IPAT Situational Judgement 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A young person is found alone at night, distressed and unable to say where they live. What is the most appropriate action?
- Take them to a place of safety and try to contact their guardian or family (Correct answer)
- Leave them to find their own way home
- Issue them a fine for being out at night
- Assume they are fine and continue patrol
Correct answer: Take them to a place of safety and try to contact their guardian or family
A child or vulnerable young person found alone and distressed must be taken to a place of safety. Efforts to contact family or guardians must be made. Child protection is paramount.
Question 2: You discover that a colleague has been falsifying incident reports. What do you do?
- Report it to a supervisor as soon as possible (Correct answer)
- Help cover it up to protect the colleague
- Ignore it if the colleague is generally good
- Confront the colleague and give them time to fix the reports
Correct answer: Report it to a supervisor as soon as possible
Falsifying official records is a criminal offence. It must be reported to a supervisor immediately regardless of the relationship with the colleague.
Question 3: A member of the public complains that a Garda was rude to them. How should you respond?
- Listen respectfully, take their details, and explain how they can make a formal complaint (Correct answer)
- Tell them all Gardaí are professional and dismiss the complaint
- Defend your colleague immediately
- Ignore the complaint as it is not your role
Correct answer: Listen respectfully, take their details, and explain how they can make a formal complaint
Every complaint must be taken seriously. You should listen, acknowledge their concern, and direct them to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) or the formal complaints process.
Question 4: You are off duty and witness a minor theft in a shop. What is the most appropriate action?
- Identify yourself as a Garda, detain the person if safe, and call on-duty Gardaí (Correct answer)
- Ignore it as you are off duty
- Chase the suspect aggressively
- Take the law into your own hands and physically restrain them forcefully
Correct answer: Identify yourself as a Garda, detain the person if safe, and call on-duty Gardaí
A Garda has powers of arrest at all times, but should act safely. The correct approach is to identify yourself, detain if it is safe and lawful, and involve on-duty colleagues.
Question 5: You pull over a vehicle and the driver appears intoxicated but claims to be a doctor rushing to an emergency. What should you do?
- Administer a breath test as required by law — no one is exempt (Correct answer)
- Let them go since it may be genuine
- Call a supervisor to make the decision for you
- Accept their explanation and follow behind to ensure they arrive safely
Correct answer: Administer a breath test as required by law — no one is exempt
The law applies equally to everyone. A roadside breath test must be administered regardless of the driver's profession or stated emergency. You cannot make exceptions to legal requirements.
Question 6: A community member tells you in confidence that they know who committed a recent burglary. They do not want to make a formal statement. What do you do?
- Thank them for the information, explain how it will be used, and explore options for anonymous reporting (Correct answer)
- Promise total anonymity and take no further action
- Pressure them to make a formal statement immediately
- Ignore the information as it is not formal
Correct answer: Thank them for the information, explain how it will be used, and explore options for anonymous reporting
Intelligence gathered informally is still valuable. You should thank them, be honest about how information is used, and explore anonymous reporting options without making promises you cannot keep.
IPAT Situational Judgement 2
A young person is found alone at night, distressed and unable to say where they live.
What is the most appropriate action?