# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/21 "2015-09-19T05:09:14Z")
When I got to the falling bricks question, and the answer about the umbrella, I knew it would be a jerkoff test and quit. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/22 "2015-09-19T05:52:22Z")
I’ve never taken a jerkoff test but I bet I’d pass ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/23 "2015-09-19T07:01:46Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Ditto here. Same for me. We could all be cops! Not that I want to; I like troubleshooting electronics more than people. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/24 "2015-09-19T11:17:43Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > I’ve never taken a jerkoff test but I bet I’d pass Neither have I, but I’m confident I would beat it. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/25 "2015-09-19T12:17:43Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And, unless I missed some subtlety in the question, I still think evacuating the building was the only correct choice! I wish they’d explained that one better. My guess is that a bomb threat is likelier to serve some ulterior motive: a shooter waiting outside, a robber wanting to get into an empty building, etc. Evacuating people under such circumstances may enable more serious crimes than a hoax bomb threat would be. Approach quietly, look for anyone who’s watching the building with a sniper rifle or large unmarked van, and only then start the evacuation. Also, I got 90%, but the first one was sheer guessing. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/26 "2015-09-19T13:01:38Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > 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!** 😛 I scored 60% – on the lower end of the “unarmed neighbourhood watch” band. The licence-plate question, I had to blindly guess, and got wrong: I’m not in the US, and know nothing about cars. Otherwise, just plain getting stuff wrong. Happily, my general sentiment is the same as **FCM** ’s, above. ---
**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 19, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/27 "2015-09-19T13:58:59Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I had to blindly guess, and got wrong: I’m not in the US, and know nothing about cars. It’s really nothing about cars. The same question can be given using phone numbers or whatever. It’s just a logic question based on the idea that the number that is “correct” is most likely the one which shares the most commonalities with other answers. So, for example, if three people are assigned to remember a two-digit number, and they report it as 14, 17, 74, the answer of which is most likely to be correct is “14,” since two of the three contain a “1” in the tens position, and two of the three contain a “4” in the ones position. Now, whether this is ideal method to arrive at the most correct answer is subject to argument, especially when dealing with letters and numbers that can be confused for each other, but that’s the basis of the logic behind the question. ---
**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 19, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/28 "2015-09-19T14:03:24Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > I’ve never taken a jerkoff test but I bet I’d pass > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Neither have I, but I’m confident I would beat it. And I’ve never tried to speak Korean. But I’m sure I could if I tried. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/29 "2015-09-19T14:42:26Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It’s really nothing about cars. The same question can be given using phone numbers or whatever. It’s just a logic question based on the idea that the number that is “correct” is most likely the one which shares the most commonalities with other answers. So, for example, if three people are assigned to remember a two-digit number, and they report it as 14, 17, 74, the answer of which is most likely to be correct is “14,” since two of the three contain a “1” in the tens position, and two of the three contain a “4” in the ones position. Now, whether this is ideal method to arrive at the most correct answer is subject to argument, especially when dealing with letters and numbers that can be confused for each other, but that’s the basis of the logic behind the question. Thanks. I too quickly jumped to the conclusion that the question was about stuff outside my experience – though I’m pretty well innumerate, and “yours as above” would not, I think, ever have occurred to me. At all events, the world is probably better off without my trying to be a law enforcement officer in it ! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/30 "2015-09-19T14:51:34Z")
75%… I should have cheated on the spelling question. Missed the bomb threat, rape, answering a call without lights and siren, and a procedural question. BTW, when I worked at the Library, I answered a bomb threat call. “You’ve got ten minutes!” We saw the police car stop at the corner for fifteen minutes. They asked we employees to search for the bomb. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/31 "2015-09-19T15:10:51Z")
I got the bomb one wrong, too, but I stand by it. Evacuate the building. 15 minutes isn’t long enough to drive anywhere and still have a time cushion in case you find a homemade clock when you get there. I’m prepared to accept I got the rape one wrong, but as a rape survivor, if you tried to comfort me before you let your buddies know the description of a rapist still in the area, I’d be really pissed off. Fuck off, I’m fine enough for the moment, I’ll fall apart later. Get the bastard (but don’t leave me.) But I’m willing to admit that police procedures probably not written by rape victims are as the quiz indicates. I also got the “sirens and lights” one at the burglary wrong, because the scenario didn’t state there were sirens and lights on. Who goes to a burglary with sirens and lights? Sirens and lights are for safety, not property. Then again, I’m in Chicago. For burglaries, they don’t even come to the scene; they tell you to go to the police station to file a report. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/32 "2015-09-19T15:25:13Z")
Oh, and this one? Put me right back in nursing school again, choosing the least bad answer: 17. Read the following report and answer the question that follows without referring back to the report: “Officer Harris responded to a residential burglary. The victim said that, while he was on vacation between 9/2/14 at 4 p.m. and 9/8/14 at 11 a.m., an unknown person unlawfully entered his home and stole his TV, computer, two expensive guitars, and his wife’s jewelry box.” When did the victim discover the burglary to his residence? I knew the answer they were looking for, but it’s not actually given in the prompt. We’re to assume facts not in evidence…that he discovered the burglary the moment he got home. I don’t know about you, but I’d be lugging my suitcase into my bedroom, petting the cats, getting the mail…and only some time after noticing missing items, especially things like guitars and jewelry boxes. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/33 "2015-09-19T15:35:06Z")
> [@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). Me three. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/34 "2015-09-19T15:37:10Z")
I dunno **WhyNot** - I reckon the first thing most people would notice after a week away is that the tv’s missing. And as soon as you saw that, you’d just\* know\* you’re computer’s gone too. That’s when you run to where you’re guitars aren’t the second before you hear your wife crying that they’d taken her jewelry box. Minutes upon arriving home. Minutes. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/35 "2015-09-19T15:48:33Z")
> [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](#): > > I dunno **WhyNot** - I reckon the first thing most people would notice after a week away is that the tv’s missing. > > And as soon as you saw that, you’d just\* know\* you’re computer’s gone too. That’s when you run to where you’re guitars aren’t the second before you hear your wife crying that they’d taken her jewelry box. > > Minutes upon arriving home. Minutes. I suppose it depends on where the TV is. Mine’s not in the entry room, it’s at the other end of the house. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/36 "2015-09-19T15:56:57Z")
It depends on where everything is, and the size of the dwelling. The report only says “…entered his home” not his house - so for all we know they lived in a shipping container. The facts, officer…the facts…😃 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/37 "2015-09-19T16:01:40Z")
> [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](#): > > It depends on where everything is, and the size of the dwelling. > > The report only says “…entered his home” not his house - so for all we know they lived in a shipping container. > > The facts, officer…the facts…😃 Yep! That’s why it’s the “least bad answer”. It has some support in the prompt, whereas the other answers have none at all. 😃 But it’s a test taking skill question, not a real critical thinking or procedural question. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/38 "2015-09-19T16:11:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by Just Asking Questions View Post > And, unless I missed some subtlety in the question, I still think evacuating the building was the only correct choice! One thing I’ve learned about tests; the people writing them don’t always know the right answers. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/39 "2015-09-19T17:32:57Z")
85%. I would not have thought of turning the sirens off first–partly because I would assume they were already off. Committed is a word I often spell wrong. And, of course, I missed the one about the bomb threat. We were told in a previous question that our priority is to get innocent bystanders out of the way. And I’ve been where there were bomb threats. They always evacuate before the police even get there. Since the answer didn’t explain why evacuation was wrong, I suspect that it was thrown in as one of those “common sense” answers to trip you up without actually verifying it. Because, otherwise, the whole answer should have been about why the obvious answer is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635/40 "2015-09-19T20:06:34Z")
I got 'em all. But man, some of those were really dumb shit questions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-pass-the-written-police-officer-exam/731635.md?page=3)