The South African Police Service (SAPS) Assessment Tests

SAPS Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a candidate liaison assistant at SAPS. A colleague told an applicant yesterday that their selection day is the 14th. You have just seen the note moving it to the 21st. The stated rule is that date changes go to applicants only from the person who runs the selection centre, and only in writing. The applicant has already booked time off for the 14th and rings tomorrow morning to run through what to bring. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Wait for the weekly update that goes out to all applicants on Friday to carry the new date, since it will reach them in writing from the right person anyway.
   2. Ask the applicant, when they ring, to check the date with the selection centre themselves, without saying that you already know it has moved.
   3. Tell the colleague what you have seen today, and ask the person who runs the selection centre to write to the applicant with the new date before tomorrow's call.
   4. Message the applicant yourself this evening with the new date, even though the stated rule is that only the person who runs the selection centre puts a date change in writing.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the colleague what you have seen today, and ask the person who runs the selection centre to write to the applicant with the new date before tomorrow's call.

   Least effective: D. Message the applicant yourself this evening with the new date, even though the stated rule is that only the person who runs the selection centre puts a date change in writing.

   A: Leaves the applicant holding a wrong date: they ring tomorrow and have booked time off for the 14th, so Friday is several days after the point at which the error costs them something.

   B: Passes the correction to the applicant: you are holding the answer, and making them go and find it treats a mistake made inside the organisation as their errand.

   D: Breaches a stated rule on date changes: an applicant who has booked time off now holds two dates from two sources, and the person the rule makes responsible does not know either has been sent.

   The most effective response is telling the colleague what you have seen and asking the person who runs the selection centre to write to the applicant. It gets the correct date to the applicant through the route the rule names, and it gets there before tomorrow’s call, which is the moment the wrong date starts costing them. That is better than waiting for Friday’s weekly update, because the applicant has booked time off for the 14th and rings tomorrow. It is also better than asking them to check with the selection centre themselves, since you already hold the answer and sending them to look for it makes the organisation’s mistake their job. The least effective response is messaging the applicant yourself with the new date: the rule exists so that one person owns what applicants are told, and now two dates are in the open from two sources with nobody responsible for either, which is worse than being slow and worse than being unhelpful. The principle: get the right information to the person who needs it, by the route that keeps one owner for what they are told.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a correspondence assistant at SAPS. A supplier who prints letters for your team has just finished a rush job you asked them for. Their driver leaves a gift voucher at your desk with a note thanking you for the work. The stated rule is that anything offered by a supplier is declared the same week to the person who keeps the register of interests, and that gifts are not kept. Nobody else saw the voucher arrive. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave the voucher unopened, tell the person who keeps the register today what was left and by whom, and ask them how the supplier should have it returned.
   2. Put the voucher in the staff kitchen for anybody on the team to use, on the basis that a shared voucher is not a personal gift and nobody in particular gains from it.
   3. Post the voucher back to the supplier the same afternoon with a polite note, and say nothing to anybody about it since it is now back where it came from.
   4. Accept the voucher and take it home, put the note in the bin, say nothing to the person who keeps the register, and carry on placing rush jobs with that supplier as usual.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Leave the voucher unopened, tell the person who keeps the register today what was left and by whom, and ask them how the supplier should have it returned.

   Least effective: D. Accept the voucher and take it home, put the note in the bin, say nothing to the person who keeps the register, and carry on placing rush jobs with that supplier as usual.

   B: Decides the rule does not apply to you: the rule is about what a supplier offers, not about who ends up using it, and sharing it out spreads the undeclared favour instead of removing it.

   C: Leaves no record of what was offered: returning it is the right instinct, but the register exists so that the next person dealing with this supplier knows an offer was made after a rush job.

   D: Takes a gift the stated rule forbids: a supplier you place work with has now given you something of value that nobody knows about, so every future job you send them is open to the reading that it was bought.

   The most effective response is leaving the voucher unopened and telling the person who keeps the register today what was left and by whom. It puts the offer on the record the same week the rule asks for, and it hands the decision about returning it to the person whose job that is. That is better than putting the voucher in the staff kitchen, since the rule turns on what a supplier offered rather than on who eats the biscuits, and sharing it merely spreads an undeclared favour. It is also better than posting it back quietly the same afternoon, because the register is what lets the next person placing work with this supplier know that an offer followed a rush job. The least effective response is accepting the voucher and taking it home on the strength of the extra work you did: you keep something of value from a supplier you send work to, with nobody aware, so every later job you place with them can be read as bought, which is worse than sharing it out or returning it silently since both of those at least end with you holding nothing. The principle: an offer from somebody the organisation deals with is declared, and the reason you feel you earned it is exactly why it is not yours to keep.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a volunteer coordination assistant at SAPS. A community group that helps run your events asks you for the contact list of the forty volunteers on your books, so that it can invite them to its own fundraising evening. The stated rule is that volunteers’ details are held for your own events and are not shared outside. The group’s organiser says the two of you have worked together for a year, and offers you a fifty pound gift voucher for your help. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Decline the voucher but send the list anyway, on the basis that the group is a partner rather than a stranger and its invitation is something the volunteers would want to see.
   2. Accept the gift voucher and send the contact list over, since the group runs your events with you and the volunteers would probably want to hear about its evening anyway.
   3. Decline both the voucher and the request, and tell the organiser you cannot help, without looking at whether the group's invitation could reach the volunteers another way.
   4. Decline the voucher, explain that volunteers' details are held for your own events only, and offer to put the group's invitation to the volunteers yourself so that each of them can choose.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Decline the voucher, explain that volunteers' details are held for your own events only, and offer to put the group's invitation to the volunteers yourself so that each of them can choose.

   Least effective: B. Accept the gift voucher and send the contact list over, since the group runs your events with you and the volunteers would probably want to hear about its evening anyway.

   A: Reads a partner as an exception to the rule: the forty volunteers gave their details for your own events, and refusing the voucher does not give you their consent to pass those details on.

   B: Takes a gift the role forbids: a payment now sits behind a decision about forty people's details, so even a defensible choice would look bought, and this one is not defensible.

   C: Ignores what the group actually needs: the request is to reach the volunteers, not to hold their details, and that could have been met without breaking anything.

   The most effective response is declining the voucher and offering to put the group’s invitation to the volunteers yourself so that each of them can choose. The rule says the details are held for your own events, the group’s real need is to reach people rather than to hold a list, and doing it yourself meets that need without moving anybody’s details. It beats declining the voucher and sending the list anyway, because a year of working together is not consent from the forty people whose details they are. It beats declining everything and telling the organiser you cannot help, because the invitation could have reached the volunteers by a route nobody looked for. The least effective response is taking the gift voucher and sending the contact list over anyway: it breaks the same rule as the well meant version, and it adds a personal benefit to you, so the decision can never afterwards be shown to have been made on its merits. It is worse than sending the list without the voucher, which is at least disinterested, and worse than the flat refusal, which keeps the details where they belong. The principle: when somebody outside asks for something you are not sure you may give, answer the need rather than the request, and never let a benefit to you sit behind the answer.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a records assistant at SAPS. The person who allocates work across your team is reviewing how the data entry backlog is shared out and has asked you, this afternoon, for your honest view of a colleague’s accuracy. He will change the allocation on Friday on the basis of what he hears. Last week that colleague told you in confidence, and asked you not to repeat it, why his entries have been slow. You have checked forty of his entries yourself this month. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Give your own first-hand account of the forty entries you checked, say plainly where your knowledge stops, and tell your colleague afterwards, since Friday's decision rests on what he hears.
   2. Say only that his work is fine and leave it there, so that nothing you contribute can be used to move work away from him on Friday.
   3. Repeat what he told you in confidence last week about why his entries have been slow, since it is the fullest explanation anybody has and Friday's decision should rest on it.
   4. Ask to be left out of the review altogether, and suggest the person who allocates the work forms his own view of the entries before Friday.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Give your own first-hand account of the forty entries you checked, say plainly where your knowledge stops, and tell your colleague afterwards, since Friday's decision rests on what he hears.

   Least effective: C. Repeat what he told you in confidence last week about why his entries have been slow, since it is the fullest explanation anybody has and Friday's decision should rest on it.

   B: Prioritises harmony over honesty: the allocation changes on Friday either way, and a view you know to be thinner than the evidence you hold leaves the backlog shared out on worse information than you could have given.

   C: Breaches a confidence he asked you to keep: he gave you that account privately and refused you permission to repeat it, so passing it to the one person who will act on Friday takes the choice away from him entirely.

   D: Avoids the difficult conversation: you are the only person who has checked forty of those entries, so standing back means Friday's allocation is decided without the one first-hand account available.

   The most effective response is giving your own first-hand account of the forty entries you checked and saying plainly where you cannot speak from your own knowledge. The review will change the allocation on Friday, so the useful contribution is the evidence you gathered yourself, bounded honestly, and telling your colleague afterwards keeps the conversation between the two of you rather than behind him. It beats saying only that his work is fine, because withholding what you have actually seen leaves Friday’s decision resting on less than you could offer and helps nobody, least of all him. It is also better than asking to be left out, since the person allocating the work then decides with no first-hand account at all. The least effective response is repeating what he told you in confidence about why his entries have been slow: unlike the vague reassurance, which is merely unhelpful, and unlike standing back, which leaves the record where it was, this hands a private explanation to the one person who will act on it, on Friday, from somebody who asked you not to. The principle: give feedback from what you saw yourself, and leave what was told to you in confidence with the person who told you.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a service desk assistant at SAPS. A member of the public arrives for an appointment that a different team booked, and it turns out the appointment was cancelled last week without anybody telling them. They are angry with you, they have taken a day off work to come in, and they say this is the second time it has happened to them. You can see the cancellation on your screen but not the reason for it, and the team that made the booking can be reached this morning. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Apologise, explain that the appointment was booked by a different team and that you cannot see why it was cancelled, and give the person the number for the team who can tell them, along with the booking reference from your screen.
   2. Apologise for the wasted day, ring the team who made the booking while the person waits with you, and come back with either a new appointment or a time today when they will hear from somebody.
   3. Blame the team who made the booking, telling the person that this happens every time their bookings come through this desk and that they ought to be complaining about them rather than about you.
   4. Offer the person the next available appointment on the spot, checking the date is one they can take without another day off, and suggest they raise the cancellation with the team who booked it if they want to know why nobody told them.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Apologise for the wasted day, ring the team who made the booking while the person waits with you, and come back with either a new appointment or a time today when they will hear from somebody.

   Least effective: C. Blame the team who made the booking, telling the person that this happens every time their bookings come through this desk and that they ought to be complaining about them rather than about you.

   A: Sends the person on with the problem: they have already lost a day and been let down twice, and a phone number puts the next piece of effort back onto them.

   C: Personalises the complaint: the person wants an appointment and an explanation, and turning a wasted day into an argument about which team is at fault leaves them holding neither.

   D: Fixes the diary and leaves the grievance: a second cancellation with no warning is the thing they came in angry about, and nobody has taken responsibility for finding out why.

   The most effective response is apologising for the wasted day, ringing the team who made the booking while the person waits with you, and coming back with either a new appointment or a time today when they will hear from somebody. The team is reachable this morning, so the person can leave with something instead of another errand. That is better than explaining that a different team booked it and giving them the number, because somebody who has lost a day and been let down twice should not have to make the next call themselves. It is better than offering the next appointment and suggesting they chase the cancellation, because that answers the diary and not the reason they are angry. The least effective response is blaming the team who made the booking and telling the person that they ought to be complaining about them: handing over the number at least points somewhere useful, and offering an appointment at least gives them a date, whereas an argument about whose fault it is puts your own position ahead of the person standing in front of you and gets them no closer to either. The principle: anger about something another team did is still your problem to resolve while the person is in front of you.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are an equipment store assistant at SAPS, six weeks into the role. A trolley of equipment booked out for tomorrow morning’s training session has not come back, and the session cannot run without it. Two colleagues are arguing at the store counter about which of them agreed to return it, and each of them turns to you and asks you to say what you heard. What you heard does not settle it. The person running the session needs to know by the end of today whether the equipment will be there. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stay out of it and let the two of them settle who was at fault between themselves, since it is not your argument to referee, then get on with the rest of the counter work for the afternoon.
   2. Take the argument to the person who runs the store straight away, before either colleague leaves for the day, and ask them to decide which of the two colleagues is telling it right about who agreed to bring the trolley back.
   3. Tell each of them separately what the other has been saying about the trolley, repeating the exact words each used at the counter once the other has gone.
   4. Say plainly that what you heard does not settle it, and get the two of them to work out with you where the trolley is now, so the session leader has an answer today.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Say plainly that what you heard does not settle it, and get the two of them to work out with you where the trolley is now, so the session leader has an answer today.

   Least effective: C. Tell each of them separately what the other has been saying about the trolley, repeating the exact words each used at the counter once the other has gone.

   A: Avoids the difficult conversation: nobody is then looking for the trolley, and the session tomorrow morning still has no equipment whoever turns out to have been right.

   B: Escalates prematurely: it asks somebody with less to go on than you have to judge an account nobody can corroborate, and it still leaves the trolley unaccounted for tonight.

   C: Personalises the disagreement: it carries private remarks between two people who have to work together, and turns a missing trolley into a grievance that outlasts tomorrow's session.

   The most effective response is saying plainly that what you heard does not settle it and getting the two of them to work out where the trolley is now: the session leader needs equipment rather than a verdict, and the one fact that can still be established today is where the trolley went. It is stronger than staying out of it and letting them settle who was at fault, because nobody is then looking and tomorrow’s session opens with nothing. It is also stronger than taking the argument to the person who runs the store to decide who is right, since that asks somebody further from the events to judge an account you already know cannot be corroborated. The least effective response is telling each of them separately what the other has been saying about the trolley: it turns a question about a trolley into a question about two people, with you carrying the remarks between them, and the equipment is no closer to being found. The principle: when two people ask you to take a side you cannot honestly take, say so and move both of them onto the outcome that is still fixable.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a complaints administration assistant at SAPS. The company that prints your acknowledgement letters has sent this week’s batch with the wrong date, so forty people who have complained are told in writing that they will have a full reply by Friday, when the standard is twenty working days. The printer will correct it only if you ask in writing by five today. Letters to complainants go out only once the person who runs your team has approved them. That person is away until Monday and somebody is covering for them. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply to the printer to say the correction can wait until Monday, when the person who runs your team is back, since one clear letter then is better than two letters now.
   2. Write to the printer yourself before five and ask them to post a correction to all forty people, rather than lose the only chance to fix it while approval waits until Monday.
   3. Draft the correction now, get it approved by whoever is covering for the person who runs your team, and have it with the printer before five to correct all forty letters.
   4. Wait until Monday and answer the forty people one by one as they ring in, explaining the real date to each of them when they ask about it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Draft the correction now, get it approved by whoever is covering for the person who runs your team, and have it with the printer before five to correct all forty letters.

   Least effective: B. Write to the printer yourself before five and ask them to post a correction to all forty people, rather than lose the only chance to fix it while approval waits until Monday.

   A: Delays the decision: the printer's window shuts at five today, so waiting for Monday does not buy a better letter, it loses the only correction on offer.

   B: Breaches the approval the letters need: a second letter reaches forty complainants with nobody having checked either, and the approval step exists precisely to stop a wrong letter following a wrong letter.

   D: Makes the customer do the chasing: only some of the forty will ring, and the rest spend the next two weeks expecting a reply on a date that was never real.

   The most effective response is drafting the correction now and getting it approved by whoever is covering: the five o’clock window is the only chance the printer offers, and the cover exists so that an absence does not stop an approval. It is stronger than replying that the correction can wait until Monday, because the window shuts today and forty people go into the weekend expecting a reply that cannot come. It is also stronger than answering the forty one by one as they ring in, since only some of them will ring and the rest keep a promise nobody can meet. The least effective response is asking the printer to post a correction yourself before five: it puts a second letter in front of forty complainants with nobody having approved either one, and the approval is the control that stops one mistake becoming two. The principle: when a deadline and an approval collide, find the person who can approve rather than choosing which of the two to drop.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a public liaison assistant at SAPS. Six weeks ago a community group sent in a written offer to host an open evening, and the standard reply says an acknowledgement will be sent within twenty working days. That date passed nine days ago. The group’s secretary rings you this morning, polite but clearly fed up, and says she has heard nothing at all. You can see the offer sitting unallocated in the shared inbox, and the person who decides on open evenings is back on Thursday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Apologise on the call and promise the secretary a decision by Friday, since the person who decides is back on Thursday and the offer will be at the top of their list.
   2. Apologise on the call, send the written acknowledgement today with the delay explained, and tell her the offer goes to the person deciding on Thursday and when to expect an answer.
   3. Explain that the offer is waiting for one person who is back on Thursday, and ask her to ring again after that if she has still not had anything in writing.
   4. Pass her enquiry on to the team that owns the shared inbox, tell her they will be in touch, and take the call as dealt with for your own part.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Apologise on the call, send the written acknowledgement today with the delay explained, and tell her the offer goes to the person deciding on Thursday and when to expect an answer.

   Least effective: D. Pass her enquiry on to the team that owns the shared inbox, tell her they will be in touch, and take the call as dealt with for your own part.

   A: Over-promises: nothing you can see guarantees a decision by Friday, so a group that has already been let down once by a stated date is given a second one you do not control.

   C: Puts the chasing back on the customer: she has already waited nine days past a date the organisation set, and the effort of following it up stays with the person who did nothing wrong.

   D: Passes the problem on without owning it: the offer is already sitting unallocated, which is precisely why no acknowledgement was sent, so moving it back into the same inbox repeats the failure she rang about.

   The most effective response is to apologise, send the written acknowledgement today with the delay explained, and tell her when to expect an answer: the missed date is put right immediately by the person she has actually reached, and she leaves the call with something in writing and a realistic next step. That is better than promising a decision by Friday, because nothing you can see makes Friday certain and a second broken date costs far more than the first. It is also better than explaining that the offer is waiting for somebody back on Thursday and asking her to ring again, since the chasing is handed back to the person who has already waited nine days past a date the organisation itself set. The least effective response is to pass her enquiry on to the team that owns the shared inbox and treat the call as dealt with: the offer is unallocated in that very inbox, which is why no acknowledgement went out, so the enquiry returns to the place that failed her and nobody has picked it up. The principle: when a service standard has already been missed, the person who takes the call owns putting it right.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are an equipment store assistant at SAPS. The yearly count of the store has to be finished by Friday, because the figure it produces is what the people who order replacements work from for the next twelve months. It was given three weeks ago to a colleague who has since moved to another team. This morning you find that nothing has been counted at all, and nobody else has noticed. Your supervisor is in meetings all day but answers messages. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Start counting the store yourself today, working through the shelves in the order they are numbered, and keep going until Wednesday, then decide whether to raise it once you can see how much you have managed.
   2. Message your supervisor this morning that the count has not been started and that Friday is at risk, saying what you can cover today, so they can put people on it.
   3. Reassure the people who order replacements that the count is in hand and will reach them on Friday, then work out afterwards whether three days is enough.
   4. Ask the colleague who moved teams to come back for the rest of the week and finish the count, since it was handed to them three weeks ago and they know what was intended.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Message your supervisor this morning that the count has not been started and that Friday is at risk, saying what you can cover today, so they can put people on it.

   Least effective: C. Reassure the people who order replacements that the count is in hand and will reach them on Friday, then work out afterwards whether three days is enough.

   A: Absorbs it quietly while the days run out: the hours in which somebody could have been put alongside you are the hours you spend counting on your own.

   C: Gives an assurance nobody has checked: the people who depend on the figure stop watching for the one thing that may not arrive, and they stop watching on your word.

   D: Chases somebody who no longer owns the work: they have another team's work in front of them, nothing obliges them to drop it, and Friday arrives whatever they answer.

   The most effective response is to message your supervisor this morning that the count has not been started and that Friday is at risk. You are the only person who knows, Friday feeds a figure the people who order replacements use for a year, and your supervisor can put others alongside you while three days are left. Starting the count alone and deciding on Wednesday whether to raise it is weaker, because the days in which help could have been arranged are the days you spend counting. Asking the colleague who moved teams to come back and finish it is weaker too, because the work is no longer theirs and nothing obliges them to drop what they now do. The least effective response is to reassure the people who order replacements that the count is in hand and will reach them on Friday: it asserts as settled something nobody has checked, and the people the figure is for stop watching the one thing that may not come. Being the only person who knows is the reason to escalate, not a reason to try to absorb it.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a complaints administration assistant at SAPS. A letter closing a complaint goes out today, and it was written on the basis that the complainant never replied to two requests for information. This morning you find their reply sitting in a shared inbox, dated before the second request was sent. The stated standard is that the complainant hears the outcome today. The person who signed the letter is in the building. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Hand the whole thing to your supervisor with the letter still due today, leaving the reply and its date in the shared inbox, and get on with the rest of the post.
    2. Ring the complainant today because the standard requires an outcome today, tell them their reply has been found, and say the closing letter is on hold until it is considered.
    3. Rewrite the closing letter yourself to take account of the reply and send it today, without going back to the person who signed the original version.
    4. Hold the letter, tell the person who signed it that the reply arrived before the second request, and ask whether the complaint should be reopened before today's standard runs out.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: D. Hold the letter, tell the person who signed it that the reply arrived before the second request, and ask whether the complaint should be reopened before today's standard runs out.

    Least effective: A. Hand the whole thing to your supervisor with the letter still due today, leaving the reply and its date in the shared inbox, and get on with the rest of the post.

    A: Passes the problem on without owning it: the deadline is still running, and it arrives on somebody else's desk without the reply, its date, or any account of what you have already checked.

    B: Commits the organisation without authority: the person who signed the letter is in the building and has decided nothing yet, so a promise that the closing is on hold runs ahead of anybody's decision.

    C: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: the decision the letter records belongs to the person who signed it, and a rewrite goes out in their name without their knowledge.

    The most effective response is holding the letter and telling the person who signed it that the reply arrived before the second request: they wrote it on the basis that nothing came back, that is no longer true, and only they can decide whether the complaint reopens. It beats ringing the complainant to say their reply has been found and the closing letter is on hold, because that promises a change of course before the person who signed the letter has decided there will be one. It beats rewriting the closing letter yourself without going back to the person who signed the original, since the decision it records is theirs and a rewrite still goes out in their name. The least effective response is handing the whole thing to your supervisor and getting on with the rest of the post: today’s standard is still running, and the problem lands on somebody else without the reply, its date, or any account of what you already know. The principle: when the basis of a decision changes, take it back to the person who made it, with the change stated.