Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1 The Road to Landing a Job as a Police Officer
Chapter 1 Signing Up, Getting Screened, and Other Prep Work
Starting with the Notice of Examination (NOE)
Completing a Job Application
Rounding up required info and paperwork
Understanding what will get you disqualified
Acting professionally
Taking the Written Test
National Police Officer Selection Test (POST)
New York City Police Officer’s Entrance Exam
Adding the Law Enforcement Essay Exam
Completing the Personal History Statement
Passing the Physical Ability Test (PAT)
Making a Dynamite Impression during the Oral Board Interview
Undergoing the Medical and Psychological Evaluations
Medical evaluation
Psychological evaluation
What if I Get Eliminated during the Screening Process?
Chapter 2 Taking a Closer Look at the Police Officer Tests
Knowing What You’re Up Against on the Written Test
The structure of the National Police Officer Selection Test (POST)
The structure of the New York City (NYC) Police Officer’s Entrance Exam
Getting the Lowdown on the Other Police Officer Tests
The physical ability test (PAT)
The oral interview
The medical exam
The psychological evaluation
Part 2 Breaking Down the National Police Officer Selection Test (POST) and the NYC Test
Chapter 3 Solving Basic Math Questions on the POST
What Do Math Questions Look Like?
Ditching your calculator
Addition questions
Subtraction questions
Multiplication questions
Division questions
Determining Percentages
What is a percent?
How to find a percentage
Finding Averages
What is an average?
How to find an average
Picking an Answer if You Don’t Know It
Practice Math Questions
Chapter 4 Reading Between the Lines: Reading Comprehension
Comprehending the Reading Comprehension Section on the POST
Longer passages
Definition passages
Practice Questions for the POST Reading Comprehension Section
Examining the Reading Comprehension Questions on the New York City Test
Written comprehension passages
Information ordering passages
Inductive reasoning passages
Deductive reasoning passages
Problem sensitivity questions
Practice Questions for the NYC Reading Comprehension Section
Chapter 5 Expressing Yourself with Proper Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling
Acing Grammar Questions
Choosing the correct verb tense
Watching out for subject-verb agreement
Picking the correct pronoun
Using the right adjective
Identifying complete sentences and fragments
Pluralizing nouns
Excelling at Spelling Questions
Practice Grammar and Spelling Questions
Chapter 6 Stretching Your Memory and Visualization Skills
Getting the Lowdown on Memory and Observation Questions on the NYC Test
Improving Your Memory
Digging deep for memorization questions
Using your mind’s eye for visualization questions
Straightening out information ordering questions
Determining the best course of action
Getting your bearings
Recalling and interpreting letters and numbers
Practice Observation and Memory Questions
Chapter 7 Reading and Writing Incident Reports
Tackling POST Questions about Incident Reports
Demonstrating comprehension of incident reports on the POST
Answering written questions about incident reports on the POST
Practice POST Incident Report Questions
Mastering Questions about Incident Reports on the NYC Test
Practice NYC Incident Report Questions
Chapter 8 Acing the Law Enforcement Essay Exam
Following the Proper Steps to Craft a Winning Essay
Prewriting
Writing
Proofreading
Understanding How Essays Are Scored
Warming Up to Sample Essay Prompts
Practice Law Enforcement Essay Exam Question and Answer
Chapter 9 Completing the Personal History Statement
Becoming Familiar with the Personal History Statement
Getting Ready to Complete the Personal History Statement
Gathering the necessary information
Collecting the necessary documents
Writing the Personal History Statement
Understanding that honesty is the best policy
Following directions and reading questions carefully
Checking your work
Part 3 After the Written Test: Meeting Other Requirements
Chapter 10 Putting Your Physical Ability to the Test
Let’s Get Physical: The Whys and Wherefores of the Physical Ability Test
Understanding why police officers need the physical ability test
Breaking down the skill areas of the typical test
Getting the lowdown on the local test
Getting in Shape before the Test
What You Should Know and Do the Day of Your Test
Showing Them What You Can Do: Test Events
One-minute sit-ups
One-minute push-ups
Vertical jump
1.5-mile run
440-yard mobility/agility run
Modified squat thrust
Vehicle exit
Stair climb
Fence obstacles
Trigger pull
Dummy drag
Chapter 11 Presenting Yourself Well in the Oral Board Interview
Comporting Yourself Well
Dressing professionally
Acting professionally
Speaking in front of others
Honing Your Question and Answer Skills
Expecting the right types of questions
Answering truthfully
Chapter 12 Preparing for Medical and Psychological Evaluations
Getting Tested, Poked, and Prodded in the Medical Evaluation
What can you see? Testing your vision
Can you hear me now? Testing your hearing
Not for the squeamish: Taking blood and urine tests
Breathe in, breathe out: Checking your heart and lungs
How low can you go? Monitoring muscular and skeletal disorders
Looking for other conditions
Understanding What Happens during the Psychological Evaluation
Taking the personality test
Interviewing with a psychologist
Part 4 Practice Police Officer Exams
Chapter 13 Practice Test 1: The National Police Officer Selection Test (POST)
Chapter 14 Answers and Explanations for Practice Test 1
Section I: Mathematics
Section II: Reading Comprehension
Section III: Grammar
Section IV: Incident Report Writing
Answer Key for Practice Test 1
Chapter 15 Practice Test 2: The National Police Officer Selection Test (POST)
Chapter 16 Answers and Explanations for Practice Test 2
Section I: Mathematics
Section II: Reading Comprehension
Section III: Grammar
Section IV: Incident Report Writing
Answer Key for Practice Test 2
Chapter 17 Practice Test 3: The National Police Officer Selection Test (POST)
Chapter 18 Answers and Explanations for Practice Test 3
Section I: Mathematics
Section II: Reading Comprehension
Section III: Grammar
Section IV: Incident Report Writing
Answer Key for Practice Test 3
Chapter 19 Practice Test 4: The New York City Police Officer’s Entrance Exam
Chapter 20 Answers and Explanations for Practice Test 4
Part 5 The Part of Tens
Chapter 21 Ten Tips to Help You Succeed on the Exam
Prepare Yourself
Get Plenty of ZZZs
Eat Healthfully
Arrive Early
Relax!
Carefully Read or Listen to Directions
Read the Questions First
Pace Yourself
Mark the Right Spot!
Take a Guess
Chapter 22 Ten Things to Expect at the Police Academy
Rigorous Rule Enforcement
Physical Challenges
Strength Training
Firearms Training
Emergency Vehicle Operations Training
Academic Integrity
Language Training
Ethics Training
Human Relations
Field Training Program
Part 6 Appendixes
Appendix A Law Enforcement Terminology and Resources
Law Enforcement Terminology
Law Enforcement Codes
Additional Resources
Appendix B Climbing the Law Enforcement Ladder
Starting on the Bottom Rung: Unranked
Officer
Detective/Investigator
Sergeant
Moving to Middle Management: Bars
Lieutenant
Captain
Major/Deputy inspector
Becoming the Top Dog: Stars
Inspector/Commander
Assistant chief
Deputy chief
Chief of police
Index
EULA