Police Officer Exam

RECALL STRATEGIES

FOCUSING ON KEY FACTS

In the previous chapter, we provided strategies for handling reading comprehension. In this chapter, we will go one step further. Now you will learn to remember what you read.

When you handled reading comprehension questions, you were encouraged to write in the margins next to the passages and to refer to the written materials, when necessary. That section of the test permits you to do this.

Nevertheless, when you handle reading recall questions, you should not take notes while reading the material and you should not refer to the written material after the reading time is finished. This section of the test does not allow this. (At the test, in fact, the reading passage is collected before the questions are started.) The materials below indicate typical instructions you would receive before beginning reading recall questions.

TEST PROCEDURE FOR READING RECALL

1.You will be given a “Memory Booklet” at the start of the examination, in addition to the regular examination booklet, and you will be told not to open either booklet until instructed to do so. The memory items will be based on written material (which is covered in this chapter), pictorial material (which is covered in the next chapter), or a combination of the two. The rest of this chapter will deal exclusively with memory items that are based on written material.

The written material will contain a story about a police-related incident. Common topics are street demonstrations, emergencies, automobile accidents, and crimes in progress.

2.You are given a specified time period, usually 10 to 20 minutes, to read the story and to remember the key details involved. You are told not to take notes while reading the story.

3.After the allotted reading time, you will be told to close the booklet, and it will be taken from you. Many times it is returned at the conclusion of the examination.

STRATEGIES FOR RECALLING WRITTEN MATERIAL

These questions are not as difficult as you may think since the story is never a complicated one to understand. Perhaps more than any other test area, this area can be improved upon significantly by practice. So, if you work hard and follow the guidelines listed below, you will be able to do very well on this part of your examination.

1.DON’T READ THE STORY; BECOME PART OF IT! When you are reading the story, you must clear your mind of everything except what you are reading. You must concentrate. The kind of intense concentration that is needed is best achieved by “putting yourself into the story.” Create a mental picture of what is happening.

2.RELATE THE UNKNOWN TO THE KNOWN. You will find it easier to put yourself into the story if you create mental images involving persons, places, and things that you know and are familiar with. For example, if the story is about a subway station, try to imagine it as a subway station you use.

3.DON’T TRY TO MEMORIZE THE ENTIRE NARRATIVE. Some students attempt to memorize the story verbatim. For most of us, this is an impossible task. The trick is to identify the key facts in the story and to remember them. Later, we will provide you with a list of the kind of information you should remember. And don’t be concerned if the story seems incomplete; it will not necessarily have a conclusion. All the examiner is interested in is giving you enough information to test your memory.

4.DON’T STOP CONCENTRATING WHEN THE BOOKLETS ARE COLLECTED. The time between the closing of the memory booklets and the answering of the questions is the most critical. Be sure that you maintain your concentration during this time. Most inexperienced test takers forget what they read during these few minutes.

5.WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING YOU RECALL FROM THE STORY AS SOON AS YOU ARE PERMITTED. After the Memory Booklet is collected, there will be a delay before you are allowed to open the actual test booklet and begin taking the examination. This is the time during which you must continue to concentrate. However, once the signal is given to begin the examination, quickly write on your test booklet all of the details you can remember or simply make a quick sketch of the scene. Only after you have written down all you can remember, should you start taking the memory questions. This will be the first group of questions in the test.

6.USE ASSOCIATIONS TO HELP YOU REMEMBER. Rote memory will not suffice in most cases; you must make associations to help you remember. The type of association you make will vary tremendously from individual to individual, depending upon background, interests, and imagination. This is where practice will help you the most. The technique involves associating or relating what you are trying to remember to something you already know or that you find easy to remember. As an example of how this works, listed below are some facts that you might want to remember about a story and some suggested associations to help you remember them.

The examples should help you understand how to use associations to aid memory. Bear in mind, however, that your degree of success with this technique depends upon practice. Incidentally, you do not need police material to practice. Your daily newspaper will do just fine. Study a news story for about ten minutes, put the paper down, and then see how many details you can remember.

FACTS	POSSIBLE ASSOCIATIONS
The murderer is 23 years old.	The murderer is the same age as you (or someone you know well).
Altogether 10 police officers were assigned to the riot.	There were just enough police officers (10) to have a full court basketball game.
The Dodge received considerable damage in the accident.	The Dodge got Dented and Damaged.
A 1997 Ford with license plate No. BAS 971	Two of the numbers in the year match with two numbers in the license plate (97).
One member of the gang was 24 and the other was 42.	The reverse of one gang member’s age equals the other’s age.
The young boy was wearing a blue coat.	The Boy was in Blue.

7.CONSTANTLY ASK YOURSELF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STORY AS YOU ARE READING IT. This will help you remember details, especially if you try to anticipate the questions you might be asked. Note that you can be certain of being asked to compare items. If there is more than one car, victim, perpetrator, or whatever, you will be asked to differentiate between them. For example, which car got damaged, which victim got shot? The next section will provide more hints as to what the examiner might ask.

HOW TO FOCUS ON THE KEY FACTS

Every police recruit who trains at the police academy is taught how to capture the key facts in a story in order to write an accurate report. More often than not, they are taught to use the code word, “NEOTWY.” This code word is derived from taking the last letter from each of the six key items that must be contained in any thorough report of a police incident:

If you answer these questions, you have a complete report; and you will, therefore, be able to answer any test questions based on that story. Basically, read a story slowly and carefully the first time. Make sure to create a mental image of what you are reading. Follow the seven suggestions listed above. Then zero in on remembering the answers to the six key questions. To help you, we will now list the most common kinds of information to be found in each of the six categories.

FOCUS ON

When

Where

Who

What

How

Why

1.WHEN. Times and dates are ripe for the examiners. Remember, there can be a number of times involved in a police incident. The most common are:

■time of occurrence,

■time of reporting,

■time of arrest.

The best way to remember them is in chronological order. Keep asking yourself, “When did that happen?” When dealing with times, do not neglect the dates. Don’t assume everything is happening on the same date.

2.WHERE. Critical elements in any police incident are:

■where incidents happen,

■where evidence is located.

If the story mentions directions such as north, east, south, or west, be alert because this is a very fruitful question area. If more than one incident occurs in the story, make sure you can relate each incident to its location.

3.WHO. There are a number of who’s in every police story, including:

■perpetrators,

■victims,

■witnesses,

■accomplices.

If physical descriptions, clothing descriptions, and distinguishing characteristics such as beards, buzz cuts, glasses, etc., are included, you can be certain you will be tested on that information. If there are cars in the story with license plate numbers, it’s a sure bet that you will see a question or two about that, also.

4.WHAT. Key questions are:

■What happened?

■What did the perpetrators do?

■What did the police do?

■What was the crime scene (or scene of the police incident) like?

5.HOW. The most common questions are:

■How many?

■How were things accomplished?

Whether a weapon was used, along with the weapon’s description, is a crucial “how” question.

6.WHY. “Motive” is the primary “why” question. Why people do things is of utmost importance.

PRACTICE EXERCISES

Following are five groups of questions with ten questions in each group. When taking these questions, it is imperative that you do not refer to the written material once the allotted time has elapsed. Remember that the time limit relates only to the reading of the material and not to the answering of the questions. The questions are to be answered within the 3½ hours allowed for the completion of the entire test. However, be guided by the general rule to allot 1½ minutes for each question, and never more than 2 minutes.

NOTE: Remember that in the actual examination, the written material will be collected. (The memory questions will probably be the first on the examination.)

Group One

20 Minute Time Limit

Directions: The following story is about an occurrence involving police officers. You are allowed 10 minutes to read it and commit to memory as much about it as you can. You are not allowed to make any written notes during the time you are reading. At the end of 10 minutes you are to stop reading the material, and answer the questions without referring to the written material.

Memory Story—10 Minute Time Limit

You are one of forty police officers working the day tour in the Third Precinct, which is located at Main Street and Spruce Avenue. The date is April 11, and it is now 7:30 A.M. You start work at 8:00 A.M., and you are assigned to traffic duty at the intersection of Main Street and Elm Avenue. Two other police officers are assigned to traffic duty on Main Street. At about 10:00 A.M. a motorcade will be traveling east on Main Street, bringing the mayor to an important town hall meeting at Theodore Roosevelt High School at Main Street and Oak Avenue.

Main Street is an east- and westbound four-lane, two-way thoroughfare. Heading from west to east, Elm Avenue, then Ash Avenue, and then Oak Avenue all intersect Main Street. There is a traffic signal controlling the intersection at Main and Elm Avenue; a stop sign at the intersection of Main and Ash Avenue, where Officer Brown is assigned; and a traffic signal at Main and Oak Avenue, where Officer Jones is assigned. Elm Avenue and Oak Avenue are two-way streets, and Ash Avenue is a one-way street for traffic traveling north.

At roll call training prior to leaving the station house, Sergeant Wright informs everyone that two groups are opposed to the mayor and might try to prevent him from appearing at the high school as scheduled. One group, which calls itself the Extremists, holds radical beliefs and has used violence in the past to further its cause. The other group, a nonviolent association known as the Pacifists, has used sit-ins and group-chaining to achieve its goals in the past.

The Extremists are known to travel in a blue Ford station wagon, bearing license plate number ACG 368. The Pacifists use two automobiles. One is a red Plymouth sedan, registration number ACW 228; the other is a green Dodge pick-up truck, with plate number ACP 445.

At 9:10 A.M., an accident occurs at the intersection of Main Street and Ash Avenue. A Nissan, registration number TCU 333, proceeded in the wrong direction on Ash Avenue, entered the intersection at Main Street, and struck an unidentified pedestrian who was crossing Ash Avenue from east to west on the north side of Main Street. Officer Brown called an ambulance for the pedestrian, and issued a summons to the driver of the Nissan for going the wrong way on a one-way street. The pedestrian, who was described as male, white, 35 to 40 years of age, about 5'10", was removed to Franklin Roosevelt Hospital, and admitted for treatment of internal injuries. The intersection of Main and Ash was cleared by 9:45 A.M.

At 10:10 A.M., the Mayoral motorcade proceeded down Main Street to its destination without incident. The meeting lasted about two hours and by 12:30 P.M. the mayor had left the confines of the Third Precinct.

DO NOT PROCEED UNTIL 10 MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED

Questions—15 Minute Time Limit

Directions: Answer questions 1 to 10 solely on the basis of the Memory Story.

1.Officer Jones was assigned to

(A)Main Street and Elm Avenue.

(B)Main Street and Ash Avenue.

(C)Main Street and Oak Avenue.

(D)Main Street and Spruce Avenue.

2.The time of the accident with the pedestrian was

(A)9:00 A.M.

(B)9:10 A.M.

(D)10:10 A.M.

3.The car which struck the pedestrian was traveling

(A)north.

(B)south.

(C)east.

(D)west.

4.Which intersection are you assigned to?

(A)Main and Spruce

(B)Main and Elm

(C)Main and Ash

(D)Main and Oak

5.Which direction did the Mayor’s motorcade travel on Main Street when going to the high school?

(A)North

(B)South

(C)East

(D)West

6.The plate number of the car involved in the accident was

(A)TCU 333.

(B)ACG 368.

(C)ACW 228.

(D)ACP 445.

7.The Extremists are known to travel in a

(A)Nissan.

(B)Plymouth.

(C)Dodge.

(D)Ford.

8.The name of the hospital where the pedestrian was sent is the

(A)Theodore Roosevelt Hospital.

(B)Manhattan General Hospital.

(C)Franklin Roosevelt Hospital.

(D)Main Street Hospital.

9.Which intersection is controlled by a stop sign?

(A)Main and Spruce

(B)Main and Elm

(C)Main and Ash

(D)Main and Oak

10.The Sergeant who conducted roll call training was

(A)Sergeant Jones.

(B)Sergeant Wright.

(C)Sergeant Brown.

(D)Sergeant Spruce.

Group Two

25 Minute Time Limit

Memory Story—10 Minute Time Limit

You are one of twenty-eight police officers assigned to strike duty during the day shift on September 18. The complement of officers will be divided into four equal groups, and each group will be supervised by a sergeant.

The scene of the strike is Metropolis Hospital, a large private hospital occupying a one-square block area in the downtown section of Brooklyn. The hospital is bordered by Green Boulevard on the north, Second Avenue on the east, Tulip Road on the south, and Third Avenue on the west. There is an entrance for visitors on Third Avenue and Tulip Road. Hospital personnel generally use the entrance on Second Avenue, which is not accessible to the public. The west side of Second Avenue is a restricted parking area reserved for doctors. The emergency entrance is located on Green Boulevard, a two-way thoroughfare.

The strike is now in its eighteenth day, and tempers are running high. Two unions are involved. The National Association of Hospital Workers, which represents the non-medical workers, is the more influential of the two unions and, also, the more militant. The other union, the Association of Professional Hospital Workers, represents the paraprofessional workers. While all of the non-medical workers are respecting the picket lines and are staying away from work, only sixty percent of the one hundred paraprofessionals are respecting it. This increases the potential for violence, especially when the working paraprofessional crosses the picket line while going to and from work.

This morning at roll call training, you were told that intelligence reports indicate that the National Association of Hospital Workers has brought in three infamous union strong arm thugs to prevent the non-strikers from going to work. The three have already been spotted at the intersection of Green Boulevard and Second Avenue, close to the special entrance for hospital personnel. The following descriptions have been obtained:

a. Strong Arm Person One: Male, black, 25 to 30 years old, between 5'9" and 5'11", wearing a brown army jacket, black pants, combat boots, and a black-and-orange knit hat.

b. Strong Arm Person Two: Female, Hispanic, 20 to 25 years old, 5'4", wearing dungarees and a black leather jacket, white sneakers, and a brown felt hat.

c. Strong Arm Person Three: Male, white, 40 to 45 years old, about 6', sandy-colored hair, wearing black pants, a gold baseball jacket, a black-and-gold baseball cap, and glasses.

Your unit, supervised by Sergeant Richter, is assigned to the visitor’s entrance on Tulip Road. The unit that is expecting the most trouble is the one on Second Avenue, supervised by Sergeant Morris.

DO NOT PROCEED UNTIL 10 MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED

Questions—15 Minute Time Limit

Directions: Answer questions 11 to 20 solely on the basis of the Memory Story.

11.How many police officers are assigned to each of the four units on strike duty?

(A)7

(B)8

(D)10

12.On what day did the strike start?

(A)September 18

(B)September 10

(C)September 1

(D)September 28

13.The emergency entrance to the hospital is located on

(A)Third Avenue.

(B)Tulip Road.

(C)Green Boulevard.

(D)Second Avenue.

14.The name of the supervisor of the Second Avenue unit is

(A)Sergeant Morris.

(B)Sergeant Richter.

(C)Sergeant Willis.

(D)Sergeant Brown.

15.The name of the hospital is

(A)Brooklyn Hospital.

(B)Downtown Hospital.

(C)Metropolis Hospital.

(D)Tulip Hospital.

16.The black strong arm person was wearing

(A)combat boots.

(B)a baseball cap.

(C)a leather jacket.

(D)glasses.

17.The strong arm person who was wearing sneakers was

(A)the white female.

(B)the Hispanic male.

(C)the black male.

(D)the Hispanic female.

18.According to the descriptions, which strong arm person is the oldest?

(A)The white female

(B)The white male

(C)The black female

(D)The Hispanic male

19.How many of the paraprofessionals employed at the hospital are reporting to work?

(A)60

(B)40

(D)Unknown

20.The parking area reserved for doctors is located on

(A)Second Avenue.

(B)Third Avenue.

(C)Tulip Road.

(D)Green Boulevard.

GROUP THREE

25 Minute Time Limit

Memory Story—10 Minute Time Limit

You are a police officer performing an evening tour of duty on December 18. You are working alone on foot patrol, and your assignment is Post 18. The geographical boundary of your three-block post is as follows: Both sides of Dryer Avenue, from the north building line of King Street to the south building line of Harbor Street. Included on your post is Market Street, one block north of King Street; and Clinton Street, one block south of Harbor Street. The street numbers on your post run from 122 Dryer, at the southern tip of your post on the corner of King Street, to 151 Dryer, at the northern tip of your post at the corner of Harbor Street. Odd number street addresses are on the western side of Dryer Avenue; even number addresses are on the eastern side of Dryer.

There are four stores on your post that have been the scenes of crimes in the last three months. The National Jewelry Company Store, located at 122 Dryer, was robbed on December 2; the Nitecap Bar and Grill, located at 136 Dryer, was burglarized on October 11; Sullivan’s Liquor Store, located at 137 Dryer, was held up on September 19; and the Acme Check Cashing Store, located at 145 Dryer, was the scene of a homicide on November 30.

The owner of the National Jewelry Company is Ms. Jean Garcia of 23-27 Ditmars Avenue in Queens. She frequently complains that she does not get enough police protection. Your supervisor, Sergeant John Cantwell, has instructed you to make sure that she sees you on patrol. You have also received word that your commanding officer, Captain William Sweeney, wants you to be in front of her store at 9:00 P.M. when she closes for the night.

The owner of the Nitecap Bar and Grill is Mr. Harold Robinson of 2811 Mariot Avenue in the Bronx. His major concern is that his silent robbery alarm is not working, and he has requested that you give his store extra attention until it is repaired. The alarm has been broken since December 8.

Mr. James Sullivan, the proprietor of Sullivan’s Liquor Store, is currently in the hospital recuperating from a heart attack. His son-in-law, William Blake, is running the store in his absence. Mr. Blake’s complaint is the vagrants loitering in front of the store.

The owner of the Acme Check Cashing establishment is Mr. Robert Myers of 1611 Jerome Road in Yonkers. He is quite concerned that the thieves who committed the murder in his store might return. He feels this way because on the night of the killing, one of the three perpetrators told him they would be back.

During your tour of duty, you make certain that each store owner is aware of your presence. Nothing eventful happens and at midnight you return to the station house at 96 Dryer Avenue, having completed your evening’s work.

DO NOT PROCEED UNTIL 10 MINUTES HAVE ELAPSED

Questions—15 Minute Time Limit

Directions: Answer questions 21 to 30 solely on the basis of the Memory Story.

21.On which side of Dryer Avenue is the National Jewelry Company Store located?

(A)North

(B)South

(C)East

(D)West

22.Your commanding officer is

(A)Captain Cantwell.

(B)Captain Sweeney.

(C)Captain Blake.

(D)Captain Myers.

23.The silent alarm at the Nitecap Bar and Grill has been broken since

(A)November 30.

(B)December 2.

(C)December 8.

(D)December 18.

24.The owner of the Acme Check Cashing Store is

(A)Mr. Robinson.

(B)Mr. Myers.

(C)Ms. Garcia.

(D)Mr. Sullivan.

25.Mr. Sullivan’s home address is

(A)1611 Jerome Avenue.

(B)2811 Mariot Avenue.

(D)Not given.

26.The precinct station house is located

(A)east of your post on Dryer Avenue.

(B)west of your post on Dryer Avenue.

(C)north of your post on Dryer Avenue.

(D)south of your post on Dryer Avenue.

27.Which establishment was the scene of the recent homicide?

(A)Sullivan’s Liquor Store

(B)Nitecap Bar and Grill

(C)Acme Check Cashing Store

(D)National Jewelry Company

28.You are assigned to Post number

(A)18.

(B)12.

(D)30.

29.The address of the Acme Check Cashing Store is

(A)122 Dryer.

(B)137 Dryer.

(D)145 Dryer.

30.Clinton Street is located

(A)one block north of Harbor Street.

(B)one block south of Market Street.

(C)one block north of King Street.

(D)one block south of Harbor Street.