Situational Judgement / Judgement and Decision Making
What is tested
Situational judgement tests present workplace scenarios and ask you to choose the most and least effective response, or to rank options. The assessors map your choices to the behaviours expected of a prison officer: safety and security, integrity, respect and dignity, following lawful instructions, teamwork, communication and accurate recording. There is usually a clearly best option and a clearly worst one; the middle options require judgement.
Traps to watch
- Punitive shortcuts. Harsh or humiliating responses are almost never correct, even when the prisoner has misbehaved.
- Ignoring procedure. Acting outside your authority, or failing to report, is a common wrong answer.
- Passivity. Doing nothing, or waiting for someone else, is rarely the best response when safety is at stake.
- Breach of confidentiality. Discussing a prisoner's information with uninvolved colleagues is incorrect.
- Escalation errors. Over-escalating a minor matter can be as wrong as failing to escalate a serious one.
Rule of thumb
Ask three questions in order: Is anyone at risk? What does procedure require? Does the response treat the person with dignity? A response that protects safety, follows the correct channel and stays respectful is usually the best answer.
Worked example
You notice a colleague accepting a small gift from a prisoner's visitor. The best response is to report it through the proper line-management or integrity channel promptly and factually. The worst is to ignore it, or to confront the visitor publicly. Do not investigate alone; record what you saw and escalate.