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General Police Duties

Unsatisfactory Performance Practice Questions

Free NPPF Step 2 Unsatisfactory Performance questions with full answers, for Sergeant and Inspector candidates.

15+ questions in the full bankType A format

About this topic

Unsatisfactory performance questions test the procedures for dealing with an officer's performance or attendance, from the first stage meeting to a third stage hearing.

Know what each stage involves, what an improvement notice must contain, and the officer's right to be accompanied.

Key legislation and cases

  • Police (Performance) Regulations
  • Home Office statutory guidance on performance

Worked examples

Try each question before opening the answer. Every option is explained, because the exam usually turns on why the near-miss answers are wrong.

Worked question 1 of 2Standard

DC Wright has been identified as performing unsatisfactorily and is to attend a first stage UPP meeting, in relation to conduct occurring in September 2025. The assessor decides to issue a written improvement notice. DC Wright asks her federation representative what the notice must contain. Which of the following most accurately states the legal position?

  1. AThe written improvement notice must specify the shortfall, the improvement required, the support to be provided, and a review date - all four elements are mandatory.
  2. BThe written improvement notice must specify the improvement required, the support to be provided, and a review date - the shortfall itself does not need to be separately identified.
  3. CThe written improvement notice must specify the shortfall and the improvement required - support and review date are recommended good practice but not mandatory content.
  4. DThe written improvement notice need only record that a meeting took place and that performance was discussed - no further detail is legally required.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A

A written improvement notice must specify four elements: (1) the shortfall in performance or attendance; (2) the improvement required; (3) the support that will be provided; and (4) a review date. All four are mandatory - a notice omitting any of them is deficient.

Police (Performance) Regulations 2020, as amended by S.I. 2025/558
A written improvement notice must specify the shortfall in performance or attendance, the improvement required, the support to be provided, and the period within which the improvement will be reviewed.
  • B: The shortfall itself is a distinct, required element - it isn't enough to state only the improvement required without identifying what's actually going wrong.
  • C: Support and review date are both mandatory content, not optional good practice.
  • D: A bare record that a meeting took place is not sufficient - the substantive four elements above must be specified.
Worked question 2 of 2Standard

PC Hassan has been notified that a first stage UPP meeting will be held to discuss concerns about his performance, identified in October 2025. PC Hassan asks his sergeant whether he can bring a colleague to the meeting, or whether he must attend alone.

  1. APC Hassan is entitled to be accompanied by a police friend at the first stage meeting - this right exists at every stage of the UPP process, though formal legal representation only becomes available at the second stage panel.
  2. BPC Hassan has no right to be accompanied at a first stage UPP meeting - the right to a police friend or representative only arises once the matter reaches the second stage.
  3. CPC Hassan is entitled to full legal representation by a solicitor at the first stage meeting, as legal representation is available at every stage of the UPP process.
  4. DPC Hassan is entitled to be accompanied by a police friend at the first stage meeting, but only with the prior agreement of his line manager.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A

Throughout the UPP process, an officer is entitled to be accompanied by a police friend at meetings. Formal legal representation - a lawyer of the officer's choice - becomes available specifically at the second stage panel, reflecting the more serious outcomes, including dismissal, available at that stage.

Police (Performance) Regulations 2020, Parts 2-4, as amended by S.I. 2025/558
An officer may be accompanied by a police friend at any meeting under these Regulations. At a second stage (panel) meeting, the officer has the right to be represented by a lawyer of their choice.
  • B: The right to a police friend exists from the first stage onwards, not only from the second stage.
  • C: Full legal representation isn't available at the first stage - only a police friend. Legal representation is reserved for the second stage panel.
  • D: There's no requirement for the line manager's prior agreement - the right to a police friend is unconditional.

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