Police Hiring: Situational Judgment Tests - Integrity and Professionalism

When you are applying for a job in law enforcement, you will be faced with Situational Judgment questions, either on the written exam or during the interview. The questions will ask you to view a scenario and then rate certain responses from very ineffective to very effective over a 5 or 7-point scale. It is not easy for the unprepared test taker to choose the correct answer from 5 to 7 choices.

There are seven measures of ATTITUDE that are critical to master in order to do well on these Situational Judgment Tests.

1. Decision Making Skills

2. Communications Skills

3. Use of Power and Authority

4. Integrity and Professionalism

5. Sensitivity to the Team

6. Openness & Flexibility

7. Service Orientation

These inclinations are easy to list, but sometimes difficult to put into practice. In this article, I will discuss Integrity and Professionalism.

What is Integrity and Professionalism?

The definition of Integrity is, “Integrity is a person's commitment to honesty, ethics, and doing the right thing, even when faced with challenges or temptations.”

As an applicant to becoming a police officer, you hear the phrase Integrity and Professionalism frequently used to describe desirable traits. But it’s not always easy to put these into action. An easy way for you to think about Integrity and Professionalism, is to ask yourself, “Will my Acton Make the Agency Proud?”

Here are some examples that display high Integrity and Professionalism.

• You are having lunch at a cafe and a citizen comes over and praises the work you do in law enforcement and offers to pay for your lunch. Taking favors from citizens is never a good idea as you don’t want to put yourself into some future compromising situation. High professionalism means turning this offer down.

• You are tasked by your supervisor with clearing an area of protesters. Ordering the folks to leave may be effective but does not give your agency the good look it deserves. Offering some guidance as to alternatives for the citizens in question is a good display of professionalism.

• You are giving a ticket to a driver who violated a recently installed crosswalk light. The driver lives in the neighborhood and does not understand why the new signal was installed. A professional response will offer some background and explanation to the citizen indicating that the city is working hard to make everyone safer.

• Your agency allows officers to keep their patrol cars over the weekend. But the rule is that the car cannot be used for personal trips. Since no one will know, you decide to take the car to the grocery store, perhaps to save fuel in your private auto. This would be an example of “lack of integrity.”

Learn How to Ace the Situational Judgment Test

Sgt. Godoy’s Test Prep Course for Situational Judgment Tests

Notice that evaluating a response using only one criteria, like Communications Skill, is not enough to answer Situational Judgment questions with 5 to 7 choices.

Most of my Police Test Prep courses include a video tutorial on how to ace the Situational Judgment Test. Alternatively, you can purchase this lesson on an à la carte basis by clicking on this image.

Police Hiring: Situational Judgment Tests - Communications Skills

When you are applying for a job in law enforcement, you will be faced with Situational Judgment questions, either on the written exam or during the interview. The questions will ask you to view a scenario and then rate certain responses from very ineffective to very effective over a 5 or 7-point scale. It is not easy for the unprepared test taker to choose the correct answer from 5 to 7 choices.

There are seven measures of ATTITUDE that are critical to master in order to do well on these Situational Judgment Tests.

1. Decision Making Skills

2. Communications Skills

3. Use of Power and Authority

4. Integrity and Professionalism

5. Sensitivity to the Team

6. Openness & Flexibility

7. Service Orientation

These inclinations are easy to list, but sometimes difficult to put into practice. In this article, I will discuss Communications Skills.

Communicating with the Public

During your law enforcement testing and interviews, you will run into many questions about what good communications look like. Your first inclination will be to think about how and what should be communicated with the public that you are serving … or controlling. Indeed, it is very important that you be able to communicate clearly with the public, but there are other aspects you need to consider.

There are many ways to give an order to a citizen. “Get back!” is the simplest form. “Get back. We need room for the traffic,” is a more helpful form of the same command that adds the element of education. “Get back. We need to clear this area due to a security concern. Protesters may continue their gathering on the next block south.” This command not only includes the element of educating the citizen but offers an alternative. Offering alternatives, in general, is an effective method to ease tension. This is what good communication with the public looks like.

Communicating with Your Team Members

But communications also impact your relationships with your supervisors and teammates. Asking for help is one example. There are circumstances where you really do need help. Examples:

You are seriously sick. Do your teammates know this? Does your supervisor know this? It’s your job to make sure he or she does because dispatching you to a dangerous situation may endanger not only you but other team members as well.

• Failing to call for backups because you think you can handle a dangerous situation by yourself would be another example of a communications blunder.

• Even when you are willing to volunteer for an urgent task your supervisor needs done, if you are exhausted from days of excessive overtime, have the personal confidence to share that fact with your boss so that he or she can make better decisions.

Situational Judgment Testing will assess your communication skills and instincts in both external and internal scenarios. 

Learn How to Ace the Situational Judgment Test

Sgt. Godoy’s Test Prep Course for Situational Judgment Tests

Notice that evaluating a response using only one criteria, like Communications Skill, is not enough to answer Situational Judgment questions with 5 to 7 choices.

Most of my Police Test Prep courses include a video tutorial on how to ace the Situational Judgment Test. Alternatively, you can purchase this lesson on an à la carte basis by clicking on this image.

Police Hiring: Situational Judgment Tests - Decision Making Skills

When you are applying for a job in law enforcement, you will be faced with Situational Judgment questions, either on the written exam or during the interview. The questions will ask you to view a scenario and then rate certain responses from very ineffective to very effective over a 5 or 7-point scale. It is not easy for the unprepared test taker to choose the correct answer from 5 to 7 choices.

There are seven measures of ATTITUDE that are critical to master in order to do well on these Situational Judgment Tests.

1. Decision Making Skills

2. Communications Skills

3. Use of Power and Authority

4. Integrity and Professionalism

5. Sensitivity to the Team

6. Openness & Flexibility

7. Service Orientation

These inclinations are easy to list, but sometimes difficult to put into practice. In this article, I will discuss examples of good and bad Decision Making Skills.

Decision Making and Action - Examples

How do you react to situations? Many people choose to ignore situations and do nothing. In law enforcement, that is seldom a good choice.

The first step in good decision making is acknowledgment. Let your supervisor, citizens on the street and your partners know that you are aware that action is needed.

In most of my courses, you are instructed to memorize the the hierarchy of responses needed by law enforcement officers. Here is that prioritized list:

1. Protection of human life, including yours.

2. Respect your chain of command.

3. Maintaining order.

4. Enforcing Laws.

5. Assisting People in Non-emergency Situations.

6. Maintaining Order in your Area of Responsibility.

7. Maintaining Good Public Relations.

Therefore, if your boss tells you to stand watch over a store, and you see someone being assaulted, you should have no hesitation to ignore your bosses order and help the victim. Less obvious examples include how you respond to potentially dangerous situations, as simple as a road sign that has fallen into the street. Do you move it or ignore it?

Other situations might include, “How do you respond to teamwork situations?” For example, a team member calls in sick and your boss needs assistance covering for their absence. What should you do? Simple communications is a form of taking action.

Another example you will run into on police exams may involve how do you respond to gentle suggestions from your supervisor that certain skills need to be improved, perhaps by taking night classes? What should you do? To ignore such input would be unwise.

For all of these situations, you need to take some action.

Learn How to Ace the Situational Judgment Test

Sgt. Godoy’s Prep Course for Mastering Situational Judgment Tests

Notice that evaluating a response using only one criteria, like Decision Making, is not enough to answer Situational Judgment questions with 5 to 7 choices.

Most of my Police Test Prep courses include a video tutorial on how to ace the Situational Judgment Test. Alternatively, you can purchase this lesson on an à la carte basis by clicking on this image.

Police Hiring: Situational Judgment Tests - Use of Power and Authority

When you are applying for a job in law enforcement, you will be faced with Situational Judgment questions, either on the written exam or during the interview. The questions will ask you to view a scenario and then rate certain responses from very ineffective to very effective over a 5 or 7-point scale. It is not easy for the unprepared test taker to choose the correct answer from 5 to 7 choices.

There are seven measures of ATTITUDE that are critical to master in order to do well on these Situational Judgment Tests.

1. Decision Making Skills

2. Communications Skills

3. Use of Power and Authority

4. Integrity and Professionalism

5. Sensitivity to the Team

6. Openness & Flexibility

7. Service Orientation

These inclinations are easy to list, but difficult to teach. In this article, I will discuss the proper Use of Power and Authority.

Scenario: Protester Outside the White House

You are on duty during a protest around the White House.

• (Voice over radio): “This radio message is for all officers working perimeter patrol. You need to do something about the protester in your area. That area has now become restricted due to a security concern, and we need to clear the area of all people.”

• (Woman protestor): “Officer, I have a constitutional right to protest, and I won't leave until my voice is heard! This is a peaceful protest so you can't tell me what to do!”

Good Use of Power and Authority

Examples of appropriate responses ranked average to very effective:

• Tell her she must leave the restricted area immediately.

• Explain that this has just become a restricted area and tell her to leave.

• Tell her that in order to continue her peaceful protest, she will need to move it out of the area.

• Tell her, “I am sorry, but we take the security of the White House very seriously. A security concern has come up. You may continue your protest in a different area that I will show you.”

The responses above progressively improve as the officer offers some explanation (education) to the citizen. The best response provides alternatives to the citizen that help address her concerns and interests.

Bad Examples of Use of Power and Authority

Examples of poor responses ranked from bad to terrible:

• Warn her to stop raising her voice at you.

• Officer tells her to move immediately or he will arrest her.

• The officer pulls his or her gun out as yells at everyone to “get back?”

The problem with the first response is that in law enforcement, you cannot allow your personal feelings to interfere with good judgment. It is not against the law for her to yell at you or call you names.

The other responses are obvious overreactions to the situation. Such overreactions can move the routine problem towards dangerous outcomes.

How to Pass Situational Judgment Tests

Sgt. Godoy’s Prep Course for Mastering Situational Judgment Tests

Notice that evaluating a response using only one criteria, like Proper use of Power and Authority, is not enough to answer Situational Judgment questions with 5 to 7 choices.

Most of my Police Test Prep courses include a video tutorial on how to ace the Situational Judgment Test. Alternatively, you can purchase this lesson on an à la carte basis by clicking on this image.