CVF 2024 Overview and Code of Ethics

Why the CVF Matters for the National Sift

The Competency and Values Framework (CVF) is the College of Policing’s national behavioural framework for how people in policing should act. For candidates sitting the national sift (the online assessment used in the police constable entry process for England and Wales), the CVF is not background reading — it is the scoring language of the whole assessment.

The sift has two untimed exercises:

You do not need prior policing or law knowledge for the sift. You do need a working, practical understanding of what the CVF values and Level 1 competencies look like in ordinary workplace, community, and interpersonal situations. This chapter focuses on the framework structure and the three values. Later chapters cover each competency in depth and how to apply them when rating SJT actions.

CVF 2024 Structure: Three Values + Six Competencies

CVF 2024 is the current version. It replaced the 2016 CVF. The architecture is deliberately simple:

Three values (same for everyone)

1. Courage
2. Respect and empathy
3. Public service

Values are not split by level. A new constable, a sergeant, and a chief officer are all expected to show the same core values. What changes with rank and responsibility is mainly the scope and complexity of how competencies are demonstrated, not a different set of values.

Six competencies (levelled)

1. We are emotionally aware
2. We take ownership
3. We collaborate
4. We support and inspire
5. We analyse critically
6. We are innovative and open-minded

Competencies use three levels:

When you prepare for the national sift, always read competency behaviours through a Level 1 lens: what a professional practitioner would do, not what a strategic commander would do.

Link to Ethical Policing Principles and the Code of Ethics

The CVF values did not appear in isolation. They are derived from ethical policing principles and aligned with the Code of Ethics for policing in England and Wales. In plain terms:

• The Code of Ethics sets out the ethical expectations of people working in policing — honesty, fairness, integrity, respect, and accountability among the themes candidates will recognise in practice scenarios.
• The CVF turns those ethical expectations into a shared language of values (who you are when under pressure) and competencies (how you work day to day).
• Recruitment, assessment centres, appraisals, and development conversations all use that shared language so selection is not a private guess about “police personality.”

For the sift, you are not asked to recite the Code of Ethics. You are asked to choose and endorse behaviours that match ethical professional practice: do the right thing when it is difficult; treat people with dignity; put the public interest first; be honest and open to scrutiny.

Behaviours Are Examples, Not Exhaustive Checklists

This point is exam-critical and easy to get wrong in preparation.

The CVF publishes example behaviours under each value and competency. Those examples help you recognise the shape of good practice. They are not:

• a complete list of every acceptable action
• a script you must match word-for-word on the SJT
• a set of magic phrases for the BSQ

If an SJT action protects a vulnerable person, challenges discrimination, or seeks help appropriately, it can still be effective even if that exact sentence is not in the published examples. Conversely, a glossy-sounding action that is dishonest, unfair, self-serving, or avoidant is ineffective even if it uses familiar “police-sounding” language.

Train yourself to ask: Which value or Level 1 competency is this action showing — or violating? That question is more reliable than hunting for a memorised bullet.

How CVF Is Used Across the Career Path

The same framework links several stages of a policing career:

For this guide, stay focused on Level 1 values + competencies as they appear in sift-style situations: working with colleagues, members of the public, ambiguity, pressure, difference of opinion, and ethical friction.

Values on the BSQ vs Values on the SJT

BSQ (direct assessment of values)

The BSQ presents statements and asks how much they sound like you (commonly a multi-point agreement scale; you may also rank which statements are most like you depending on the live platform design). Statements map to the three values and six competencies. Effective preparation is honest self-reflection against real behaviour, not inventing a “perfect officer” persona. Extreme, inconsistent, or overly polished response patterns are usually less credible than consistent, values-aligned answers grounded in how you actually work with people.

SJT (values colour effectiveness ratings)

The SJT does not ask you to name a value. You rate each action independently on a five-point effectiveness scale (from counterproductive through to very effective). Values still matter because they define what “professional,” “respectful,” and “in the public interest” mean:

• An action that is technically efficient but disrespectful is not very effective.
• An action that avoids conflict by ignoring discrimination is not very effective.
• An action that serves a personal or team convenience at the public’s expense is not very effective.
• An action that is honest, proportionate, and protective of trust often rates higher even when it is harder.

You may give the same rating to more than one action in a scenario; you do not have to force a forced ranking. Rate each action on its own merits against CVF-aligned professionalism.

Mental Model for the Rest of This Chapter

Use this three-part filter whenever you meet a scenario or BSQ statement:

1. Courage — Am I doing the right thing when it is hard, and can I be held to account for it?
2. Respect and empathy — Am I treating people as individuals with dignity, fairness, and genuine understanding?
3. Public service — Is the public interest, safety, and trust at the centre of the choice?

The next three sections unpack each value with meaning, example behaviours, SJT/BSQ recognition cues, and common traps.