The NYPD Written Entrance Exam has a duration of 2.5 hours, and includes ~85 questions.
The test includes several challenging categories that will test your ability and potential to become an NYPD police officer.
Keep reading this page for free NYPD Exam practice questions with full solutions and tips!
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The NYPD Written Entrance Exam is a civil service test that includes 9 question categories:
Let's review each and learn how to correctly solve them.
Memory Sample Questions
These questions will measure your ability to memorize details. You will be given 10 minutes to carefully study a photo, without writing down details. You will then be asked questions about the details of that photo.
Sample Question #1
You are directing traffic when a woman runs towards you, crying and holding a phone in her hand. She says that her sister is on the line, telling her that her ex-husband arrived at her house with a knife and threatened to kill her and her children if she doesn't open the door. The sister lives four blocks away from your location.
What is the first thing you should do?
Sample Question #2
A week later, the man who alerted you to the fire at his neighbor's house comes to the station and asks to make a statement.
He says: "That fire was no accident. I know who started it. I saw him running out of the building just before the smoke started. His name is Carl O'Neil. He's been having this long dispute with my neighbor for six months now over this girl. I called the police after it happened and tried to talk to someone, but they told me they would get back to me. Two days ago I came down here and they let me speak to Officer Lee, who's in charge of the case. He said that the case is closed and refused to take my statement! I know my neighbor wouldn’t tell on Carl; he’s too afraid. The officer wouldn't listen to me! I'm afraid that something like this will happen again in my building. You have to do something!"
What would you say?
Spatial Orientation Sample Questions
This category tests your navigational abilities through relative (left-right) and absolute (North, South etc.) movement on a map.
Sample Question #3
An arrow under the street name indicates that along the entire street, traffic is only allowed to travel in the direction in which the arrow is pointing.
Question: Where is the park in relation to the high school?
The correct answer is B.
Sample Question #4
An arrow on a street indicates that, unless otherwise specified, along the entire street, traffic is only allowed to travel in the direction in which the arrow is pointing.
Question: There has been a report about a possible kidnapping at the Amusement Park. Which is the shortest route to arrive there from the Police Department, abiding by all traffic regulations, if a part of Kamke St. is blocked next to the Parking Lot due to construction work?
The correct answer is choice B.
A is wrong because that is not the shortest route.
C is wrong because Cherl St. is one way.
D is wrong because a part of Kamke St. is blocked next to the Parking Lot.
Written Comprehension Sample Questions
These questions will present you with written passages and ask you to answer questions based on the material.
Sample Question #5
Read the following passage, then proceed to answer the question below.
Whether you are experienced campers from childhood or first-time campers looking to save money, it would be wise to be prepared for this important adventure.
You should first make sure you have a place to camp. can find campgrounds just about anywhere, in cities or in national parks. You can also find cabin resorts that have spots set aside for campers; these are ideal for families who want a more socially active environment.
It is also important to bring with you proper supplies. You will need at least a good tent and some sleeping gear. When buying a tent, choose one that is easy to assemble. If the weather's warm, you can manage with standard sleeping bags or air mattresses with sheets and blankets. If you're heading to higher elevations it's worth investing in bags that keep you extra warm and dry out quickly when they get wet.
Safety is very important as well. Most ready-to-go first-aid kits are useful and affordable. In addition, know where the closest clinic or hospital is in case of a more serious injury.
Which one of the following is an assumption made by the author in the third paragraph?
The third paragraph presents the following logic: If you are heading to higher elevations then invest in warm bags that dry out quickly when they get wet. The missing assumption here is that in higher altitudes there is rain (and colder weather) and that is why you need a sleeping bag that dries out quickly. If that is not the case, there would be no reason to buy a sleeping bag that dries out quickly. Therefore answer (a) is correct.
Sample Question #6
Read the following passage, then proceed to answer the question below.
Lots of people start running in their 30s or older, and it is one of the few sports in which you can improve with age. One example is the great Jack Foster, a self-styled "ancient marathoner”, who ran for the first time at the age of 32, and by the age of 40 found himself picking up a silver medal at the Christchurch Commonwealth marathon in 1974.
Of course, while we all may hold secret hopes of uncovering a latent talent, most of us are unlikely to progress to an elite level. But, whether we like to compete on a weekend or prefer to go on solitary excursions through the countryside, the message is that age is far less of a barrier in running than it is in other sports. With running, even if taken up later in life without any previous experience, it really is realistic to expect improvement with age.
Based on the text, which of the following is definitely correct?
In order to conclude which of the statements is definitely correct, we must locate them in the text and find which of them is explicitly mentioned there:
Answer choice (a)- The passage begins with the words: ”Lots of people start running in their 30s or older…”, corresponding with this answer choice and confirming it as correct.
Answer choice (b)- While it is true that Jack Foster received a medal for his running achievements, we don't actually know whether older runners receive more medals than younger runners. This is not necessarily a correct statement.
Answer choice (c)- The second paragraph describes two types of runners: people who like to participate in races and those who like to run without competing. It does not, however, compare the number of runners per category. Thus, this answer choice is not necessarily correct.
Answer choice (d)- Again, similar to answer choice (b), we do not have information regarding the qualifications of younger versus older runners, and therefore this answer choice is also not necessarily correct.
Written Expression Sample Questions
This category will test your grammar, spelling, punctuation, and vocabulary. It also measures the ability to summarize information efficiently.
Sample Question #7
Bats are the sole pollinators of numerous tropical plants.
Which of the following restatements most accurately reflects the meaning of the original statement above?
Bats are the sole pollinators of numerous tropical plants.
Explanation
The correct answer is B.
Answer A has the word "numerous" refer to the bats rather than to the plants.
Answer C has the word "sole" refer "bats" rather than to "pollinate".
Answer D says plants pollinate bats, instead of the other way around.
Sample Question #8
Select the sentence that best expresses the ideas contained in the sentences above.
Answer A is correct because it best expresses the ideas in the sentences above.
Answer B is wrong because guided relaxation breaks participants took fewer sick days, not more.
Answer C is incorrect because these facts did not say anything about the breaks causing stress. In fact, they implied the opposite.
Answer D is incorrect because companies did not take relaxation breaks, but rather employees did.
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Information Ordering Sample Questions
For this category, you will need to figure out the logical sequence of items in various situations.
Sample Question #9
The following steps should be followed when approaching a crime scene. (These steps are not listed in the correct order.)
The most logical order for the steps above is:
The correct answer is C.
When approaching a crime scene, the first step is to secure and protect it (step 6). If the scene is not secured or protected, evidence may be moved or tampered with, which can strongly harm the investigation. Answers B and D can therefore be eliminated.
Step 7 instructs you to record and collect evidence. When investigating a crime scene, the location of evidence can be important and therefore evidence should only be collected after the scene has been captured photographically (step 2), and after a detailed search of the scene has been conducted (step 5). We can therefore eliminate answer A, and conclude that C is the correct answer.
You may also have noticed:
A narrative of the scene can only be prepared (step 4) after the scene and the evidence have been closely examined. This must therefore be one of the last steps.
The word “preliminary” in step 3 indicates to us that this is one of the first steps. Taking a preliminary survey should come before evaluating what kind of physical evidence may be present (step 1).
Sample Question #10
When taking in a new inmate to a prison, the following procedures should be followed in the given order:
Donald Walker arrived at the Wade Reception Center and handed Officer Kathy all of his documentation, cash, and possessions. What should Officer Kathy do next?
The correct answer is D.
According to the procedures, when an inmate arrives, his identity must be verified. We are also told that upon receiving the possessions of an inmate a CGR 155 must be filled out. To answer this question, we must find a word that indicates to us which of these two procedures takes precedence. Procedure 5 states, “Immediately upon arrival, the inmate’s identity shall be verified by staff.”
This tells us that before doing anything else, we must first identify the inmate’s identity.
Inductive Reasoning Sample Questions
This category presents information and requires the test taker to find the common element, concept, or rule that connects the information. Passages, tables, and charts commonly appear here.
Sample Question #11
The following chart displays the number of crimes committed in a city between the years 2010 and 2014:
Which of the following statements is most supported by the information given above?
The correct answer is D.
We can see from the graph, that the crime in District 1 (orange bar) increased every year from 2010 – 2012, and then decreased every year thereafter.
Distractors
A – The crime rates in Districts 1 and 2 went up from 2010 to 2011; answer A is therefore incorrect.
B- The crime rates in Districts 2 and 3 went up from 2012 to 2013; answer B is therefore incorrect.
C – The crime rate in District 3 went up from 2012 to 2013; we therefore cannot say that the crime rate went down every year, therefore answer C is incorrect.
Sample Question #12
The following table describes the minimum amount of emergency personnel that need to respond in different situations:
Police | Firefighters | Paramedics | |
Class I Fire | 2 | 5 | 2 |
Class II Fire | 4 | 10 | 6 |
Class III Fire | 4 | 20 | 10 |
Crime With No Injuries | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Crime With Minor Injuries | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Crime With Major Injuries | 5 | 2 | 2 |
Class I Car Crash | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Class II Car Crash | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Class III Car Crash | 3 | 2 | 3 |
The correct answer is C.
Three policemen need to respond to a crime with no injuries, while firemen and paramedics are not needed.
Visualization Sample Questions
Visualization questions assess your ability to identify changes done to shapes, faces, or other images.
Sample Question #13
On the left, a portrait of a suspect is presented. On the right are four different portraits. Out of the four, only one is the suspect. Assuming no plastic surgery or drastic changes to basic facial features have been performed and only superficial features (such as hair and/or glasses) have changed, choose the portrait that is most likely to be the suspect.
The answer is D.
This type of question can be slightly confusing. We recommend that you begin by eliminating the choices least likely to be the answer and then focus on the portraits more similar to that of the suspect.
In this question we can see that A has the wrong nose, B has a different mouth, a different nose, and different eyebrows, and C has different eyes, therefore D is the answer.
Sample Question #14
On the left, a portrait of a suspect is presented. On the right are four different portraits. Out of the four, only one is the suspect. Assuming no plastic surgery or drastic changes to basic facial features have been performed and only superficial features (such as hair and/or glasses) have changed, choose the portrait that is most likely to be the suspect.
The answer is A.
In this question we can see that B has the wrong mouth from the portrait we need, C has both a different nose and a different mouth and D has both different eyes and a different mouth, therefore A is the answer.
Deductive Reasoning Sample Questions
Deductive reasoning is all about applying rules and regulations correctly. You will be given passages explaining departmental policies and must judge several situations according to those policies.
Sample Question #15
RULE:
(SECTION 1) Gradual migration to digital file storage
The MI-01 regulations were declared on March 27th, 2005, and are followed to this day. These regulations are stated below and act as the procedure for gradual migration.
Times: Starting July 2005, Fridays will be closed for reception and dedicated solely to the migration process. A Friday shall be called a Migration Day unless it is the first Friday of any month; in that case, it shall be called a Sweep Day.
Labeling: Append a white labeled MI-12 form to any paper files you access or check that do not already have one. After every access to a file, mark the date in the MI-12, and sign your name next to the date. If the MI-12 is labeled black, swap it for a white label. Every Sweep Day, all files with an MI-12 not labeled black or red are to be checked for last-day of access.
Migration: Every Migration Day, files are to be typed into the computer system.
After migrating a file, swap its MI-12 form’s label to green.
SITUATION:
Presented below is the MI-12 form of a file as it appeared on Tuesday, October 25th, 2005.Date of Access | Signature | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Month | Day | Weekday | |
2005 | 04 | 27 | Wednesday | Mrs. Haley Fitzgerald |
2005 | 05 | 10 | Tuesday | Mr. Harvey Dennis |
2005 | 05 | 18 | Wednesday | Ms. Eve Cole |
2005 | 05 | 19 | Thursday | Ms. Eve Cole |
2005 | 05 | 24 | Tuesday | Mr. Harvey Dennis |
2005 | 05 | 25 | Wednesday | Mr. Harvey Dennis |
2005 | 06 | 6 | Monday | Ms. Eve Cole |
2005 | 06 | 7 | Tuesday | Ms. Eve Cole |
2005 | 06 | 7 | Tuesday | Mrs. Haley Fitzgerald |
2005 | 06 | 14 | Tuesday | Mr. Harvey Dennis |
2005 | 06 | 16 | Thursday | Mr. Harvey Dennis |
2005 | 06 | 23 | Thursday | Ms. Eve Cole |
2005 | 07 | 7 | Thursday | Mrs. Haley Fitzgerald |
2005 | 07 | 11 | Monday | Ms. Eve Cole |
2005 | 07 | 12 | Tuesday | Mr. Harvey Dennis |
2005 | 07 | 19 | Tuesday | Ms. Eve Cole |
2005 | 07 | 19 | Tuesday | Ms. Eve Cole |
2005 | 07 | 19 | Tuesday | Ms. Eve Cole |
2005 | 07 | 26 | Tuesday | Mrs. Haley Fitzgerald |
2005 | 07 | 28 | Thursday | Mr. Harvey Dennis |
a) What color was the label of the file’s MI-12 on Wednesday, May 11th, 2005?
The answer is choice A.
“Append a white-labeled MI-12 form to any paper files you access or check that does not already have one.” – Since the file was accessed between March 27th and May 11th, it was already appended to a white-labeled MI-12 form. Since three months have not passed yet, the label could not have been changed on any Sweep Day.
b) What color was the label of the file’s MI-12 on Tuesday, July 12th, 2005?
The answer is choice C.
“If in all three previous months the file was accessed at least once, the MI-12 label must be swapped to blue.” – Since the MI-12 shows that the file was accessed 1 time in April, 5 times in May, and 6 times in June, it would have been labeled blue on the last Sweep Day, which was on July 1st, 2005.
Sample Question #16
RULE:FIREFIGHTER NIGHT SHIFT
Firefighters are divided into three different platoons of eight. The regular shift schedule is a rotation between the three platoons. Each platoon's shift starts at 9:00 AM and ends 24 hours later. Each platoon takes 48 hours off between shifts.
In addition, during each shift, two members of the on-duty platoon have that shift off. These members are selected through a rotation between all of the platoon's members.
If a member specifically needs time off when he is scheduled for a shift, he may change shifts with a fellow platoon member. If more than two members of a platoon need time off on the same shift, changes with other platoon members are also permitted. Exchanges must be for equal time and for whole shifts.
Firefighters must have at least 24 hours off between shifts.
a) Which of the following is impossible?
The correct answer is (D).
The second paragraph mentions that "these members are selected through a rotation between all of the platoon's members.” There are at least two shifts for every platoon in a week. Answer (D) implies either that the selection is not through rotation between platoon members, or that Andy's platoon did no more than one shift; both options are impossible.
b) Which of the following is possible?
The correct answer is (D).
Answer (A) is incorrect: "Exchanges must be for equal time and for whole shifts." – Gabe cannot exchange half a shift.
Answer (B) is incorrect: "If more than two members of a platoon need time off on the same shift, exchanges with other platoon members are also permitted." – Jared is the only firefighter to switch that particular shift, which means there were no more than two members that needed a change. Therefore, he was not permitted to exchange the shift with a member outside of his platoon.
Answer (C) is incorrect: "Changes must be for equal time and for whole shifts." – Ryan cannot exchange one shift for two.
Problem Sensitivity Sample Questions
This section deals with solving given police-related scenarios effectively.
Sample Question #17
Officer Harry interviewed four witnesses to a shooting that occurred in a movie theater parking lot. They each described the suspect as follows:
Witness 1: “He was a Black male, in his late twenties. He was shouting obscenities in what sounded like a South African accent. He was over six feet tall, around 200 pounds, and had short curly hair. He was wearing a red jacket, navy blue or black pants, and had a piercing in his left ear.”
Witness 2: “He was a Black male around 6’3” and 210 pounds. He looked about thirty and was screaming in an accent. He was wearing a maroon jacket and dark blue pants.”
Witness 3: “He was a Black man around 6’2” roughly 200 pounds, and looked about 27 years old. He had short, curly dark hair and wore a jacket, and dark pants. He had a crazed look in his eyes, and just stood there silently shooting indiscriminately.”
Witness 4: “He was a tall; dark-skinned male about 6’4” and over 200 pounds. He was in his late twenties and had dark, short hair. He was wearing a red top, and dark blue pants. He kept on screaming that he was sorry in an Australian accent.”
Given this information, there is a problem with the description given by what witness?
The correct answer is C.
Witnesses 1, 2, and 4 all mentioned that the suspect had an accent and witness 3 said that the suspect “stood there silently shooting indiscriminately.”
Distractors
Witness 1 said that the suspect had a South African accent, and witness 4 said the suspect had an Australian accent. Many people are not well accustomed to foreign accents, and may therefore easily misplace one accent with another. Further, to many Americans, South African accents and Australian accents sound very similar.
Witness 1 said that the suspect was screaming obscenities, and witness 4 said that the suspect was screaming that he was sorry. These two statements do not necessarily contradict. One can scream that they are sorry while adding obscenities.
Sample Question #18
A murder took place on January 12, 2013, at 11:34 PM at the victim’s residence on 65th Street,New York City. One of the suspects, Ryan, claimed that at that he was on the train with four of his friends from Boston at that time. Each of his four friends described that night as follows:
Friend 1: “I picked up Ryan from the hotel in Boston at 10:30 PM. We arrived at the train station fifteen minutes later and boarded the 11:15 PM train. I listened to music and saw Ryan sleeping across from me on the train until we arrived in New York at 2:30 AM.”
Friend 2: “I arrived at the train station in Boston at 10:15 PM for our 11:15 PM train. I was with Ryan from the moment he arrived at the train station thirty minutes later until we arrived in New York at around 2:30 AM when I saw Ryan get in a cab home.”
Friend 3: “When I got to the train station at 11:00 PM, Ryan was already there. We got on the 11:15 PM train and all sat together. I watched a movie and saw Ryan stretched out across two seats eating a big bag of chips and reading a magazine during the ride. We arrived in New York at 2:30 AM and I saw Ryan get in a cab home.”
Friend 4: “I picked up Ryan to catch our 11:15 PM train from Boston to New York. We arrived at the train station thirty minutes early and Ryan and I went to buy some snacks and a magazine which we ate and read on the train. When arrived in New York at 2:30 AM Ryan and I split a cab home.”
Given this information, there is a problem with the description given by which friend?
The correct answer is A.
The first thing to notice is that both Friend 1 and Friend 4 claimed to have picked up Ryan to go to the train station in Boston. Since both of them could not have picked him up, there must be a problem with one of their descriptions. Friend 1 said he saw Ryan sleeping on the train, which contradicts what Friend 3 and friend 4 said, that Ryan was snacking and reading a magazine on the train.
Those were 18 questions from both versions of the NYPD Exam. Did you get all of them right?
The NYPD Written Exam Preparation pack has hundreds more, with detailed solutions for every single one. It also includes full Practice tests which simulate the real thing!
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