals. The question types below are the ones that tend to test the competencies. The examples are ours.
| Question type | Example | How to answer |
|---|---|---|
| Why not the obvious option? | "Why did you not recommend more police patrols?" | Give the reason the group weighed it and set it aside: cost, effect, fairness. If you did not consider it, say so and say what you think now. |
| What did you disagree about? | "Where did your group not agree?" | Name a real disagreement and how it was settled. A group that claims it agreed on everything sounds rehearsed. |
| Who did you miss? | "Who in the community would your plan not reach?" | Look for the overlooked group: shift workers, carers, children, people without internet. Name them and say how you would include them. |
| What could go wrong? | "What risk does your recommendation create?" | Every option has a downside. Name it and say how you would reduce or watch it. |
| What would you need to know? | "What information would you want before acting?" | Point to the gaps you marked in the reading time and how you would fill them. |
| How would you measure it? | "How would you know your plan had worked?" | Something countable and something people would feel: fewer calls, fewer injuries, people using the service again. |
| Your own part | "What did you personally add to the discussion?" | One specific contribution, stated plainly, without claiming the group's work as yours. |
| Second thoughts | "Having heard the questions, would you change anything?" | It is fine to say yes. Changing your view for a good reason is open-mindedness, not weakness. |
Three rules make the Q&A easier:
- Be honest. If the group missed something, say so and say what you would do now. Integrity is one of Police Scotland's values.
- Be brief. Thirty to sixty seconds an answer. Then let someone else add.
- Share the floor. If one person answers everything, the rest of the group has gone quiet. Pass a question on if someone else knows the point better.
Worked example 1: the library that closes early
An original mini-scenario written for this page. It is shorter than the 500 to 600 words Police Scotland describes, so you can practise the method quickly. It is not a Police Scotland scenario and is not in our pack.
Kirkbrae is a small town with one public library, which also has the only free computers and printers in the town. Since the spring, a group of about ten teenagers has gathered in the library and its car park most weekday afternoons. Staff have logged verbal abuse on 14 occasions in three months, the fire alarm has been set off twice and one computer screen was smashed. Police have attended four times.
The council has decided to close the library at 5pm instead of 7pm for the next three months. The evening hours were used by secondary pupils doing homework, a job club that meets from 5.30pm to 7pm and several older residents who use the computers to manage benefit claims with help from a volunteer. The volunteer says two of her regulars have already missed deadlines.
The town's youth club closed last year when its funding ended. The library manager says most of the teenagers are no trouble and two of them help younger children with reading. A shopkeeper next door says "the same gang" steals from his shop, although no thefts have been reported to police. A parents' group says the young people have nowhere else to go. The council has offered a small one-off budget, enough for either six months of a youth worker for two evenings a week or new CCTV covering the car park and entrance, but not both.
Task items:
- Who is most affected by the early closing and what are the main problems?
- How should the one-off budget be spent and why?
- What should happen so the library can reopen in the evenings and who should do what?
What a careful reader marks
- Facts: 14 logged incidents in three months; two alarm activations; one broken screen; four police attendances; closing 5pm instead of 7pm for three months.
- People: the teenagers (most no trouble, two helping younger children), pupils, the job club, older residents with benefit claims, the volunteer, staff, the shopkeeper, parents.
- Harm now: two older residents have already missed benefit deadlines.
- Gaps: the shopkeeper's theft claim was never reported; we do not know how many of the ten are involved in the incidents.
- Limits: the budget pays for the youth worker or CCTV, not both.
An annotated strong discussion excerpt
| Who | What they said | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate A | "Three items. Shall we give each about six minutes and leave the last eight for the briefing? I am happy to keep time." | Ownership and delivering: sets a structure and offers a role without claiming to lead. |
| Candidate B | "For item one, the people losing most are the older residents. The volunteer says two have already missed benefit deadlines. That is real harm now." | Analysis: a clear priority backed by a fact from the scenario. |
| Candidate C | "I agree, but the job club and the pupils lose out too. It is the whole town paying for what about ten people do." | Collaborative and fair: builds on B and widens the view. |
| Candidate D | "Can I add something? The shopkeeper says they steal, but nothing has been reported. I do not think we should treat that as fact." | Analysis and fairness: spots an unchecked claim. Human rights: no assumption of guilt. |
| Candidate A | "Good point, Jo. Ellie, you have been quiet. What do you think about the budget?" | Emotional awareness: credits a contribution by name and brings in a quieter member. |
| Candidate E | "CCTV might catch the alarm being set off, but it does not give the teenagers anywhere to go. The youth worker tackles why they are there." | Analysis: weighs the two options against the cause of the problem. |
| Candidate B | "I was leaning to CCTV, but Ellie is right. I would switch to the youth worker, as long as staff can still report incidents." | Open-minded: changes view for a reason and says so, while keeping a safeguard. |
| Candidate A | "We are at 13 minutes. So item two is the youth worker, with incident reporting kept up. Shall we move on?" | Delivering: summarises the decision and uses the clock to move on. |
A model briefing
"We were asked who is most affected, how to spend the budget and how to get the library open in the evenings again. In short, we recommend the youth worker, a quick fix for the people who have lost access and a review at six weeks."
"On the first item, the people most affected are the older residents who manage benefit claims on the library computers. Two have already missed deadlines, which is harm happening now. The job club and secondary pupils lose out too. We were careful not to treat all ten teenagers as the problem: the manager says most are no trouble and two help younger children."
"On the second item, we recommend the youth worker. CCTV might help identify who set off the alarm, but it does not give the young people anywhere to go. The youth club closing last year looks like part of the cause. Staff should keep logging and reporting every incident, so the police and council can act on any individual who causes harm."
"On the third item, the council and library should lead, with the youth worker and police supporting. We would ask the volunteer to run the benefit sessions at another council building in the evenings straight away. The youth worker would start in the library on two evenings, working with the regulars. The police would follow up the incidents already logged. We would review at six weeks: if incidents have dropped, reopen to 7pm on the youth worker's evenings first."
"We could not resolve the shopkeeper's claim: nothing has been reported, so we would encourage him to report any theft rather than act on it. The first thing we would do is protect the residents' benefit claims, because that harm is already happening."
Why it works: it answers every task item in order, leads with the people already harmed, uses the scenario's figures, names who leads each action, refuses to treat a rumour as fact and gives a way to measure progress.
Worked example 2: the last bus through the estate
A second original mini-scenario written for this page, again shorter than the real length. It is not a Police Scotland scenario and is not in our pack.
The number 7 bus is the only public transport between the Hillend estate and the town centre. In the last six weeks, stones have been thrown at evening buses on four occasions on the stretch beside the old railway path. On the last occasion a window broke and a driver was cut by glass. The bus company has written to the council and police saying it will stop all services into Hillend after 8pm from the end of the month unless something changes. The drivers' union says buses should be withdrawn now.
The 10pm and 11pm buses are used by staff finishing shifts at the hospital and a distribution centre and by care workers visiting clients on the estate. Many older residents do not drive. The streetlights on the railway path stretch have been out for two months; residents say they reported them to the council. CCTV from one bus shows a group of young people in hoods, but faces cannot be seen.
At a community council meeting, a member said "everyone knows it is the Reid boys" and named the family. The family's mother has since told a community officer that her sons have been threatened. The head of the local primary school says some pupils have been talking about the stone throwing as a dare.
Task items:
- Whose safety and needs should the plan put first?
- What would you recommend to keep the evening service running?
- How should the claim about the Reid family be handled?
What a careful reader marks
- Facts: four incidents in six weeks; one injured driver; services after 8pm to stop at the end of the month; lights out for two months.
- People: drivers, shift workers at the hospital and distribution centre, care workers and their clients, older residents, the Reid family, the young people, primary pupils.
- Harm now: the injured driver; threats against the Reid family.
- Gaps: nobody has identified who threw the stones; the CCTV shows no faces; the claim about the Reid boys is rumour.
- The hidden risk: withdrawing the bus moves the danger to people walking the unlit path late at night.
An annotated strong discussion excerpt
| Who | What they said | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate A | "Item one first. The driver who was hurt is the obvious answer, but the shift workers and carers have no other way home. If the bus stops, they walk that path in the dark." | Analysis: sees that withdrawing the service moves the risk to other people. |
| Candidate B | "So the lights matter for both. They have been out two months. Fixing them helps the drivers and anyone on foot." | Collaborative: builds on A and links two facts. |
| Candidate C | "I would push back a little. Lights will not stop someone who wants to throw stones. We need to deal with who is doing it." | Respectful challenge: disagrees with a reason without dismissing the idea. |
| Candidate D | "Can I raise item three now, because it links? We do not know who it is. Naming the Reid family on a rumour has already led to threats against them." | Human rights and fairness: no assumption of guilt; notices a new victim. |
| Candidate A | "That is a safeguarding issue in its own right, Sam. Should it go to the top of our briefing?" | Emotional awareness: takes the point seriously and checks with the group. |
| Candidate E | "The school says pupils talk about it as a dare. If it is younger children, the school and parents may stop it faster than enforcement." | Innovative and open-minded: uses an easily missed fact to suggest a different route. |
| Candidate C | "Fair. I would put the school first, then the lights, with CCTV evidence followed up properly." | Changes position for a reason and pulls the ideas together. |
A model briefing
"We were asked whose safety comes first, how to keep the evening buses running and how to handle the claim about the Reid family. In short: protect everyone's safety, keep the service with practical measures and do not act on the rumour."
"On the first item, the driver's safety matters, but so does the safety of everyone who would lose the bus. Shift workers, carers and older residents would have to walk an unlit path late at night. So we put safety first for the drivers and for the people who depend on the service. We also added the Reid family, who have been threatened."
"On the second item, we recommend three steps. The council fixes the streetlights on the railway path this month. The primary school and parents are told about the dare talk, so the school can raise it with pupils. The police review the bus CCTV, increase visible patrols on that stretch at the times of the attacks and keep the bus company and the union informed. We would ask the company to keep running while this happens and review in four weeks."
"On the third item, the claim about the Reid boys is a rumour. Naming them has already led to threats. The threats should be treated as a safeguarding matter. Any information about who threw the stones should go to the police, not be repeated in public."
"We were not fully agreed on how much the lights would help, so we would watch whether incidents stop. The first thing we would do is fix the lights, because that protects everyone on that stretch whatever happens to the bus."
Why it works: it notices that withdrawing the bus moves the risk to others, treats the threatened family as people at risk rather than suspects, uses an easily missed fact (the school's dare comment), shares the actions between partners and admits a disagreement honestly.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Why it costs you |
|---|---|
| Reading the scenario before the task items | You collect detail that does not matter and miss the facts that answer the items. |
| Treating it as a debate to win | The exercise is assessed against every CVF competency, including being collaborative and emotionally aware. |
| Saying nothing until you have the perfect point | Assessors cannot credit what they do not hear. Two or three short, useful contributions beat silence. |
| Self-appointed leader | Running the group is not the same as helping it. Offering a role (time, summary) shows ownership without dominating. |
| Ignoring the numbers | A recommendation the budget cannot pay for, or that ignores how many people are affected, will not survive the Q&A. |
| Building on rumour | If the scenario reports an unchecked claim about a person or family, treating it as fact cuts against fairness and human rights. |
| Making everything a police job | Most community problems need partners. Say who leads each action. |
| Running out of time for the briefing | The briefing is part of the 30 minutes. A great discussion with no briefing leaves the task items unanswered. |
| Showing off legal knowledge | The scenario is policing-related, but the task items ask for judgement about people, risk and fairness, not law. |
| Bluffing in the Q&A | Admitting a gap and saying how you would fill it is stronger than defending it. |
A practice plan: alone and with friends
You can practise most of the group task alone: the reading, the plan, the briefing and the Q&A answers. The discussion needs other people. This plan covers both:
| Session | Time | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Session 1 (alone) | 40 minutes | Run the free brief above: 10 minutes' reading with the timer, then build your plan for each task item, a briefing and your contribution notes. Do the self-check honestly. |
| Session 2 (alone) | 30 minutes | Take the two worked examples on this page. Cover the excerpt, do your own 10-minute read, then write a two-minute briefing and compare it with ours. |
| Session 3 (alone, aloud) | 20 minutes | Say your briefing out loud with a timer. Then answer the Q&A question types above out loud, one minute each. |
| Session 4 (with friends) | 60 minutes | Three to five people. Each reads the same brief for 10 minutes, then run a 30-minute discussion and briefing against a timer. One person plays the assessor and asks questions for 10 minutes. |
| Session 5 (with friends, practice roles) | 60 minutes | As session 4, but give each friend a view to argue (the residents, the young people, a business, the council). It makes the discussion harder, so you practise disagreeing well and bringing people in. |
| Session 6 (review) | 20 minutes | Go through the competency table on this page. For each competency, write one thing you did and one thing you would do differently. |
Practice roles: a device, not the real format
When friends practise the discussion, they often agree too quickly because nobody has a stake in the outcome. Giving each person a view to argue (the residents' view, the young people's view, the council's view and so on) creates the disagreement you need to practise handling. Every brief in our pack comes with practice roles for exactly this.
Be clear about what they are. Police Scotland does not say that roles are given in the group task. On the day you may simply be a group of candidates with the same scenario. Use roles to practise listening, disagreeing and bringing people in, then drop them.
If you are practising alone
- Write down two views that disagree with your plan for each task item, then answer them out loud.
- Record your briefing on your phone and listen back. Is the recommendation in the first sentence?
- Practise your inviting lines out loud. "What do you think we have missed?" feels awkward until you have said it ten times.
The Police Scotland Assessment Day Pack
The free brief above stops at a self-check. The Assessment Day Pack (£24.99, 12 months of access, one payment, nothing renews) opens on the group task and adds:
- 12 group task briefs in the 10, 30 and 10 minute shape, each written to Police Scotland's published length of about 500 to 600 words.
- AI feedback on your plan: a practice score, feedback on each task item, the facts you used and missed, how your contribution and briefing come across, a rating for each Police Scotland value and the one thing to do differently next time.
- For every brief: a model briefing, the key facts in the scenario, the hidden issues a strong group spots and what assessors could observe in the discussion.
- Q&A practice: 48 questions across the briefs. Answer out loud, then reveal a strong answer.
- Practice roles for friends and a 30-minute discussion timer, for running the full exercise with other people.
- The Situational Judgement Exercise simulator: 42 spoken, unfolding scenarios (150 stages in all) with AI feedback, model answers and a timed 60-minute mock.
Every brief, model briefing and question is original PolicePay practice material, written to the format Police Scotland publishes. None of it is Police Scotland's and no product can promise a pass, because Police Scotland does not publish how it scores the day. The briefs in the pack:
| # | Brief | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skate park complaints on a housing estate (free on this page) | A housing estate on the edge of a town in central Scotland |
| 2 | Fear after thefts in a Highland glen | A remote glen in the Highlands with scattered farms and cottages |
| 3 | A busy summer in a seaside town | A small seaside town with a working harbour on the east coast |
| 4 | Scams targeting older people in a market town | A market town in a rural part of southern Scotland |
| 5 | E-bikes on footpaths through a new estate | A new housing estate on the edge of a city |
| 6 | An island, one officer and a festival | An island off the west coast of Scotland with one ferry link |
| 7 | Derby day in a two-club town | A town with two football clubs, one station and a hospital |
| 8 | Rumours after a fire in a tower block | A 14-storey block of flats in a city |
| 9 | Missing overnight from a children's home | A small council-run children's home in a coastal town |
| 10 | Freshers' fortnight in tenement streets | Streets of rented flats beside a city university |
| 11 | Shoplifting at an estate shopping parade | A parade of six shops on a housing estate in a town |
| 12 | Fear and loneliness in sheltered housing | A sheltered housing scheme in the main town of an island |
Reasonable adjustments and AI
Reasonable adjustments
Police Scotland's candidate portal has a page on reasonable adjustments and support for police officer applicants. It covers the assessment day exercises and calls this one the "Group exercise". Requests for adjustments are made on the eligibility part of the application form, which is reviewed before the main form. The portal names neurodivergent conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism and ADHD.
Police Scotland does not publish a list of specific adjustments for the group exercise, such as extra reading time. If the 10-minute reading, a group setting or speaking under time pressure could be a barrier for you, say so on the form and explain what helps. Give as much detail as you can.
Using AI to prepare
Police Scotland's AI guidance for applicants allows AI as a support tool. It says applications that are entirely AI-generated are likely to be identified, that "we do not use AI to make selection decisions" and that you must not use AI tools during virtual interviews. The group task itself is a live discussion in front of assessors, so it is your own thinking and speaking that count on the day.
For preparation, AI feedback on a practice plan is like feedback from a friend: it can show what you missed in the scenario. It cannot do the part that counts, which is listening, speaking and working with people in the room. Practise that with real people.
What we could not verify
Police Scotland does not publish the following. We have not guessed at any of them on this page:
- Group size. How many candidates sit the group task together.
- Scoring. How the group task is marked, the scale used, the pass mark, or how it combines with the Situational Judgement Exercise.
- Roles. Whether candidates are given roles or briefs of their own. Our practice roles are a practice device only.
- Number of task items. How many task items a scenario has. Our timing plan assumes three for illustration.
- How the 30 minutes split between discussion and briefing, or how long the briefing should be.
- How the briefing is delivered: who speaks, or whether everyone must.
- Notes and materials: whether you can write on the scenario or keep it during the discussion.
- The Q&A: the questions, how many assessors there are, or whether questions go to the group or to individuals.
- Specific reasonable adjustments available for the group exercise.
- The candidate portal pages sit behind a bot check. The ice breaker, the "Group exercise" name and the adjustments details are from our reading in a browser on 22 October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Police Scotland group task?
A 50-minute exercise on the morning of the assessment day. Police Scotland describes 10 minutes' independent reading of a short, policing-related scenario of about 500 to 600 words, a 30-minute group discussion and briefing to the assessors on the task items and a 10-minute assessor Q&A.
Is the group task the same as the group exercise?
Yes. Police Scotland's public recruitment page calls it the group task. The reasonable adjustments page on its candidate portal calls it the group exercise. Both describe the same part of the assessment day.
How is the Police Scotland group task assessed?
Police Scotland says all of its assessment day exercises are assessed against its Competency and Values Framework and that all of the competencies and values are assessed across the day. It does not publish its marking guide, scoring scale or pass mark for the group task.
How many people are in a Police Scotland group task?
Police Scotland does not publish the group size. Plan to contribute in a group of any size and check any instructions in your invitation or on the day.
Are you given a role in the group task?
Police Scotland does not say that roles are given. Our pack includes practice roles for friends to argue, but that is a practice device only. On the day, follow whatever instructions the assessors give.
How long is the briefing to the assessors?
Police Scotland does not say. The briefing sits inside the 30 minutes with the discussion. Our suggestion is to leave about the last eight to ten minutes to agree and deliver it, unless you are told otherwise.
Do I need policing knowledge for the group task?
Police Scotland describes the scenario as policing-related. It says no policing, legal or procedural knowledge is required for the Situational Judgement Exercise (SJE) and publishes nothing suggesting legal knowledge is needed for the group task. The task items ask for judgement about people, risks and priorities, so use the facts in the scenario rather than law.
What questions are asked in the 10-minute Q&A?
Police Scotland does not publish them. Questions that test the competencies usually ask why you chose one option over another, what you disagreed about, who your plan missed, what could go wrong and how you would know it had worked. Answer briefly and honestly.
Can I ask for reasonable adjustments for the group task?
Yes. Police Scotland's candidate portal has a reasonable adjustments page that covers the group exercise. Ask on the eligibility part of the application form and give as much detail as you can. Police Scotland does not publish a list of specific adjustments for the group exercise.
Is the free practice brief a real Police Scotland scenario?
No. It is original PolicePay practice material written to Police Scotland's published format. Police Scotland does not publish its group task scenarios and none of our briefs, model briefings or questions are Police Scotland's.
What happens after the group task?
The Situational Judgement Exercise follows in the morning. Police Scotland says candidates who are successful in the morning progress to a 20-minute competency-based interview in the afternoon.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 22 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.
- Police Scotland: Our recruitment process (police officer) : group task: 10 minutes' reading of a policing-related scenario of about 500 to 600 words, 30-minute discussion and briefing on the task items, 10-minute assessor Q&A; all exercises assessed against the CVF; progression to the interview after the morning (read 22 October 2026) (accessed 22 October 2026)
- Police Scotland candidate portal: Police officer selection process : unassessed ice breaker; the morning and afternoon of the assessment day; group task timings (read in a browser 22 October 2026; the portal sits behind a bot check) (accessed 22 October 2026)
- Police Scotland candidate portal: Reasonable adjustments and support : names the exercise the "Group exercise"; adjustments requested on the eligibility form; no list of specific adjustments (read 22 October 2026) (accessed 22 October 2026)
- Police Scotland: Competency and Values Framework (PDF) : six competencies at level 1 for constables; the values of integrity, fairness, respect and human rights (accessed 22 October 2026)
- Police Scotland: AI guidance for applicants : AI allowed as a support tool; entirely AI-generated applications likely to be identified; AI not used to make selection decisions; no AI during virtual interviews (read 22 October 2026) (accessed 22 October 2026)
On this topic elsewhere
More in this guide series
More for applicants and Scottish officers
Disclaimer
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority or the College of Policing. It does not recruit, test or assess applicants. Our practice questions are original PolicePay material, not official Police Scotland questions. Police Scotland sets and changes its own selection process, so check its recruitment pages and your candidate account before relying on anything here. Details are as checked on 22 October 2026.