APCAT APCAT - Alberta Police Cognitive Ability Reading Comprehension Skills 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Read the following excerpt and answer the question. Section 9 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned. An arbitrary detention occurs when a person is stopped without reasonable grounds and without a lawful justification. Courts have held that even brief investigative detentions must be based on specific and articulable facts. According to the passage, when is a detention considered arbitrary?
- When a detention lasts longer than one hour
- When a person is stopped without reasonable grounds and without lawful justification (Correct answer)
- When the police do not record the detention in a report
- When a person refuses to provide their name
Correct answer: When a person is stopped without reasonable grounds and without lawful justification
The passage explicitly states that arbitrary detention occurs when a person is stopped without reasonable grounds and without a lawful justification.
The passage defines arbitrary detention as occurring when someone is stopped 'without reasonable grounds and without a lawful justification'. Duration and reporting are not mentioned in the definition. APCAT tests whether candidates accurately extract stated definitions.
Question 2: Using the same Charter passage: What must investigative detentions be based on, according to the courts?
- A warrant signed by a judge
- An officer's general suspicion
- Specific and articulable facts (Correct answer)
- The duration of the detention
Correct answer: Specific and articulable facts
The passage states courts have held that investigative detentions must be based on 'specific and articulable facts'.
The phrase 'specific and articulable facts' is a legal standard requiring officers to identify concrete observations. General suspicion or hunches are not sufficient. This standard is directly stated in the passage.
Question 3: Read the following and answer the question. The Alberta Police Act requires that all police services in Alberta develop and maintain a public complaint process. Members of the public who believe they have been treated improperly by a police officer may file a complaint with the police service or with the Law Enforcement Review Board. The process is designed to ensure accountability and maintain public confidence in policing. What is the stated purpose of the complaint process?
- To discipline officers who break rules
- To generate statistics on officer conduct
- To ensure accountability and maintain public confidence in policing (Correct answer)
- To provide officers with feedback on their performance
Correct answer: To ensure accountability and maintain public confidence in policing
The passage explicitly states the process is designed to 'ensure accountability and maintain public confidence in policing'.
The passage's final sentence provides the stated purpose. While discipline and feedback may be outcomes, they are not the stated purpose as written. APCAT comprehension tests reward precision — answer what the text says.
Question 4: Using the same Alberta Police Act passage: Where can a member of the public file a complaint?
- Only with the police service directly
- Only with the Law Enforcement Review Board
- With either the police service or the Law Enforcement Review Board (Correct answer)
- With the Provincial Court of Alberta only
Correct answer: With either the police service or the Law Enforcement Review Board
The passage states complaints may be filed 'with the police service or with the Law Enforcement Review Board'.
The passage uses 'or' to present two filing options. Options A and B each describe only one of the two options. Option D introduces the Provincial Court, which is not mentioned. Accurate comprehension requires noting both options.
Question 5: Read the following and answer the question. Domestic violence incidents are among the most complex calls police respond to. Victims may be reluctant to cooperate with police due to fear, financial dependency, or emotional attachment to the abuser. Alberta's Victims of Crime Act provides protections and resources to victims, including emergency protection orders which can be obtained quickly to remove an abuser from the home. Why might victims be reluctant to cooperate with police in domestic violence cases?
- Because they are usually the perpetrators of the violence
- Because they do not trust legal systems generally
- Due to fear, financial dependency, or emotional attachment to the abuser (Correct answer)
- Because they prefer to resolve the matter in civil court
Correct answer: Due to fear, financial dependency, or emotional attachment to the abuser
The passage directly states that victims may be reluctant due to 'fear, financial dependency, or emotional attachment to the abuser'.
The three reasons stated in the passage are fear, financial dependency, and emotional attachment. Options A and B introduce ideas not stated. APCAT tests require selecting answers supported directly by the text.
Question 6: Using the same domestic violence passage: What does an emergency protection order allow?
- It compels a victim to testify against an abuser
- It transfers custody of children to a family member
- It allows for quick removal of an abuser from the home (Correct answer)
- It suspends the abuser's driver's licence immediately
Correct answer: It allows for quick removal of an abuser from the home
The passage states emergency protection orders 'can be obtained quickly to remove an abuser from the home'.
The passage says emergency protection orders can be obtained quickly to remove an abuser from the home. None of the other options are stated or implied by the passage.
APCAT APCAT - Alberta Police Cognitive Ability Reading Comprehension Skills 2
Read the following excerpt and answer the question.
Section 9 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.
An arbitrary detention occurs when a person is stopped without reasonable grounds and without a lawful justification.
Courts have held that even brief investigative detentions must be based on specific and articulable facts.
According to the passage, when is a detention considered arbitrary?