NTN Police Report Writing & Grammar 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An officer must document that a suspect invoked Miranda rights. Which entry is most appropriate?
- The suspect didn't want to talk.
- Suspect invoked his right to remain silent and requested an attorney. (Correct answer)
- He lawyered up and refused questioning.
- The suspect wasn't cooperative with the interview process.
Correct answer: Suspect invoked his right to remain silent and requested an attorney.
Legal terminology should be used precisely; 'invoked his right to remain silent and requested an attorney' is accurate and formal.
Question 2: Which sentence contains a correctly placed apostrophe?
- The suspects car was impounded.
- The suspect's car was impounded. (Correct answer)
- The suspects' car was impounded (one suspect).
- The suspect's cars' were impounded (one car).
Correct answer: The suspect's car was impounded.
For a singular possessive, add an apostrophe followed by 's': 'suspect's car' is correct.
Question 3: A police report should AVOID which of the following?
- Specific times and dates
- Opinions and conclusions without supporting facts (Correct answer)
- Direct quotes from witnesses
- Descriptions of physical evidence
Correct answer: Opinions and conclusions without supporting facts
Reports should contain factual observations; unsupported opinions and conclusions undermine credibility and objectivity.
Question 4: Which sentence correctly uses 'affect' vs. 'effect'?
- The injury did not effect the victim's memory.
- The injury did not affect the victim's memory. (Correct answer)
- The affect of the collision was severe damage.
- The collision had an immediate affect on the vehicle.
Correct answer: The injury did not affect the victim's memory.
'Affect' is typically a verb meaning to influence, while 'effect' is typically a noun meaning result.
Question 5: What information should ALWAYS be included in the heading of a police report?
- Officer's personal opinion of the incident
- Incident date, case number, reporting officer, and incident type (Correct answer)
- Names of all potential suspects in the area
- List of all laws potentially violated
Correct answer: Incident date, case number, reporting officer, and incident type
Report headers must include identifiers that allow the document to be filed, retrieved, and linked to the correct case.
Question 6: An officer writes: 'Between you and I, the suspect was clearly guilty.' What is the grammatical error?
- 'Between' should be 'among'
- 'I' should be 'me' (object pronoun) (Correct answer)
- 'Clearly' is an unnecessary adverb
- 'Guilty' should be 'culpable'
Correct answer: 'I' should be 'me' (object pronoun)
Prepositions require object pronouns; 'between you and me' is correct, not 'between you and I.'
Question 7: When documenting a victim's injuries, which description is most appropriate for a police report?
- The victim was badly hurt.
- The victim appeared to be in severe pain.
- The victim had a laceration approximately 2 inches long on the left forearm. (Correct answer)
- The victim's wounds were serious and required attention.
Correct answer: The victim had a laceration approximately 2 inches long on the left forearm.
Specific, objective descriptions of observable injuries provide accurate documentation without medical conclusions.
NTN Police Report Writing & Grammar 4
An officer must document that a suspect invoked Miranda rights.
Which entry is most appropriate?