Police Situational Judgment Tests
Judgment and Common Sense Questions on Police Tests
Police Judgment Test Questions
Situational Judgement Tests (SJT) are an important part of most police and law enforcement hiring. The purpose is to measure a candidate’s judgment and instinctive reactions to uncomfortable or stressful situations.
During the test, a hypothetical scenario is presented, and the candidate must quickly choose the best response from one of several choices. The scenarios may be presented in written form or in videos.
The scenarios will present the test taker with the dilemma of having to choose one best reaction to a situation where multiple responses seem appropriate.
Situational Judgment Example Question
Example Situational Judgment Question
You are an officer assigned to traffic control. You are directing traffic at a busy intersection where the traffic lights have failed. Pedestrians are waiting at all four corners for permission to cross the street. You notice at one corner, a middle-aged woman has sat down on the sidewalk, looking exhausted from the heat. On another corner, you see a man abusing a dog on a leash. On a third corner you observe a young male adult snatching the purse from an elderly woman. What should you do?
You are given several choices:
(A) Run to the woman sitting on the sidewalk to see if she needs medical attention.
(B) Chase the purse snatcher.
(C) Rescue the dog from the man.
(D) Continue directing traffic while calling for assistance.
Different Forms of SJT Questions
Police Test Prep - Judgment Questions
Situational Judgment Tests come in several formats:
Select the single best response from 4 choices. (Most common)
Choose the Best and Worst response.
Rank order the 4 choices from Best to Worst.
The most challenging format is the last one - ranking responses Best to Worst. Here, the test taker must really understand the nuances of values and reactions.
Most SJTs have short time limits allowed for answering. This could be only a few seconds. The reason is that organizations want to measure an applicant’s instinctive reactions to stressful situations. A test with 40 scenarios might only require 20 minutes to complete, assuming 25 seconds to watch the scenario and 5 seconds to answer.
How to Pass Situational Judgment Tests
How to Pass Police Judgment Questions
When you look at the answer choices, you will find that they all sound reasonable at first. The differences between these choices will seem very subtle to you.
How you answer the questions will depend upon 2 mental steps that you need to follow:
First – Your ATTITUDE - how much do you care about the opposite sides of the dilemma? Do you care at all? Your attitude reflects your personal Integrity and Values.
Second, what ACTIONS will you take? How will you respond? Will you ignore the problem and stay out of it? Will you overreact? What logic will you use to decide?
How to Prepare for Situational Judgment Tests
How to answer Police Judgment Test questions
Some people will tell you, that since the test is meant to measure “instinctive reactions,” it is not possible to study for it. This is NOT true. You must prepare in order to pass a Situational Judgment Test within the time limits.
Students need to learn what Attitudes and Reactions are valued and how to prioritize them. Furthermore, you need lots of practice to speed up your reaction time.
Sgt. Godoy’s Mastering Situational Judgment Tests teaches you all you need to know. The course includes:
An in-depth, video-based tutorial that teaches to a structured approach to resolving these dilemmas
40 Practice questions on Judgment & Common Sense
46 practice SJT questions in writing
20 realistic, video-based practice scenarios (Like the Frontline-National exam)
Detailed answer explanations will turn your doubts into rapid responses to ANY type of Situational Judgment Question.
Learn more about Mastering Situational Judgment Tests