Report Writing

1
Report Writing

• Law Enforcement Academy
• Relational Skills
• Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
• Green Bay, WI

2
Report Writing in Modern Law Enforcement

• Patrol officers estimate that up to 50 of their
  duty time is spent writing reports.
• Detectives estimate that up to 75 of their duty
  time is spent writing reports.
• Report Writing for Criminal Justice
  Professionals,1998, p. 3.

3
Why Write Reports?

• Operational and administrative reports serve many
  purposes.
• Operational reports
• Document actions of officers and individuals in
  incidents.
• Give pertinent facts of the incident.
• Help prosecutors decide what the offense is and
  what to charge an individual with.
• Point out similarities of current and prior
  incidents.

4
Operational Reports

• Operational Reports (Continued)
• Help an officer recall the details of a case for
  follow-up or for testimony later.
• Protect officers from civil suits.
• Keep track of actions taken on a case and
  coordinate efforts of investigators and agencies
  involved.
• Show trends of crimes or criminal activity in
  certain areas.
• Present data that is used to write Administrative
  reports.

5
Administrative Reports

• Administrative Reports
• Determine what administrative action or follow-up
  is needed.
• Send information to other agencies.
• Current FBIs Uniform Crime Report (UCR)
• Proposed National Incident-Based Reporting
  System (NIBRIS)
• Coordinate community policing efforts.

6
Administrative Reports

• Administrative Reports (Continued)
• Consolidate information for governmental
  officials.
• Determine budgetary needs.
• Determine training needs and officer assignments.
• Assess officer performance.
• Determine officer transfer or promotion.

7
Who Reads Reports?

• Supervisors and higher ranking officers
• Fellow officers/ Other agency officers
• Judges, Attorneys, Officers of the Court
• Governmental officials (Governors, County
  Supervisors, Mayors, Commissioners)
• Members of the general public
• Insurance company personnel
• News and media personnel

8
A Good Police Report

• A good police report is a clear, concise,
  accurate, well-organized narrative of the facts
  of an incident.

9
Notebooks

• Good reports start with good notes.
• Officers should keep notes of incidents in a
  bound or loose-leaf notebook.
• Bound notebooks
• Bound pages offer unchanged continuity.
• Bound pages are less likely to fall out.
• Cost is minimal .
• A 3 x 5 format is easy to carry.
• If notes are taken to court, the whole book must
  be submitted.

10
Notebooks

• Loose-leaf notebook
• Rings and a hard cover are durable.
• Hard cover offers a sturdy writing surface.
• Cost of additional pages is low.
• Pages may be numbered consecutively and only
  portions submitted to court.
• Opens an officer to accusations of tampering
  since pages may be easily removed or accidentally
  lost.

11
Notebook Format

• On the inside cover, write your name, rank, ID
  number, book number, name of your agency,
  address, and a phone number in case your notebook
  is lost and recovered. Cover this information
  with clear tape to protect it against smudges or
  moisture.
• Use black ink to record all information
• Number the pages consecutively

12
Incident Format

• For each incident, note the case number, date,
  time, and location. Include the details of the
  incident, including the who, what, when, where,
  how, and why, if known.

Case Number Date Location Call Out
Time
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Incident Details

• Who names, addresses, phone numbers, DOB,
  gender, ethnic origin, relationship to the crime
  (victim, witness, suspect), statements, actions
  taken.

• What describe the incident as you experienced it
  or as it was told to you by those involved.
• When note dates and times.

14
Incident Details

• Where note the location of the alleged incident.
• How relate what victims or witnesses tell you
  they experienced or describe what you saw.

• Why relate statements of others, but do not
  write your own opinions. Many times the why of
  an incident is unknown.

15
Incident Notes

• Never use notebooks for personal information
  (like phone numbers or addresses) or security
  information (like informants names/ numbers).
• When you question whether to record something,
  put it in your notes. Many irrelevant details
  have been key to identifying a suspect or to
  solving a case.
• Write only on one side of the paper. (If you have
  to submit notes to court, you submit only the
  relevant information).

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Incident Notes

• Use modern terminology and clear, understandable
  wording (no legalese or police jargon)
• Do not abbreviate words or use a personal form of
  shorthand. (Others may have to read your notes.)
• Add sketches or diagrams as needed to recall the
  scene.

17
Save or Discard Notes?

• After you have written your report, decide if you
  will save or discard your notes.
• Some departments have policies that you must
  follow.
• Whatever you choose to do, be consistent with
  that decision.
• Good reasons exist both to save and to discard
  notes.

18
Save the Notes

• You may testify from them later.
• If well-written, they show your competence. (But
  if they are poorly- written, they may show your
  incompetence!)
• You may use them as reference to supplemental
  reports.

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Discard Notes

• If you write information from further
  investigations in the report that are not in the
  notes, you have an inconsistency.
• Destroyed notes cannot be subpoenaed by a defense
  attorney.
• Everything in your notes is in the report, so
  there is no reason to save them.

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The ABCs of Report Writing

• Accuracy
• Of details
• Of word choice
• Brevity
• Of style
• Simple wording
• First person
• Active voice
• Completeness