Reading and Written Comprehension Flashcards

A crime scene report states: 'The front door showed no signs of forced entry. A window in the rear of the home was broken from the outside. Muddy footprints led from the rear window to the living room.' What can be most reasonably inferred from this report?

Answer: The intruder most likely entered through the rear window

The evidence — no forced front entry, a broken rear window, and footprints leading from that window inside — most logically supports entry through the rear window.

Two witness statements about the same incident: Witness A: 'The car ran the red light and hit the pedestrian.' Witness B: 'The light was green for the car; the pedestrian walked out suddenly.' What is the most accurate conclusion an officer can draw from these statements?

Answer: The witnesses' accounts conflict and further investigation is needed

The two witnesses provide directly contradictory accounts of the traffic signal, requiring further investigation rather than accepting either account as definitive.

A supervisor's memo reads: 'Effective next Monday, all use-of-force reports must be submitted before the end of each officer's shift, rather than within 24 hours as previously required.' What effect does this change have on officers who previously submitted reports 18 hours after an incident?

Answer: They must now submit reports sooner than they had been doing

Under the new policy, reports are due before shift end — which for most incidents is sooner than the 18 hours officers had been using under the old 24-hour rule.

A patrol log notes: 'Officer Martinez completed six traffic stops between 2:00 AM and 4:00 AM. All six stops were made on Interstate 9. Three stops resulted in DUI arrests. Two stops resulted in warnings. One stop resulted in a citation for a broken tail light.' Which conclusion is best supported by this log?

Answer: Half of Officer Martinez's traffic stops that night resulted in DUI arrests

Three of the six stops (50%) resulted in DUI arrests, so exactly half of the stops led to DUI arrests.

Read this passage: 'The responding officer noted that the store's alarm had been triggered at 2:14 AM. The owner arrived at 2:45 AM and confirmed $800 worth of merchandise was missing. No suspect was apprehended at the scene.' Which statement identifies a gap in the information provided?

Answer: There is no description of the suspect or how entry was gained

The passage documents the alarm time, missing items, and that no suspect was caught, but never describes how the store was entered or any suspect characteristics.

A criminal history summary states: 'Subject has two prior arrests for theft (no convictions), one conviction for disorderly conduct, and one pending charge for fraud.' How many of the subject's prior cases resulted in convictions?

Answer: One

Only the disorderly conduct charge resulted in a conviction; the two theft arrests had no convictions and the fraud charge is still pending.

A field training officer writes in an evaluation: 'The recruit consistently identifies relevant details in written reports but struggles to prioritize which information to act on first when multiple issues are present.' What does this evaluation suggest about the recruit's reading comprehension skills?

Answer: The recruit understands written content but needs to develop judgment about prioritization

The evaluation praises the recruit's ability to identify relevant details but identifies difficulty in prioritizing — a judgment issue, not a comprehension failure.