Police Officer Entrance Exam Preparation 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A police entrance exam asks you to choose the correctly spelled word. Which option is spelled correctly?
- Surveliance
- Surveillance (Correct answer)
- Surveilance
- Surveillence
Correct answer: Surveillance
'Surveillance' is the correct spelling. It comes from the French word meaning 'to watch over' and is a commonly tested word on police entrance exams due to its frequent use in law enforcement.
Question 2: A police exam math problem: An officer patrols a rectangular district that is 4 miles long and 3 miles wide. If the officer drives the full perimeter twice each shift, how many miles does the officer drive per shift?
- 14 miles
- 24 miles
- 28 miles (Correct answer)
- 48 miles
Correct answer: 28 miles
The perimeter of the rectangle is 2 × (4 + 3) = 14 miles. Driving it twice means 14 × 2 = 28 miles per shift.
Question 3: A police exam analogy question: Arrest is to Detain as Conviction is to _____.
- Acquit
- Charge
- Punish (Correct answer)
- Indict
Correct answer: Punish
An arrest leads to detention (temporary custody), just as a conviction leads to punishment (a consequence following a legal finding of guilt). The relationship is cause-to-immediate-result.
Question 4: You read the following passage on a police exam: 'Officers must document all use-of-force incidents accurately and promptly. Incomplete or delayed reports undermine accountability and may compromise legal proceedings.' Which conclusion is best supported by this passage?
- Officers should avoid using force whenever possible.
- Timely and accurate reporting is essential to maintaining accountability. (Correct answer)
- Legal proceedings are the responsibility of prosecutors, not officers.
- Force incidents should only be reported if they result in injury.
Correct answer: Timely and accurate reporting is essential to maintaining accountability.
The passage explicitly states that incomplete or delayed reports undermine accountability and legal proceedings, directly supporting the conclusion that timely, accurate reporting is essential.
Question 5: A police exam asks you to identify the logical next step: An officer responds to a disturbance call, arrives on scene, and observes two people arguing loudly. What should the officer do FIRST?
- Immediately separate the individuals and place them in handcuffs.
- Call for backup before exiting the vehicle.
- Assess the scene for immediate safety threats before approaching. (Correct answer)
- Ask bystanders what happened before speaking to the involved parties.
Correct answer: Assess the scene for immediate safety threats before approaching.
Officer safety requires assessing the scene for immediate threats before approaching any individuals. This is the foundational first step in any response to an unknown-risk situation.
Question 6: On a police entrance exam, which sentence uses correct subject-verb agreement?
- The team of detectives were reviewing the evidence.
- Each of the officers have completed their training.
- Neither the sergeant nor the lieutenants was available.
- The list of suspects has been narrowed to three individuals. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The list of suspects has been narrowed to three individuals.
'The list of suspects has been narrowed' is correct because the subject is 'list' (singular), which takes the singular verb 'has.' The other options incorrectly match verbs to nearby nouns rather than to the true subject.
Police Officer Entrance Exam Preparation 1
A police entrance exam asks you to choose the correctly spelled word.
Which option is spelled correctly?