Ontario Private Investigator Practice Test 2

All 30 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

1. Which task is part of a supervisor's role in managing an undercover operator?

   1. Debriefing the operator in person after each shift
   2. Working beside the operator on every shift
   3. Writing the operator's reports on their behalf
   4. Telling co-workers the operator's real identity

2. How should information given by a private investigator be presented?

   1. Clearly, concisely and without personal bias
   2. With guesses marked as likely facts
   3. With legal terms to sound authoritative
   4. In detail, with the investigator's opinion

3. Which is NOT a way to give notice that entry is prohibited under the Trespass to Property Act?

   1. Using red markings at the access points
   2. Telling the person orally
   3. Mailing a notice to the local police division
   4. Posting signs visible at each normal entrance

4. A young witness does not seem to understand the nature of an oath. According to the study guide, who should be consulted?

   1. The client who hired you
   2. The Registrar
   3. The witness's employer
   4. The Crown

5. An accused voluntarily admits the theft to a co-worker, who later testifies about it. How does the study guide treat this?

   1. It is admissible only if a police officer was present
   2. It counts as opinion evidence from the co-worker
   3. It is hearsay and can never be admitted in a trial
   4. It falls outside the hearsay rule and may be admissible

6. When section 25 applies to a private investigator, how much force may they use?

   1. No force at all, as a private citizen
   2. Only the force a peace officer approves on scene
   3. As much as is necessary, acting on reasonable grounds
   4. Any force the investigator feels like using

7. Besides the Trespass to Property Act, which Ontario statute does the PI syllabus list as relevant, especially for undercover work?

   1. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997
   2. The Highway 407 East Act, 2012
   3. The Ontario Heritage Act
   4. The Employment Standards Act, 2000

8. All previous addresses for a missing person are out of date and other searches failed. What is the last resort?

   1. A local newspaper ad with the last known address
   2. Requesting the person's tax file from the CRA
   3. Asking a police contact to run a database check
   4. Posting the person's photo on social media as wanted

9. You learn the subject of your surveillance is represented by a lawyer. What is general practice?

   1. Contact the lawyer to ask for the subject's schedule
   2. Avoid any verbal contact or interaction with the subject
   3. Tell the subject the lawyer has approved the surveillance in advance
   4. Interview the subject before the lawyer finds out

10. You find an employee used a company computer for illegal activity. How do you best protect the evidence?

    1. Let the employee keep working so they do not suspect
    2. Delete the illegal files so they cannot spread
    3. Copy the files to your own laptop for safekeeping
    4. Isolate the computer and make sure no one else uses it

11. Which kind of matter is NOT governed by Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure?

    1. A neighbours' dispute over a property line
    2. A lawsuit for breach of a business contract
    3. A criminal prosecution
    4. A damages claim after a slip and fall

12. Which training format meets the ministry's requirement for private investigator training?

    1. A recorded course with no way to reach an instructor
    2. Reading the study guide alone without any course
    3. A live video-conference course attended in full
    4. A course where the student skips the final sections

13. Why should you not rely only on a digital recorder for surveillance notes?

    1. Recordings of your own voice are inadmissible
    2. Clients will not pay for transcription time
    3. Batteries can drain and the device can malfunction
    4. The PSISA bans recorders during surveillance

14. Which duty appears in the Code of Conduct for individual licensees while working?

    1. Share useful information with any client who asks for it
    2. Keep work information confidential unless disclosure is required
    3. Keep all information secret even when a law or the work requires disclosure
    4. Report every case to police before telling the client

15. An authorized person arrests a trespasser under the Trespass to Property Act. What must they do next?

    1. Hold the person until the occupier decides on charges
    2. Release the person once they give their name and address
    3. Promptly call police and hand the person into police custody
    4. Take the person's photo and escort them off the land

16. You want to request a record held by a city's planning department. Which law applies?

    1. PSISA
    2. PIPEDA
    3. FIPPA
    4. MFIPPA

17. Under the Code of Conduct, what is a private investigator prohibited from doing while working?

    1. Working for more than one licensed agency
    2. Using a personal vehicle for surveillance
    3. Being unfit for duty because of alcohol or drugs
    4. Working more than ten hours in one day

18. Which is a decision-making skill the study guide expects of private investigators?

    1. Telling relevant facts apart from irrelevant ones
    2. Making decisions quickly without checking facts
    3. Relying on first impressions of a subject
    4. Letting the client make every judgment call

19. Evidence shows the accused owns the same type of gloves found at the scene and was nearby. What is this?

    1. Trace evidence
    2. Real evidence of identity
    3. Circumstantial evidence
    4. Direct evidence

20. Which statement matches the Criminal Code definition of a false pretence?

    1. Any exaggerated praise of a product's quality
    2. A promise about something in the future that the person later fails to keep
    3. A known false statement of fact made to induce someone to act
    4. An honest mistake in a business invoice

21. When may an investigator place a GPS tracking device on a vehicle?

    1. Only at night when the vehicle is on a public street
    2. Whenever the driver is the subject of the file
    3. Whenever the client is paying for the investigation
    4. Only with the permission of the vehicle's owner

22. Which of these people is NOT covered by the PSISA while doing their usual work?

    1. A person paid to follow a spouse suspected of cheating
    2. An employee who tracks down missing debtors' addresses
    3. An insurance adjuster licensed under the Insurance Act
    4. A self-employed person locating witnesses for a fee

23. A retail loss prevention worker watches for shoplifters in a store. Which licence does the PSISA treat this work as needing?

    1. A business licence to sell investigators
    2. A security guard licence
    3. No licence at all, as store staff
    4. A private investigator licence

24. When is personal service of a document complete?

    1. When you hand it to the named person, even if they refuse it
    2. Only when the person signs to accept it
    3. Only when the person reads it in front of you
    4. Only when you leave it with an adult who lives at the person's address

25. In a criminal trial, what must the Crown prove?

    1. Guilt by clear written admission
    2. Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
    3. Guilt on a balance of probabilities
    4. Guilt on a reasonable suspicion

26. You are working undercover as a warehouse employee. What does the study guide say about carrying your licence?

    1. You must wear it visibly so co-workers can check it
    2. You need not carry or show it if that would endanger you or the case
    3. You must leave it with the client for the length of the job
    4. You must carry it but show it only to the warehouse supervisor if asked

27. What does tactical communication allow a private investigator to do?

    1. Be assertive without being confrontational
    2. Win every argument with a witness
    3. Use police-style commands with subjects
    4. Avoid ever speaking to the public

28. According to section 26 of the Criminal Code, what is a person authorized to use force responsible for?

    1. Only force used on private property
    2. Only force that causes death
    3. Any excess of force they use
    4. Nothing, if they were making an arrest

29. You install a wireless camera that sends images to another location. What privacy issue should you consider?

    1. Whether the subject's employer has a camera policy
    2. Whether the lens is wide enough to show the whole room
    3. Whether the camera brand is approved by the Registrar
    4. Whether the signal is encrypted and could be intercepted

30. At the start of an interview with a witness, what should you do?

    1. Start recording secretly before saying who you are
    2. Ask your hardest questions before any greeting
    3. Tell the witness all confidential facts of the case
    4. Greet the witness, identify yourself and show your licence