RCMP Written Communication Skills 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An officer must write a general occurrence report about a stolen bicycle. Which information is LEAST essential to include?
- Date and time the theft was discovered
- Description of the bicycle including make and serial number
- The victim's opinion of who likely stole it (Correct answer)
- Location where the bicycle was last seen
Correct answer: The victim's opinion of who likely stole it
Opinions and speculation are not factual and should not be included as evidence in a report.
Question 2: Which of the following sentences correctly uses the word 'affect' versus 'effect'?
- The rain did not effect the officer's visibility.
- The noise effected the witness's ability to hear.
- The injury affected the suspect's ability to walk. (Correct answer)
- The medication had no affect on the victim's condition.
Correct answer: The injury affected the suspect's ability to walk.
'Affect' is typically a verb meaning to influence; 'effect' is typically a noun meaning a result.
Question 3: In the context of RCMP written communication, what is the purpose of using headers and subheadings in longer reports?
- To make the report look more professional and formal
- To help readers navigate sections and locate information quickly (Correct answer)
- To meet word count requirements for official documentation
- To separate the officer's opinions from witness statements
Correct answer: To help readers navigate sections and locate information quickly
Headers and subheadings improve navigability and allow readers to find relevant sections without reading the entire document.
Question 4: Which of the following is the correct spelling?
- Occurance
- Occurence
- Occurrence (Correct answer)
- Occurrance
Correct answer: Occurrence
'Occurrence' is spelled with double 'c' and double 'r' — a word commonly misspelled in police reports.
Question 5: An officer writes: 'Me and my partner responded to the call.' What correction is needed?
- Change 'responded' to 'did respond'
- Change 'Me and my partner' to 'My partner and I' (Correct answer)
- Change 'the call' to 'a call'
- No correction is needed.
Correct answer: Change 'Me and my partner' to 'My partner and I'
'My partner and I' is correct because 'I' is used as a subject pronoun, and listing yourself last is proper convention.
Question 6: What is the main risk of using abbreviations without explanation in an official police report?
- It makes the report appear unprofessional
- Readers unfamiliar with the abbreviation may misinterpret the document (Correct answer)
- It violates RCMP formatting guidelines in all cases
- Abbreviations slow down data entry into police systems
Correct answer: Readers unfamiliar with the abbreviation may misinterpret the document
Undefined abbreviations can confuse courts, lawyers, or other agencies who read the report.
Question 7: Which of the following sentences uses parallel structure correctly?
- The officer interviewed the victim, collected evidence, and was writing a report.
- The officer interviewed the victim, collected evidence, and wrote a report. (Correct answer)
- The officer interviewed the victim, was collecting evidence, and wrote a report.
- The officer had interviewed the victim, collected evidence, and writing the report.
Correct answer: The officer interviewed the victim, collected evidence, and wrote a report.
Parallel structure requires that verbs in a series share the same tense and form.
RCMP Written Communication Skills 4
An officer must write a general occurrence report about a stolen bicycle.
Which information is LEAST essential to include?