On just about any police exam, you will be presented with real-life police scenarios to test how you would respond to situations that might come up on the job. To answer scenario-based questions correctly, you must identify a problem (or parts of the problem) and then select the best solution from the choices given; this is sometimes described as problem sensitivity. These questions test your common sense and logical reasoning skills. This can sometimes cross over to what is known as deductive reasoning.
Questions of this type differ from exam to exam. They may take the form of "Which of the following actions would you take in the given situation?" or "What problem can you foresee happening in this scenario, and how would you correct it?" You may also be given a specific law enforcement guideline and asked which scenario would require you to respond in a certain way.
These questions often intimidate test takers, who, for the most part, have not yet had any real-life policing experience. Here's a little secret: the test makers know that. If you find yourself getting nervous, keep repeating to yourself this fact: you do not have to have police experience or be familiar with police procedures to answer these questions correctly. However, you will need to read carefully, think logically, and pay attention to details in order to select the best answer among the choices presented to you.
Let's look at a question. Say you are given the following scenario:
Police officers often respond to calls about lost or missing children and have to follow proper procedures and make decisions on how to handle and investigate these calls. An officer receives a call about a missing 5-year-old.
A question accompanying this information might be worded as follows:
With which of the following actions should the officer start his investigation?
The first thing you need to do is make sure you understand what the question is asking. For this question, you want to provide the most logical choice for how the officer will begin an investigation of a missing child. Chances are, all answer choices presented to you will be good, commonsense actions. But even good choices may not be the right answer. Never just choose the answer that seems the most lawful and move on—take it step-by-step, and use process of elimination.
Would Choice (A) be the most logical step to do first? Probably not: you may do that later on, but definitely not first. You need to gather important details first, before you begin a search. Choices (B) and (D) are also great actions to take. However, how can you question neighbors or transmit a bulletin if you do not even know whom you are looking for? Choice (C) is the most logical answer: you want to find out whom you are looking for before you can put effort into looking for him.
For this type of question, the answer is really in the stem of the question: someone is missing. When in doubt, assume you have to find out the following pieces of information in this order:
Keeping this in mind should help guide you through these question types.
The test will offer concise and basic scenarios for you to read, with a clear correct answer among the choices. It is not trying to trick you—it just is testing your ability to read a situation, understand it, and pick out the most important information you must seek out to do your job.