Police Vocabulary Top 65 Law Enforcement Vocabulary You Need To Know With Sample Questions

Becoming a Police Officer

Becoming a police officer is a rewarding job; it allows you to help your community and your land. The procedure for applying to law enforcement is a bit different than applying for any other job. It would be best if you were fully prepared to be able to sit in the exam with thousands of applicants. The police test conducted by the department will then decides if you are a qualified candidate or not. You are expected to know the police terminology used by the officers.

The biggest challenge applicants face when applying for police is the law enforcement terminology and vocabulary test. This is because there are no set terminologies given by the department to be memorized for the quiz. For the preparation, you have to find words that, in your opinion, are standard police terms. You have to do a lot of reading as it improves your reading skills and broadens your language. It would be great if your reading resources are related to law enforcement, such as newspapers, criminal system articles, or going through police department websites in general.

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What is the police written exam?

Suppose you have decided to pursue a career in law enforcement. First, you must know that you have to go through several tests to determine if you have the physical skills, critical thinking, psychological strength, and knowledge to become a police officer. The tests comprise written exams, interviews, physical strength tests, psychological check, and background check. The written exam is the first step of this ladder. If you prove yourself in this part, it will become easier for you to pass through the following steps.

The written exam for police is conducted to check the educational skills of the applicants.

The exam is based on four skills,

Math skills
Reading comprehension skills
Language skills
Writing skills

These skills are necessary for all police officers who are working in the field and offices. For a police officer, primary education is a must; without that, he won’t perform his duties such as writing a police report, filling out forms or logs. These exams aren’t like the general SATs or GRE. They are designed to evaluate if you are an eligible candidate for law enforcement who has knowledge about the police and criminal justice system.

You help you with common detective phrases. In addition, we have put together some vocabulary and study guidelines to use as references when preparing for the police written exam. Continue reading the article to find out more about law enforcement terms and definitions.

What does the written exam include?

The exam pattern can vary from state to state. However, each test is conducted for the same purpose, to evaluate the basic educational knowledge of the candidates. The written exam, divided into four sections, is supposed to be completed within 15 to 25 minutes. Each section contains almost 25 questions, mainly in the form of MCQs. Therefore, you have to be quick and conscious when solving the paper. The vocabulary section of the exam is either going to be a separate section of the sub-section of writing or comprehension section. It is recommended to solve the sample papers before appearing in the final exam. You will not only get familiar with the pattern and type of question but also manage your time.

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Sample Test- Vocabulary

To familiarize you with the police written exam vocabulary, we have gathered some sample questions and a glossary of police terms.

Here are some of the sample questions of the written police exam.

Sample Questions

The decetive ordered the police officer to ________ his behavior.

altar
alter
retain
exchange

A grand jury has ________ not to _________ Police Officer Jake Summers in the death of Mike Chang.

decided, entice
ruled, endikt
jury, convict
decided, indict

The witness corroborated the suspect’s story.

verified
contradicted
added to
questioned

It was not a very pragmatic plan.

plausible
serious
practical
sensible

The police sequestered the suspect.

caught
isolated
arrested
released

In order to conceal her guilt, Linda told a blatant lie.

harmless
subtle
careless
obvious

He was ignorant of the proper procedures.

unaware
conscious
uncertain
cognizant

Correct Answers:

1.B 2. D 3. A 4. C 5. B 6. D 7. A

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Top 65 Police Vocabulary You Need to Know

Words	Meaning
arrest	take into police control
Adjourn	To postpone, often referring to court.
Arraign	To bring to court on a criminal charge.
Arson	Deliberately setting fire to property.
Abscond	To leave hurriedly to avoid arrest.
Apprehend	To arrest an individual for a crime.
Assailant	person who assaults or attacks
Autopsy	an examination and dissection of a dead body
bail	large amount of money that someone pays as a promise to appear in court
Barricade	Improvised barrier erected to defend against opposing forces.
Corroborate	To give support to a theory or finding.
Custody	Imprisonment
Collusion	Illegal cooperation between two entities.
Contusion	A bruise.
convict	a person who is doing (or supposed to be doing) jailtime
coroner	an official who investigates death not due to natural causes
Delinquent	A young offender.
DUI, DWI	Driving Under the Influence, Driving While Intoxicated
Expropriation	State taking property from an owner for public use / benefit.
Extortion	Obtaining something, such as money, through force or by threats.
Exonerate	To find innocent or free from wrongdoing.
Embezzle	To misappropriate, often someone’s money.
Felony	a major crime
Forgery	A fake document, bill or work intended for a criminal purpose.
Impeach	To charge the holder of public office with misconduct.
Incarceration	The state of being imprisoned.
Inquest	An inquiry that takes place to establish the facts.
Indictment	A charge or accusation of a crime.
Intruder	a person who enters a home or business illegally
Libel	To publish a false statement that damages an individual’s reputation.
Lynch	To kill someone for an offence without trial
Lien	The right to keep possession of a property until a debt has been paid.
Litigation	The act of taking legal action; to be litigious.
Laceration	A deep cut to the skin / flesh.
Larceny	Theft of personal property.
Manslaughter	The non-intentional killing of a human being.
Moratorium	A temporary ban.
Misdemeanor	a minor crime (punishment is usually a fine or less than one year in jail)
Malicious	having the nature of threatening evil
Obscene	offensive to the mind
Prosecute	conduct legal proceedings against a defendant
Protruding	extending out above or beyond a surface or boundary
Perjury	Telling a lie whilst under oath.
Reprobate	An unprincipled person.
Reprimand	To warn sternly against.
Radar	radio wave transmission that helps police track cars and map crime scenes
Reconciliation	the reestablishment of cordial relations
Rendezvous	a meeting planned at a certain time and place
Sedition	Conduct that incites rebellion against the authority of the state.
Surveillance	Close observation, as in spying.
Sabotage	To deliberately destroy or obstruct an event.
Siege	A military operation in which a town or city is surrounded, and essential supplies are cut off, with the intention that the town / city will surrender.
Slander	To make a false spoken statement about an individual’s reputation.
Subpoena	A writ ordering an individual to appear in court.
Summons	An order to appear in court in front of a judge.
Subdue	To overcome or to bring under control.
Sequester	To isolate.
Suborn	To bribe someone to commit an unlawful act.
Subsidiary	functioning in a supporting capacity
Seconal	barbiturate that is a white odorless slightly bitter powder (trade name Seconal) used as a sodium salt for sedation and to treat convulsions
Tetanus	an acute and serious infection of the central nervous system
Vagrancy	The state of being homeless.
Vandalize	intentionally destroy or deface someone else’s property
vicinity	a surrounding or nearby region
Warrant	An authorization for the police to arrest someone or to act, such as search premises.
Wanted	being searched for by police