IPAT Situational Judgement 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You are a Garda recruit and witness a colleague taking a small amount of money from an evidence bag. What is the most appropriate action?
- Report it to your supervisor immediately (Correct answer)
- Ignore it as it was a small amount
- Confront your colleague privately and ask them to return it
- Wait to see if it happens again before reporting
Correct answer: Report it to your supervisor immediately
Any theft of evidence is a serious criminal and disciplinary offence. The correct action is to report it immediately to a supervisor, preserving the integrity of the force and the legal process.
Question 2: A member of the public aggressively demands to know the name of a suspect in an ongoing investigation. What should you do?
- Politely explain you cannot disclose information about ongoing investigations (Correct answer)
- Tell them the name to calm the situation
- Tell them to leave immediately
- Ignore them and walk away
Correct answer: Politely explain you cannot disclose information about ongoing investigations
Information about ongoing investigations is confidential. You should politely but firmly explain you cannot share such details, maintaining professionalism.
Question 3: You are patrolling alone and witness a serious road traffic accident. What is your FIRST priority?
- Ensure the safety of those involved and call for assistance (Correct answer)
- Direct traffic away from the scene
- Take witness statements
- Assess whether a crime has been committed
Correct answer: Ensure the safety of those involved and call for assistance
The first priority is always life preservation — ensuring safety and calling for emergency assistance takes precedence over all other actions.
Question 4: A colleague tells offensive jokes in the station. Other colleagues laugh. What is the most appropriate response?
- Address it professionally — speak to the colleague and if it continues, report to a supervisor (Correct answer)
- Join in to maintain team morale
- Ignore it as it is just humour
- Report it immediately without speaking to the colleague first
Correct answer: Address it professionally — speak to the colleague and if it continues, report to a supervisor
The best approach is to address inappropriate behaviour directly first if safe to do so, then escalate if it continues. This reflects a respectful, professional workplace standard.
Question 5: You stop a driver for speeding. They offer you money to ignore the offence. What do you do?
- Refuse the money, proceed with the stop as normal, and report the attempted bribe (Correct answer)
- Accept it since no one will know
- Refuse but let them go with a warning
- Accept it and keep it as evidence
Correct answer: Refuse the money, proceed with the stop as normal, and report the attempted bribe
Accepting a bribe is a criminal offence and a severe breach of Garda conduct. You must refuse, deal with the original offence, and report the bribery attempt to a supervisor.
Question 6: You are called to a domestic dispute. On arrival, both parties shout and one has a minor visible injury. What should you do first?
- Separate the parties calmly and ensure immediate safety (Correct answer)
- Immediately arrest one person
- Leave if both seem calm enough
- Take a statement from the injured party only
Correct answer: Separate the parties calmly and ensure immediate safety
The immediate priority is to de-escalate and ensure safety by separating the parties. Assessment and further action follow once the situation is safe.
IPAT Situational Judgement 1
You are a Garda recruit and witness a colleague taking a small amount of money from an evidence bag.
What is the most appropriate action?