Recruitment process for police custody officers

You will submit your application online.

We will assess the suitability of your application.

Make sure you use correct spelling and grammar and answer all questions in full.

The application form will ask you for:

• personal details
• education history
• history of prior offences and dealings with police
• key selection criteria
• location preferences
• your resume.

When you answer the key selection criteria questions, it’s important to show your understanding of the role. Make sure you provide examples that highlight your written and verbal communication skills.

Before you submit your application, please review the entry requirements.

You must meet certain entry requirements before you apply.

Once we receive your application, we will perform background checks for any:

• prior offences, and
• dealings with police.

If your application is successful, we will invite you to attend an assessment day at the Victoria Police Academy. This will be within 3-6 weeks of submitting your application.

The assessment day includes:

Fitness testing

The fitness test will include:

• beep test (to level 5.01)
• Illinois agility run (20 seconds)
• grip test (30kg in each hand)
• push ups (five successive push ups on toes)
• prone bridge (hold for 60 seconds).

The POLICE FIT app is a free tool to help prepare you, and improve your chances of passing.

The entrance exam

The entrance exam will test your:

• literacy skills
• numeracy skills
• verbal reasoning
• abstract reasoning.

Read the PCO assessment booklet to prepare yourself before you attend:

Exemptions to sitting the exam

Exemptions are made at the discretion of the Recruiting Services Branch.

You may be exempt from the exam if:

• You are currently:
  • undertaking a Bachelor of Criminology (or similar) at an Australian, New Zealand or United Kingdom university, and are in your final year of study, or
  • a Victorian Public Service (VPS) employee (VPSG3 or above), or
  • employed by Victoria Police (all classifications and tenures).
• In the last five years you:
  • passed the Victoria Police ACER entrance exam, or
  • passed a police entrance exam or a police academic entry requirement for another Australian policing jurisdiction, or
  • were employed as a police officer or have prior policing experience in Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom, or
  • completed a bachelor’s degree (or higher) in an arts, science, humanities, business or law discipline at an Australian, New Zealand or United Kingdom university, or
  • were employed as a paramedic or firefighter in an emergency services organisation in Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom (this exemption does not apply to volunteer work such as State Emergency Service (SES) or Country Fire Authority (CFA)), or
  • were employed in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) on a full-time basis (this exemption does not apply to ADF Reservists), or
  • passed the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or equivalent in Australia, with:
    • an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) of 65 or above, and
    • a minimum score of 25 in English.

Reasonable adjustments

We support reasonable adjustments to assist you through the recruitment process.

If you require reasonable adjustments to sit the cognitive and job skills testing components, please apply for special testing conditions as soon as possible.

To apply, please email pcoemployment@police.vic.gov.au.

Please submit your request no later than 14 days before the date of the assessment.

For conditions that occurred after the application deadline, please contact the ACER office on 03 9277 5555.

The police custody officer role can be psychologically demanding. Therefore, you must complete psychological testing.

You will need to complete an online questionnaire that will take approximately 1.5-2 hours to complete.

Psychologists from the Victoria Police Psychology Unit will interpret the test results. They will provide recommendations to the Police Custody Officer Employment Team.

Following the test, most applicants will need to attend a one-on-one interview with a psychologist. This is a normal part of the process. It helps to interpret your test results, and further assess your suitability.

After you have passed the assessment day, we will give you a medical booklet to complete.

You will have four weeks to return the booklet to us.

If you have any concerns about your eligibility based on a medical condition, please consult our Medical guidelines.

We conduct comprehensive checks of your prior history and associations.

We will also perform employment checks at this point, which will include referee checks from past employers.

A final referee check with your current employer won’t be completed until after the interview stage of the selection process.

The interview is the final part of the recruitment process.

It will take 30-60 minutes to complete.

The interview will be held at the location where you are being considered for the role.

You will be interviewed by a panel of three people.

The interview will include:

• motivational questions
• behavioural questions (based on the VPS capability framework)
• scenario-based questions.

If you are successful in the recruitment process, you will receive an offer of employment. You will then start in the next training squad at the Victoria Police Academy.

We aim to give you four weeks notice before you begin training.

If there are no vacancies at your preferred station, you can:

• select a secondary station, or
• be placed in the talent pool for the next vacancy.