911 Operator Test Listening and Memory Recall 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A caller reports a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run: 'It was a dark blue pickup truck, older model, with a cracked rear windshield and a dent on the driver's side door.' Which detail is MOST useful for dispatch to broadcast first?
- The cracked rear windshield
- Dark blue pickup truck (Correct answer)
- Older model year
- Dent on the driver's side door
Correct answer: Dark blue pickup truck
Vehicle type and color are the primary identifiers broadcast first because they allow officers to visually scan for the vehicle quickly.
Question 2: A witness describes a suspect: 'He was wearing a red hoodie, had a tattoo on his left arm, was about six feet tall, and ran north on Elm Street.' In what order should this information be logged?
- Tattoo, height, clothing, direction
- Direction, clothing, height, tattoo
- Clothing, height, tattoo, direction (Correct answer)
- Height, direction, tattoo, clothing
Correct answer: Clothing, height, tattoo, direction
Clothing and height are immediately visible identifiers, followed by distinguishing marks and last known direction of travel.
Question 3: While taking a burglary report, the caller says: 'They took my laptop, my grandmother's gold necklace, about $300 in cash, and my son's PlayStation.' How many items were stolen?
- Three
- Four (Correct answer)
- Five
- Two
Correct answer: Four
The caller listed four items: laptop, gold necklace, cash, and PlayStation.
Question 4: A caller reports a domestic disturbance and says, 'He left in a silver sedan heading toward the freeway about five minutes ago.' What is the most critical piece of information to relay to responding units?
- The suspect left five minutes ago
- The vehicle is a silver sedan
- The suspect is heading toward the freeway
- Both the vehicle description and direction of travel (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Both the vehicle description and direction of travel
Both the vehicle description and direction of travel together give officers the best chance of locating the suspect.
Question 5: A caller quickly provides a callback number and then the line goes silent. You only caught part of it: '555-0' before it cut out. What is the correct next step?
- Log what you have and move on
- Use automatic number identification (ANI) to retrieve the full number (Correct answer)
- Attempt to call back with different number combinations
- Wait for the caller to call again
Correct answer: Use automatic number identification (ANI) to retrieve the full number
ANI automatically captures the caller's number at the time of the call, making it the fastest way to retrieve a partial number.
Question 6: During a call, a caller describes two suspects: 'One was tall with a green jacket; the other was short with a shaved head.' After the call ends, you can only recall one description clearly. What should you do?
- Log only the description you remember clearly
- Mark the report incomplete and wait for more information
- Note that two suspects were described and flag for follow-up clarification
- Call the witness back to confirm both descriptions (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Call the witness back to confirm both descriptions
Calling back the witness to confirm both descriptions ensures accuracy and completeness of the report.
Question 7: A caller reporting a fire says, 'It started in the kitchen, there's a lot of smoke on the second floor, and my elderly mother is still inside.' What information should be relayed to fire units FIRST?
- Location of the fire origin (kitchen)
- Presence of a trapped occupant (Correct answer)
- Amount of smoke on the second floor
- The caller's name
Correct answer: Presence of a trapped occupant
A trapped occupant is the highest-priority life-safety information and must be relayed immediately to responding units.
911 Operator Test Listening and Memory Recall 2
A caller reports a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run: 'It was a dark blue pickup truck, older model, with a cracked rear windshield and a dent on the driver's side door.' Which detail is MOST useful for dispatch to broadcast first?