QPSea Memory and Observation Skills Flashcards

During a QPSea observation exercise, you see five people in a waiting room. After the image is removed, you are asked how many people were wearing hats. This question tests your ability to:

Answer: Recall specific visual details from short-term memory

Answering questions about specific objects or attributes seen during a brief viewing directly tests short-term visual memory.

Which factor MOST impairs an officer's ability to accurately recall details from an observed scene?

Answer: High levels of stress or distraction during observation

Stress and distraction impair encoding of details into memory, reducing the accuracy of later recall.

An incident log describes a suspect entering a store at 09:15, leaving at 09:22, and the alarm being triggered at 09:24. How many minutes passed between the suspect entering and the alarm being triggered?

Answer: 9 minutes

From 09:15 to 09:24 is exactly 9 minutes.

A witness describes a bag snatcher as: 'wearing a black cap, blue shirt, black shorts, and white running shoes.' If only one item of clothing was white, which was it?

Answer: Running shoes

Of the four items listed, only the running shoes are described as white.

After studying a map for 90 seconds, officers are asked to recall the location of the police station. This exercise primarily develops which policing skill?

Answer: Spatial memory and geographic orientation

Recalling the position of a location on a map after a brief study period develops spatial memory and geographic orientation skills.

Which of the following is the BEST preparation strategy for the QPSea memory and observation component?

Answer: Practising timed observation exercises with photographs and self-testing recall

Practising timed observation with photographs and self-testing directly replicates the QPSea observation task format and builds the relevant skills.