NYS Following Written Instructions 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Procedure 3.7 states: 'Lost and found items valued over $100 must be logged in the Lost Property Register and stored in the secure room. Items valued at $100 or less are logged in the Daily Log only.' An officer finds a wallet containing $150 cash. Where must it be stored?
- Daily Log only, because cash is treated differently from property
- Lost Property Register and secure room (Correct answer)
- Daily Log and secure room
- Lost Property Register only
Correct answer: Lost Property Register and secure room
The wallet's value exceeds $100, so it must be logged in the Lost Property Register and stored in the secure room.
Question 2: A directive states: 'Officers assigned to courtroom security must arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled start of proceedings. If an officer will be late, they must notify the court clerk at least 10 minutes before the scheduled start.' An officer realizes they will be late when proceedings are 8 minutes away. What should the officer do?
- Notify the court clerk immediately, since the 10-minute window has passed (Correct answer)
- Do not notify, since it is too late to fulfill the requirement
- Notify the shift supervisor instead of the court clerk
- Proceed directly to the courtroom without notification
Correct answer: Notify the court clerk immediately, since the 10-minute window has passed
Although the officer can no longer fulfill the 10-minute advance notice, notifying the court clerk immediately is still the appropriate action to minimize disruption.
Question 3: Standing Order 15 reads: 'Contraband discovered during a search must be photographed in place before being moved. The officer must then place it in an evidence bag, seal the bag, and tag it with the officer's badge number, date, time, and location of discovery.' An officer photographs contraband, bags it, and seals it but forgets to add the tag. Which step was omitted?
- Photographing in place
- Placing it in an evidence bag
- Sealing the bag
- Tagging with required identifying information (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Tagging with required identifying information
All steps through sealing were completed, but the officer failed to tag the evidence bag with the required identifying details.
Question 4: Policy 8.2 states: 'Shift supervisors must review all incident reports before the end of the shift in which the incident occurred. If review is not possible, the supervisor must notify the Watch Commander and document the reason.' A supervisor cannot review three incident reports before shift end due to an emergency. What must the supervisor do?
- Review the reports at the start of the next shift
- Notify the Watch Commander and document the reason (Correct answer)
- Assign review duties to a fellow officer
- Submit the unreviewed reports to records and note the delay
Correct answer: Notify the Watch Commander and document the reason
When end-of-shift review is not possible, the policy requires notifying the Watch Commander and documenting the reason.
Question 5: An officer is handed a written checklist for processing an arrested individual. Step 5 reads: 'Remove all personal items and place them in a property envelope. Do not begin Step 6 until Step 5 is complete and signed off.' The officer skips the sign-off and moves directly to Step 6. What instruction was violated?
- The requirement to remove personal items
- The requirement to use a property envelope
- The prohibition on advancing before signing off on Step 5 (Correct answer)
- The sequential ordering of the checklist
Correct answer: The prohibition on advancing before signing off on Step 5
The checklist explicitly states that Step 6 must not begin until Step 5 is complete and signed off, which the officer bypassed.
Question 6: A notice states: 'Confidential court documents must be transmitted by hand-delivery or certified mail only. Email and fax are not authorized methods.' An officer needs to send confidential documents urgently and believes email is faster. What must the officer do?
- Send by email and note the urgency in the transmittal record
- Fax the documents since fax is more secure than email
- Use hand-delivery or certified mail as specified (Correct answer)
- Request supervisor approval to use email in urgent cases
Correct answer: Use hand-delivery or certified mail as specified
The notice authorizes only hand-delivery or certified mail; urgency does not override the written transmission restrictions.
Question 7: Regulation 5.9 reads: 'An officer who witnesses misconduct by another officer must report it to Internal Affairs within 48 hours. Failure to report constitutes a separate violation.' An officer witnesses misconduct on Monday at 10:00 AM. By when must the report be filed?
- Monday by end of shift
- Tuesday at 10:00 AM
- Wednesday at 10:00 AM (Correct answer)
- Friday by end of the work week
Correct answer: Wednesday at 10:00 AM
The 48-hour reporting window beginning Monday at 10:00 AM expires Wednesday at 10:00 AM.
NYS Following Written Instructions 4
Procedure 3.7 states: 'Lost and found items valued over $100 must be logged in the Lost Property Register and stored in the secure room.
Items valued at $100 or less are logged in the Daily Log only.' An officer finds a wallet containing $150 cash.
Where must it be stored?