Police & PelletB Practice Test

Are you interested in a career as a police officer? If you have done any research you will realize that the first step in this recruitment process is a police exam. In many departments before you can even submit an application you must pass the police test. We are here to walk you through what to expect on the exam, give you free police test sample questions and explanations.

Take a Practice Police Test.

What Is the Police Test?

The police test is a selection method used by various police departments to find candidates who have the skills needed for the job. There is not one uniform police test for every state, each governor appoints a Police Officers Standard and Training (POST) committee to set the qualifications for entry to their police department. The police test is often referred to as the POST Exam. The test can include a combination of the following topics.

• Vocabulary
• Spelling and Grammar
• Reading comprehension
• Memory games
• Math
• A short essay
• Incident report writing
• Reasoning
• Spatial orientation

What Is the Format of the Police Test?

The exam can take anywhere between 1-3 hours and each of the sections is timed. The questions are most often multiple choice and true false, although some departments will ask for a writing sample.

What Is a Passing Score on the Police Written Test?

Most departments are looking for a passing score of at least 70%. Each department has different rules, but because openings don’t come up so frequently it is best to aim to score high. 

Here is a police practice test for you to take a look at.

How Can I Prepare?

Before you can start preparing you need to do a little homework. There are two ways to find out what type of test you will encounter either based on; the assessment company your department is using, or based on the specific state or country in which you reside in. Here is the breakdown of what to expect from the recruitment process for each state.

Practice Police Exams for Each State

New York Police Exams

New York is one of the highest paying states. Each county has a slightly different hiring process. Let’s take a look at some of the most competitive counties.

Suffolk County Police Test

If you are looking into a career with the Suffolk County police department you will be asked to sit the EB Jacobs Law Enforcement Aptitude Battery (LEAB). This test is given once every four years. You will need at least a passing grade of a 70. It has three sections:

Cognitive Ability Test

This section has 48 questions to be completed in 1 hour and 40 minutes. It has six types of questions:

• Written expression
• Written comprehension
• Problem sensitivity
• Deductive
• Inductive reasoning
• Information ordering

Work Style Questionnaire

This portion of the test is a personality assessment. You will be presented with statements and you need to indicate if you strongly agree or disagree.

Life Experience Survey

You will be presented with a wide range of topics and you need to best choose the response that matches your life experience. Make sure you answer all the questions truthfully. 

Here is a Suffolk Police Practice Test.

MTA Police Exam

If you are interested in applying for a job as a safety officer within the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department (MTAPD)  you have lots of different opportunities. The MTA is a great organization to work for with a competitive salary, 401k, insurance, overtime and tuition reimbursements. The first step in the hiring process is the NCJOSI II Exam. The MTA Police test has two sections to be completed within two and a half hours. Section I has 80 questions and covers the following subjects:

• Deductive Reasoning
• Flexibility of Closure
• Inductive Reasoning
• Information Gathering
• Problem Sensitivity
• Selective Attention
• Spatial Orientation
• Verbal Expression
• Visualization
• Situational Judgement

Section II is 120 questions and it takes a look at job related attributes to measure the potential candidates success on the job.

Practice for the MTA Police Exam.

Here is some more information about the hiring process and police test for other NY police departments:

• NYPD Police Officer Practice Test
• Westchester County Police Officer Practice Test
• NYS Police Officer Practice Test

California PelletB Practice Test

Most of the police departments in California use the POST Entry-Level Law Enforcement Test Battery (PELLETB). The test consists of 105 questions to be completed in two hours. The test includes reading, writing, and reasoning. In the writing ability section they will test your spelling and vocabulary. The reading ability section will have two portions reading comprehension and a cloze test. The cloze portion of the test is not multiple choice. You will be given a paragraph with missing words and in its place will be dashes which represent each letter in the target word. You need to decide on the word based on context, spelling and grammar.

Learn More and Access Police Exam Practice Tests for Each State

Practice Police Aptitude Tests According to Assessment Company

We included a table with the assessment company and the name of the test that they put out. If you know the name of the exam you are taking or which test you are taking you can learn more about each of the exams and access free practice test questions.

Free Sample Police Exam Questions and Answers

Police Test Question 1

OFFICER NOTES: At about 11 am on October  12, 2019, I met with Mr. Michael Howard at 14 Main Street, the Riverside Mall, regarding a stolen vehicle.

Which one of the following statements most clearly expresses the facts presented in the note?

1. Responding to a call at 11 am at 14 Main Street, the Riverside Mall, and arriving at  the parking lot, I saw the victim standing alone. He identified himself as Mr. Michael Howard.
2. I responded to a call at 11 am at 14 Main Street, the Riverside Mall. When I arrived at the mall, I saw a man standing in the parking lot. He identified himself as Mr. Michael Howard said that he was reporting a stolen vehicle.
3. When I responded to a call from14 Main Street, the Riverside mall I saw a man in the parking lot who identified himself as Michael Howard.
4. Responding to a call from 14 Main Street, I saw a man in the parking lot. He identified himself as the victim of a car theft, Mr. Michael Howard.

Police Test Question 2

Officer Jordan is reviewing incident reports about crimes that occured in the area under his patrol. All kidnappings happen between Dean St. and 6th St., all robberies occur between Second St. and River St., and all drug deals happen on Hudson St.

Most kidnappings happen on Saturdays, most robberies occur on Sundays, and most drug deals take place on Thursdays.

Most kidnappings occur between 3:30 PM and 11 PM, most robberies occur between 9 PM and 4 AM, and most drug deals happen between 9 PM and 3 AM.

Officer Jordan will most likely be able to reduce the number of robberies if he were to patrol:

1. Between Second St. and Dean St. on Thursdays from 11 PM to 4 AM.
2. On Rover St. on Saturdays from 8 PM to 2 AM.
3. Between Second St. and River St. on Sundays from 9 PM to 4AM.
4. Between Dean St. and 6th St. on Saturdays from 7 PM to 12 AM.

Police Test Question 3

An police officer would MOST likely require backup assistance from other police officers in which of the following scenarios?

1. A female student files a complaint against her classmate for sexual abuse.
2. Two shoppers are having an argument over a parking space in middle of the day at a mall parking lot
3. Dispatch received a call about two individuals robbing a pharmacy.
4. A couple of teenagers report a break in to the garage at one of their houses a couple of nights before.

Police Test Question 4

The picture below is a map of subway lines in a city.

Each line is color coded and associated with a lettered subway line. The subways stations are given numbers according to their location on the line. The numbers progress from the beginning to the end of the line. All the lines aside from lines G and M begin from the northmost station. Lines G and M begin from the westmost station. A station can have more than one code if multiple lines pass through it.

Question: Mrs. Sarah Johnson needs to commute from station B8 to station M8 but cannot take her usual route since section M5 → M6 is blocked due to a construction. Which of the following subway routes would pass through the least number of stations?

1. B8 to B5 to O4 to M8. 
2. B8 to  B5 to P4 to M8.
3. B8 to R5 to C4 to MB.
4. B8 to B10 to G5 to Y3 to M8 (9 stops)

Get more police test questions here.