Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 25 January (HL4660), what are the names of the 10 police forces who do not conduct a post Online Assessment Process face-to-face interview.

In the response to the question tabled on 12 January, it was stated that there were 10 forces that did not hold a post Online Assessment Process interview as part of the police recruitment process. Further information provided by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing shows that this figure is nine – one force had incorrectly stated it did not complete an interview.

According to information provided by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing these nine forces are Avon & Somerset, City of London, Dorset, Hampshire, Humberside, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Midlands and Wiltshire. These forces engage with all candidates face-to-face as part of the recruitment process. Six forces (Avon & Somerset, City of London, Dorset, Humberside, Norfolk and Suffolk) routinely require applicants to attend a face-to-face meeting through familiarisation events or similar; the remaining three have face-to-face engagement at other stages in the recruitment process, such as during the medical and fitness assessments.

Following engagement with the Home Office, the College of Policing will write to Chief Constables in early February with updated guidance on post assessment interviews that will strengthen the requirement for forces to use the College of Policing’s standard post Online Assessment Process interview process, as part of the police recruitment process.