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NIE Practice Questions
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12 free original practice questions for the National Investigators' Exam, grouped by the four examinable parts of the Blackstone's Police Investigators' Manual. Each has the answer, an explanation and the source to look up. None is a real or recalled NIE question.

Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 11 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated

Short answer: where can you get free NIE practice questions?

Here: 12 original questions across Parts 1 to 4, written from legislation, the PACE Codes and case law, each with the answer, an explanation and a source. The College of Policing also provides official practice questions in its Candidate Online Examination Guidance group on the Knowledge Hub (login through your force). Real NIE questions are never published, and the candidate handbook forbids sharing them or even the topic areas of a sitting. The real exam is 80 questions in 2 hours, scored on 70, with a pass mark of 55.7%.

Contents
At a GlanceHow to Use ThemPart 1 QuestionsPart 2 QuestionsPart 3 QuestionsPart 4 QuestionsWhy Never Real QuestionsThe Real PaperSplit by PartOfficial PracticeWhere Marks GoChecklistNot Verified FAQs Sources

Free NIE practice questions at a glance

This page holds 12 questions from the free part of our NIE practice bank. Every question is original: we write each one from the law itself (the statute, the PACE Code paragraph or the leading case) and give the source so you can check it. They are not real NIE questions, not questions recalled by candidates and not reworded from Blackstone's.

Free questions on this page by part
PartCoversFree questions
Part 1 General principles, police powers and procedures 5
Part 2 Serious crime and other offences 3
Part 3 Property offences 2
Part 4 Sexual offences 2

These 12 come from a small free set of 24 questions. Want them timed? The free NIE mini mock draws 20 questions from that set, split by part like the real paper and timed at 90 seconds each, and gives you a result PDF (one free attempt).

How to use practice questions properly

Practice questions are a test, not reading material. The value comes from trying to recall the law before you see the answer, then finding out exactly why you were right or wrong. Used that way they show you what you do not know; read like a book, they mostly make you feel ready.

  1. Answer first. Pick an option and say to yourself why each of the others is wrong. Then open the answer.
  2. Check the source. For every question you got wrong, or guessed, find the point in the Manual. The explanation names the Act, section or Code paragraph.
  3. Write it down. One line per mistake on a missed-question list: the point and where it is. This becomes your final-week revision.
  4. Come back later. Retry your missed questions a few days later, then a week or two after that, without looking first.
  5. Then mix and time. Once you have covered the parts, mix them up and time yourself at the real pace of 90 seconds a question.
The Manual is the syllabus

The handbook says NIE questions are drawn solely from the 2026 edition of the Blackstone's Police Investigators' Manual, and candidates are examined on the law only as it appears there. Practice questions, ours included, are for testing yourself on the Manual, not a replacement for it.

Part 1: General principles, police powers and procedures

The largest part of the paper. It covers the mental and physical elements of an offence, starting proceedings, court procedure and witnesses, PACE Codes B to F on search, detention, identification and recorded interviews, release and bail, disclosure under the CPIA, and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Handbook syllabus sections: 1.1 Diversity, equality and inclusion; 1.2 Mens rea (state of mind); 1.3 Actus reus (criminal conduct); 1.4 Instituting criminal proceedings; 1.5 Court procedure and witnesses; 1.6 Entry, search and seizure: PACE Code B; 1.7 Detention and treatment of persons by police officers; 1.8 Identification; 1.9 Interviews; 1.10 Release of person arrested; 1.11 Disclosure of evidence; 1.12 The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. 30 of the 70 scored questions in September 2026.

Part 1 · Diversity, equality and inclusion: discrimination Question 1

Under s.13 of the Equality Act 2010 itself (leaving aside the separate exceptions in the Act's Schedules, such as occupational requirements), for which protected characteristic is less favourable treatment not direct discrimination if it can be shown to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim?

  1. A.Disability
  2. B.Religion or belief
  3. C.Sex
  4. D.Age
Show the answer

Answer: D. Age

Section 13(2) of the Equality Act 2010 provides that, if the protected characteristic is age, there is no discrimination where the treatment is shown to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. For the other protected characteristics, s.13 contains no such objective justification; direct discrimination can be lawful only if a specific exception applies, such as an occupational requirement under Schedule 9. The 'proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim' wording is more familiar from indirect discrimination under s.19, which is why it is often wrongly applied to direct discrimination generally.

Source: Equality Act 2010 s.13(1) and (2); Sch.9 para 1

Part 1 · Diversity, equality and inclusion: discrimination Question 2

Which of the following protected characteristics is NOT a 'relevant protected characteristic' for the purposes of indirect discrimination under s.19 of the Equality Act 2010?

  1. A.Marriage and civil partnership
  2. B.Pregnancy and maternity
  3. C.Gender reassignment
  4. D.Age
Show the answer

Answer: B. Pregnancy and maternity

Section 19(3) lists the relevant protected characteristics for indirect discrimination as age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Pregnancy and maternity is not on the list; unfavourable treatment of pregnant workers is dealt with separately, and a policy that disadvantages pregnant women may instead be challenged as indirect sex discrimination. Marriage and civil partnership is a common wrong answer because it is excluded from harassment under s.26, but it is included in s.19.

Source: Equality Act 2010 ss.19 and 26(5)

Part 1 · Diversity, equality and inclusion: discrimination Question 3

A constable gives a written account supporting a colleague's grievance alleging race discrimination by a supervisor. A month later the constable is moved off a sought-after unit, and the reason recorded is that the constable is 'a troublemaker who backs grievances'. Which statement best describes the legal position under the Equality Act 2010?

  1. A.This is likely to be victimisation, because the constable has been subjected to a detriment because of doing a protected act
  2. B.It cannot be victimisation, because the constable did not personally suffer race discrimination and was only a supporting witness
  3. C.It is victimisation only if the original grievance is upheld, because a protected act requires an allegation that is proved to be true
  4. D.It cannot be victimisation unless a comparator of a different race who did not back the grievance was treated more favourably
Show the answer

Answer: A. This is likely to be victimisation, because the constable has been subjected to a detriment because of doing a protected act

Under s.27 of the Equality Act 2010, a person is victimised if subjected to a detriment because they did a protected act, which includes giving evidence or information in connection with proceedings or making an allegation that someone has contravened the Act. The person need not have the protected characteristic or be the original complainant, and the grievance does not need to succeed. The only exclusion is for false evidence, information or allegations given in bad faith under s.27(3), and no comparator is needed.

Source: Equality Act 2010 s.27

Part 1 · Mens rea: recklessness Question 4

What is the correct definition of 'recklessness' as applied in most modern criminal law following R v G?

  1. A.The defendant ought to have foreseen the risk, whether or not they actually did
  2. B.The defendant intended the specific outcome that occurred
  3. C.The defendant's actions were merely careless, regardless of awareness
  4. D.The defendant was aware of a risk and unreasonably went on to take it
Show the answer

Answer: D. The defendant was aware of a risk and unreasonably went on to take it

R v G (2003) overruled the earlier objective (Caldwell) test and restored a subjective test: recklessness requires the defendant to have actually been aware of the risk and to have gone on to take it unreasonably. An objective 'ought to have known' standard was rejected for most offences.

Source: R v G and another [2003] UKHL 50

Part 1 · Actus reus: causation and intervening acts Question 5

A man stabs a woman, piercing her lung. In hospital she refuses a blood transfusion on religious grounds, although doctors say it would almost certainly have saved her life. She dies. The suspect's solicitor argues that her refusal broke the chain of causation. Which is correct?

  1. A.The chain is broken: her refusal was a free, deliberate and informed decision by a competent adult, which is a new intervening act
  2. B.The chain is broken: a victim must act reasonably to limit her injury, and refusing a routine transfusion falls below that standard
  3. C.The chain is not broken: he must take his victim as he finds her, including her beliefs, and the wound remained an operating and substantial cause
  4. D.The chain is not broken only if he knew of her religious beliefs when he stabbed her, since the thin skull rule depends on the defendant's knowledge
Show the answer

Answer: C. The chain is not broken: he must take his victim as he finds her, including her beliefs, and the wound remained an operating and substantial cause

In R v Blaue the Court of Appeal held that the 'thin skull' rule applies to the whole person, including religious beliefs, so a victim's refusal of a transfusion does not break the chain of causation. The stab wound was still an operating and substantial cause of death. Whether the refusal was reasonable, and whether the defendant knew of her beliefs, are irrelevant. The 'free, deliberate and informed act' principle concerns a separate voluntary act, such as a victim injecting themselves with a drug, not declining treatment for an injury the defendant has already caused.

Source: R v Blaue [1975] 1 WLR 1411

Part 2: Serious crime and other offences

Homicide, drugs, firearms, terrorism, cybercrime, aggravated offences, assaults, harassment and hate offences, domestic abuse, child protection, deprivation of liberty, civil orders, public order and driving offences.

Handbook syllabus sections: 2.1 Homicide; 2.2 Misuse of drugs; 2.3 Firearms and gun crime; 2.4 Terrorism and associated offences; 2.5 Cybercrime; 2.6 Racial and religiously aggravated offences; 2.7 Non-fatal offences against the person; 2.8 Hatred and harassment offences; 2.9 Domestic violence and abuse; 2.10 Child protection; 2.11 Offences involving the deprivation of liberty; 2.12 Protecting citizens and the community: injunctions, orders and police powers; 2.13 Public order offences; 2.14 Offences involving standards of driving. 19 of the 70 scored questions in September 2026.

Part 2 · Homicide: murder Question 6

To claim on an insurance policy, a man sets fire to his house at 3am, knowing his elderly lodger is asleep upstairs. He says he did not want anyone to die, but the lodger dies. On the issue of intention for murder, how should the jury be directed?

  1. A.Intention is proved if a reasonable person in his position would have foreseen death or serious injury as a probable result of setting fire to the house
  2. B.Intention cannot be found, because his purpose was financial gain from the insurance claim and he has said he genuinely did not want anyone to die
  3. C.Recklessness as to whether death would result is sufficient mens rea for murder, as he knowingly took an unjustified risk with the sleeping lodger's life
  4. D.The jury may find intention if death or serious bodily harm was a virtual certainty (barring some unforeseen intervention) and he appreciated that
Show the answer

Answer: D. The jury may find intention if death or serious bodily harm was a virtual certainty (barring some unforeseen intervention) and he appreciated that

Murder requires an intention to kill or to cause grievous bodily harm. Where the defendant's purpose was something else, R v Woollin says the jury is not entitled to find intention unless death or serious bodily harm was a virtual certainty and the defendant appreciated that; if both are proved, the jury may find intention. The test looks at what the defendant actually foresaw, not what a reasonable person would have foreseen (see also s.8 Criminal Justice Act 1967). Recklessness is not enough for murder.

Source: R v Woollin [1999] 1 AC 82 (HL); Criminal Justice Act 1967 s.8

Part 2 · Homicide: voluntary manslaughter Question 7

What distinguishes voluntary manslaughter from murder?

  1. A.Voluntary manslaughter involves no intention to kill or cause serious harm, only an unlawful and dangerous act
  2. B.Voluntary manslaughter can only be charged where the defendant is a first-time offender pleading guilty
  3. C.The defendant had the mens rea for murder, but a partial defence (e.g. loss of control) reduces the conviction
  4. D.Only the sentence differs: voluntary manslaughter carries a fixed 15-year term instead of mandatory life
Show the answer

Answer: C. The defendant had the mens rea for murder, but a partial defence (e.g. loss of control) reduces the conviction

Voluntary manslaughter applies where the defendant had the actus reus and mens rea of murder but a partial defence reduces liability: diminished responsibility (s.2 Homicide Act 1957, as substituted by s.52 Coroners and Justice Act 2009), loss of control (ss.54-56 Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which replaced provocation), or killing in pursuance of a suicide pact (s.4 Homicide Act 1957). Involuntary manslaughter (unlawful act or gross negligence manslaughter) is where the intent for murder was never present.

Source: s.2 and s.4 Homicide Act 1957; ss.52-56 Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Part 2 · Homicide: voluntary manslaughter (loss of control) Question 8

A woman who has suffered years of serious violence from her husband kills him with a knife some hours after he threatened to beat her again when he woke up. She says her self-control finally gave way. On a murder charge, which statement about the partial defence of loss of control is correct?

  1. A.The defence is not ruled out just because the loss of control was not sudden, but it is unavailable if she acted in a considered desire for revenge
  2. B.The defence is ruled out, because under the 2009 Act the loss of self-control must still be sudden and temporary, as it was under the old law of provocation
  3. C.The defence is ruled out, because more than a few minutes passed between the last threat and the killing, giving her time to cool off
  4. D.The defence succeeds once a qualifying trigger such as fear of serious violence is shown, whatever the jury thinks a person of her age and sex might have done
Show the answer

Answer: A. The defence is not ruled out just because the loss of control was not sudden, but it is unavailable if she acted in a considered desire for revenge

Section 54(2) Coroners and Justice Act 2009 says it does not matter whether the loss of control was sudden, which departs from the old provocation requirement of a 'sudden and temporary' loss. Section 54(4) excludes the defence where the defendant acted in a considered desire for revenge. A qualifying trigger such as fear of serious violence (s.55(3)) is needed, and the jury must also consider whether a person of her sex and age, with a normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint and in her circumstances, might have reacted in the same or a similar way.

Source: Coroners and Justice Act 2009 ss.54 and 55

Part 3: Property offences

Theft and the offences built on it (robbery, burglary, aggravated burglary, handling), blackmail, fraud, proceeds of crime and criminal damage.

Handbook syllabus sections: 3.1 Theft and related offences; 3.2 Robbery; 3.3 Blackmail; 3.4 Burglary; 3.5 Aggravated burglary; 3.6 Handling stolen goods; 3.7 Fraud; 3.8 Proceeds of crime; 3.9 Criminal damage. 11 of the 70 scored questions in September 2026.

Part 3 · Theft Question 9

Under the Theft Act 1968, which of these is NOT one of the five elements the prosecution must prove for theft?

  1. A.Appropriation, meaning any assumption of the rights of an owner
  2. B.Property belonging to another, including anyone in possession or control
  3. C.Dishonesty, judged by the Ivey v Genting test (R v Barton and Booth)
  4. D.That the property taken was of significant financial value to its owner
Show the answer

Answer: D. That the property taken was of significant financial value to its owner

Theft requires: appropriation, of property, belonging to another, dishonestly, with intention to permanently deprive. There is no minimum value threshold — theft of a low-value item is still theft in law, even where it affects charging decisions in practice.

Source: s.1 Theft Act 1968

Part 3 · Theft: dishonestly Question 10

A defendant genuinely but mistakenly believes they have the owner's consent to take property. What is the effect on a theft charge?

  1. A.It is irrelevant, because theft is a strict liability offence once property is taken without consent
  2. B.It only provides a defence if the belief was objectively reasonable, judged by a reasonable person's standards
  3. C.It reduces the charge to taking without consent or criminal damage, as theft requires a known lack of consent
  4. D.A genuine belief in consent, even if unreasonable, means the appropriation is not dishonest, so theft fails
Show the answer

Answer: D. A genuine belief in consent, even if unreasonable, means the appropriation is not dishonest, so theft fails

Section 2(1)(b) Theft Act 1968 provides that a person is not dishonest if they believe they'd have the other person's consent if the owner knew of the appropriation and the circumstances — this is a genuinely subjective test, so an honestly held but mistaken belief still defeats dishonesty.

Source: s.2(1)(b) Theft Act 1968

Part 4: Sexual offences

The Sexual Offences Act 2003: consent and the presumptions, rape and assault offences, offences against children and people with a mental disorder, preparatory offences, prostitution and the other sexual offences in the syllabus.

Handbook syllabus sections: 4.1 Sexual offences; 4.2 Rape; 4.3 Sexual assault; 4.4 Sexual offences against children; 4.5 Sexual offences against people with a mental disorder; 4.6 Preparatory offences; 4.7 Offences relating to prostitution; 4.8 Other sexual offences. 10 of the 70 scored questions in September 2026.

Part 4 · Sexual Offences Act 2003: rape and reasonable belief in consent Question 11

On a charge of rape under s.1 Sexual Offences Act 2003, how does the court decide whether the defendant's belief that the complainant consented was reasonable?

  1. A.If the defendant honestly held the belief, it does not matter whether it was reasonable, as decided in DPP v Morgan
  2. B.By asking what a reasonable sober adult would have believed, ignoring any steps the defendant took to find out beforehand
  3. C.Having regard to all the circumstances, including any steps the defendant took to find out whether the complainant consented
  4. D.The belief can only be reasonable if the complainant expressly said yes, in words, before the sexual activity began
Show the answer

Answer: C. Having regard to all the circumstances, including any steps the defendant took to find out whether the complainant consented

Section 1(2) provides that whether a belief is reasonable is to be determined having regard to all the circumstances, including any steps A has taken to ascertain whether B consents. The purely subjective honest-belief test was the old common law position and was replaced by this test in 2003. There is no rule that consent must be spoken, so a belief can be reasonable without an express 'yes'.

Source: Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.1(2)

Part 4 · Sexual Offences Act 2003: consent (capacity) Question 12

A complainant drank a large amount of alcohol by choice at a party and remained conscious throughout. She says she was too drunk to know what was happening when the suspect had sex with her. Which statement correctly describes how consent will be approached?

  1. A.No s.75 presumption arises as she drank voluntarily; the issue is capacity to choose under s.74, which can be lost before unconsciousness
  2. B.The evidential presumption in s.75(2)(f) applies, because she was intoxicated by a substance at the time the sexual activity took place
  3. C.As a matter of law, a person who is drunk cannot give valid consent, so any sexual activity with her was automatically without consent
  4. D.Because she remained conscious throughout, any agreement she gave must be treated as valid consent under s.74, however drunk she was
Show the answer

Answer: A. No s.75 presumption arises as she drank voluntarily; the issue is capacity to choose under s.74, which can be lost before unconsciousness

Section 75(2)(f) applies only where a substance was administered to, or caused to be taken by, the complainant without her consent, so voluntary drinking does not trigger it. Consent is then decided under s.74: a person consents if she agrees by choice and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice. The Court of Appeal in R v Bree [2007] EWCA Crim 804 confirmed that a drunken consent is still consent, but that capacity may evaporate well before unconsciousness, so both extreme options are wrong.

Source: Sexual Offences Act 2003 ss.74 and 75(2)(f); R v Bree [2007] EWCA Crim 804

Why you will never see real NIE questions here

The College of Policing's NIE candidate handbook 2026 is plain about it (pages 20 to 23). The questions are the College's intellectual property and it reuses them. Because candidates sit the exam at different times in the same 12-hour window, it treats sharing exam content as giving others an unfair advantage. The handbook lists these as rule breaches:

  • copying a question, or any part of one, for yourself or anyone else;
  • sharing questions or any part of a question, including topic areas, in any format;
  • putting a question, or any part of one, into an AI application or a search tool;
  • discussing questions or topic areas from the exam with anyone, including on social media;
  • taking a screenshot of a question for any reason.

The consequences it sets out are removal of the result, a ban from the exam for two years or more, and referral to the force's professional standards unit and chief constable. That is why we never publish "questions that came up", candidate recollections or topic lists attributed to a sitting, and why you should avoid anyone who does.

What we do publish

The College itself publishes a subject area breakdown after each sitting, at the level of parts, skills and subjects. We cite its part-level counts, because it is the College's own publication. Everything else here is written from the law.

What the real paper is like

The handbook describes a single paper of 80 multiple-choice questions lasting 2 hours (page 14), taken online at any time in the 8am to 8pm window on the exam day and completed in one sitting. There is no national requirement to take it at a test centre or under supervision (page 19). The questions are written by trained question writers who have done the College's multiple-choice question writing course, linked to the syllabus, and quality assured by the College's legal services team and independent legal experts (pages 15 to 16).

At marking, the 10 questions that performed least well are removed, so everyone is scored on 70 (page 16). The pass mark is 55.7%, which is 39 of 70, and 85.7% or more earns an exceptional grade (page 26). The handbook describes the exam's purpose as identifying candidates with enough knowledge, understanding and application of the law and procedure (page 5), which is why good practice questions put the law into a short scenario rather than asking for a definition.

At the September 2026 sitting, 63.3% of 1,050 candidates passed. See the pass mark explained and how hard the NIE is.

How the paper splits by part

The College's subject area breakdown for September 2026 lists the subject of each of the 70 scored questions. Counted by part:

Scored questions by part, September 2026
PartScored questionsShare
Part 1: Powers and procedures 30 43%
Part 2: Serious crime 19 27%
Part 3: Property offences 11 16%
Part 4: Sexual offences 10 14%

One sitting's split is not a promise about the next, but Part 1 is the biggest part of the syllabus and a sensible place to put most of your practice. Our free revision timetable splits your hours the same way.

The College's own practice questions

The handbook says all candidates are invited to join the Candidate Online Examination Guidance group on the Knowledge Hub, which holds support documents including practice questions, exam tips, study timetables and a revision technique guide (page 17). It needs a login: your force's NIE liaison contact can point you to it. Use those alongside any third-party questions.

The handbook also says the Blackstone's Police Investigators' Q&A and Mock Examination Paper are developed outside the College and cannot be presumed to represent the style or difficulty of real questions (page 14). Treat every outside question bank that way, including ours: good for testing your knowledge of the Manual, not a preview of the paper.

If you want a bigger bank than this free set, our NIE Exam Prep Toolkit has the full bank and timed 80-question mocks split by part (£49.99, one payment for 6 months). It is our own paid product, not endorsed by the College, and it does not promise a pass. Our comparison of NIE revision resources sets it beside the alternatives.

Where marks go on practice questions

Common ways to lose marks
TrapWhat to do
Reading the question you expected The stem says who is acting, when and with what authority. A rank, a time limit or a single word such as 'must' or 'may' usually decides the answer.
Picking a true statement that does not answer Distractors are often correct law about a different power or offence. Ask whether the option answers this question, not whether it is true.
Mixing up who authorises what Many powers turn on the rank or role that authorises them. Learn the authorising officer alongside each power.
Losing track of time limits Detention clocks, reviews, notice periods and retention periods are easy marks lost. Write them on one sheet and test yourself on it.
Missing the mental element Many offences turn on intent, recklessness, knowledge or belief. Name the mens rea before you choose.
Guessing right and moving on A lucky guess is a future wrong answer. Treat guessed questions as missed and look them up.

Practice checklist

  • Answer each question before opening the answer, and say why the other options are wrong.
  • Look up the source for every question you missed or guessed, in the Manual first.
  • Keep a missed-question list with the point and where it sits in the Manual.
  • Revisit the list a few days later without looking at the answers.
  • Practise Part 1 most: it carried 30 of 70 scored questions in the latest published breakdown.
  • In the last weeks, mix the parts and time yourself at 90 seconds a question.
  • Sit at least one full 80-question paper in 2 hours under exam conditions.
  • Never share or discuss real exam questions or topic areas after you sit, online or off.

Not verified

  • How many answer options each real NIE question has, and whether the exam platform lets you flag and return to questions. The handbook does not say, so our four-option format and the flag button in our mini mock are our own design.
  • How the split by part will look at the next sitting. We only cite the College's latest published breakdown.
  • What the 2027 Manual changes. The 2027 edition was not published when we checked on 11 October 2026, and the 2026 edition is the syllabus for every 2026 sitting.
  • The current content of the College's Knowledge Hub group. It needs a login and we have not reviewed it.
Quick answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these real NIE questions?

No. They are original questions we wrote from legislation, the PACE Codes of Practice and case law, not real questions, not questions recalled by candidates, and not paraphrased from Blackstone's. Real NIE questions are the College of Policing's intellectual property, and its candidate handbook forbids copying, sharing or discussing them.

Can I get real NIE past papers?

No. The College does not publish past papers and reuses questions, which is why the handbook treats sharing any part of a question, including the topic areas of a sitting, as a rule breach. Anything offered as real or leaked NIE questions should be avoided: sharing exam content can lead to removal of a result, a ban of two years or more and referral to professional standards.

Is there an official source of NIE practice questions?

Yes. The College's candidate handbook says practice questions are available in the Candidate Online Examination Guidance group on the Knowledge Hub, along with exam tips, study timetables and a revision technique guide. You need a Knowledge Hub login; ask your force's NIE liaison contact.

Are Blackstone's Q&A and mock papers like the real exam?

The handbook says the Blackstone's Police Investigators' Q&A and Mock Examination Paper are developed outside the College and cannot be presumed to be representative of the style or difficulty of NIE questions. The same caution applies to any third-party questions, including ours.

How many questions are in the real NIE and what is the pass mark?

80 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours. Ten are removed at marking, so you are scored on 70. The pass mark is 55.7% (39 of 70), and 85.7% or more earns an exceptional grade.

Which part of the Manual should I practise most?

Part 1. In the College's subject area breakdown for September 2026, 30 of the 70 scored questions came from Part 1, 19 from Part 2, 11 from Part 3 and 10 from Part 4. Parts 5 and 6 of the Manual are not examined.

How should I use practice questions?

Answer before you look, then check the source for every question you get wrong, even the ones you guessed right. Keep a list of missed points and come back to them a few days later. Early on, practise part by part; in the last weeks, mix the parts and time yourself at 90 seconds a question.

Can I use ChatGPT or other AI to revise?

Using AI to revise the law is your choice, but check everything against the Manual, because AI tools can be confidently wrong. What the handbook forbids is using AI during the exam, which it treats as cheating, and putting any part of a real exam question into an AI tool.

Is there a timed version of these questions?

Yes: the free NIE mini mock is 20 questions drawn from the same free set of 24 that these come from, timed at the real pace and split by part, with a result PDF. It is one free attempt per browser, so expect some of these questions in it.

Why do some answers cite a section or Code paragraph?

So you can check it. Every question has a source: the Act and section, the PACE Code paragraph or the case. If anything here ever disagrees with the Manual edition for your sitting, the Manual wins, because the exam is set only on its contents.

How often are the free questions updated?

We check the bank against the law and add questions as the bank grows. The free set is a fixed slice of the bank, so it changes only when we review it. The date at the top shows when the sources were last checked.

I found a mistake. What should I do?

Tell us through the contact page with the question text and the source you are relying on. We check it against the legislation and fix it if we are wrong.

Evidence

Sources and how we checked them

Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 11 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, NIE candidate handbook 2026 (November 2025) — Exam structure (p.14), question writing and quality assurance (pp.15 to 16), 10 questions removed (p.16), pass mark (p.26), practice questions on the Knowledge Hub (pp.14 and 17), Blackstone's Q&A and mock not representative (p.14), testing environment (p.19), confidentiality, AI and disclosure of questions (pp.20 to 23), syllabus sections (Appendix A). (accessed 11 October 2026)
  2. College of Policing, NIE subject area breakdown, September 2026 — Scored questions by part: 30, 19, 11 and 10. Filed under a June 2026 address; the document says September 2026. (accessed 11 October 2026)
  3. College of Policing, NIE results and analysis overview, September 2026 — 1,050 candidates, 63.3% successful. (accessed 11 October 2026)
  4. College of Policing, National Investigators' Exam page — Official exam information and updates. (accessed 11 October 2026)
  5. legislation.gov.uk (latest revised versions) — Statutory sources cited in the question explanations. (accessed 11 October 2026)
  6. Home Office, PACE Codes of Practice — Code paragraphs cited in the question explanations. (accessed 11 October 2026)
National Investigators' Exam

More in this guide series

Hub NIE hub Dates, pass mark, pass rates, syllabus, practice and tools for the National Investigators' Exam. Dates NIE dates Every 2026 sitting, registration windows, results days and what we know about 2027. Exam Pass mark Why 80 questions become 70, the 39 mark, the exceptional grade and what a marginal fail means. Data Pass rates Every published sitting from the College's results overviews, with the caution on comparing forces. Study Syllabus What each part covers, what is not examined, and how the College's own subject breakdown splits the paper. Study How to pass Manual first, questions second, spaced review and full timed sittings, with the arithmetic of 39 out of 70. Plan Revision plan Week-by-week plans weighted to the four parts, including a last-five-weeks plan for 17 November 2026. Exam How hard is it Pass rates, the volume of law, application-style questions and who finds it hardest. After the exam Results day Results dates, the feedback report, what happens next for PIP2 and how long a pass lasts. After the exam If you fail Resit rules, the development meeting after a second fail, and what it means on DHEP and other routes. Exam day Exam day rules The 8am to 8pm window, equipment, what is banned (including AI) and what to do if something goes wrong. Topic PACE codes Search, detention, identification and recorded interviews: the points investigators are tested on. Topic Disclosure, RIPA, CHIS The CPIA regime and Code of Practice, directed surveillance and covert human intelligence sources. Topic Part 1 Mens rea, actus reus, court procedure, bail and powers: the largest part of the paper. Topic Part 2 Homicide, drugs, firearms, terrorism, assaults, harassment, domestic abuse and child protection. Topic Part 3 Theft, robbery, burglary, handling, fraud, criminal damage and proceeds of crime. Topic Part 4 Consent, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 offences and child sex offences, with worked questions. Study Resources compared Blackstone's books, question banks, courses and apps side by side, with dated prices. Study Which Manual edition The 2026 and 2027 editions, which sitting each covers, and the Workbook and Q&A. Routes Direct entry detectives When you sit it on each route, how the training fits around it, and what a fail means.
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Practice and tools

Toolkit NIE toolkit Hundreds of checked practice questions, timed 80-question mocks weighted like the real paper, and progress by part. Free tool Free mini mock A free scored mini mock across all four parts, with a result report. Free tool Revision timetable A free week-by-week timetable to your sitting, weighted to the four parts. Practice Practice questions Free original questions with explanations.

Disclaimer

PolicePay.co.uk is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or produced by the College of Policing or Oxford University Press (Blackstone's). Exam rules, dates, the syllabus and prices change, so check the College of Policing's current NIE candidate handbook and exam page before you register or buy. Practice material on this site is original and is not real or recalled exam content. Details apply to England and Wales unless stated. Details are as checked on 11 October 2026.