Prison Officer Tests

Prison Officer Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are an engagement events assistant at a prison service. A community group running Thursday’s joint event needs the final numbers and the room layout from you by noon tomorrow, which you agreed with its organiser a fortnight ago. Yesterday you were also given the write-up of feedback forms from last month’s events, wanted by the end of the week. It became clear this morning that you cannot finish both by noon tomorrow, and the organiser does not know that yet. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Give the morning to the feedback write-up and the afternoon to the numbers and layout, then see tomorrow which of the two is nearer to being finished.
   2. Assume the community group will be relaxed about noon, say nothing to its organiser, and spend today and tomorrow morning on the feedback write-up, leaving the numbers and layout unfinished.
   3. Finish the numbers and the room layout for noon tomorrow, and tell the person who asked for the feedback write-up this morning that it will now come at the end of next week.
   4. Do the feedback write-up first because it was the most recent thing you were asked to do, and start the numbers and layout with whatever time is left tomorrow.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Finish the numbers and the room layout for noon tomorrow, and tell the person who asked for the feedback write-up this morning that it will now come at the end of next week.

   Least effective: B. Assume the community group will be relaxed about noon, say nothing to its organiser, and spend today and tomorrow morning on the feedback write-up, leaving the numbers and layout unfinished.

   A: Splits effort so nothing finishes: noon tomorrow is fixed and the feedback is not due until the end of the week, so dividing today between them risks missing the only date somebody outside is waiting on.

   B: Assumes goodwill instead of checking it: nobody has asked the organiser anything, she is expecting the layout at noon for an event two days later, and she finds out only when it fails to arrive.

   D: Ranks the work by who asked most recently: recency is not a reason, the feedback has four more days and the layout has until noon, so the two dates are never actually compared.

   The most effective response is finishing the numbers and the room layout for noon tomorrow and telling the person who asked for the feedback write-up that it will now come at the end of next week. One date is tomorrow with an outside group behind it and the other has the rest of the week, so the order is settled by the dates, and the person whose work slips hears it while they can still do something. It beats giving the morning to the feedback and the afternoon to the numbers, because the fixed noon deadline should not be spending half of today competing with work that is not due yet. It is also better than doing the feedback first because it was asked most recently, which orders the day by nothing at all. The least effective response is assuming the community group will be relaxed about noon: unlike alternating, which at least advances both, and unlike the recency order, which at least decides something, this rests the whole plan on goodwill nobody has tested, and the organiser learns of the slip only when noon passes. The principle: order work by the dates people are relying on, and tell whoever loses out while they still have room to move.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a course administration assistant at a prison service. You keep the sign in sheet for a five day course. At the end of day three the sheet shows 28 people signed in, but the course leader’s list has 30 names and your own room log has 30 people present. The stated rule is that the certificate list is built from the sign in sheet, and it is confirmed on Friday. Nobody else has noticed the gap. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Add the two missing names to the sheet yourself and mark day three as checked, since you saw both of them in the room and two either way makes no practical difference.
   2. Raise it with the course leader on Friday when the certificate list is confirmed, since the sheet may well be corrected by then and two names is not much to chase in the meantime.
   3. Write a note beside the sheet saying the count did not agree on day three, and leave it for whoever confirms the certificate list on Friday to look into.
   4. Compare the room log and the leader's list against the sheet today, then tell the course leader which two names are missing and how the gap arose, so the sheet is right before Friday.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Compare the room log and the leader's list against the sheet today, then tell the course leader which two names are missing and how the gap arose, so the sheet is right before Friday.

   Least effective: A. Add the two missing names to the sheet yourself and mark day three as checked, since you saw both of them in the room and two either way makes no practical difference.

   A: Writes into a record something you did not witness being signed: the sheet is the source the certificate list is built from, so an entry you made up is now the evidence that two people attended.

   B: Delays the check to the deadline itself: Friday is when the list is confirmed, so a discrepancy raised that morning has to be resolved under time pressure or waved through.

   C: Flags a problem without owning it: you are the person who holds the room log, so the one piece of evidence that would settle the gap sits with you and not with the reader of the note.

   The most effective response is comparing the room log and the leader’s list against the sheet today and telling the course leader which two names are missing and how the gap arose. Nobody has assigned this to you, you hold the evidence that explains it, and Friday is a fixed point after which the certificate list is built from whatever the sheet says. It beats raising it with the course leader on Friday itself, because a gap found on the day of confirmation gets resolved in a hurry or not at all. It beats writing a note beside the sheet for whoever confirms the list, because the room log that would settle the question is yours and the reader of the note does not have it. The least effective response is adding the two missing names yourself and marking day three as checked: that puts into the source record an entry nobody signed, so a certificate list built from it now rests on your recollection presented as somebody’s signature. It is worse than the Friday conversation and worse than the note because both of those leave the record honest and merely late, while this leaves it wrong and looking right. The principle: when a total you own does not reconcile, find out why while there is still time, and never close the gap by writing the answer in.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a trainee at a prison service. Each morning the group is supposed to check its own equipment against the issue list and initial the sheet, which takes twenty minutes. For the past fortnight one of the group has initialled the sheet for everybody at once, before anyone has checked anything, and nobody has said a word, because it buys the group twenty minutes. The stated rule is that you initial only for equipment you have checked yourself. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Agree with the person doing it to keep it between the group until somebody senior asks, since a fortnight has passed without trouble and raising it now would land everybody in it.
   2. Tell the person that from tomorrow you will initial only for equipment you have checked yourself, and raise the fortnight of unchecked sheets with the person running the course, since people rely on that equipment.
   3. Check your own equipment against the issue list each morning and initial only your own line on the sheet, and say nothing to anybody about the fortnight of sheets that were initialled before anybody had checked anything.
   4. Raise it with the person running the course as something the whole group has been doing for a fortnight, without saying anything first to the person who has been initialling the sheet for everybody before anybody has checked.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell the person that from tomorrow you will initial only for equipment you have checked yourself, and raise the fortnight of unchecked sheets with the person running the course, since people rely on that equipment.

   Least effective: A. Agree with the person doing it to keep it between the group until somebody senior asks, since a fortnight has passed without trouble and raising it now would land everybody in it.

   A: Joins an agreement to keep it quiet: a fortnight of sheets says the equipment was checked when it was not, and you are now one of the people keeping that from anybody who relies on it.

   C: Fixes your own conduct and leaves the sheet wrong: the fortnight of entries still says the equipment was checked, and the group carries on exactly as it was.

   D: Escalates without speaking to the person first: they have been doing it openly for a fortnight in the belief that nobody minds, and the first they hear of the objection is from above.

   The most effective response is telling the person that from tomorrow you will initial only for equipment you have checked yourself and raising it with the person running the course. The stated rule is that an initial means you checked it, a fortnight of sheets now says something untrue about the equipment, and both halves are needed: your own conduct from tomorrow, and somebody able to put the sheets right. It beats checking your own equipment and initialling only your own line while saying nothing about the fortnight, because the sheets already signed still assert checks that never happened. It beats raising it with the person running the course without speaking to the person doing it, because they have been doing it openly and deserve to hear the objection from you first. The least effective response is agreeing to keep it between the group until somebody senior asks: it makes you part of an arrangement to hold back something the people relying on that equipment need to know, and unlike the other two it makes the concealment deliberate and shared. It is worse than fixing only your own line, which at least stops adding to it, and worse than going over the person’s head, which at least gets it looked at. The principle: a shortcut that saves everybody time is still a false record, and an agreement to say nothing about it makes it yours as well.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a reception desk assistant at a prison service. A member of the public has come to the desk angry about a decision made by a team you have no part in, and that decision cannot be changed by anybody at the desk. He has already been telephoned twice about it and says nobody explains anything. The team that made the decision publishes a written appeal route, and the deadline for using it is a week today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him you will look into it yourself and come back to him, then send a message to the team that made the decision asking them to think again about it.
   2. Pass him over to the team that made the decision by giving him their number to ring, since they are the only people who can explain it and the desk cannot change anything.
   3. Apologise for the way he has been treated and promise to note his concerns on the file, then take his details so that somebody can telephone him about it a third time.
   4. Hear him out, say plainly that the desk cannot change the decision, and give him the written appeal route marked with the deadline a week today, since two calls have already failed him.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Hear him out, say plainly that the desk cannot change the decision, and give him the written appeal route marked with the deadline a week today, since two calls have already failed him.

   Least effective: B. Pass him over to the team that made the decision by giving him their number to ring, since they are the only people who can explain it and the desk cannot change anything.

   A: Over-promises: you cannot look into a decision you had no part in and cannot change, and the days he spends waiting for your answer come out of the appeal week.

   B: Passes the problem back to where it failed: he has rung twice without getting an explanation, so the same number is not an answer, and nobody has told him about the appeal deadline.

   C: Repeats what has already failed: a third telephone call is what left him without an explanation twice over, and the written appeal route with its deadline still goes unmentioned.

   The most effective response is to hear him out, tell him plainly that the desk cannot change the decision, and give him the written appeal route with the deadline of a week today marked on it: he has been telephoned twice without getting an explanation, the appeal is the one thing that can still change the outcome, and the deadline is close enough to matter. It is better than telling him you will look into it yourself and asking the team to think again, because you cannot look into a decision you had no part in and the waiting comes out of his appeal week. It is better than apologising, noting his concerns on the file and taking his details for a third telephone call, because calls are exactly what has already failed him. The least effective response is to pass him over to the team that made the decision by giving him their number to ring: he has rung twice, nobody explained anything, and sending him back to the same number is the desk deciding his problem belongs to somebody else. The principle: when you cannot change the outcome, give the person the honest position and the one route that can.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are an information handling assistant at a prison service. Over lunch a colleague tells you, asking you to keep it to yourself, that a letter about a member of the public went to the wrong address last week. Back at your desk you find that another team is due to post a second letter to that same address on Thursday. The stated rule is that a letter sent to a wrong address is reported the same day to the person who owns the record. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Assume the colleague has already reported it themselves, since the rule is well known, and leave Thursday's letter to the team that is sending it.
   2. Warn the other team to hold Thursday's letter without saying why, so that the confidence is kept and the second letter does not go to the same wrong address.
   3. Tell the colleague you must report the wrong address today, because a second letter goes there on Thursday, and report it to the person who owns the record.
   4. Raise it at the team meeting next week, where the people who own the record will all be present and the pattern can be looked at properly.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the colleague you must report the wrong address today, because a second letter goes there on Thursday, and report it to the person who owns the record.

   Least effective: A. Assume the colleague has already reported it themselves, since the rule is well known, and leave Thursday's letter to the team that is sending it.

   A: Assumes the report has been made rather than checking: the colleague asked you to keep it quiet, which is a poor sign that they have declared it, and Thursday posts a second letter to the same wrong address.

   B: Hides the reason from the people acting on it: Thursday is covered, but the person who owns the record still does not know, and a team asked to stop without a reason will send it next time.

   D: Delays past Thursday: the second letter is posted before the meeting happens, so the one action that could have prevented a repeat arrives after the repeat.

   The most effective response is telling the colleague you must report the wrong address today and reporting it to the person who owns the record. A confidence cannot cover something that is about to happen again on Thursday, and telling the colleague first is what keeps it straight with them while still meeting the rule’s same day deadline. That is better than warning the other team without saying why, since Thursday is saved but the owner of the record is still unaware and the team has no reason to check next time. It is also better than raising it at next week’s meeting, because the second letter goes out first and the meeting can then only discuss what has already happened twice. The least effective response is assuming the colleague has reported it and leaving Thursday’s letter alone: somebody who asks you to keep a thing quiet is unlikely to have declared it, so nobody checks, nobody reports, and the same address receives a second letter, which is worse than a partial warning or a late discussion. The principle: a confidence stops being yours to keep the moment it bears on work somebody else is about to do.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a course administration assistant at a prison service. Another assistant on the course team has fallen behind: forty trainees’ preparation tasks are unmarked on the completion log, which has to be complete before Monday’s assessment. They have told only you and have asked you not to make a fuss. You can see which tasks have actually been submitted and which have not. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Mark all forty preparation tasks on the completion log as done so the log is ready for Monday, and let the colleague check the submissions afterwards when they have caught up.
   2. Tell the colleague you will help, that the person who runs the course has to know today, since only they can move Monday, then mark with them only what is genuinely in.
   3. Work through all forty unmarked tasks yourself in the evenings on top of your own work, checking each submission as you go, and tell nobody, so that the colleague is not embarrassed and the log is ready by Monday.
   4. Send the person who runs the course a note this morning saying the colleague is forty tasks behind on the completion log, before saying anything to the colleague, so that Monday's assessment is not put at risk.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell the colleague you will help, that the person who runs the course has to know today, since only they can move Monday, then mark with them only what is genuinely in.

   Least effective: A. Mark all forty preparation tasks on the completion log as done so the log is ready for Monday, and let the colleague check the submissions afterwards when they have caught up.

   A: Records work as done that was never checked: the log then says trainees have prepared when you can see that some have not, and Monday's assessment runs on it.

   C: Avoids the difficult conversation: one person quietly absorbing a two-person backlog gets Monday through and leaves the same colleague in the same position next month.

   D: Goes over the colleague's head first: they confided in you, a word to them costs nothing, and the note arrives without any account of what has actually been submitted.

   The most effective response is telling the colleague you will help while making clear that the person who runs the course has to know today: Monday is fixed, forty tasks are unmarked, and the only person who can move the assessment or find another pair of hands is the one nobody has told. It beats working through the unmarked tasks yourself in the evenings and telling nobody, because one person quietly absorbing a two-person backlog leaves the same problem standing next month. It beats sending a note about the colleague before saying anything to them, since they confided in you and a word first costs nothing and keeps them in the conversation. The least effective response is marking all forty tasks on the completion log as done: the log then says trainees have prepared when you can see that some have not, and Monday’s assessment runs on a record you know to be wrong. The principle: help a struggling colleague by getting the right people involved, never by making the paperwork say something that is not so.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a candidate liaison assistant at a prison service. An applicant rings, angry, having been told he was unsuccessful at the selection stage he sat last week. You had no part in that decision and cannot change it. The stated rule is that written reasons are sent by the team that runs the selection centre within five working days, and three days have passed. You have not seen his reasons and do not know how he scored. He wants somebody to tell him what went wrong. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him the decision was close and that he will very likely succeed if he applies again, even though you cannot see how he scored or what the reasons say.
   2. Read the stated five working days back to him, repeat that his reasons are not due for another two days, and end the call politely once you have said it a second time.
   3. Offer to raise a formal complaint on his behalf about the selection stage today, and take down what he wants it to say, so that somebody senior looks at the decision again before his written reasons arrive.
   4. Let him finish, tell him only what you can confirm when his reasons are due, and check today with the team that runs the selection centre that the date holds.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Let him finish, tell him only what you can confirm when his reasons are due, and check today with the team that runs the selection centre that the date holds.

   Least effective: A. Tell him the decision was close and that he will very likely succeed if he applies again, even though you cannot see how he scored or what the reasons say.

   A: Gives an assurance you cannot stand behind: you have not seen his reasons, so a comfort offered now becomes a second contradiction when the written reasons arrive inside the five days.

   B: Ignores the applicant's actual need: the process is quoted correctly and the man is left with nothing he did not already have, three days into a five-day wait he is already struggling with.

   C: Escalates prematurely: the reasons he is entitled to are still two days away, and starting a complaint before he has read them commits him to a route he has not asked for.

   The most effective response is letting him finish, telling him only what you can confirm when his reasons are due, and checking today with the team that runs the selection centre that the date holds. He is angry about something you cannot change, so the only things you own are hearing him out and making sure the one commitment the organisation has made to him is kept. It beats reading the five working days back to him and ending the call, because quoting a rule at somebody who has already understood it answers nothing and leaves the five-day date unchecked. It is also better than offering to raise a complaint on his behalf, which starts a process he has not asked for before he has read the reasons he is waiting for. The least effective response is telling him the decision was close and that he will very likely succeed if he applies again: unlike the quoted process, which is at least true, and unlike the offered complaint, which he could decline, this is a statement you have no basis for, and it will be contradicted in writing within two days by the very document he is waiting on. The principle: when you cannot change a decision, give the person the facts you can stand behind and make sure the promises already made to them are kept.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a records assistant at a prison service. Every batch of letters is read against the address list by a second person before it goes out, and the stated reason is that a letter reaching the wrong address has to be reported the same day it is found. Yesterday’s batch of ninety went out without that second read, because the person who does it was away and nobody said. You notice this on Tuesday morning. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Check yesterday's ninety against the address list yourself before saying anything, so that you can report a number rather than raise an alarm over a batch that may turn out to be fine.
   2. Tell your supervisor this morning that ninety letters went out unread, start the address check now so that any wrong ones can be reported today, and ask who covers the read while the second person is away.
   3. Write a note for the person who does the second read to check yesterday's batch on their return next week, and hold today's batch until somebody can read it against the list.
   4. Do the second read yourself this morning and, if it turns up nothing, treat the batch as checked and let today's batch go out the same way while the second person is still away.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell your supervisor this morning that ninety letters went out unread, start the address check now so that any wrong ones can be reported today, and ask who covers the read while the second person is away.

   Least effective: D. Do the second read yourself this morning and, if it turns up nothing, treat the batch as checked and let today's batch go out the same way while the second person is still away.

   A: Delays the report to be certain of it: the reporting duty runs from the day a wrong address is found, and the checking takes hours the same day does not have.

   C: Leaves a same-day duty to next week: anything wrong in yesterday's ninety stays unfound for seven days, and nobody who could arrange cover for the read has been told at all.

   D: Acts recklessly with the batch still to come: one clean result is used as grounds for skipping the read again, so a gap that happened by accident becomes the way the work is done.

   The most effective response is to tell your supervisor this morning that ninety letters went out unread, start the address check now, and ask who covers the read while the second person is away: the reporting duty runs the same day, and the reason the check was missed will repeat tomorrow unless somebody fixes the cover. It is stronger than checking the ninety before saying anything, because the person who has to act on a wrong address hears hours later than they needed to, and the batch may not be clean. It is stronger than leaving a note for the colleague who returns next week and holding today’s batch, because a duty measured in a day cannot wait seven of them and nobody able to arrange cover has heard. The least effective response is to do the read yourself and then treat the batch as checked and let today’s go out the same way: checking first at least finds the errors, and holding today’s batch at least keeps the control intact, whereas turning one clean result into permission to skip the read again converts an accident into a practice. The principle: an accidental gap in a control is reported and closed, never used as evidence that the control was never needed.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a duty team member at a prison service, working the desk that keeps the team’s duty diary. The stated rule is that a change to the diary is made only after the person who runs the team has approved it. That person is out of the office until four but can be reached by phone. A colleague asks you to move her name to tomorrow morning so that she can keep a family appointment, and says the person who runs the team will not mind. The diary is circulated at three. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell your colleague it is arranged and put the change into the diary before three, without checking with the person who runs the team, whose view you are sure of.
   2. Ring the person who runs the team with the one request before three, explain the appointment and the timing, and tell your colleague you will confirm once you have an answer.
   3. Leave the diary as it stands, put the request to the person who runs the team when they are back at four, and reissue the diary tomorrow with the change in it.
   4. Tell your colleague the rule does not allow the change and leave it there, so that she can take the appointment up with the person who runs the team herself.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ring the person who runs the team with the one request before three, explain the appointment and the timing, and tell your colleague you will confirm once you have an answer.

   Least effective: A. Tell your colleague it is arranged and put the change into the diary before three, without checking with the person who runs the team, whose view you are sure of.

   A: Gives an assurance you have not got: the rule names one approver, that approver is a phone call away, and the diary that goes out at three then carries a change nobody agreed to.

   C: Delays the decision: the diary people work from goes out at three, so a change made after four reaches everybody on the morning it was supposed to cover.

   D: Treats the rule as the whole answer: the rule says who decides, not that the answer is no, and your colleague has no way of reaching that person before three while you have.

   The most effective response is ringing the person who runs the team with the one request before three: they are reachable, the rule puts the decision with them, and asking costs a single phone call. It is stronger than leaving the diary as it stands and reissuing it tomorrow, because the diary people work from goes out at three and a later correction arrives on the morning it was meant to cover. It is also stronger than telling your colleague the rule does not allow it and leaving her to raise it herself, since she cannot reach the approver before the diary is circulated and you can. The least effective response is telling your colleague the change is arranged and entering it in the diary without checking: it puts a statement you have not verified in front of a colleague and an unapproved change in front of the whole team, and both are harder to unpick than the question you skipped. The principle: when the rule points at somebody else’s decision and that person can still be reached, get the decision rather than supply one.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a reception desk assistant at a prison service. Every enquiry at the desk goes into the desk log with the name of the person who made it, and the team works from that log the next morning. This afternoon a neighbour you have known for years comes to the desk with an enquiry about a matter your team is dealing with. They ask you to leave their name out of the log, because they would rather nobody knew they had been in. The person who runs your team is in the office. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Remove your neighbour's name from the log entry after they leave, and record the visit as a general question, leaving the entry nameless in the log the team works from.
    2. Put the enquiry in the log in full but keep to yourself that you know the person, since the connection makes no difference to what the team does with it tomorrow.
    3. Ask the person who runs your team whether an enquiry can ever go in the log without a name, without saying who has asked, and hold the entry until they answer.
    4. Write the enquiry into the log with your neighbour's name, as you would for anybody else, and tell the person who runs your team today that you know the person who came in.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: D. Write the enquiry into the log with your neighbour's name, as you would for anybody else, and tell the person who runs your team today that you know the person who came in.

    Least effective: A. Remove your neighbour's name from the log entry after they leave, and record the visit as a general question, leaving the entry nameless in the log the team works from.

    A: Alters a record to suit somebody you know: the log then describes a visit that did not happen, and everybody who works from it in the morning is working from something you made untrue.

    B: Leaves your own connection undeclared: whoever picks the enquiry up cannot weigh your part in it if nobody has told them there is one, and they will hear about it eventually from somebody else.

    C: Asks the question without the facts: the answer to a general question cannot settle this one, and the log stays incomplete overnight while the team is meant to work from it.

    The most effective response is writing the enquiry into the log with your neighbour’s name and telling the person who runs your team that you know them: the log is what the team works from tomorrow, and a connection declared today costs nothing while one discovered later costs a great deal. It is stronger than logging it in full and keeping the connection to yourself, because whoever picks the enquiry up cannot weigh your involvement if nobody has told them there is any. It is also stronger than asking whether an entry can ever go in without a name while holding the entry back, since the question you would be asking is not the question in front of you and the log is wrong overnight either way. The least effective response is removing your neighbour’s name and recording the visit as a general question: the log then says something that did not happen, and every later reader is misled by it. The principle: declare a personal connection early and keep the record straight, because the two protect each other.