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Recruitment process

To meet the challenging demands of the job and succeed as a police security officer, you need to embody certain necessary values. Our quick self-assessment checklist can help you confirm your eligibility.

Once you’ve established that you meet our eligibility criteria and submitted your application, you’ll undergo a rigorous recruitment process that aims to determine whether you’re right for the job.

Evaluation and testing

We will evaluate your application to ensure you meet SA Police’s eligibility criteria. If you do, we’ll invite you to participate in online evaluation and testing sessions. These sessions will include completing aptitude testing and a personality profile.

Panel interview

After evaluation of your testing, we may invite you to attend a panel interview. This interview is your opportunity to demonstrate the necessary qualities and qualifications to thrive in a career as a police security officer, such as:

  • leadership
  • decisiveness
  • problem-solving
  • courage
  • respect
  • stress management
  • integrity

To help assess your personal values, beliefs and attitudes, we’ll ask about and draw on examples from your education, workplaces, social interaction, community interest and general life experience.

Medical examination

To participate in police academy training and police security officer duties, you need to meet required medical standards. You will participate in a medical examination to ensure you meet these standards.

Read more about our medical standards

Physical and agility testing

To carry out your duties, you must successfully complete our ‘fit for duty’ fitness test. As part of this test, you’ll wear a 10kg vest and complete the following exercises:

  • run 80 metres
  • run 25 metres carrying two 15kg weights
  • cross a slippery balance beam
  • do 20 step-ups
  • climb over a one-metre-tall fence
  • drop to the ground and stand up five times
  • collect a training firearm and pull the trigger 13 times with each hand.

At the start of the test, we’ll give you five physical characteristics to remember (for example, gender or hair colour), and you’ll need to recall at least three of these once you’ve finished.

The test is challenging, so it’s best to start a gradual cardiovascular exercise program in preparation. To be competitive, you need to complete the test in less than two minutes and thirty seconds.

Check out our fit for duty test in action below to see what’s involved.

Selection

Our selection board will carefully review your application and will make a decision regarding an offer of employment based on the results of your testing and evaluation during the recruitment process. If the board selects you, we will contact you and provide all the information about when your training will begin.

Prior to selection you will have to provide a current Working With Children Check.

Please note that successful completion of all tests does not guarantee selection.