The police written exam is a fair way to evaluate potential officers objectively. It includes reading-based questions, practical judgment questions, and questions on grammar and expressions. Candidates must also pass an oral interview, video-based exam, medical exam, and physical performance exam.
One of the first steps to becoming a police officer is passing the police written exam. Police departments strive to avoid favoritism in hiring, so a police-written exam screens those who are not qualified purely objectively. In most cases, the police officer exam is a multiple-choice test. It’s easy to sort and score; therefore, it is considered a fair way to evaluate potential officers.
For entry-level positions, the police officer exam does not assume that the candidate knows any police rules or procedures. However, the candidate must analyze a situation as a police officer would. The questions will typically assess how the candidate thinks and how she reasons.
Most questions are based on reading. They include all the information needed to answer the question correctly. For example, a reading-based question will provide a specific rule or statute if it’s important to answer correctly. The potential candidate must be able to read and apply the rule and answer the question based on that analysis. There are several forms of reading-based questions: questions of fact, questions of inference, questions that require a candidate to choose between several different actions, and questions that ask the candidate to judge the behavior of others.
Some questions on the police officer exam are questions that involve practical judgment. These questions provide the candidate with a pattern of facts and ask him to make an on-the-spot decision for the type of action that should be taken. Common sense and excellent judgment, like the kind used in an actual police conflict, should be used.
Because police officers must be able to communicate effectively, there are questions that deal with grammar and expressions. In real life, a police officer must write a report in an organized and logical manner, without any room for misinterpretation; consequently, the exam is geared towards identifying candidates with good skills in this area. There are several ways these questions can include: choosing the sentence from a grammatically incorrect group, choosing the best sentence, rephrasing an awkward sentence, and choosing a logical order for the sentences.
Lastly, the police officer exam may have some questions about filling out police forms, reading maps, observation and memory, math, analogies and coding. The likelihood of these questions depends on the municipalities. It is important to read the questions carefully and then give a good try to answer them correctly.
Before a candidate can be accepted into the police academy, he must also pass through several other hurdles. This includes an oral interview and a video-based exam. Each is designed to screen candidates and find the right person for the job. The oral interview is a good way for the police council to measure the candidate’s knowledge, ability to analyze, solve problems, show the candidate’s teamwork and interpersonal skills, and highlight the candidate’s honesty, motivation and composure. Video-based exams require the candidate to watch a video and then respond as they would in real life to the situation.
A medical exam and physical performance exam will also be part of the process. They are straightforward and measure the candidate’s level of health and activity. They are designed to identify applicants who will not be able to physically respond to the grueling nature of becoming a police officer.
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