Police Dispatcher Practice Test

Which of the following terms could represent an emergency situation witnessed by an officer?

1. On view

2. Investigative stop

3. Situation report

4. Command alert

The correct answer is: On view

The term "on view" refers to a situation that an officer observes directly, indicating that the officer has witnessed an incident occurring in real-time. This term is commonly used in law enforcement to describe immediate actions taken based on what an officer sees, rather than relying on reports from others or secondary information. In an emergency context, this observation could encompass anything from a traffic accident to a crime in progress, requiring swift and appropriate response actions by the officer. The other terms do not convey the same immediacy or direct observation of an emergency. For instance, an "investigative stop" pertains to a police action based on reasonable suspicion but doesn’t necessarily indicate that an emergency situation is being witnessed at that moment. A "situation report" usually involves documented information regarding ongoing circumstances rather than actual incidents observed in real-time. A "command alert" is associated with disseminating urgent operational information but does not denote a situation seen firsthand by an officer. Therefore, "on view" is the most accurate term to describe an emergency situation that an officer has personally witnessed.