Tell Me About a Time
Police Interview Questions to Practise
Most police interview questions start with “tell me about a time” or “describe a situation when”. This page lists 36 original practice questions in that format, grouped by the College of Policing's three 2024 values, explains what each kind of question is really looking for and gives one worked example. Every question links straight into the free mock interview so you can answer it out loud.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 20 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
Pick one real example that fits the question, then use STAR: a short situation and task, most of your time on what you did and why and the result and what you learned. Say what made it hard and use “I”. Police interviews are built on the College of Policing's 2024 values (courage, respect and empathy, public service), so have examples ready for each.
What “tell me about a time” questions are
A "tell me about a time" question is a past-behaviour question. Instead of asking what you would do, it asks what you have done, on the idea that how you behaved before is the best guide to how you will behave as an officer. The College of Policing's 2024 CVF guidance says interview questions should mostly be about past behaviour, with hypothetical questions used sometimes.
You will meet them in two places in constable recruitment in England and Wales:
- The online assessment (OAC) interview: five recorded questions, each with 60 seconds of thinking time and up to five minutes to answer. The College says it assesses courage, public service, respect and empathy, we take ownership and we are innovative and open-minded. See the OAC interview explained.
- The in-person force interview: run by each force with its own questions. Derbyshire Constabulary's guide describes past-focused, future-focused and exploratory questions and a panel that may ask follow-ups. See the in-person interview explained.
PCSO, special constable and police staff interviews use the same style. The national joiningthepolice site's own sample question starts "Please provide an example of a time when you have...", which is the same format with different words.
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
How to decode the question before you answer
Each question has three parts: the action it asks about, the difficulty hidden in it and the value it is testing. Spend part of your thinking time naming all three. The middle column below is our reading of what the question is looking for, not College text.
| The question says | What it is looking for | Make sure your answer covers |
|---|---|---|
| "Tell me about a time you challenged..." | That you acted, not just noticed. The difficulty of speaking up. | Say what made it awkward, what you said and why you chose that route. |
| "...when it would have been easier not to" | That you chose the harder, right option. | Name the easy option you turned down. |
| "Describe a situation where you had to deal with someone angry" | Calm, listening, respect under pressure. | What you noticed about how they felt and what you said to bring it down. |
| "Give an example of when you made a mistake" | Honesty and ownership. | Own it plainly, say how you fixed it and what you changed afterwards. |
| "Tell me about a time you worked under pressure" | How you prioritised and kept the service going. | What came first and why and what you let wait. |
| "Tell me about a time you helped someone vulnerable" | Spotting vulnerability and getting the right help. | How you knew they were vulnerable and how you made sure they got support, not just sympathy. |
| "Describe a time you improved something" | Initiative and openness to new ways of working. | What was wrong, the change you suggested or made and how you know it helped. |
| "Tell me about a time you changed your mind" | Listening, checking your own assumptions. | What you first thought, what you heard and what you did differently. |
Devon and Cornwall Police's interview guide lists "answered the competency and not the question" as a common mistake. Decoding the question is about answering it more precisely, not about steering it to a value you prepared.
Respect and empathy: "tell me about a time" questions
These ask how you treat people: listening, adapting how you communicate, staying fair and noticing how someone else feels. The College's 2024 framework describes respect and empathy as treating people with dignity and understanding their needs and the online assessment interview assesses it.
- Tell us about a time you dealt with someone from a different background. Tip: Focus on understanding and respect. How did you adapt your style? Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you helped someone who was vulnerable. Tip: Show compassion and proactive support. What was the impact? Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you listened carefully before making a decision. Tip: Show active listening and managing bias. Why was listening first important? Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you adapted your communication style. Tip: Explain the barrier and how you adjusted to meet their needs. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you recognised that someone else was struggling emotionally. How did you respond? Tip: Show empathy and active listening. What did you notice and what specific action did you take? Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you had to remain fair when other people around you were being biased. Tip: Show you stayed objective and treated the person appropriately despite pressure from others. Practise this question
- Describe a time you had to explain a difficult decision to someone who disagreed with it. Tip: Show how you handled the disagreement with empathy and clarity. Practise this question
- Describe a time you had to deal with a person who was angry or frustrated. Tip: Show how you stayed calm, listened and de-escalated the situation. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you had to balance compassion with professional boundaries. Tip: Show empathy without losing standards or becoming too informal. Practise this question
- Give an example of when you changed your view after hearing someone else's perspective. Tip: Show reflection, open-mindedness and respect for another viewpoint. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you had to work with a member of the public who was distrustful or reluctant. Tip: Show how you earned trust through respectful, patient communication. Practise this question
- Give an example of when you made a person feel heard even though you could not give them the outcome they wanted. Tip: Show empathy, clarity and respectful explanation. Practise this question
Go deeper: respect and empathy interview questions and example answer.
Courage: "tell me about a time" questions
Courage in the CVF is ethical, not physical: making and owning decisions, challenging poor behaviour and being honest when it is uncomfortable. Expect the difficulty to be built into the question ("when it would have been easier not to").
- Tell us about a time you challenged inappropriate behaviour. Tip: Show moral courage and honesty. How did you approach the challenge? Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you made a difficult decision. Tip: Explain the options and why you chose the path you did. Show accountability. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you admitted a mistake. Tip: Show ownership and learning. How did you fix it? Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you stood up for what was right. Tip: Focus on your values and the courage to act against the grain. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you had to speak up when others preferred to stay silent. Tip: Show why you chose to speak up and how you handled any pushback. Practise this question
- Describe a time you had to make an unpopular decision because it was the right thing to do. Tip: Show judgement, moral courage and how you stood by the decision. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you had to admit to a manager that something had gone wrong. Tip: Show ownership, honesty and that you did not hide from the issue. Practise this question
- 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? Tip: Show how you assessed risk, made a judgement and stayed accountable. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you owned an error and corrected it before it became worse. Tip: Show honesty, urgency and the steps you took to fix it. Practise this question
- Describe a time you had to say no when it would have been easier to agree. Tip: Show the standards you protected and how you handled the conversation. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you identified a risk and escalated it quickly. Tip: Show you acted early rather than waiting for the problem to grow. Practise this question
- Describe a time you challenged a process that was clearly not working. Tip: Show initiative, evidence and the courage to question the status quo. Practise this question
Go deeper: courage interview questions and example answer and we take ownership questions for mistakes and responsibility.
Public service: "tell me about a time" questions
These ask about putting other people's needs first, keeping a service going under pressure and improving how things work. In the 2024 framework, public service also covers learning and improving, not just being helpful.
- Tell us about a time you put others first. Tip: Show selfless service. What was the situation and the outcome? Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you improved something for a customer, colleague or community. Tip: Show initiative and high standards. What was the improvement? Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you worked under pressure. Tip: Show composure and delivery. How did you maintain standards? Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you took responsibility for solving a problem. Tip: Show ownership and proactive problem-solving. Practise this question
- Describe a time you went above and beyond to help a member of the public with a problem. Tip: What was the specific need? What did you do that wasn't strictly required of you? Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you improved a process to make life easier for others. Tip: Show initiative, service and the practical benefit to the people affected. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you had to keep going to deliver a service despite limited resources. Tip: Show resilience and dedication to maintaining standards. Practise this question
- Give an example of when you took initiative to resolve an issue before it escalated. Tip: Show anticipation, ownership and the benefit of acting early. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you used feedback or data to improve how you worked. Tip: Show learning and how improvement benefited others. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you made sure a vulnerable person got the right outcome. Tip: Show duty of care and the steps you took to support them. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you had to manage competing priorities to serve others effectively. Tip: Show judgement, resilience and how you kept the service moving. Practise this question
- Tell us about a time you had to stay professional when a service user was unhappy. Tip: Show patience and how you kept standards while focusing on the outcome. Practise this question
Go deeper: public service interview questions and example answer and innovative and open-minded questions for improvement examples.
All 36 questions are original PolicePay practice questions. They are not taken from any College of Policing or force assessment and the College's live questions are confidential. Use them to practise choosing and telling examples, not to predict the assessment.
A worked example: “Describe a time you had to deal with a person who was angry or frustrated”
This answer was written by PolicePay to show structure. It is not a real candidate's answer, it is not from any assessment and it is not a script. Prepared notes or scripts are banned in the online assessment. Use your own real example.
Situation (about 30 seconds)
"I work part time on the front desk of a leisure centre. One Saturday a man came in to collect his daughter from a swimming class, but the class had finished early because of a fault with the pool and she had been taken to the café area with the other children. He had not got our text and was shouting that nobody had told him where she was."
Task (about 20 seconds)
"I was the only person on the desk, with a queue behind him. I needed to calm him down, get him to his daughter quickly and safely and keep the desk running."
Action (about 2 to 3 minutes in a full answer)
- "I could see he was frightened, not just angry, so I kept my voice low and said straight away that his daughter was safe and where she was."
- "I did not argue about the text. I said I understood why he was worried and that I would take him to her myself."
- "I asked the next person in the queue if they could wait two minutes, put the 'back shortly' sign up and walked him to the café, where I checked his name against the class list before the instructor handed her over."
- "Back at the desk I wrote down what had happened and checked the class text list. His number had a digit missing, so I told him, corrected it with him and told my supervisor so she could check the other numbers."
Result and learning (about 45 seconds)
"He apologised for shouting and thanked me. My supervisor found two more wrong numbers. I learned to deal with the feeling behind someone's anger first and that a complaint can point to a real problem worth fixing. Next time I would call the duty manager to cover the desk rather than leave it."
What it does well and why a marker would credit it:
- It reads the emotion ("frightened, not just angry"), which is the emotional awareness respect and empathy needs.
- Every step has a reason, including checking the class list before handing a child over.
- It ends with honest learning, including one thing done imperfectly.
- It is ordinary. No policing, no drama, just clear evidence of behaviour.
Build an example bank, not 36 answers
You do not need an answer for every question. You need six to eight real examples you know well, each of which can answer several questions. The table shows the kinds of example that cover the most ground and which kinds of question on this page they can answer.
| Example to find in your own life | Values it usually shows | Questions it can answer |
|---|---|---|
| A difficult customer, patient, caller or member of the public you calmed down | Respect and empathy; public service | An angry or frustrated person; making someone feel heard; staying professional with an unhappy service user |
| A time you spoke up about a comment, shortcut or unfair treatment | Courage | Challenging inappropriate behaviour; speaking up; challenging a process |
| A mistake you made and owned | Courage; we take ownership | Admitting a mistake; telling a manager something went wrong; owning an error |
| A time you helped someone vulnerable get the right help | Respect and empathy; public service | Helping someone vulnerable; getting a vulnerable person the right outcome |
| A time you juggled several urgent demands | Public service | Working under pressure; managing competing priorities |
| Something you improved at work, study or a club | Public service; we are innovative and open-minded | Improving a process; using feedback to improve |
| A decision you made without all the information | Courage; we analyse critically | Deciding without all the information you wanted |
| A time you changed your view after listening | Respect and empathy | Changing your view; listening before deciding |
For each example, write four memory hooks (one per STAR part), not a script and note the moment that was hardest. If you are short of examples, read where to find police interview examples with no work experience.
Mistakes people make with “tell me about a time” questions
- Answering hypothetically. "I would always..." is not a time. If the question asks for an example, give one.
- Blending several stories. "There have been lots of times..." loses the detail that earns credit. Choose one.
- Picking a time when nothing was hard. If the right thing was also the easy thing, there is little to show.
- Saying "we". Derbyshire's guide asks for "I" statements so the panel knows what you did.
- Buzzwords instead of behaviour. Devon and Cornwall's guide says buzzwords do not score. Saying "I showed empathy" adds nothing; what you noticed and said does.
- Stopping at the result. Say what you learned or would do differently.
- Using 2016 material. Older guides list integrity, impartiality and transparency as values. The 2024 values are courage; respect and empathy; public service.
More in why people fail the police interview.
How to practise these questions
- Pick one question per value and choose a real example for each from your bank.
- Answer it out loud with the "Practise this question" link. The mock interview gives a free practice score, a pass or refer verdict and your main gap.
- Fix the main gap and answer again. One improved answer teaches more than five new ones.
- Switch the wording. Answer a different question with the same example, so you learn to adapt rather than recite.
- Time a full run. In OAC mode the practice gives you 60 seconds to think and up to 5 minutes to answer, like the real interview.
For a day-by-day plan, see police interview preparation: 7-day and 14-day plans. In a force interview, expect the panel to probe your answer: follow-up questions and how to handle them.
Interview and assessment centre updates
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What we could not verify
- The exact wording of real assessment questions. The College does not publish them and we have not used any.
- Whether every OAC question is a past-behaviour question. The College's guide and the joiningthepolice sample suggest so, but the College does not state it for every question.
- Which values each force interview covers. Forces set their own questions; ask yours.
PolicePay is independent of the College of Policing, the Home Office and every police force. Sources were read on 20 October 2026. The College's pages and your force's instructions take priority over anything here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a "tell me about a time" question in a police interview?
It is a past-behaviour question: it asks for a real example of something you did, so the panel can judge how you are likely to behave in future. The College of Policing's CVF guidance says interview questions should mostly be about past behaviour, with hypothetical questions sometimes used. The national joiningthepolice site's sample question also asks for an example of a time you did something.
How do I answer "tell me about a time" police interview questions?
Use one real example and the STAR structure: a short situation and task, then most of your time on what you did and why, then the result and what you learned. Say what made it difficult and use "I" for your own actions. The College suggests STAR as a common approach in its online assessment guide.
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's live questions are confidential and real wording will differ. Do not try to memorise answers to them; practise choosing and telling real examples.
How many examples do I need?
There is no official number. The online assessment interview has five questions, so you need at least five different real examples and more gives you room to pick the best fit. Many candidates build a bank of six to eight examples that between them cover all three values.
Can I use the same example for two questions?
In the online assessment, each question should get an example that fits what is asked and the College suggests one detailed example per question. Reusing one story for several questions usually means some answers fit poorly. A single real situation can sometimes show more than one value, but have different examples ready.
What if I cannot think of a time?
Look across your whole life: work, school, college or university, sport, volunteering, caring for someone and family life. The College says examples from work and personal life are acceptable. Small, real examples told with detail score better than dramatic ones you cannot support. See our guide to police interview examples with no work experience.
How long should my answer be?
In the College's online assessment interview you get 60 seconds to think and up to five minutes to record each answer. Force interviews set their own timings. There is no required length; the aim is enough detail on your actions that the assessor can credit them.
Can I practise these questions for free?
Yes. Each question on this page has a link that opens it in the PolicePay mock interview, where you can answer out loud or type and get a free 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.
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.
- College of Policing: Online assessment process candidate guide (updated 21 July 2026) : five questions; 60 seconds thinking and 300 seconds answering; the five areas the interview assesses; STAR suggested; examples from work and personal life; no prepared notes (accessed 20 October 2026)
- College of Policing: CVF values (courage, respect and empathy, public service), first published 8 May 2024 : the descriptions of the three values paraphrased in the question groups (accessed 20 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Competency and values framework guidance 2024 (PDF) : interviews should mostly ask about past behaviour, with hypothetical questions sometimes used (accessed 20 October 2026)
- joiningthepolice.co.uk: What does the competency-based interview (CBI) involve? : the national recruitment site's sample past-behaviour question and its STAR advice (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Derbyshire Constabulary: In-force interview preparation guide (2022, PDF) : past-focused, future-focused and exploratory questions; examples from school, work, home, clubs and volunteering; 'I' not 'we' (accessed 20 October 2026)
- Devon and Cornwall Police: Force interviews, CVF preparation guide (2024, PDF) : answer the question, not the competency; buzzwords do not score (accessed 20 October 2026)
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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.