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Free NYC Special Officer Exam Practice Questions

Special Officer candidates are tested on reading, reasoning and written expression. These ten questions come from our full-length Special Officer practice exams.

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Read this, then answer the questions about it.

A person entering a public building for service is directed to the reception desk and is not required to show identification.

A person entering for any other reason shall state that reason at the desk. Where the reason given is not a service the building provides, the person is directed to the correct location and is not admitted beyond the lobby.

An officer may refuse admission to a person who has been barred in writing. The written bar is held at the desk and names the person and the period.

A person refused admission is told the reason. Where the person will not leave the lobby after being told, the officer notifies a supervisor and does not use force.

Question 1

A person arrives to collect a document the building issues. According to the passage, the officer shall
  1. A. ask for identification before directing them
  2. B. direct them to the reception desk
  3. C. ask them to state their reason at the desk
  4. D. admit them only as far as the lobby
Show the answer

The answer is B. Collecting a document the building issues is entering for service, and the passage directs such a person to the reception desk with no identification required.

  • A is wrong: The passage says a person entering for service is not required to show identification.
  • C is wrong: Stating a reason applies to a person entering for some other purpose.
  • D is wrong: The lobby limit applies where the reason given is not a service the building provides.

Question 2

A person says they have come to see a department that is in a different building. According to the passage, the officer shall
  1. A. ask for identification and then decide
  2. B. admit them and direct them to the reception desk
  3. C. refuse admission and notify a supervisor
  4. D. direct them to the correct location and not admit them beyond the lobby
Show the answer

The answer is D. The reason given is not a service this building provides, so the passage directs the person elsewhere and keeps them in the lobby.

  • A is wrong: Identification is not part of the passage's test.
  • B is wrong: The reception desk is where a person entering for service goes.
  • C is wrong: Notifying a supervisor follows a refusal where the person will not leave.

Question 3

A rule states: "An officer may eject a person who refuses to leave a public area after being told to do so. An officer shall not eject a person who is waiting for a service the building provides. A person who has been barred in writing may be ejected whether or not a service is being provided." A person barred in writing is sitting in the waiting area holding a service ticket. Under the rule, the officer
  1. A. may not eject them, because they are waiting for a service
  2. B. may eject them
  3. C. may eject them only after they refuse to leave
  4. D. may not eject them until the bar has been checked with a supervisor
Show the answer

The answer is B. The third sentence covers a written bar and overrides the service exception in the second.

  • A is wrong: The written bar applies whether or not a service is being provided.
  • C is wrong: The refusal condition belongs to the first sentence; the bar sentence has no such condition.
  • D is wrong: The rule names no check with a supervisor before an ejection.

Question 4

A rule states: "An officer shall report damage to building property. Where the person responsible is present, the officer shall obtain their name. Where the damage is being caused at the time the officer arrives, the officer shall stop it before doing anything else." An officer arrives to find a wall already marked and the person who did it standing nearby. Under the rule, the officer shall
  1. A. stop the damage before doing anything else
  2. B. detain the person until a supervisor attends
  3. C. report the damage and take no name from the driver
  4. D. obtain the name, then report the damage
Show the answer

The answer is D. The damage has already been done, so the third sentence is not triggered. The person is present, so the name is taken, and the damage is reported.

  • A is wrong: The damage is finished, so there is nothing to stop.
  • B is wrong: The rule provides for no detention of the person responsible.
  • C is wrong: The person is present, so the second sentence requires the name.

Question 5

An officer walking the lobby at opening notices all of the following. Which one most needs attention first?
  1. A. Water is spreading from under a door onto the marble floor near the stairs.
  2. B. A floor sign says the tiles are wet, and the tiles are dry.
  3. C. A visitor is reading a leaflet at the desk.
  4. D. The lobby clock is four minutes fast.
Show the answer

The answer is A. Water spreading onto marble beside a staircase is a fall about to happen, and nobody is warning anyone about it yet.

  • B is wrong: A warning sign on a dry floor is out of date, not dangerous.
  • C is wrong: Standing near the desk to read a leaflet is an ordinary thing to do.
  • D is wrong: A clock four minutes out is worth fixing, not first.

Question 6

An officer is at the entrance during a busy morning. Which of these is the strongest sign that a person needs assistance?
  1. A. A person has stopped inside the door, is holding the frame and is breathing hard.
  2. B. A person is looking at the building directory for a long time.
  3. C. A person is carrying two heavy bags.
  4. D. A person has asked twice where the elevators are.
Show the answer

The answer is A. Stopping, holding on, and labored breathing together point at a person who may be about to collapse.

  • B is wrong: Taking a long time over a building directory is ordinary.
  • C is wrong: Carrying heavy bags is ordinary effort, not a sign of distress.
  • D is wrong: Asking twice suggests they did not hear the answer.

Question 7

An officer opening a public building performs these steps. Which order is correct? 1. Unlock the main entrance to the public. 2. Draw the keys and sign for them. 3. Walk the floors and check the fire exits. 4. Test the alarm panel.
  1. A. 1, 2, 3, 4
  2. B. 2, 1, 4, 3
  3. C. 2, 4, 3, 1
  4. D. 4, 2, 3, 1
Show the answer

The answer is C. Keys come first because nothing else can be done without them, then the panel, then the floors and exits, and the public is let in last, once the building has been checked.

  • A is wrong: The doors cannot be unlocked before the keys are drawn.
  • B is wrong: This opens the building to the public before anything has been checked.
  • D is wrong: The panel cannot be tested before the keys are drawn.

Question 8

An officer handles an item of found property. Which order is correct? 1. Place the item in the property store. 2. Record the item in the property log. 3. Take the item to the security office. 4. Describe the item in the finder's presence.
  1. A. 4, 3, 2, 1
  2. B. 3, 1, 4, 2
  3. C. 2, 4, 3, 1
  4. D. 1, 3, 4, 2
Show the answer

The answer is A. The description is agreed while the finder is still there, then the item is carried to the office, logged, and stored.

  • B is wrong: Storing the item before it is described or logged loses the record of what was handed over.
  • C is wrong: The log entry cannot be made before the item is described.
  • D is wrong: The item is stored before it has left the finder's hands in this order.

Question 9

Facts: At 09:12 Officer Reyes found the rear fire door standing open, held by a metal wedge. No contractor was present. Which sentence reports these facts most accurately?
  1. A. Officer Reyes found the rear fire door open during the morning, a wedge having been placed there at some earlier point.
  2. B. At 09:12 the rear fire door was found open, evidently wedged by someone who wanted a shortcut into the building.
  3. C. At 09:12 Officer Reyes found the rear fire door held open by a metal wedge, with no contractor present.
  4. D. The rear fire door had been left open by a contractor who had wedged it and then failed to return to close it.
Show the answer

The answer is C. It keeps the time, who found it, how the door was held, and that nobody was there, without saying who put the wedge in.

  • A is wrong: 'During the morning' and 'at some earlier point' replace an exact time with nothing.
  • B is wrong: 'Someone who wanted a shortcut' asserts a motive nobody observed.
  • D is wrong: The facts say no contractor was present, so this invents one.

Question 10

Facts: A visitor told Officer Whitfield that they had left a black case on a bench at about 11:00 and that it was gone when they returned. The visitor did not see anyone take it. Which sentence reports this most accurately?
  1. A. A visitor reported leaving a black case on a bench at about 11:00 and finding it gone on their return. They did not see anyone take it.
  2. B. A visitor stated that a black case had been stolen from a bench while they were away from it.
  3. C. A visitor reported that a case went missing from a bench, having watched another person pick it up and walk away with it.
  4. D. A black case was reported missing from a bench at some stage during the late morning by a visitor.
Show the answer

The answer is A. It reports the visitor's account, the time they gave, and the limit on it — that they saw nobody take it.

  • B is wrong: 'Stolen' is a conclusion; the visitor reported the case gone.
  • C is wrong: The facts say the visitor saw nobody take it.
  • D is wrong: 'At some stage during the late morning' loses the time the visitor gave.
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