APCAT APCAT - Alberta Police Cognitive Ability Written Communication Accuracy 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence is most appropriate for an official police report?
- The guy was really aggressive and totally out of line.
- The suspect displayed aggressive behaviour and refused to comply with verbal commands. (Correct answer)
- The dude wouldn't listen and got in my face.
- He was being super hostile so I had to deal with it.
Correct answer: The suspect displayed aggressive behaviour and refused to comply with verbal commands.
Police reports must use formal, objective, and precise language. Option B is professional and factual.
Police reports are legal documents reviewed by courts and oversight bodies. They must use formal language and factual description without editorialising. Options A, C, and D use slang or informal tone that undermines the report's credibility.
Question 2: Which version of the following sentence is most accurate and clear for a police report?
- The vehicle was going really fast down the road.
- The vehicle was travelling at an estimated speed of 80 km/h in a posted 60 km/h zone. (Correct answer)
- The car sped by quite quickly in a hurry.
- The vehicle exceeded the speed limit by a lot.
Correct answer: The vehicle was travelling at an estimated speed of 80 km/h in a posted 60 km/h zone.
Police reports require specific, quantified, factual descriptions rather than vague or colloquial language.
Option B provides specific, measurable information (estimated 80 km/h in a 60 km/h zone) usable in court. Vague descriptors like 'really fast' or 'a lot' have no evidentiary value.
Question 3: Identify the best-written statement for a witness account section of a report.
- The witness said that the suspect was wearing a red jacket and was tall.
- Witness Ms. Diarra stated that the suspect was wearing a red jacket and was approximately 185 cm tall. (Correct answer)
- The witness said a red jacket guy who was big.
- A witness reported the suspect had on something red and was large.
Correct answer: Witness Ms. Diarra stated that the suspect was wearing a red jacket and was approximately 185 cm tall.
Option B names the witness, specifies what was stated, and quantifies the description with a specific height estimate.
Effective police report writing attributes statements to named individuals, uses formal register, and replaces vague terms with specific measurements. Naming 'Ms. Diarra' establishes an identifiable witness for follow-up.
Question 4: Which phrase correctly uses passive voice appropriately in a police report context?
- The suspect punched the victim in the face.
- The victim was struck in the face by the suspect. (Correct answer)
- The suspect hit the person.
- The person got punched.
Correct answer: The victim was struck in the face by the suspect.
Option B is precise, formal, and appropriate — specifying location of injury and perpetrator.
Both active and passive voice are acceptable in police reports. Option B is the most formal and complete. Options C and D lack formality or completeness.
Question 5: An officer writes: 'I seen the suspect run toward the alley.' What is the grammatical error in this sentence?
- 'Toward' should be 'towards'
- 'Seen' should be 'saw' — 'seen' requires an auxiliary verb like 'had' (Correct answer)
- 'Suspect' should be 'suspects'
- 'Run' should be 'ran'
Correct answer: 'Seen' should be 'saw' — 'seen' requires an auxiliary verb like 'had'
'Seen' is a past participle that requires an auxiliary verb (I had seen / I have seen). Without one, the simple past 'saw' is correct.
Past participles ('seen', 'gone', 'done') cannot stand alone as the main verb without an auxiliary. The correct form is 'I saw' (simple past) or 'I had seen' (past perfect). This error is common in informal speech but unacceptable in official police reports.
Question 6: Which report sentence best describes a timeline of events?
- Things happened quickly and then the suspect left.
- At approximately 22:15, the suspect entered the vehicle and departed northbound on Macleod Trail. (Correct answer)
- The suspect got in a car and drove off fast.
- The guy ran off at some point during the night.
Correct answer: At approximately 22:15, the suspect entered the vehicle and departed northbound on Macleod Trail.
Specific time, action, and direction of travel make Option B a complete, accurate, and useful chronological entry.
Effective timeline entries include a specific time (22:15), a clear action (entered vehicle, departed), and a specific direction and location (northbound on Macleod Trail). Vague references are unusable for investigative or prosecutorial purposes.
APCAT APCAT - Alberta Police Cognitive Ability Written Communication Accuracy 2
Which sentence is most appropriate for an official police report?