Police assessment centres and Inappropriate behaviour

I mentioned a while back about doing a course in Liverpool where we had some real issues about integrity and “doing the right thing”. It is clear that most people outside of the job think that we in the police all look after one another and that you should be mindful of the feelings of everyone in a situation concerning inappropriate conduct. Typically, when we are talking about dealing with inappropriate behaviour, I get examples like:

“A new starter came to my office. Over a period of a few weeks, it was clear that homophobic comments were being made to them. I could see they were clearly upset by the remarks. “A new starter came to my office. Over a period of a few weeks, it was clear that homophobic comments were being made to them. I could see they were clearly upset by the remarks.  The next time I was present when XXX behavior happened, I immediately asked the offender to step outside, so as not to cause a scene. I explained to them that their comments were unacceptable, and if they happened again, I would report them”

 The next time I was present when XXX behaviour happened, I immediately asked the offender to step outside, so as not to cause a scene. I explained to them that their comments were unacceptable, and if they happened again, I would report them”

People think this is a great answer, but it is RUBBISH!!!! If you come out with an answer like that, you will fail the police recruitment process, and can forget any hopes of joining the police for at least six months. Look at the example this way:

“A new starter came to my office. Over a period of  a few weeks, it was clear that homophobic comments were being made to them.(SO YOU ARE TELLING THE ASSESSORS YOU SAT ON YOUR BACKSIDE AND DID NOTHING ABOUT THIS BEHAVIOUR FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, SO ARE YOU THE RIGHT PERSON FOR US?)

 I could see they were clearly upset by the remarks. (WELL, HOW SENSITIVE ARE YOU? BUT OF COURSE, HAD YOU POSSESSED THE NERVE TO DO SOEMTHING AS SOON AS THE BEHAVIOUR STARTED, THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED! SO, YOU HAVE ADED TO THE PROBLEM.

“A new starter came to my office. Over a period of a few weeks, it was clear that homophobic comments were being made to them. I could see they were clearly upset by the remarks.  The next time I was present when XXX behaviour happened, I immediately asked the offender to step outside, so as not to cause a scene. I explained to them that their comments were unacceptable, and if they happened again, I would report them”

. (WHAT A WASTE OF BREATH! WOULD YOU HAVE ASKED AN ASSAULT VICTIM IF HE DID NOT MIND BEING BEATEN UP? WHAT IF HE SAID HE WAS FINE WITH BEING HOMOPHOBICALLY ABUSED, WOULD YOU LEAVE IT AT THAT?

 The next time I was present when XXX behavior happened, I immediately asked the offender to step outside, so as not to cause a scene. (TWO ISSUES HERE. FIRSTLY, IT ONLY HAPPENED AGAIN AS YOU DID NOT DO ANYTHING ALL OF THE OTHER TIMES. SECONDLY, WHY DID YOU ASK THEM TO STEP OUTSIDE? YOU SHOULD BE SETTING AN EXAMPLE TO THE GROUP, IN PUBLIC)

 I explained to them that their comments were unacceptable, and if they happened again, I would report them” (THIS IS NOT A POSITVE RESULT, IT IS YOU BEING WEAK. A GOOD CANDIDATE WILL EXPLAIN HOW THEY EXPLAINED TO THE OFFENDER HOW UNACEPTABLE THE COMMENTS WERE, AND THEY THEN APOLOGISED TO THE VICTIM, AND LEARNT FROM THEIR MISTAKES. THEN, YOU REPORTED THEM TO THE BOSS ANYWAY. THIS IS WHAT WE WANT.

If you cannot see the logic in all of this, you will struggle to pass the police recruitment process. Joining the police force requires you to understand challenging inappropriate behavior, and if you would have been happy with the first example, you need to have a good rethink

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