The reading section gives you passages built from law enforcement training material, each with a blank, and asks which word fits. It rewards reading the whole sentence before the options. Most questions here use that format; a few ask what a passage says, which trains the same careful reading.
18questions on this page
~135 minthe whole test, per NTN's current page
Reading questions
0 of 18 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
Crime scene photographs are taken in three stages. The first stage shows the whole scene from a distance. The second shows each item of evidence in relation to nearby objects. The third is a close-up of each item, taken first without a ruler and then with one.
According to the passage, what does the second stage of photographs show?
Answer explanations
A
Incorrect: A distant view of the whole scene is the first stage.
B
Incorrect: The passage never mentions entrances.
C
Incorrect: Close-ups of each item are the third stage.
D
Correct: The passage says the second stage shows each item in relation to nearby objects.
Question 2 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
An animal-control call may involve a loose dog near a playground. The officer's first goal is to keep children away from the dog until an animal-control officer arrives to _____ it safely.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Incorrect: A photograph does not remove the dog from the playground.
B
Incorrect: To release the dog would leave it loose near the children.
C
Incorrect: To feed the dog does nothing about the danger to the children.
D
Correct: Animal control comes to take the loose dog in safely, so "capture" fits.
Question 3 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
The officer asked the store manager whether the security cameras _____ working at the time of the robbery.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Incorrect: "Is" is singular and in the present tense, so it fails on both counts.
B
Incorrect: "Been" needs a helping verb such as "had" to work here.
C
Incorrect: "Was" would need a singular subject, and "cameras" names more than one.
D
Correct: "Cameras" names more than one, and the action happened in the past, so the verb must be "were."
Question 4 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
A patrol officer learns the normal rhythm of a neighborhood: which stores open early, when children walk to school and which cars usually park on each street. This knowledge helps the officer notice anything that is out of _____.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Correct: Knowing a neighborhood's normal pattern helps an officer spot what is out of place.
B
Incorrect: "Out of control" means something no one can manage, which is not the same as unusual.
C
Incorrect: "Out of reach" means too far to touch and does not fit spotting the unusual.
D
Incorrect: "Out of service" describes equipment that is not working, not something unusual on a street.
Question 5 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
Evidence found at a scene must be packaged so that it is not changed or _____ before it reaches the laboratory. Wet items, such as bloody clothing, are air-dried and placed in paper bags rather than plastic.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Incorrect: Evidence is collected before it is packaged, so packaging cannot prevent that.
B
Incorrect: Packaging does not stop evidence from being identified. That is not a risk it guards against.
C
Incorrect: Evidence is photographed as a normal step, and packaging is not meant to stop that.
D
Correct: Packaging protects evidence from being changed or contaminated. The note about paper bags for wet items is the same idea.
Question 6 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
Body-worn cameras record what happens during a call. They do not, _____, capture everything an officer sees, because the camera's view is narrower than human vision.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Correct: The second sentence states a limit of the cameras, so a contrast word like "however" is needed.
B
Incorrect: "Moreover" adds a supporting point, but this sentence qualifies the first one.
C
Incorrect: "Therefore" would make the limit a result of the first sentence, which it is not.
D
Incorrect: "They do not, instead, capture" does not make sense as a sentence.
Question 7 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
At an intersection where the traffic lights have failed, an officer may direct traffic by hand. The officer stands where every driver can see the signals and uses clear, _____ gestures so that no driver is confused about when to go.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Incorrect: Unpredictable gestures are exactly what confuses drivers.
B
Correct: Clear, deliberate gestures leave drivers no doubt. The word matches "clear" and the goal of avoiding confusion.
C
Incorrect: Hesitant gestures would confuse drivers, which the passage says to avoid.
D
Incorrect: Careless gestures defeat the purpose of standing where every driver can see.
Question 8 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
Radio transmissions are recorded and can be played in court. Officers should therefore speak _____ on the air, avoiding jokes and personal remarks.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Incorrect: "Profession" is a noun and cannot describe how someone speaks.
B
Incorrect: "Professional" is an adjective. "Speak professional" is nonstandard.
C
Correct: The blank describes how officers should speak, so it needs the adverb "professionally."
D
Incorrect: "Professionalism" is a noun and does not fit after "speak."
Question 9 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
The officer asked the witness to describe the man _____ she had seen near the car.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Correct: The man is the object of "she had seen," so the object pronoun "whom" is correct.
B
Incorrect: "Whose" shows possession and would need a noun after it.
C
Incorrect: "What" cannot introduce a clause that describes "the man."
D
Incorrect: "Which" refers to things, not people.
Question 10 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
The use-of-force continuum describes a range of responses, from an officer's mere presence to deadly force. Officers are trained to use the lowest level of force that will _____ the situation and to reduce force as soon as the subject complies.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Incorrect: To escalate is the opposite of using the lowest effective force.
B
Incorrect: Force is not used to document a situation.
C
Correct: Officers use the lowest level of force that will control the situation. That matches the rest of the sentence about reducing force once the subject complies.
D
Incorrect: Force is never used to prolong a situation.
Question 11 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
Community policing depends on trust between officers and residents. When officers attend neighborhood meetings and learn residents' names, people become more _____ to report crimes and share information.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Correct: Trust built through meetings makes residents more willing to talk to police.
B
Incorrect: Meeting officers does not make residents unable to report crimes.
C
Incorrect: "Reluctant" reverses the meaning. Trust makes people less hesitant, not more.
D
Incorrect: Trust makes people less afraid, not more.
Question 12 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
Most bicycle thefts in the city happen between noon and 6 p.m. at the train station and the university. About 70 percent of the stolen bikes had been locked with cable locks, which can be cut in seconds. Very few bikes secured with U-locks were taken.
Which conclusion is BEST supported by the passage?
Answer explanations
A
Incorrect: Most thefts happen between noon and 6 p.m., so "at night" contradicts the passage.
B
Incorrect: The passage says the stolen bikes were mostly secured, so "had not been locked at all" contradicts it.
C
Incorrect: The passage names the train station and the university as hot spots, so thefts are not spread evenly.
D
Correct: About 70 percent of stolen bikes had cable locks, and very few U-locked bikes were taken, so U-locks are harder to defeat.
Question 13 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
Yesterday at 2:15 p.m., Officer Grant _____ a call about a shoplifter at the Main Street pharmacy.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Incorrect: "Receiving" needs a helping verb such as "was" to form a complete verb.
B
Incorrect: "Receives" is present tense and does not match "yesterday."
C
Incorrect: "Receive" is the base form and does not agree with a past event.
D
Correct: "Yesterday" puts the action in the past, so the verb is "received."
Question 14 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
Recruits must pass a physical fitness test before graduating from the academy. The test includes a 1.5-mile run, push-ups and a 300-meter sprint. A recruit who fails one event may retake that event once, within two weeks. A recruit who fails two or more events must repeat the entire test.
According to the passage, what happens to a recruit who fails only the 300-meter sprint?
Answer explanations
A
Incorrect: Repeating the whole test applies only to a recruit who fails two or more events.
B
Incorrect: Only the failed event is retaken. The run was passed, so it does not have to be done again.
C
Incorrect: The passage allows the retake once, not as often as needed.
D
Correct: One failed event allows one retake of that event within two weeks.
Question 15 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
An officer should never mark directly on an item of evidence, such as scratching initials on a bullet. The marks could _____ details, such as rifling marks, that the laboratory needs to examine.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Correct: Marking a bullet can destroy details such as rifling marks that the lab needs.
B
Incorrect: Marking the evidence damages details instead of helping to preserve them.
C
Incorrect: Marks do not measure anything, and the passage is about damage.
D
Incorrect: Scratches would hide those details, not reveal them.
Question 16 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
An officer who damages a department vehicle must report the damage to a supervisor before the end of the shift, no matter how minor it is. The supervisor photographs the damage and completes the vehicle damage form. The officer writes a short statement describing how the damage happened.
According to the passage, who completes the vehicle damage form?
Answer explanations
A
Incorrect: The officer's partner is not mentioned in the passage.
B
Incorrect: No fleet mechanic is mentioned in the passage.
C
Incorrect: The officer who caused the damage writes a short statement but does not complete the form.
D
Correct: The passage says the supervisor takes the photos and fills out the vehicle form.
Question 17 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
Officers must keep their firearms clean and in good working _____.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Correct: "In good working order" is the fixed phrase for equipment that functions properly.
B
Incorrect: "In good shape" is a common phrase, but "good working shape" is not how English says it.
C
Incorrect: "In good working manner" is not an English phrase.
D
Incorrect: "In good working place" is not an English phrase.
Question 18 of 18 · ReadingNot answered
Witnesses often disagree about small details, such as the color of a car or the exact time of an event. Such differences are _____ and do not mean that a witness is lying.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
A
Incorrect: Nothing illegal happens when witnesses disagree about details.
B
Incorrect: The passage says such differences happen often, so they are not impossible.
C
Incorrect: The passage says they do not mean a witness is lying, so they are not suspicious in themselves.
D
Correct: The passage says witnesses often disagree about small details, which makes such differences normal rather than signs of lying.
Answer every question to see your score
What the blanks test
The test page says the passages are based on real job materials. A blank can turn on:
Meaning in context: the officer keeps children back until animal control arrives to capture the dog, not to photograph it.
Grammar fit: "Neither of the witnesses was willing," because neither is the subject.
Word form: a noun where the sentence needs a noun, a verb where it needs a verb.
Working vocabulary: plain words of the job, such as custody, compliance, perimeter and statement.
Passages based on law enforcement training material, each with a missing word to choose from multiple options. The words come from job material, and the sentence around the blank carries the meaning.
Do I need police vocabulary for the reading test?
It helps to know plain job words such as custody, compliance or perimeter, but the blank tests whether a word fits the sentence, not whether you know procedure. Read the whole sentence before the options.
How long is the reading section?
NTN's current FrontLine National page gives no separate time for reading, only the total of about 135 minutes.