NJ Police Sergeant case studies

NJ Police Sergeant · Put your knowledge to work in context.

The New Jersey Police Sergeant Promotional Examination is the civil-service testing process used by many New Jersey municipalities to identify officers ready to move into first-line supervisory rank. It is intended for sworn officers who already hold the rank of police officer (or an equivalent pre-supervisory title) and who meet their jurisdiction's service and eligibility requirements. The NJ Police Sergeant case studies are 5 cases and about 4,785 words.

Three Late Arrivals, a Deadline, and a Cousin in the Union

You are the evening-shift sergeant in a 96-officer suburban department. Officer Diaz, a 14-year veteran with no prior discipline, has been late three times in 45 days: 10 minutes on March 3, 25 minutes on March 21, and 40 minutes on April 12.

979 words, about 5 min 2

The Warning Was Written; the Dog Came Eighteen Minutes Later

At 2310 on a Thursday, Officer Alvarez stops a rental sedan for a burned-out taillight on Route 1. The driver, Marcus, produces a valid license.

959 words, about 5 min 3

Twelve Officers, Four Thousand People, and $6,200

You command a 14-officer patrol squad (18 authorized) for Saturday's 1800–0200 shift, and 12 are available. Two officers are on light duty (one fractured wrist, one pregnancy restriction), two called out sick, one is on military leave, and one is at a week-long school.

941 words, about 5 min 4

Thirty-Four Open Cases and a Single Photo

You supervise a three-detective unit in a department with a "detectives handle everything assigned" culture. On Monday your newest detective, Ramos (11 months in the unit), has 34 open cases, including: (1) a 9-day-old aggravated assault in which the victim identified a neighbor from a single photo shown by a patrol officer at the scene; the victim is cooperative and there is hospital video; (2) a 3-year-old residential burglary with no leads, no forensic results, and a victim who calls weekly; (3) a robbery from Saturday with a partial plate and store video.

967 words, about 5 min 5

Forty-Two Seconds, Two Minutes of Dark Camera, and a Church Basement

On Tuesday a 42-second cellphone video goes viral locally. It shows Officer Petrov, 26 months on the job, pulling a phone out of a bystander's hands outside a bar at 0130 and saying, "You don't get to film me." The bystander, a 19-year-old college student, had been recording a friend's arrest for disorderly conduct.

939 words, about 5 min