Prison Officer Psychometric Tests
The Prison Officer Selection Process (POST) has been designed to determine whether you are the right candidate to be a Prison Officer.
The initial stages of becoming a Prison Officer require you to complete an online application form. You will be expected to answer questions that determine whether you are eligible to become a Prison Officer.
Once you have been accepted through to the next stage, you will receive an invite to complete the first stage of the POST. This will consist of 2-3 online tests and in the event you have successfully completed them, you will be invited along to the prison officer assessment day (otherwise known as RAD).
At the assessment day, you will be faced with two tests; a prison officer maths test and a situational judgement test. We have provided some more detail about each of these tests below:
Prison Officer Maths Tests
The prison maths test is based on prison-like scenarios. You will be allocated 40 minutes to complete 50 questions that you may require a calculator to complete. The test will typically be taken online, but you may be asked to complete it via pen and paper at an assessment day. Take a look at our practice Prison Officer Maths Test to familiarise yourself with the format of this test so you can be prepared on the day!
Prison Officer Situational Judgement Test
The Situational Judgement Test used for Prison Officer roles will present you with video scenarios of the types of situations that you can expect to face as a Prison Officer. You will be given a total of four different situations and each of these will have eight related questions for you to answer. Your answers are multiple choice and you will be given six options to choose from. You will be expected to choose two; the most appropriate course of action and the least appropriate. You will be allocated just three minutes to answer all of the questions per each scenario.
The types of scenarios you will face will require you to think about making a decision that is empathetic to prisoners, but enforces the rules and regulations of the prison. You are expected to protect prisoners, ensuring they receive support and care whilst ensuring they are respectful of your authority and that you are instilling discipline. With this in mind, the situational judgement test can be challenging, and so we recommend practicing our generic SJT’s so that you get used to the format and decision-making skills required in order to be successful.
