State Trooper Report Writing and Grammar 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following should NEVER be included in a police report?
- Witness statements
- Officer's personal opinions about guilt (Correct answer)
- Physical descriptions of suspects
- Time of the incident
Correct answer: Officer's personal opinions about guilt
Police reports must contain only objective facts; personal opinions about guilt are inadmissible and can compromise the investigation.
Question 2: A report states: 'The suspect was obviously lying.' Why is this problematic?
- It uses the wrong tense
- It is a subjective conclusion, not an objective observation (Correct answer)
- It does not name the suspect
- It is too short a sentence
Correct answer: It is a subjective conclusion, not an objective observation
Officers should document observable behaviors (e.g., 'the suspect's statements were inconsistent') rather than making subjective conclusions.
Question 3: Which punctuation mark is used to introduce a list in a formal police report?
- Comma
- Semicolon
- Colon (Correct answer)
- Dash
Correct answer: Colon
A colon is used before a list or series of items in formal writing.
Question 4: What is the correct way to document a suspect's race and gender in a report?
- Use slang terms for quick identification
- Use standardized department-approved descriptors (Correct answer)
- Leave it blank to avoid bias claims
- Use personal judgment on how to categorize
Correct answer: Use standardized department-approved descriptors
Standardized, department-approved descriptors ensure consistency, professionalism, and legal defensibility.
Question 5: When a trooper cannot recall an exact time during an incident, what is the best practice?
- Make up a reasonable time to fill in the blank
- Write 'approximately' followed by the best estimated time (Correct answer)
- Leave the time field blank
- Ask the suspect for the time
Correct answer: Write 'approximately' followed by the best estimated time
Using 'approximately' before an estimated time is acceptable and honest, while fabricating times can constitute falsification of records.
Question 6: The word 'their' is a __________ pronoun.
- Singular possessive
- Plural possessive (Correct answer)
- Reflexive
- Relative
Correct answer: Plural possessive
'Their' is a plural possessive pronoun indicating something belonging to multiple people.
Question 7: Which of the following is an example of hearsay that should be clearly attributed in a report?
- The officer observed skid marks on the road.
- The witness stated that a bystander told her the car ran a red light. (Correct answer)
- The suspect's license was expired.
- The officer measured the tire tracks.
Correct answer: The witness stated that a bystander told her the car ran a red light.
Information the witness received second-hand must be clearly attributed to identify it as hearsay, not direct observation.
State Trooper Report Writing and Grammar 3
Which of the following should NEVER be included in a police report?