We Are
Emotionally Aware
The police competency about understanding and managing emotions, yours and other people's: what it means at level 1, eight practice questions, an example structure and how it shows in the OAC briefing exercise, the one place the College assesses it in the online assessment.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 21 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
It means managing your own emotions, recognising how others feel even when they struggle to say it, communicating clearly and with compassion and asking for support when you need it. In the online assessment it is assessed in the briefing exercise; the national sift also covers it. Constables are assessed at level 1.
For police candidates in England and Wales. Descriptions paraphrase the College of Policing's 2024 framework at level 1. Questions and the example are PolicePay's own practice material.
What 'we are emotionally aware' means at level 1
Our paraphrase of the 2024 framework at level 1:
- communicating clearly and with compassion, adjusting your style so people understand you;
- keeping yourself effective under pressure;
- knowing that some situations affect how you handle stress and asking for support;
- trying to understand someone's concerns even when they struggle to express them;
- being sensitive to cultural and individual differences.
At level 2 the focus moves to noticing when colleagues are affected and making sure support is in place. Level 1 is about managing yourself and responding well to the people in front of you.
Where it is assessed
| Stage | Assessed? |
|---|---|
| National sift: SJT and BSQ | Yes, both cover the six competencies |
| OAC: competency-based interview | Not on the College's list |
| OAC: written exercise | Not on the College's list |
| OAC: briefing exercise | Yes |
| Force interview | Depends on the force |
8 practice questions and what they test
| Question | What it is looking for |
|---|---|
| Tell us about a time you noticed someone was upset even though they did not say so. | Reading emotions that are not expressed clearly. |
| Describe a time you had to stay calm when someone was angry with you. | Managing your own emotions under pressure. |
| Tell us about a time you changed how you communicated so someone could understand you. | Adapting your style; clear, compassionate communication. |
| Give an example of when you asked for support because a situation was affecting you. | Recognising your limits and seeking help. |
| Tell us about a time you delivered a difficult message with care. | Compassion with honesty. |
| How would you respond to a member of the public who is frightened and keeps interrupting you? | A future-focused question: acknowledging feelings before explaining. |
| Describe a time you helped someone through a stressful situation. | Understanding others' concerns and responding to them. |
| Tell us about a time a cultural or personal difference changed how you approached someone. | Sensitivity to individual and cultural differences. |
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
An example answer structure
Question: "Describe a time you had to stay calm when someone was angry with you." An illustrative outline:
Situation: At a GP reception, a man shouted at me because his repeat prescription was not ready for the third time.
Task: Calm things down for him and the waiting room and find out what had gone wrong.
Action: I noticed my own heart rate going up and slowed my voice down. I let him finish, told him I could see why he was frustrated and asked him to come to the side desk so we could talk without an audience. He mentioned he was caring for his wife; I realised the delay meant more than inconvenience. I checked the system, found the request had gone to the wrong pharmacy and rang them while he waited.
Result: He left with a collection time and thanked me. I asked the practice manager to flag his account so it would not happen again. I learned that anger is often worry underneath.
The emotional awareness evidence: managing your own reaction, acknowledging the feeling, noticing what lay behind it and adapting.
How it shows in the briefing exercise
The briefing exercise gives you a developing community scenario and asks 12 spoken questions. Emotional awareness shows when you:
- acknowledge how people in the scenario feel before setting out your plan;
- adapt how you would speak to a frightened resident, an angry trader or a young person;
- stay calm and non-defensive when the scenario includes criticism of the police;
- think about the wellbeing of colleagues or partner staff who are under pressure.
Try it in the free briefing exercise simulator: each question has a checklist that includes the emotional awareness points.
Practise the timing out loud
Briefing answers get up to 60 seconds to think and three minutes to answer. Practise with the free timer:
Free pacing timer
Practise the real OAC timings out loud
Practice question 1 of 4 (original, not a College question)
What do you see as the main issues in this situation? Which would you deal with first? (Scenario: Riverside Park and the new skate area.)
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Finding your own evidence
- calming an upset customer, patient, pupil or relative;
- noticing a friend or colleague was struggling and helping;
- changing how you explained something for someone with different needs;
- recognising your own stress and asking for help or a break;
- giving bad news with care.
Map them with the free example bank builder.
Common mistakes
- Describing other people's emotions but not what you did about them.
- Claiming you never get stressed: the framework values recognising it.
- Jumping to the solution in briefing answers without acknowledging feelings.
- Using "empathy" as a label instead of showing it.
The College says notes or scripts prepared before the online assessment may result in automatic failure.
Level 1 compared with levels 2 and 3
| Level | Focus (our paraphrase of the 2024 framework) |
|---|---|
| Level 1 (recruitment) | Managing yourself: clear and compassionate communication, staying effective under pressure, asking for support, understanding people's concerns even when they struggle to say them. |
| Level 2 | Looking after others: noticing when colleagues are affected, making sure support is in place without stigma, staying composed so others take confidence. |
| Level 3 | Shaping culture: understanding how leadership style affects people, wellbeing and inclusion across the organisation. |
Briefing walk-through: one question, three answers
From the free scenario in our briefing simulator: residents at a meeting say the police "only turn up after something has happened". Question: "How would you respond?" Three ways to open a three-minute answer:
| Opening | How it lands |
|---|---|
| "That isn't true: we patrol the area every week." | Defensive. It argues with the feeling and is likely to raise the temperature. |
| "I would explain our patrol plan and the council's role." | Reasonable content, but it skips the emotion. People rarely listen to a plan until they feel heard. |
| "I would start by acknowledging that people feel let down, ask for specific examples, then explain what we can do and agree when I will report back." | Acknowledges the feeling, stays calm, then moves to honest action and follow-up. |
The third opening shows emotional awareness, public service and ownership in one go: three of the four areas the briefing exercise assesses.
Weak and strong evidence, side by side
| Weak | Stronger |
|---|---|
| "I am very empathetic." | "I noticed she kept apologising, so I slowed down and told her there was no rush." |
| "I never let things get to me." | "After the third angry call I took five minutes away from the phones before the next one." |
| "I calmed him down." | "I let him finish, repeated back what he had said, then asked what would help most today." |
| "I treat everyone the same." | "I wrote the instructions down because he had told me he found phone calls hard to follow." |
| "It was a stressful time but I coped." | "I told my manager I was struggling with the backlog and we agreed I would hand two cases on." |
A second example: asking for support
Question: "Give an example of when you asked for support because a situation was affecting you."
Situation: Working in a care home, I was with a resident when she died. I had not experienced that before.
Task: Carry on with my shift safely and look after the other residents.
Action: I noticed I was rushing and forgetting things over the next hour. I told the senior carer, who arranged a short break and talked it through with me. The following week I used the employee support line the home offered.
Result: I finished the shift without mistakes and later suggested that new staff be told about the support line in induction. I learned that recognising my own reaction early is part of doing the job well.
The framework values recognising when a situation affects you and seeking support. This is a strength to show, not a weakness to hide.
Follow-up questions a force panel might ask
- How did you know how the other person was feeling? (reading cues)
- What did you change in how you spoke to them? (adapting your style)
- How did you feel at the time and what did you do with that? (self-management)
- What would you do if they had stayed angry? (staying effective under pressure)
- Who did you go to for support and why them? (seeking help)
Forces set their own questions; these are practice probes.
Evidence checklist
- a time you read an emotion someone did not say out loud;
- a time you stayed calm when someone was angry with you;
- a time you changed how you communicated for someone's needs;
- a time you recognised your own stress and acted on it;
- a difficult message you delivered with care;
- a time a cultural or personal difference changed your approach.
For the briefing exercise: before each answer, ask yourself "who in this scenario is upset, worried or angry and what would I say to them first?"
What we could not verify
- How many briefing questions target this competency. The College lists areas for the exercise, not per question.
- Which forces use it in their in-person interviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 'we are emotionally aware' mean in policing?
It is one of the six competencies in the College of Policing's 2024 framework: understanding and managing your own emotions, recognising how others feel even when they cannot say it clearly, communicating with compassion, staying effective under pressure and seeking support for yourself and others.
Where is 'we are emotionally aware' assessed?
In the online assessment process, the College lists it as one of the four areas the briefing exercise assesses. It is the only exercise where it appears. The national sift's SJT and BSQ also cover the six competencies.
What is a good example of being emotionally aware?
A real situation where you noticed how someone was feeling, adjusted what you said or did because of it and the situation improved. Staying calm with an angry customer, or recognising stress in a friend and helping, are common starting points.
How do I show emotional awareness in the briefing exercise?
Acknowledge the feelings in the scenario before explaining your plan: residents' frustration, a parent's worry, a colleague's stress. Adapt how you would speak to each person and stay calm when the scenario includes criticism of the police.
Is asking for help a sign of weakness in police recruitment?
No. The 2024 framework treats recognising when a situation affects you and seeking support, as part of being emotionally aware at level 1. A good example shows you knew your limits and acted on it.
What level of emotional awareness is expected for constables?
Level 1, the practitioner level: managing yourself and responding to the people you deal with. Looking after a team's wellbeing and shaping culture belong to the higher levels.
How long should a briefing answer showing emotional awareness be?
Up to three minutes, after up to 60 seconds of thinking time. A clear answer often acknowledges the feeling in the first part, then sets out the action and the follow-up.
Is emotional awareness the same as empathy?
They overlap. Respect and empathy is one of the three values; we are emotionally aware is one of the six competencies. The competency also covers managing your own emotions and seeking support, not only understanding others.
Should I talk about my feelings in a police interview?
Briefly, where it shows self-management. Saying you noticed you were rushing under pressure and what you did about it is useful evidence. Keep the focus on your actions and the result.
How do I show emotional awareness in the national sift?
In the SJT, rate highly actions that listen first, acknowledge feelings and stay calm and rate low actions that dismiss people or escalate. The College says the sift covers all six competencies.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 21 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: Competency and values framework : we are emotionally aware as a 2024 competency, with three levels (accessed 21 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Online assessment process candidate guide (updated 21 July 2026) : assessed in the briefing exercise; 60 + 180 second timings; level 1 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- College of Policing: National sift candidate guidance (May 2026 PDF; page updated 1 June 2026) : SJT and BSQ cover the six competencies (accessed 21 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 21 October 2026.