# Can you pass the written police officer exam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 18, 2015, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635 "2015-09-18T03:59:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/1 "2015-09-18T03:59:05Z")
Several questions are a bit tricky. I should have concentrated a bit harder. I rated neighborhood watch. take the test and report back how you did. > **[Can you pass the written police officer exam?](https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2015/0302/Can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/license-plate)** > > Do you have what it takes to protect and serve? Take our quiz, which is based on police exams sampled from departments around the United States. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/2 "2015-09-18T04:47:03Z")
85%. I got three procedural questions wrong (the one about the bomb threat, the crime scene investigation – I got it down to two and picked the wrong one – and the one about responding to the burglary – I picked the second step, parking the car away from the building and calling for backup, not the first, which was to approach quietly.) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/3 "2015-09-18T04:53:50Z")
I found the procedural questions difficult too. I missed the bomb question. The officer assisting the rape victim also tripped me up. I thought the officer had already comforted her and needed to look for the suspect. nope. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/4 "2015-09-18T05:02:21Z")
Got 80%, 4 wrong. 2 of those I shouldn’t have missed. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/5 "2015-09-18T05:18:29Z")
85% I Didn’t turn off my sirens going to a burglary, I evacuated a building, and thought the ambulance had picked up the victim when I guess it hadn’t. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/6 "2015-09-18T05:43:29Z")
90% - I fucked up the bomb question, and one other that I’ve already forgotten; making me not the excellent cop my score suggests. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/7 "2015-09-18T05:46:09Z")
90%. I didn’t comfort the sexual assault victim and I picked the wrong description of the suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/8 "2015-09-18T06:09:43Z")
90% - The two I got wrong were the sexual assault question (I figured trying to catch the assailant if he was still at the scene was the priority) and the bomb threat question (I chose evacuating the building immediately). ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/9 "2015-09-18T07:23:27Z")
How do you arrest somebody before taking a suspect into custody? Or maybe I need more sleep. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/10 "2015-09-18T07:30:10Z")
95%. I evacuated the building before arriving. Thought that made more sense, but I guess since it stipulated the patrol ordered evacuation I was to figure out that meant they showed up sirens and lights all ablazin’ first, and faster than a phone call somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/11 "2015-09-18T14:05:35Z")
80%, I missed the same procedural ones as other people did. (Evacuated the building, questioned the rape victim, didn’t roll up all silent like on the burglary.) Plus another one, I guess? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/12 "2015-09-18T14:23:24Z")
65% - partly because I didn’t know some stuff, partly because of my bad habit of answering questions without reading them completely. I don’t wanna be a cop anyway! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/13 "2015-09-18T14:29:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > 90% - The two I got wrong were the sexual assault question (I figured trying to catch the assailant if he was still at the scene was the priority) and the bomb threat question (I chose evacuating the building immediately). Ditto here. ---
**Author:** ![txtumbleweed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@txtumbleweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txtumbleweed)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/14 "2015-09-18T14:37:02Z")
7-% - Missed 6 of them. Should have had my Dr Pepper this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/15 "2015-09-18T15:09:23Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > How do you arrest somebody before taking a suspect into custody? Basically, the act of arresting somebody is telling them they are being arrested. It gives you the legal right to place them in custody, which is generally the step that immediately follows. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/16 "2015-09-18T15:11:15Z")
I got only 60% but I blew off the value of the stolen goods one. I already know I can add, so I didn’t care. i guess I’m\* too\* smart to be a cop - I looked at the license plate question and figured “which letters are more likely to be misread? A “P” next to a “J” could look like an “R”.” I would not think going for the percentage of similarities was the right choice with eye witnesses. If three people say the hit and run driver was in a black car, and two say it was dark blue, going with the numbers doesn’t do you much good if it were actually dark dark green! Same with the “suspect description” question. And, unless I missed some subtlety in the question, I still think evacuating the building was the only correct choice! ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/17 "2015-09-18T15:14:51Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I got only 60% but I blew off the value of the stolen goods one. I already know I can add, so I didn’t care. > > i guess I’m\* too\* smart to be a cop Only a cop would say that. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/18 "2015-09-18T16:38:16Z")
85%. I got the fifth amendment question wrong, the “don’t look back at the description” question wrong, and the bomb threat one wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/19 "2015-09-18T16:42:26Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > I Didn’t turn off my sirens going to a burglary, I evacuated a building, and thought the ambulance had picked up the victim when I guess it hadn’t. > [@usedtobe](#): > > How do you arrest somebody before taking a suspect into custody? I missed those 4 and missed the dumb spelling question. Not sure how I missed that one. I don’t know what this test tells us. It’s based on police academy tests, but most people who go to the police academy have been doing ride alongs and may even be hired as a cop already. They should know the tricky questions. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/20 "2015-09-18T16:49:58Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > I missed those 4 and missed the dumb spelling question. Not sure how I missed that one. You didn’t miss any of them. Four were involved in a home invasion and one stole a car. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635.md?page=2)