Criminal Investigation CRJ141 Matthew McCarty
Chapter 3 Writing Effective Reports
The Importance of Reports Almost everything that a Police Officer does must be reduced to writing. What is written is often the determining factor in whether a suspect is arrested in the first place and, if he is arrested, whether he is convicted and sentenced. The contents of written reports, in fact, often have great bearing in life-anddeath situations. To say that Officers need to be proficient in report writing is an understatement. Orlando W. Wilson and Roy C. McLaren Reports are permanent written records of important facts of a case to be used in the future and are crucial and necessary step in the criminal justice system.
Use of Reports Compile intelligence information Provide basis for follow up investigations Prepare court cases and provide court with relevant facts Refresh Officers memory for testifying in court Compile statistics of crime rates Used to plan law enforcement services Provide information for use in Civil Lawsuits and by insurance agents
Who Reads Reports? Other Officers and supervisors Attorneys and Judges Jurors Insurance adjusters and agents Citizens The media
Common Problems With Reports Confusing or unclear sentences Opinions or assumptions Wordiness Overuse of Police terminology or abbreviations Missing or incomplete information Misspelled words or grammatical errors Referring to above information
Organization of Narrative The narrative of the report is the Story of what happened Narratives are written in Chronological Order Opening paragraph states the time, date, type of incident, and how police became involved. The next paragraphs contain what you were told by victims, suspects, or witnesses. Each person you talk to you will write a separate paragraph. Next record what you did based on the information you received. The final paragraph states the disposition of the case.
Record the Facts The basic purpose of a report is to record the facts. Fact- A statement that can be proven Example: The man was standing outside a bank and had a bulge in his left black leather jacket pocket. Inference- A conclusion based on reasoning Example: The man probably has a gun in his pocket. Also referred to as Conclusionary Language Don t use words like confessed, consented, refused. State exactly what they did or quotation of what they said. Opinion- A personal belief Example: Black leather jackets are cool.
Writing Reports Reports must be an accurate representation of what happened If you state Four men robbed the bank and it was actually three men and one woman it can cause problems in court. Ensure your report is objective Objective means being non-opinionated, fair, and impartial Do not use connotative words and only use denotative words Denotative Words: Words that have little emotional effect on the reader. Objective meaning of the word. Cried Connotative Words: Have an emotional effect on the reader. Wept or blubbered
Writing Reports When writing an objective report care must be taken to ensure the report is not slanted Slanting: Including information for only one side of story. A report must be complete with all information Recheck your report to ensure all information is recorded Who, What, Where, When, How, and Why
Writing Reports A report must be concise Concise is the opposite of Wordy. If a report is brief it may not contain all relevant information and if it is wordy it may contain to much information which is not relevant or adds unnecessary length to the report. Examples: Brief: She drove a car Concise: She drove a maroon 1992 Chevrolet Caprice Wordy: She drove a car that was a 1992 Chevrolet Caprice and was maroon in color.
Writing Reports Make sure the information you are trying to present is clear and can not be misinterpreted. Examples: When completely plastered, officers who volunteer will paint the locker room. Officers who volunteer will paint the locker room after it is completely plastered. Three cars were reported stolen by the Los Angeles police yesterday. According to the Los Angeles police, three cars were reported stolen yesterday. Miami Police kill a man with a machete. Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers. Squad helps dog bite victim.
Writing Reports Reports must be grammatically and mechanically correct with no spelling errors. The mechanics of writing is the use of capitalization and punctuation Use caution when using auto spelling/grammar checks on computers. If it suggests a correction and you use it make sure you read your report again to make sure it is a proper correction. Example: The car was racing westbound
Writing Reports Reports are written using standard English Use additional paragraphs when subject matter is changed. Reports are written in past tense because it already happened. Reports are written in the First Person Use words like I, me, my, and us. Do not write This Officer
Writing Reports Use an Active Voice in report writing. In the active voice the subject of the sentence performs the actions. Active: I wrote the report Passive: The report was written by me Keep in mind the diverse audience that will be reading your report when writing it. Reports need to be legible and turned in on time.
Writing Reports Some department allow report narratives to be dictated to a voice recorder and transcribed later by the records division. Errors can still occur with this process Many departments now have a computerized report writing system that allows for easy fill in the box method of recording information. Also data from other programs such as drivers license information can be imported directly to avoid errors. Tracs MDB CAD system Do not forget to proofread your report. It has your name on it and demonstrates your ability and intelligence.
Online Crime Reporting Some departments give citizens the ability to author their own police report for minor crimes. Car burglary Vandalism Other departments allow a phone reporting system. A citizen calls and leaves a message about what crime has occurred and when they are available to speak with an officer about it.