Police National Sift Practice: the SJT and Behavioural Styles Questionnaire
Practice for the College of Policing national sift, the first assessment after your application for every police constable role in England and Wales. The situational judgement test on the College’s own five-point scale, and the behavioural styles questionnaire with its ranking screens.
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Is this the right police test?
Yes, this page is for you
You applied to a force in England or Wales as a police constable on any route (the degree apprenticeship, the degree holder entry programme, the entry programme or after a policing degree), as a direct entry detective constable, as a special constable, or as a PCSO at a force that uses the sift, and your invitation says national sift, SJT or BSQ.
No, you applied in Scotland
Police Scotland runs its own Standard Entrance Test, and the March 2026 regulation change applies to England and Wales only. See Police Scotland practice instead.
No, you have passed the sift
The next stage is the online assessment process: a recorded interview, a written exercise and a briefing exercise, marked by trained assessors. We describe it below but do not simulate it, because it cannot be scored automatically.
The two exercises in the sift
Situational judgement test
Each scenario describes something a police constable could face, with four possible actions. You rate every action on its own, as your first response, using only what the scenario tells you. Several actions can share a rating and you do not have to use the whole scale. The scale and its definitions are the College’s:
- Counterproductive
- An inappropriate action that will have a negative impact or make the situation worse.
- Ineffective
- A poor action which will not help to resolve the situation.
- Slightly effective
- An action that will have a small positive impact on the situation.
- Effective
- A reasonable action that will help to resolve the situation.
- Very effective
- One of the best actions that could be taken to resolve the situation.
Three of the five points mean the action helps. The commonest mistake is treating Slightly effective as a neutral middle, which it is not.
Behavioural styles questionnaire
Statements about how you typically behave at work, each rated from 1 Completely disagree to 7 Completely agree. Depending on your answers, you may also be asked to rank three statements: the one most like you, then the more like you of the two left, on a second screen.
It covers nine areas of the College’s 2024 competency and values framework: the six competencies (we analyse critically, we are innovative and open-minded, we take ownership, we are emotionally aware, we collaborate, we support and inspire) plus the values of courage, respect and empathy, and public service.
It counts towards your result, but the College does not publish how it is scored, so our version gives you a profile and a read on how you used the scale rather than a mark. The College’s own advice is that the key is honesty.
How the sift is scored, and what we are not certain about
One combined score, ranked against other applicants. The SJT and the questionnaire are scored automatically and combined, and the total is compared with a group of applicants to policing roles as a percentile. You are told whether you met the national standard and you get a feedback report with your score. In 2022 the College said the standard is the 30th percentile of the combined score, and that about 81% of candidates to that date had met it. It has not published a newer figure, so treat the line as the last one published rather than a promise.
Untimed, with a seven-day window. Neither exercise has a clock and extra time is not offered as an adjustment, because there is nothing to extend. You can pause and return within the window. The platform opens with a practice area you can use once or skip; our games go straight to scored items, as every CogniPrep game does.
The College no longer publishes item counts. Its guidance to October 2024 said 15 SJT scenarios in about 30 minutes and 80 questionnaire statements in about 20. The 2026 guidance gives no counts and allows about 45 minutes for the SJT, so the real SJT may now be longer. We run 15 scenarios and 80 statements, the last published numbers, from banks large enough that a replay is a genuinely different sitting.
Two of our choices are models, and we label them. The College does not publish how a rating is marked against its key, so our SJT gives full credit for an exact match and half for one point away. Nor does it publish what triggers the ranking screens, so ours appear when you rate several different areas at the top of the scale within a block of ten statements. Both are stated in the games’ instructions.
It runs on Talogy’s platform, and it is not a Talogy product. The College renewed its contract with Talogy, formerly Cubiks, from January 2026, so your link or support email may carry either name. The content is written for the College against its framework and validated on police officers, which is why it has its own practice here. The Cubiks situational judgement test uses a different scale with a neutral midpoint and is not the police SJT.
Much of the preparation material online is years out of date. The SEARCH assessment centre, with its numerical and verbal reasoning tests, was replaced in May 2020. The 12-question SJT that used to sit inside the online assessment process had gone by 2024. The 2016 values of integrity, impartiality and transparency were replaced by the 2024 framework, which forces had to adopt by May 2025. If a practice pack mentions any of these as current, it is describing a process you will not sit.
Where the sift sits in the process
Stage 1
Application form
The national application form, with eligibility and basic security checks.
Stage 2
National sift
The SJT and the questionnaire, online and automatically scored. What the two games on this page practise.
Stage 3
Online assessment process
Three exercises on the Tazio platform, marked by trained assessors: a recorded interview of five questions (60 seconds to think, five minutes to answer), a written exercise from four items of information (120-minute limit, about 40 expected), and a briefing exercise of twelve spoken answers in three parts. Webcam required. Not simulated here.
Stage 4
Force interview
A face-to-face interview run by the force, required since March 2026, followed by fitness, medical and vetting checks. Some forces add their own stages, and the College mentions extra approved assessments for some detective entry routes without describing them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the police national sift?
Two online exercises, a situational judgement test and a behavioural styles questionnaire, sat after your application and before the online assessment process. Both are scored automatically and combined into one percentile against other applicants to policing roles. Since the College announced a change to the Police Regulations on 17 March 2026, every force in England and Wales has to use it for police constable recruitment.
How many questions are there and how long does it take?
Both exercises are untimed. The College published 15 SJT scenarios and 80 questionnaire statements up to 2024. Its 2026 candidate guidance gives no counts and allows about 45 minutes for the SJT and 20 for the questionnaire, while its reasonable adjustments guide says about 20 and 30. You have seven days to complete both, and you can pause and come back.
What is the pass mark for the national sift?
There is no fixed number of correct answers. In a 2022 freedom of information response the College said the national standard is set at the 30th percentile of the combined SJT and questionnaire score, compared with other applicants. You are told whether you met the standard, and you receive a feedback report with your score.
Does the behavioural styles questionnaire count?
Yes. Its score is combined with the SJT, and there is no separate published pass mark for either exercise: the line is on the combined score. The College does not publish how the questionnaire is scored, and its own advice is that the key is honesty.
What is the SJT rating scale?
Five points, each with a published definition: Counterproductive, Ineffective, Slightly effective, Effective and Very effective. Three of the five mean an action helps. You rate every action on its own, several actions can share a rating, and the definitions stay on screen throughout.
If I fail the national sift, when can I resit?
From three months after the date you completed it, at most twice in 12 months, and you retake both exercises. You cannot appeal on the basis of an unsuccessful result alone.
Do I need to know the law or police procedure?
No. The College says no policing knowledge is needed. The SJT scenarios are keyed to the six competencies of its competency and values framework, so learning the framework helps and learning law does not.
Can I take the national sift on my phone?
Yes. The College says both exercises can be completed on a laptop, desktop, tablet or mobile device. The online assessment process that comes next recommends a laptop, desktop or tablet, especially for the written exercise.
Is there a numerical or verbal reasoning test?
Not in the national process. Numerical and verbal tests belonged to the SEARCH assessment centre, which the online assessment process replaced in May 2020. Practice material that still sells them for police recruitment in England and Wales is out of date.
Is this the same test as Police Scotland?
No. The national sift and the March 2026 regulation apply to England and Wales. Police Scotland runs its own Standard Entrance Test, which is a different assessment.
Companies That Use the Police National Sift
Since the regulation change the College of Policing announced on 17 March 2026, every police force in England and Wales has to put police constable applicants through the national sift. The forces below say so on their own recruitment pages, which is the evidence listed here. Several use it for special constables and police community support officers as well.
Metropolitan Police
PolicingNames the national sift, a situational judgement test and a behavioural styles questionnaire, for police constables on every entry route and for direct entry detective constables.
West Yorkshire Police
PolicingNational sift, then the online assessment process, then an in-force interview, on a recruitment page last reviewed in July 2026.
Thames Valley Police
PolicingStage one of its police officer process is the national sift: the situational judgement test and the behavioural styles questionnaire.
Surrey Police
PolicingStage two of its degree apprenticeship route is the national sift, the behavioural styles questionnaire and the situational judgement test.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
PolicingPolice officer candidates complete the national sift followed by the online assessment process.
Kent Police
PolicingPublishes the College’s national sift candidate guidance with its special constable recruitment material.
Hertfordshire Constabulary
PolicingShortlists police community support officers with the national sift, a situational judgement test and a behavioural styles questionnaire.
Cumbria Constabulary
PolicingStage two of its police community support officer recruitment is the national sift.
Force pages are often undated, and each force adds its own stages after the sift, such as the Metropolitan Police’s values interview. Check the recruitment page of the force you applied to for its full process.
Guides and Tips
Read up before you practise: what the tests reward, what catches candidates out, and why shortcuts do not work.
Can You Cheat the Police National Sift?
Agreeing with every good quality can trigger screens that make you choose between them. Why the police sift has nothing to copy.
The Police National Sift: How the SJT and Behavioural Styles Questionnaire Work
Every police constable applicant in England and Wales now sits the same two-part sift. What the rating scales really mean, why the questionnaire counts, and where most preparation material is years out of date.
Police, Fire and Emergency Services Assessments: What They Test That Employers Do Not
A corporate assessment predicts performance. A police or fire service also screens for public risk, which is why judgement comes first, physical tests are pass or fail, and disclosure is itself an assessed task.
Practice by Test Type
Compare the same format across every provider that uses it, and see what each one is really measuring.
Situational Judgement Test Practice
Realistic workplace scenarios scored against an employer competency framework. No maths, no time pressure, and a scoring key you can reason about.
Personality Test Practice for Job Applications
No right answers, which is exactly why they unsettle people. Learn the traits, the consistency checks and the formats before you sit one for real.
About CogniPrep National Sift Practice
CogniPrep provides simulations of the two automatically scored exercises in the College of Policing national sift, the stage-two assessment for police constable recruitment in England and Wales and the national standard for special constable recruitment. The College of Policing is the professional body for policing in England and Wales; it sets the national assessment standard, and the sift is delivered on Talogy’s platform under a contract renewed from January 2026. The situational judgement test rates four actions per scenario on a five-point effectiveness scale keyed to the six competencies of the 2024 competency and values framework at practitioner level. The behavioural styles questionnaire rates statements on a seven-point agreement scale across nine framework areas, with triggered ranking screens. The two are combined into one percentile against other policing applicants.
- 2 practice tests: National Sift Situational Judgement (15 scenarios) and the Behavioural Styles Questionnaire (80 statements)
- SJT scale: Counterproductive, Ineffective, Slightly effective, Effective, Very effective, with the College’s definitions on screen
- Questionnaire scale: 1 Completely disagree to 7 Completely agree, plus ranking screens of three statements, then two
- Both untimed. Seven-day completion window. Resit from three months, at most twice in 12 months, both exercises retaken
- National standard published in 2022: the 30th percentile of the combined score
- Mandatory for police constable recruitment in every force in England and Wales since March 2026. Not used by Police Scotland
Ready to Start Practising?
Sign up for free to try the behavioural styles questionnaire, or unlock both national sift practice tests with unlimited sessions and feedback in the College’s own terms.