JRFT: the 15 m police bleep test, levels and how to read 5.4

What the JRFT is

The Job-Related Fitness Test is a multistage shuttle run for police officers in the UK. People call it the police bleep test. You run back and forth on a 15 m course and must reach each line before the beep. The beeps get closer together at every level.

The College of Policing states that completing the JRFT is a requirement for successful recruitment as a police officer. The level you must reach depends on the role.

How it runs

1. Stand on one line, with a second line 15 m away.
2. On the first beep, run to the other line and be there before the next beep.
3. Turn and run back on the next beep. Each length is one shuttle.
4. Keep going as the gaps between beeps shrink. A new level starts when the audio says so.
5. If you reach the line early, wait for the beep before you turn.

The score is a level and a shuttle, written like 5.4. That means level 5, shuttle 4.

The 12 levels

The test has 12 levels. The number of shuttles per level goes up with the speed.

Level	Shuttles in the level	Shuttles at the end of the level	Distance at the end (m)
1	7	7	105
2	8	15	225
3	8	23	345
4	8	31	465
5	9	40	600
6	9	49	735
7	10	59	885
8	10	69	1,035
9	10	79	1,185
10	11	90	1,350
11	11	101	1,515
12	12	113	1,695

Distance is shuttles × 15 m. The speed and the time per shuttle of each level are in the stage table further down this page.

How to read 5.4

Level 5.4 is the 35th shuttle: 31 shuttles to the end of level 4, plus four. That is 35 × 15 m = 525 m, in about 3 minutes 35 seconds. Those are the College’s figures.

The speed at 5.4 is close to 10 km/h. The difficulty is not the speed on its own. It is keeping that speed with a turn every 15 m.

The standards

Who	Standard
Officers who need personal safety training, College of Policing (recruits)	Level 5.4
Police Scotland, police officer candidates	Level 5.4
Ministry of Defence Police, Inspector and above	Level 5.4

Some specialist roles, such as armed response vehicle officers, use a higher level on the same test. See the police beep test requirements for the standards by force and country.

The College of Policing page says the standard is under review because of the new national curriculum. Check the recruiting force’s own page before your selection day.

JRFT or beep test

The two tests look alike and share a name in everyday talk. They do not share numbers.

	JRFT	Beep test
Course	15 m	20 m
Levels	12	21
Total shuttles	113	247
Level 5.4	35 shuttles, 525 m	36 shuttles, 720 m

If a recruiter asks for 5.4, they mean the 15 m table. Reaching 5.4 on a 20 m recording does not prove you can do it. See the beep test for the 20 m levels.

Preparing for it

Think of it as a test of running with turns, not of top speed.

• Practise the turns. Run 15 m shuttles in training, with a firm plant of the foot and a quick push back.
• Build an aerobic base. Easy running two or three times a week.
• Do one session of shuttles a week at a steady, hard pace.
• Run the real audio at least once before the test, so the rhythm is not new on the day.

Mistakes on the day

• Starting early. You gain nothing by arriving before the beep.
• Running past the line. Every extra metre adds up over 35 shuttles.
• Using the wrong recording for training. Check it says 15 m.
• Reading a 20 m level as a JRFT level.