Frontline National Test Judgment and Use of Authority 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You discover that a procedure you regularly follow has been updated, but you were not formally notified. You should:
- Continue using the old procedure until formally told to change
- Immediately adopt the new procedure, inform your supervisor, and ask for confirmation (Correct answer)
- Ignore the update until your annual review
- Decide which version of the procedure is better and apply it selectively
Correct answer: Immediately adopt the new procedure, inform your supervisor, and ask for confirmation
Adopting updated procedures promptly, while confirming with your supervisor, ensures compliance and demonstrates professional responsibility.
Question 2: You are asked to complete a task that falls outside your defined role. The best action is to:
- Refuse outright because it is not in your job description
- Perform the task without question or documentation
- Clarify with your supervisor whether you are authorized and document the assignment (Correct answer)
- Delegate it to a coworker without informing management
Correct answer: Clarify with your supervisor whether you are authorized and document the assignment
Clarifying authority and documenting out-of-role assignments protects you and maintains accountability.
Question 3: A colleague consistently bends agency rules but produces excellent results. Your supervisor has not addressed it. You should:
- Adopt the same approach since results are what matter
- Document the pattern and raise it with your supervisor or the appropriate channel (Correct answer)
- Publicly call out the colleague at the next team meeting
- Report the colleague anonymously to an external agency without first raising it internally
Correct answer: Document the pattern and raise it with your supervisor or the appropriate channel
Documenting and raising the pattern internally is the appropriate step before considering external escalation.
Question 4: You are the most senior person on site when an unusual situation arises that your training did not cover. You should:
- Make a confident decision based entirely on gut instinct
- Take no action and wait for a supervisor to appear
- Use applicable regulations and precedents to guide your decision, and document your reasoning (Correct answer)
- Ask an off-duty coworker for unofficial advice before acting
Correct answer: Use applicable regulations and precedents to guide your decision, and document your reasoning
Applying regulations, precedents, and sound reasoning — and documenting it — is the standard for responsible authority use in novel situations.
Question 5: A citizen disputes a fine you issued and presents new information you were not aware of at the time. You should:
- Stand by the fine regardless because changing it looks weak
- Immediately waive the fine to keep peace without reviewing the new information
- Objectively review the new information and, if warranted, adjust the decision or escalate to a supervisor (Correct answer)
- Tell the citizen the decision is final and they should hire a lawyer
Correct answer: Objectively review the new information and, if warranted, adjust the decision or escalate to a supervisor
Reviewing new information objectively and adjusting or escalating is consistent with fair and lawful exercise of authority.
Question 6: You are authorized to grant a permit but the applicant subtly implies they could offer you a gift in return. You should:
- Accept the gift since you were going to approve the permit anyway
- Deny the permit immediately as punishment for the implication
- Decline firmly, process the permit on its merits, and report the implied offer to your supervisor (Correct answer)
- Ignore the comment and make no record of it
Correct answer: Decline firmly, process the permit on its merits, and report the implied offer to your supervisor
Declining any hint of a gift, processing the application on its merits, and reporting the incident are all required by ethics rules.
Question 7: During a busy shift you skip a required documentation step to save time. Later a dispute arises about the incident. The missing documentation:
- Is irrelevant because you remember what happened
- Creates a significant problem because the agency cannot verify what occurred or what decision was made (Correct answer)
- Can be reconstructed later from memory without consequence
- Is the supervisor's responsibility to complete, not yours
Correct answer: Creates a significant problem because the agency cannot verify what occurred or what decision was made
Missing required documentation undermines accountability and can make it impossible to defend or verify your actions.
Frontline National Test Judgment and Use of Authority 3
You discover that a procedure you regularly follow has been updated, but you were not formally notified.
You should: