Passing the written police officer exam is one of the first steps toward becoming a police officer. Because police departments strive to avoid favoritism in hiring, a written police officer exam will objectively screen out those who are unqualified. The police officer exam is usually a multiple-choice test. It is simple to grade and score, so it is regarded as a fair method of vetting potential officers.
The police officer exam does not assume that the candidate is familiar with any police rules or procedures for entry-level positions. However, the candidate must analyze a situation in the same way that a police officer would. Typically, the questions will assess how the candidate thinks and reasons.
The vast majority of the questions are based on reading. They include any information required to correctly answer the question. If it is important to answer correctly, a reading-based question will provide a specific rule or statute. The candidate must be able to read and apply the rule, as well as answer the question based on their findings. There are several types of reading-based questions: factual questions, inference questions, questions that require a candidate to choose between several options, and questions that ask the candidate to evaluate the actions of others.
Some of the questions on the police officer exam require practical judgment. These questions provide the candidate with a fact pattern and then ask them to make an on-the-spot decision about what action they should take. Common sense and sound judgment, similar to that used in a real-life police encounter, should be used.
There are questions about grammar and expressions because police officers must be able to communicate effectively. In real life, a police officer must write a report in a logical and organized manner with no room for ambiguity; as a result, the exam is designed to identify those candidates who are proficient in this area. These questions can take many different forms, such as identifying the grammatically incorrect sentence in a group, selecting the best sentence, rephrasing an awkward sentence, and selecting a logical order for sentences.
Finally, there may be a few questions on filling out police forms, reading maps, relying on observation and memory, mathematics, analogies, and coding on the police officer exam. The likelihood of such questions varies by municipality. It’s critical to read the questions carefully before attempting to answer them correctly.
A candidate must also pass a number of other tests before being accepted into the police academy. An oral interview and a video-based exam are among them. Each is intended to screen candidates and select the best candidate for the job. The oral interview allows the police board to assess the candidate’s knowledge, analytical skills, problem-solving abilities, teamwork and interpersonal skills, as well as their honesty, motivation, and composure. The video-based exams require candidates to watch a video and then respond to the situation as they would in real life.
The process will also include a medical examination and a physical performance evaluation. They are simple to use and assess the candidate’s health and activity level. They’re intended to identify candidates who won’t be able to physically respond to the demanding nature of becoming a cop.