Value: Courage
Key Takeaways
- Courage means making, communicating, and being accountable for decisions, and standing against anything that could bring the profession into disrepute.
- Courage includes doing the right thing when it is difficult, challenging unprofessional or prejudicial behaviour, and maintaining professional boundaries.
- Honest, open communication, accurate records, and keeping promises are core courage behaviours — not only dramatic confrontations.
- On the SJT, rate actions that challenge discrimination, invite scrutiny, and hold difficult conversations higher than actions that stay silent to keep the peace.
- On the BSQ, courage statements often involve integrity under pressure, willingness to be held to account, and readiness to challenge poor conduct.
What Courage Means in CVF 2024
In the Competency and Values Framework 2024, courage is not bravado, aggression, or “never backing down.” It is the value of making decisions, communicating them, and accepting accountability for them, while standing against anything that could bring the policing profession into disrepute.
Courage is everyday ethical backbone:
- doing the right thing when it is difficult
- challenging unprofessional, unethical, or prejudicial behaviour
- maintaining professional boundaries
- being honest and open, including under scrutiny
- keeping promises and commitments
- supporting an environment where ethical issues can be raised without fear
If respect and empathy describe how you treat people, and public service describes who the work is for, courage describes whether you will still do the right thing when silence would be easier.
Core Meaning Broken Down
1. Make, communicate, and own decisions
Courage includes deciding, explaining the decision in plain terms, and accepting that you may be questioned. Hiding behind vague language, blaming others for a choice you made, or refusing to explain a decision are opposite patterns.
In sift terms, an action that takes a defensible decision and owns it is usually more effective than an action that delays indefinitely to avoid responsibility — unless delay is genuinely needed to get critical information or protect safety.
2. Stand against disrepute
Anything that undermines public trust in policing — discrimination, dishonesty, abusive language, covering up mistakes, casual cruelty, or treating rules as optional for “our side” — is a courage issue. Standing against it may mean:
- challenging a colleague’s language or attitude
- refusing to join in unfair treatment
- reporting or escalating serious concerns through appropriate routes
- refusing to alter records or “smooth over” the truth
3. Do the right thing when it is difficult
Difficulty can be social (peer pressure), emotional (awkward conversation), practical (extra work), or reputational (looking unpopular). Courage does not require recklessness. It requires choosing the ethical professional option even when it costs comfort.
4. Maintain professional boundaries
Boundaries protect the public, colleagues, and you. Over-familiarity that compromises impartiality, sharing confidential information for social credit, or turning a blind eye because someone is “a mate” are failures of courage as well as professionalism.
5. Be honest, open, and reliable
Honesty is not only “do not lie.” It includes accurate records, admitting what you do not know, correcting errors promptly, and keeping promises. Openness to scrutiny means you can explain what you did and why.
Example Behaviours to Recognise (SJT / BSQ)
Use these as recognition patterns, not a closed checklist:
| Pattern | What it looks like in practice |
|---|---|
| Right thing when difficult | Corrects a mistake even if it delays a task; refuses a shortcut that would be unfair or dishonest |
| Role model ethical behaviour | Sets a calm, lawful, respectful example when others are cutting corners |
| Challenge language or attitudes that undermine the profession | Objects to discriminatory jokes, prejudiced assumptions, or mocking a victim or colleague |
| Stand against discrimination | Challenges unfair treatment and supports equal, respectful practice |
| Difficult conversations about unprofessional behaviour | Speaks privately or appropriately with a colleague whose conduct is wrong; escalates if needed |
| Open to scrutiny | Welcomes review, body-worn / supervisory oversight, or questions about a decision |
| Honest, accurate records | Records facts clearly; does not omit uncomfortable detail |
| Keep promises | Follows through on commitments to the public or colleagues, or explains promptly if circumstances change |
| Ethical climate | Makes it safer for others to raise concerns; does not punish or mock whistleblowing |
How Courage Appears on the BSQ
BSQ statements that map to courage often sound like:
- I challenge behaviour I believe is wrong, even if others stay silent.
- I take responsibility for my decisions and do not shift blame.
- I am honest even when the truth is uncomfortable.
- I keep my word and follow through on commitments.
- I maintain professional standards when under pressure from peers.
Preparation tip: answer from real patterns in your life (work, volunteering, sport, education, community roles). Courage on a BSQ is undermined by answering as if you never feel pressure, never make mistakes, and always confront everyone publicly in the most dramatic way. Credible courage is consistent integrity, not superhero theatre.
How Courage Colours SJT Ratings
On the SJT you rate each action independently for effectiveness. Courage helps you separate professional challenge from aggression, and ethical firmness from needless conflict.
Actions that often rate higher (courage-aligned)
- Challenging discriminatory language calmly and clearly
- Addressing unprofessional conduct rather than ignoring it
- Being honest with a member of the public about limits or uncertainty
- Recording events accurately even if that creates more work
- Seeking guidance when a decision has serious ethical stakes, while still taking appropriate responsibility
- Protecting a colleague or member of the public from unfair treatment
Actions that often rate lower (courage failures)
- Laughing along with a prejudicial remark to stay popular
- Hiding a mistake or asking someone to omit facts from a record
- Avoiding a necessary difficult conversation indefinitely
- Using rank, status, or group loyalty to silence legitimate challenge
- Making a hasty public accusation without any attempt at proportionate, professional handling
- Promising something you know you cannot deliver just to end a conversation
Balance: courage is not confrontation for its own sake
A counterproductive action can look “brave” but still be poor judgement: shouting at a colleague in front of the public; escalating a minor issue in a way that destroys working relationships without need; or challenging in a humiliating way. Effective courage is usually proportionate, professional, and aimed at standards, not at winning an argument.
Common Traps for Candidates
- Equating courage with physical bravery only. The sift is behavioural and ethical; many scenarios are about integrity and challenge, not emergency force.
- Choosing silence as “teamwork.” Protecting a team by ignoring unethical conduct is not collaboration; it fails courage and often public service.
- Over-escalating every issue. Courage includes knowing when a quiet professional conversation is the right first step and when formal escalation is required.
- Honesty without respect. Blunt cruelty is not courage. You can tell the truth while remaining respectful (see the next section).
- BSQ perfectionism. Claiming you always challenge everyone instantly in every setting can look inauthentic; consistency and integrity matter more than absolute extremes.
Mini Scenario Lens (Recognition Practice)
Scenario sketch: A colleague makes a dismissive joke about a caller’s mental health. Others laugh. You still have a job to finish.
| Action idea | Courage read |
|---|---|
| Join in so the team stays “light” | Low — condones prejudice and damages professional standards |
| Stay silent, finish the task, never address it | Low — avoids difficult right action |
| Speak up professionally, challenge the language, support a respectful approach to the caller | High — challenges unprofessional/prejudicial behaviour |
| Publicly humiliate the colleague and refuse to work with them again without process | Mixed/low — may address the issue but in a disproportionate, unprofessional way |
Train yourself to pick the professional challenge middle path: clear, accountable, and standards-focused.
Linking Courage to the Other Values
Courage rarely stands alone:
- Courage + respect and empathy: challenge the behaviour, not the person’s dignity; stay calm; listen if there is a misunderstanding.
- Courage + public service: the reason you challenge is often that public trust, fairness, or safety is at stake.
When an SJT option shows all three — honest challenge, respectful delivery, public interest — it is frequently among the stronger ratings.
Which definition best matches the CVF 2024 value of courage?
In an SJT scenario, a colleague uses discriminatory language about a member of the public. Which action best demonstrates courage?
Which workplace behaviour is a clear example of courage under CVF 2024?