OACP - Ontario Association of Chief of Police Situational Judgement and Ethics Questions and Answers

Question 1

While on patrol, you conduct a traffic stop for a minor speeding violation.
The driver is polite, apologetic, and has a perfectly clean driving record.
They explain they are a volunteer delivering urgent medical supplies and were briefly distracted.
Which of the following actions best demonstrates appropriate use of police discretion and ethical judgment?

Accepted Answer

Issue a formal written warning and document the stop, acknowledging the violation but exercising discretion based on the circumstances and the driver's record.

Answer

Issue a ticket for the exact speed, as the law was clearly broken and must be enforced equally in all situations.

Answer

Let the driver go without any record of the stop to save them the hassle, since they are performing a community service.

Answer

Detain the driver to independently verify their story about the medical supplies before making any decision.

Question 2

Which of the following scenarios presents the clearest potential conflict of interest for a police officer?

Accepted Answer

An officer provides a private security consultation business for local homeowners on their days off.

Answer

An officer works a paid duty shift, approved by the service, providing security at a local marathon.

Answer

An officer's sibling works as a paramedic in the same municipality.

Answer

An officer volunteers as a referee for a high school basketball league.

Question 3

You and your partner respond to a tense domestic dispute. After de-escalating the situation, your partner uses a derogatory slang term to refer to one of the individuals involved while speaking to you privately in the patrol car. What is the most professional and immediate course of action?

Accepted Answer

Politely but firmly address the comment with your partner directly, stating that such language is unprofessional and unacceptable.

Answer

Report the comment to your supervisor at the end of your shift to ensure it's on record.

Answer

Ignore the comment to avoid an uncomfortable confrontation with your partner.

Answer

Make a joke to your partner to diffuse the tension from the call.

Question 4

To ensure fair and impartial policing, which of the following is the most effective personal strategy for an officer to mitigate the influence of their own implicit biases during interactions with the public?

Accepted Answer

Consciously slowing down the decision-making process and actively questioning one's own initial assumptions about a person or situation.

Answer

Stating that one does not see race or gender and treats every single person the exact same way.

Answer

Relying solely on experience and intuition, as these are developed over years of service.

Answer

Avoiding interactions with community members outside of enforcement actions to maintain impartiality.

Question 5

An off-duty police officer is at a house party with friends and witnesses a person they know consuming a small quantity of an illegal drug. The situation is calm and contained within the private residence. What is the officer's primary ethical duty?

Accepted Answer

Take appropriate police action, which involves contacting on-duty officers to handle the situation formally.

Answer

Discreetly leave the party to avoid being compromised by the illegal activity.

Answer

Personally confiscate the drugs and warn the friend without taking further action.

Answer

Ignore the situation as they are off-duty and in a private setting with friends.

Question 6

During a use-of-force report debriefing, your direct supervisor suggests you rephrase a section to make your actions sound less aggressive, even though your original description was a complete and accurate account of a necessary and justified action. What is your most ethical response?

Accepted Answer

Insist that the report must remain an exact and truthful account of the events as they occurred.

Answer

Agree to the changes to show respect for the supervisor's experience and authority.

Answer

Ask a different supervisor for their opinion on how the report should be written.

Answer

Rewrite the report but keep a private set of notes detailing the original wording.