Note Taking, Interviews, and Statements

Note Taking

• Note taking involves writing down details about an incident, event, activity, or statement
• Accurate notes help in remembering facts, completing reports, and preparing for depositions or trials

Essential Questions for Notes

• Notes should address basic questions
  • Where
  • When
  • Who
  • What
  • How
  • Why

Recording Time

• "When" documents the incident's date and time
• The timing of an incident is legally important concerning statutes of limitations and the right to a speedy trial

Interviews

• Interviews involve talking to someone with knowledge of an event or individual
• It is not an arrest situation, and the person can leave freely
• Statements are often obtained through interviews

Statements

• Statements are permanent records, either oral or written, that explain an incident
• Statements are taken from witnesses, suspects, victims, or anyone with information about a crime

Oaths and Affirmations

• An oath is a solemn and formal promise, often with God as a witness, to tell the truth
• An affirmation is a solemn declaration used instead of an oath, often to avoid religious implications

Interview Scene Safety

• It is important to secure the scene before conducting interviews
• Personal safety is paramount, as interviewees may possess weapons

Pre-Interview Planning

• The pre-interview process involves deciding who to interview and the purpose
• Location and order of interviews should be determined

Interview Order

• Interview the complainant or victim first, followed by witnesses
• The suspect is typically the last person interviewed

Preparing Questions

• Prepare questions after identifying people involved in the incident
• Open-ended questions elicit as much information as possible about the incident

Interview Location

• The interview location is key to a successful interview, each person should be interviewed in isolation if possible
• Isolating the interviewee creates privacy and respect, building rapport and trust

Interview Stages

• Planned interviews have three stages -Warm-up -Primary -Closing
• Rapport is established during the warm-up stage, building understanding with the interviewee
• Information about the incident is obtained during the primary stage

Interview "Do Nots"

• Avoid the following during interviews
  • Making threats
  • Promising leniency
  • Creating physical evidence for use during an interview

Interview Strategies

• Strategies for interviewing
  • Mirroring
  • Minimal encouragers
  • Cognitive interviewing

Interview Technique: Mirroring

• Mirroring involves matching another person's speech patterns, gestures, body language, mannerisms, or posture

Interview Technique: Minimal Encouragers

• Minimal encouragers are brief statements indicating you heard the interviewee and want to hear more
  • Examples include: "Okay," "Go on," "Then what," "Tell me more about that"

Interview Technique: Cognitive

• Enhances memory recall by recreating the event, either physically or psychologically

Trauma-Informed Interviews

• Trauma-informed approach to interviewing maintains a reassuring, empathetic, and non-judgmental demeanor

Observing Behavior

• Gathering information includes observing behavior, not just recording facts

Signs of Stress

• Signs of nervousness, stress, and possible deception can include physiological changes
  • Increased perspiration
  • Observable change in breathing rate

Sworn Statements

• Sworn statements provide written or oral facts under oath with a penalty of perjury

Affirmation Instead of Oath

• Florida law allows a person to make an affirmation instead of an oath if they object to taking an oath because of a religious or philosophical belief

Interview Recordings

• All interview recordings should be kept as evidence and ensure familiarity with agency/state attorney’s office policies when using A/V recordings during an interview

Interrogation

• Interrogation involves questioning initiated by law enforcement
• Directly or indirectly elicits an incriminating response

Miranda Rights

• Prior to the Miranda case, the law presumed people knew their constitutional rights
• Miranda decided that when officers question a suspect in custody, they must advise the suspect of specific constiutional rights
  • The right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer

Defining Custody

• Custody means a significant deprivation of freedom -Handcuffing or restricting movement is considered custody

Miranda Warnings

• Give Miranda warnings when a person is not free to end questioning or believes they are not free to leave
• Many Florida agencies call interrogating or questioning a suspect a "custodial interview"

Miranda Waiver

• After advising a suspect of their Miranda rights, a waiver is required before questioning begins
  • The waiver ensures the suspect comprehends their rights and will speak
  • A written waiver is preferred but not essential

Miranda Warning Requirements

• Miranda warnings are required only when custody and interrogation elements are present
  • Read the rights one at a time from an agency-provided Miranda card or form once they are required

Child Interviews

• There is a limit to the number of times you can interview a child
  • Ensure you know agency and local court requirements

Reports

• Reports documents about an event, situation, occurrence or incident
  • Some agencies call it an offense report, others a police incident report

Report Liability

• Reduces legal liability for you and your agency

Grammer

• Rules guide language use

Noun

• Names, persons, places, things, actions, qualities, belief
  • Ex: "The subject fled from the officers"

Pronoun

• Acts as noun substitute
  • Ex: "They stopped the car"

Verb

• Expresses actions, states of being
  • Ex: "The officer ran after the subject", or "The subject was fast"

Adverb

• Describes, identifies,or quantifies a verb, adjective or other adverb
  • Ex: "The subject ran quickly" or "He became extremely exhausted"

Adjective

• Describes a noun or pronoun
  • Ex: "The heavyset man was the subject" or "The short woman was also running"

Preposition

• Links words and phrases and provides temporal, spatial, and logical relationships
• Ex: "The subject jumped out of the car, went over the retaining wall, and ran into the store"

Conjunction

• Connects words/phrases with other words/phrases, and clauses (parts of sentences) with other clauses:
  • Ex: "Officer Russ and I approached the car." or "I covered the car while he contacted the subject"

Sentence

• Group of words expresses a complete thought
  • Ex: "John hit Monica" (subject, verb, object)
• Subject performs the action

Sentence Fragment

• Group of words lacks a subject, verb, or object

Avoiding Fragments

• Avoid sentence fragments
  • Ex: "Witnessed a bank robbery in progress while on patrol" lacks specification

Report Point of View

• Report writing perspective depends on agency rules (1st or 3rd person)

Report Voice

• Use active voice

Report Tense

• Use past tense

Accurate Spelling

• Use spell check

Capitalization

• Capitalize holidays, days and months

Clear Punctuation

• Confusing or misleading reports with wrong usage

Comma

• It is one of the most misused marks
• Separate a series of three or more items, nonessential phrases in a sentence, or adjectives

Dates and Addresses

• Use commas when writing dates and addresses
• Ex: "The first robbery occurred on Jan, 12, 2018, at 345 Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida"

Organizing Reports

• By order of events- organize information chronologically

Organizing By category

• By category-witness, victims, suspects, weapons used, and crime elements

Narrative

• A detailed account of an incident, write in complete sentences

Report Writing

• When you write a report, be concise and to the point

Report Examples

• Ex: “I saw Charles Baker running north on first street"

Technical Terminology

• Jargon- Meaning only to people who work in a particular field or profession,

Slang

• Slang- Informal

Technical Writing

• Textspeak- is the language from text messages and digital communicatios

Completing Reports

• After completing a report, turn it in by the end of your shift

Report Elements

• To present a clear narrative, a report should contain
  • An introduction
  • A body
  • A conclusion
    • This includes the location of the incident

Report Body

• The body is the narrative with the detailed chronological account of the incident

Resolving Situations

• The conclusion explains how you resolve the situation, and the handling of information

Evaluate Reports

• Evaluate to check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Explore methods of documenting events, including note taking, interviews, and statements. Learn how to record accurate notes addressing essential questions like who, what, when, where, why and how. Understand the legal importance of timing in incident documentation.