Ontario Private Investigator Practice Test 4

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. An applicant was convicted of an offence listed in the Clean Criminal Record regulation and has no pardon. What happens?

   1. They may work under a provisional licence until the Registrar holds a hearing
   2. They may be licensed after a one-year waiting period
   3. They are not eligible and the application cannot be processed
   4. They may be licensed if their employer vouches for them

2. According to the study guide, what is the key to a successful interview?

   1. Knowing the purpose of the interview
   2. Holding it at the investigator's office
   3. Keeping it under ten minutes long
   4. Recording it on video from a hidden camera

3. Your subject is inside their house. Where should you observe from?

   1. From the back deck, as long as you stay quiet
   2. From the street or other public property
   3. From the side yard, close to a window
   4. From the subject's driveway behind a parked car

4. When is recording a private conversation NOT an offence under section 184 of the Criminal Code?

   1. When one party to the conversation consents
   2. When the conversation is about a crime
   3. When the client requested the recording
   4. When the recording is made by a licensed PI

5. Who is exempt from Ontario's private investigator training and testing requirement?

   1. A former police officer who left the service in the last year
   2. A holder of a permanent PI licence from another province earned by testing
   3. Anyone with five years of full-time experience as a licensed security guard in Ontario
   4. Any graduate of a university criminology or law degree

6. What arrest powers does a licensed private investigator have in Ontario?

   1. Special powers granted by the PSISA
   2. The same as a peace officer
   3. The same as a by-law enforcement officer
   4. The same as any member of the public

7. Without lawful authority or a signed release, which records must an investigator not try to obtain?

   1. Small Claims Court files
   2. Bank, tax or credit records
   3. Land registry and corporate searches
   4. Newspaper archives at the library

8. What is the key purpose of taking a witness statement?

   1. To keep an accurate record of the witness's recollection
   2. To get the witness to agree with the client's view
   3. To replace the need for the witness to testify
   4. To test whether the witness will take a bribe

9. In surveillance training, what does being made mean?

   1. The video has been sealed as evidence
   2. The file has been approved by the client
   3. The subject has identified the person watching them
   4. The investigator has finished a full shift

10. When may an individual licensee misrepresent the type of licence they hold?

    1. When the misrepresentation is made only in writing
    2. When concealing their identity as an investigator to do their duties
    3. When their licence is within 90 days of renewal
    4. When a client asks them to appear more senior or experienced than they are

11. Why should you limit how many people handle a piece of evidence?

    1. Because the Registrar must approve each handler
    2. To lower the cost of storing the evidence
    3. To keep an unbroken, documented chain of custody
    4. Because only licensed investigators may touch evidence

12. Section 27 justifies reasonable force to prevent an offence that is arrestable without warrant and that would likely cause:

    1. A breach of a company's internal policy
    2. Immediate and serious injury to a person or property
    3. An embarrassing public scene in a store
    4. A financial loss to a client of any amount

13. When may an organization disclose personal information to another organization without consent for an investigation?

    1. Only when the person has already been charged with an offence
    2. When it is reasonable to investigate a breach and consent would compromise it
    3. Whenever the requesting organization holds a valid PI business licence in Ontario
    4. Only when the information is more than seven years old

14. In a civil lawsuit, what is the person or business that starts the action called?

    1. The defendant
    2. The third party
    3. The Crown
    4. The plaintiff

15. Which of these may deliver the mandatory private investigator training program?

    1. A college of applied arts and technology
    2. A private tutor who has worked as an investigator
    3. Any website that sells a self-paced video course
    4. A police association offering evening seminars

16. A target offers you, undercover, a share of the client's stolen goods. What does the study guide allow?

    1. Refuse it and immediately reveal your identity
    2. Sell it quietly and use the money to cover the costs of the investigation
    3. Accept the property, but as a rule do not take part in theft
    4. Accept it and help with the next theft as well

17. Which stress factor does the study guide specifically mention for private investigators?

    1. Supervising large security teams
    2. Public speaking at large events
    3. Isolation, driving and fatigue
    4. Handling cash in a retail store

18. When is an undercover operation generally used?

    1. As the first step in every workplace case
    2. Only when the police ask the agency for help
    3. As a last resort after other techniques are exhausted
    4. Whenever the client prefers not to pay for surveillance

19. Which of these is one of the ways to commit trespass under the Trespass to Property Act?

    1. Using the normal path to knock on a front door
    2. Taking a photo of a building from the street
    3. Refusing to leave right away when the occupier says to go
    4. Walking on a public sidewalk that runs beside someone's private land

20. Do you need a private investigator licence to serve legal documents in Ontario?

    1. No, but you need a bailiff licence
    2. Yes, only licensed investigators may serve
    3. Yes, unless a lawyer serves them personally
    4. No, generally anyone can serve documents

21. Which ability does the syllabus list under adaptability for private investigators?

    1. Keeping the same routine on every file
    2. Choosing clients based on personal comfort
    3. Refusing assignments in uncomfortable settings
    4. Adjusting appearance or persona to suit the assignment

22. Which conduct can amount to intimidation under section 423 of the Criminal Code?

    1. Reading court files about a person at the courthouse
    2. Asking a neighbour once whether a person lives nearby
    3. Taking one photograph of a person in a public mall
    4. Persistently following a person to compel them to act

23. Why are tone, volume and cadence especially important on the telephone?

    1. Phone calls are always recorded and may be played back as evidence
    2. The PSISA requires a formal tone on calls
    3. Phone lines distort words more than voices
    4. There are no non-verbal cues to help interpret the message

24. A witness says a co-worker told her he saw the theft. Why is this hearsay of questionable reliability?

    1. The witness was not under oath when the co-worker spoke
    2. Hearsay is reliable only if written down the same day
    3. The co-worker is not in court and cannot be cross-examined
    4. Workplace conversations are excluded by the Evidence Act

25. You are testifying about a surveillance file. How may you use your notes on the witness stand?

    1. With the court's permission, as a memory aid
    2. Hand them to the judge instead of testifying
    3. Read them aloud word for word without asking
    4. Not at all, because notes are always hearsay

26. Which of these is a team surveillance technique named in the study guide?

    1. Door knocking
    2. Tailgating
    3. Pretexting
    4. Leapfrogging

27. With one party's consent, you save an intercepted electronic message on a USB drive. How should the drive be treated?

    1. As a personal copy you may keep at home
    2. As waste to be deleted once the report is filed
    3. As a draft that can be edited for the report
    4. As evidence, stored in a secure location

28. Under the Trespass to Property Act, who can be an occupier of premises?

    1. Only a tenant with a written lease
    2. Only the person named as the registered owner on the land title
    3. Anyone in physical possession or in control of the premises
    4. Only a person who lives on the premises

29. While openly working as a private investigator, a member of the public asks who you are. What must you do?

    1. Give only your first name and your employer's main office phone number
    2. Identify yourself as a private investigator and produce your licence
    3. Show your business card instead of the licence itself
    4. Refuse, because your work is confidential under the PSISA

30. What is the purpose of covert surveillance?

    1. To let the subject know they are being watched
    2. To question the subject about the client's claim while recording the answers
    3. To observe without being detected and see the subject's true behaviour
    4. To collect the subject's mail for later review