State Trooper Report Writing and Grammar 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When writing a police report, which verb tense should be used to describe events that occurred during the incident?
- Future tense
- Present tense
- Past tense (Correct answer)
- Conditional tense
Correct answer: Past tense
Past tense is used in police reports because the events being documented have already occurred.
Question 2: Which of the following is an example of passive voice that should generally be avoided in police reports?
- The officer arrested the suspect.
- The suspect fled on foot.
- The vehicle was driven by the suspect. (Correct answer)
- The witness identified the perpetrator.
Correct answer: The vehicle was driven by the suspect.
Passive voice obscures who performed the action; active voice like 'the suspect drove the vehicle' is preferred for clarity.
Question 3: What does the abbreviation 'DOB' stand for in a police report?
- Date of Booking
- Department of Bonds
- Date of Birth (Correct answer)
- Description of Body
Correct answer: Date of Birth
DOB stands for Date of Birth and is used to identify subjects in police reports.
Question 4: A trooper writes: 'Me and my partner responded to the scene.' What is wrong with this sentence?
- 'Partner' should be capitalized
- It should read 'My partner and I responded to the scene' (Correct answer)
- The sentence is too short
- It should be written in third person
Correct answer: It should read 'My partner and I responded to the scene'
'I' is the correct subject pronoun; 'me' is an object pronoun and should not be used as the subject of a sentence.
Question 5: When documenting injuries in a report, which description is most appropriate?
- The victim looked really hurt
- The victim had a laceration approximately 2 inches long on the left forearm (Correct answer)
- The victim's arm was messed up
- The victim seemed to be in pain
Correct answer: The victim had a laceration approximately 2 inches long on the left forearm
Specific, objective descriptions with measurements and precise location are required for accurate injury documentation.
Question 6: Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?
- The suspect ran; and then he hid.
- The officer secured the scene; the detective conducted interviews. (Correct answer)
- The vehicle was red; colored.
- The witness saw the crime; but did not call 911.
Correct answer: The officer secured the scene; the detective conducted interviews.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.
Question 7: What is the purpose of using chronological order in a police report narrative?
- To make the report longer and more detailed
- To allow the writer to emphasize the most important events first
- To present events in the sequence they occurred for clarity and accuracy (Correct answer)
- To match the order in which witnesses are interviewed
Correct answer: To present events in the sequence they occurred for clarity and accuracy
Chronological order allows readers to understand the sequence of events as they unfolded, which is critical for legal proceedings.
State Trooper Report Writing and Grammar 2
When writing a police report, which verb tense should be used to describe events that occurred during the incident?