If you have taken the National Investigators Exam on the 29 November, Please take our candidate survey. This is your chance to influence the design of the examination. Your views are taken in the strictest confidence, and all surveys are completely anonymous. Please note the entry forms for the NIE have been updated. Please only use VERSION 3 recently distributed. If you have taken the NIE on the 6th of September and would like to give us your feedback, please complete the SURVEY Exam Update
Exam Dates
The National Investigators' Examination is a multiple-choice examination, testing knowledge of law and procedure relevant to the role of a trainee investigator. It represents phase 1 of the Initial Crime Investigators' Development Programme (ICIDP). The ICIDP consists of three phases. Phase 1 - examination, progression to subsequent stages of the ICIDP is dependent on a pass. The Assessment Process
Phase 2 - a six-week full-time study course.
Phase 3 - trainee investigators are required to meet a set of occupational standards within the workplace.
The examination consists of 80 questions, over 2 hours (10 questions are validation questions and do not contribute towards the final mark). All questions are subject to quality assurance checks by legal and equality and diversity and human rights experts. How to Apply
To apply you must complete the NIE registration form, available from your NIE liaison contact in force.
The form requires certain biographical details, e.g. ethnic background and sex, that will later be used to evaluate the fairness of the examination system. The information is collated for evaluation purposes only and is not used in any way to determine the results.
This form must be returned to NPIA by recorded delivery and cannot be faxed or e-mailed. Please inform your NIE liaison contact if you intend to submit an application for an examination.
Your NIE Liaison Contact will monitor your application. Do not contact us directly.
Candidates re-sitting the NIE are required to complete the NIE registration form and return this via recorded delivery to NPIA no later than four weeks following the date of the examination.
Candidate's Guidance
Candidates who register to take the NIE should download a copy of the NIE Rules and Syllabus. This guide is published annually and contains full information about the rules, procedures and policies of the exam.
Disabilities
Full details of the Reasonable Adjustment Policy for the National Investigators' Examination are provided in the policy document.
Candidates wishing to apply for Reasonable Adjustment for the NIE examinations should contact their NIE liaison contact who will forward the assessment report and form onto NPIA on your behalf.
Download NIE Reasonable Adjustment Request Form
Candidate Performance Feedback
Following completion of the NIE, candidates receive a feedback report which details their performance on each question. Information is also provided comparing candidates' performance to that of their own force and nationally. The aim of the feedback is to maximise the developmental information candidates receive through the examination process and to ensure that the feedback is presented in the most meaningful manner.
Download example of a Feedback Report
Annual Force Feedback
The Force Feedback Report provides forces with information about how their own officers have performed during each financial year in the NIE. This report provides a breakdown of the biographical profile of candidates attending the examination and analysis of the forces results against national figures.
The latter sections of the report present the results of successful and unsuccessful officers and provides analysis of performance of the candidates from each force against comparator data, based on the most similar force categories recommended by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).
If you would like to receive a copy of your force's NIE Annual Force Feedback Report, please email the NIE Team.
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