A look at how source-cited written promotional examination items are built — showing the methodology, not just the format.
Illustrative Sample — Fictional DepartmentThe department, General Orders, and scenarios below are entirely fictional, created solely to demonstrate methodology. They are not derived from any actual client agency's policies, and no actual client materials, examination content, or answer keys appear anywhere on this website.
Every item Precedent Assessment Group develops is built from an agency's own approved source material — General Orders, supervisory policy, and labor agreement provisions — with the correct answer traceable to a specific, cited section. Source documentation can support an agency's review of candidate challenges and grievances. It does not, by itself, establish legal defensibility, validation, or compliance with every applicable requirement.
The five sample items below, written for a fictional "Rivermont Police Department," illustrate how that citation methodology is applied across different item types: policy recall, procedural sequencing, and supervisory judgment.
1. Policy Recall — Sergeant
Per Rivermont PD General Order 4.02 (Use of Force Reporting), a supervisor who responds to the scene of a reportable use of force incident must complete a Supervisor Use of Force Review within:
A. 4 hours of the incident
B. Before the end of the involved officer's shift
C. Before the end of the supervisor's shift, unless extended in writing by a watch commander
D. 24 hours of the incident
Source: Rivermont PD General Order 4.02, Section III(B) (fictional)
2. Procedural Sequencing — Sergeant
Under Rivermont PD General Order 6.11 (Field Training Officer Program), when a trainee officer receives a below-standard evaluation on a Daily Observation Report, which of the following occurs next?
A. The trainee is immediately removed from the program
B. The FTO Sergeant reviews the report and determines whether a remedial training plan is warranted
C. The trainee is reassigned to a different FTO without review
D. The report is forwarded directly to the Chief of Police
Source: Rivermont PD General Order 6.11, Section IV (fictional)
3. Supervisory Judgment — Lieutenant
A patrol sergeant reports to you, as shift lieutenant, that two officers gave materially conflicting accounts in their reports of the same use-of-force incident. Per Rivermont PD General Order 11.03 (Internal Complaint Intake), your most appropriate immediate action is to:
A. Direct the officers to reconcile and resubmit a single joint report
B. Take no action unless a citizen complaint is filed
C. Document the discrepancy and refer the matter through the internal complaint intake process per GO 11.03
D. Verbally counsel both officers and close the matter without documentation
Source: Rivermont PD General Order 11.03, Section II (fictional)
4. Policy Recall — Detective
Per Rivermont PD General Order 12.02 (Evidence Handling and Chain of Custody), evidence collected at a scene must be logged into the property system within:
A. The same shift in which it was collected, absent supervisor-approved exception
B. 72 hours of collection
C. Before the case is submitted to the State's Attorney
D. Within 7 calendar days
Source: Rivermont PD General Order 12.02, Section V(A) (fictional)
5. Supervisory Judgment — Sergeant
You are the on-duty patrol sergeant. An officer requests permission to pursue a fleeing vehicle for a suspected motor vehicle violation only, with no other known offense. Per Rivermont PD General Order 6.18 (Vehicle Pursuit), your correct response is to:
A. Authorize the pursuit if traffic conditions are favorable
B. Deny authorization, as GO 6.18 restricts pursuits to offenses meeting the defined violent-felony threshold
C. Authorize the pursuit but require a supervisor to join
D. Defer the decision to the officer's discretion
Source: Rivermont PD General Order 6.18, Section I (fictional)
What this demonstrates
Every correct answer above traces to a specific, cited section of a governing policy — the same source-citation standard applied to each item we develop for a client agency, sourced from that agency's real General Orders rather than a fictional example.