The Information Handling part of the Police Scotland entrance test is where a lot of applicants lose easy marks. Not because the maths is hard, but because they start calculating before they have understood the table in front of them. This guide shows you how to read an offence-and-outcome table properly, filter the right rows, and give the answer in the exact format the question asks for.
Everything below is written for the Police Scotland PSET specifically. If you have been working through generic UK police test material, the techniques transfer, but the framing here follows the Scottish process and the way the official mock presents its data.
What the Police Scotland Information Handling Test Covers
Information Handling is one of the elements inside the Police Scotland Standard Entrance Test. You will also see it referred to as the Scottish Police Information Handling Standard Entrance Test, or simply the SET, in older preparation material. The skill being assessed is the same whichever label is used: can you extract accurate information from a set of data under time pressure?
The Information Handling element
The element tests data interpretation rather than mental arithmetic for its own sake. You are given a block of information and a series of questions that require you to locate values, combine them, compare them or express them as a proportion. The arithmetic itself stays at a level any applicant with basic numeracy can handle. The difficulty sits in reading accurately and working quickly.
That distinction matters for how you prepare. Drilling long multiplication will not help you much. Drilling the habit of reading column headings before touching the numbers will.
Offence-and-outcome tables
In the official mock, the information is presented as a table of offences and outcomes. Rows typically identify an offence type. Columns typically identify what happened next: charged, reported, no further action, warning, and so on. Totals may appear at the edges of the table, or they may not appear at all, which means you have to build them yourself.
Get comfortable with that layout. Once you recognise the structure, the questions become variations on a small number of operations: pick rows, add them, compare them, or turn one value into a percentage of another.
Number, percentage or category responses
Answers in the Information Handling element are written as a number, a percentage or a category. Those three response types are not interchangeable. A question that asks which offence had the highest number of warnings wants a category label from the table, not a count. A question asking what proportion of a total a subset represents wants a percentage, not the raw subset figure.
Reading the requested response type is part of answering the question. Skip that and you can do every calculation correctly and still score zero.
Read the Table Before You Calculate
The single biggest improvement most applicants can make is to spend the first few seconds reading rather than computing. Headings and row labels establish what each value actually represents. Without that, a number in a cell is just a number.
Start with headings and labels
Before the first question, scan the table structure. What does each column measure? What does each row identify? Is there a total row, a total column, both or neither? Are any figures already expressed as percentages rather than counts?
This takes around fifteen seconds and it pays for itself across every question that follows. You are building a mental map of the table so you can navigate it instead of hunting for values each time.
Locate the relevant row and outcome
Each question names something: an offence, an outcome, a condition, or a combination. Your first move is to find that named thing in the table. Point at it, physically or mentally. Only then do you think about what to do with it.
Applicants who go wrong here usually grab a value from the adjacent row or the adjacent column. The table is dense, the rows are close together, and under time pressure the eye slips. Confirming the label before taking the number removes most of that error.
Check units before arithmetic
Not every figure in a table shares the same basis. One column might show counts, another might show percentages, another might show figures expressed in hundreds or thousands. Mixing those together produces answers that look plausible and are completely wrong.
Check the unit of every value you intend to use before you combine anything. If a column header says “per 1,000” or “%”, that changes what your total means.
Filter Rows to Match the Question
Filtering is the step between reading the question and doing the maths. It is a selection task, not a calculation task, and treating it as a separate stage is what keeps your answers clean.
Translate the wording into a filter
Questions describe conditions in plain English. Your job is to turn that description into a precise rule about which rows qualify. “How many assault and theft cases resulted in a charge” becomes: take the assault row and the theft row, use only the charged column. Nothing else enters the calculation.
Write the filter out in your head as a short rule before you look at any numbers. If you cannot state the rule in one sentence, you have not understood the question yet.
Keep only relevant offences or outcomes
Once the rule is set, identify the rows that satisfy it and ignore everything else. Extra rows are the most common cause of inflated totals. A table that lists eight offence types will tempt you towards the total row even when the question only wants three of them.
Calculate a total, a difference or a percentage only after the relevant rows have been identified. The order matters: select first, compute second.
Recheck the selection when the question changes
Consecutive questions often use the same table with a different condition. If the offence or outcome condition changes, rebuild the filter from scratch. Do not carry the previous selection into the next calculation because it was convenient.
This is a frequent trap in timed conditions. You remember the figure you just worked out, the next question looks similar, and you reuse it. Rebuilding the filter costs a few seconds and saves a wrong answer.
Work Out Totals and Differences
Most Information Handling questions reduce to one of two operations. Once you can do both reliably, the rest is speed.
Build the correct total
A total should include only the rows that match the conditions stated in the question. That sounds obvious until you are forty minutes in and reaching for a total row that covers more categories than you need.
Take a worked example. Suppose a table lists five offence types against three outcomes: charged, reported and no further action. The question asks for the total number of charged cases across assault, theft and vandalism. You select three rows, read the charged column for each, and add those three figures. The vandalism row’s reported figure is not part of this answer, and neither are the two offence types the question did not mention.
Compare like with like
A difference compares two values expressed using the same unit or basis. Before you subtract, confirm that both figures measure the same thing. Comparing a count against a percentage gives you a number, but not a meaningful one.
Using the same table, a question might ask how many more assault cases were charged than theft cases. You read the charged column for both rows and subtract the smaller from the larger. Both figures are counts of the same outcome type, so the comparison is valid. If the theft figure had been given as a percentage of theft cases, you would need to convert before comparing.
Check before submitting
Your review step is short and specific: did I select the right rows, and are the units consistent? Those two checks catch the majority of errors in this element. A third quick check on the response format closes the gap.
Calculate a Percentage of a Total
Percentage questions have a reputation for being the hardest part of the Information Handling element. They are not, provided you are disciplined about which number goes where.
Identify the relevant subset
Start by naming the subset the question is asking about. That might be one row, one column, or the intersection of both. Find it, confirm the label, and note the value.
Choose the correct denominator
This is where percentage questions are won or lost. The denominator must be the total specified by the question, not an unrelated total elsewhere in the table. A question asking what percentage of theft cases resulted in a charge uses the total number of theft cases as the denominator, not the total number of charges and not the grand total of all cases.
Read the question again before you divide. The phrasing almost always tells you the denominator explicitly: “of theft cases”, “of all recorded offences”, “of cases resulting in a charge”. Those phrases are the instruction.
Return a percentage and check the units
Divide the subset by the total, then convert to a percentage. If the table gives you figures in different units, resolve that before dividing rather than afterwards.
A worked example: the table shows 180 theft cases in total, of which 45 resulted in a charge. The question asks what percentage of theft cases resulted in a charge. The subset is 45, the denominator is 180, and 45 divided by 180 gives 0.25, which is 25%. The answer is written as a percentage because that is what the question requested. Giving 45, or 0.25, would be a different answer to a different question.
Return the Requested Answer Format
A number, a percentage and a category convey different kinds of information. The wording of the question controls which one you give, and this is checked as rigorously as the arithmetic.
When the answer is a number
Numerical answers come from counts, totals and differences. Record the figure in the same unit the table uses unless the question asks you to convert. If the column is expressed in thousands, say so or convert consistently, but do not silently mix the two.
When the answer is a percentage
Percentage answers require the division step and the conversion step. A common slip is stopping at the decimal. Another is rounding before the final step and carrying the error forward. Complete the calculation, then round once at the end if rounding is needed.
When the answer is a category
Category answers are labels taken directly from the table. Read them accurately rather than replacing them with a near-synonym. If the table says “reported”, write “reported”, not “referred”. If the outcome column distinguishes between a warning and a formal caution, those are two separate categories and you cannot substitute one for the other.
Category questions often feel easier than the numerical ones, which is exactly why they catch people out. You still have to do the comparison work to identify which category qualifies, and then you have to transcribe the label correctly.
Use the 49-Question, 60-Minute Format in Practice
Timing shapes how you approach every technique above. Work to a format of 49 questions in 60 minutes when you practise. Confirm the current format with Police Scotland before test day, since published test arrangements can be updated.
Rehearse the stated format
That works out at roughly 73 seconds per question across the whole paper. Information Handling questions sit alongside other elements, so you will not spend the full hour on tables, but the per-question pace is what you need to internalise.
Practising untimed is useful at the start, when you are learning the method. After that, switch to timed work. The habits you want, reading the headings first, stating the filter, checking the units, have to survive under pressure, and the only way to know they will is to rehearse them against a clock.
Build a timed routine
A simple routine works well. Sit a full-length paper under exam conditions, no pauses, no checking answers mid-way. Mark it afterwards. Then sit a second paper a few days later and compare both the score and the type of error.
Realistic PSET mock exams are the right tool here because they reproduce the question style and pacing rather than just the subject matter. Generic numerical reasoning material will build your arithmetic but will not rehearse the specific skill of handling an offence-and-outcome table at speed.
Review the reasoning, not just the score
After each paper, go through every question you got wrong and work out which stage failed. Was it the row selection? The denominator? The units? The response format? Each of those has a different fix.
Do the same for the questions you got right but felt unsure about. Reviewing why each answer works, including the rows you selected, the calculation you used, the unit and the response format, builds reliability. Recording only right or wrong tells you where you stand but not how to improve.
Check Eligibility Before You Apply
Information Handling practice is wasted effort if you are not eligible to apply in the first place. Two requirements catch applicants out regularly, so confirm both early.
Police Scotland requires applicants to have lived in the UK for at least three years immediately before applying. This applies to police officer and police staff applications alike. It is a continuous residence requirement, so periods abroad during that window need checking against the published criteria.
A manual driving licence is also required for police officer applications, according to Police Scotland’s careers information and its official vacancy adverts. A full automatic-only licence does not satisfy this condition. If you hold an automatic licence, factor the time needed to pass a manual test into your application planning.
Police Scotland also states that applicants must be 18 or over. Initial police officer training runs for 18 weeks, broken into one week at a regional training centre, 15 weeks at the Scottish Police College or a Training and Recruitment Centre, and a further two weeks at a regional training centre. The probationary period lasts two years.
For context on the role you are testing for, the Police Scotland vacancy published on MyJobScotland on 25 September 2026 gives a police officer pay range of £31,466.00 to £50,528.00. MyJobScotland’s Police Scotland profile puts the workforce at 23,000 officers and staff covering 28,168 square miles.
Where the PSET sits in the application timeline
The entrance test is one stage among several. The full process covers eligibility checks, the entrance test, the fitness assessment, the assessment day, a competency-based interview and vetting. Information Handling is a single element within the entrance test, so treat it as one focused piece of preparation rather than the whole job.
That said, it is an early gate. Clearing it keeps your application moving, and the data-reading skills carry over into the written elements of the assessment day.
Build a Police Scotland-Specific Preparation Plan
Preparation works best when it matches the test you are actually sitting. Scottish policing operates under Scottish law and its own national standards, and preparation material built for forces elsewhere in the UK will not always reflect that.
Independent guides and realistic PSET mock exams give you the format rehearsal you need. Pair the Information Handling work with the numeracy article on this site, since percentage and ratio fluency underpins most of the table questions, and use the PSET hub to see how the elements fit together.
A workable plan over a few weeks looks like this. Spend the first sessions learning the method untimed: read the headings, state the filter, select rows, check units, match the response format. Then move to timed sets of practice questions. Finish with full papers under exam conditions, reviewing the reasoning behind every answer rather than just the total.
To put that in context, Police Scotland handles over three million contacts annually, including over four thousand 101 non-emergency calls daily and two thousand 999 emergency calls daily across its three Area Control Rooms. Accurate, fast handling of information is not an abstract test skill. It reflects what the job actually requires.
The next step is straightforward: sit a full paper under timed conditions and find out where your accuracy drops. You can take the free PSET practice paper at https://www.jointhecops.co.uk/free-pset/ and use the review process above to turn each mistake into a specific fix.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Police Scotland Information Handling test?
It is the Information Handling element of the Police Scotland PSET, sometimes referred to as the Scottish Police Information Handling Standard Entrance Test. The working format is a table of offences and outcomes, with answers given as a number, a percentage or a category.
What does the official mock ask you to do?
The information is arranged in a table of offences and outcomes. You read the headings and row labels first, then supply the response type requested: a number, a percentage or a category.
How many questions are in the PSET and how long do you have?
Work to 49 questions in 60 minutes for the format covered by this guide. Confirm the current arrangements with Police Scotland before your test date.
How should I start a table question?
Identify the offence, outcome or condition named in the question. Filter the relevant rows, check the unit, and only then calculate the total, difference or percentage being asked for.
How do I calculate a percentage of a total?
Identify the subset and the total named by the question. Divide the subset by that total, convert the result to a percentage, then confirm that the unit and the requested answer format both match the question.
How do I handle totals and differences?
Add only the rows that satisfy the question’s conditions and keep comparable units together. For a difference, compare the two relevant values after confirming they use the same basis.
How do I know whether to give a number, percentage or category?
Read the requested response type before doing any arithmetic. A number, a percentage and a category are not interchangeable, so check the category labels and units against the table.
How should I practise for the Information Handling element?
Use realistic PSET mock questions and timed work that rehearses the 49-question, 60-minute format. Review why each answer works, then move on to a full practice paper.
What eligibility checks should I make before applying to Police Scotland?
Check the requirement for three years of continuous residence in the UK before applying and the requirement to hold a manual driving licence. These are application eligibility points, separate from the table-reading techniques covered here.
Sources
Realistic mock exams in Language, Numeracy and Information Handling with complete explanations.
How Many Hours Does a Police Officer Work in Scotland? (2026 Guide)
Police Scotland Application Form Guide: Questions, CVF & Examples (2026)
