434 Principles of Report Writing PDF

434 Principles of Report Writing Writing an accurate, clear, readable police re- port is an essential part of officer responsibili-...

434 Principles of Report Writing Writing an accurate, clear, readable police re- port is an essential part of officer responsibili- ties. Good narrative report writing frequently makes the difference between successful or unsuccessful prosecution of an offender. Offi- cers should be aware of and apply the general principles of good report writing for purposes of enforcement and to protect themselves and their agency against civil litigation and related charges. Many police officers view the police report as a necessary ited. Sometimes the officer just doesn’t believe the informa- evil of their job that primarily fulfills the needs of administra- tion is valuable. Whatever the reason, failing to record infor- tors and prosecutors. This is a serious misconception that mation in the report is a serious problem. often undermines this essential police activity. An officer’s case or incident report often makes the crucial difference be- Reasons for Writing a Report tween a suspect being charged or released, convicted or ac- There are four generally accepted reasons for a police offi- quitted. Therefore, the police report may have a greater short- cer to write a report: for historical records, as a management term impact on the local community than any other form of tool, as an aid for testifying in court and as a guard against writing. civil or related actions that may be brought against the officer Through the years, jurisdictions have developed standard or the agency. Historical records are critical to the department, report formats to simplify the collection of accurate crime the public and elected officials. Among other things, these data. The statistical part of the forms permits officers to check records provide the ability to see how well an agency is doing the appropriate box, mark an “X” in the correct space or circle compared to previous years or to other jurisdictions. the appropriate word or phrase, thereby allowing statistical in- From a managerial perspective, police reports are also im- formation to be captured quickly and accurately. With this in- portant to the local budget process. The information that they formation, local governments can determine the nature and provide, for example, can mean the difference between hiring extent of crime in their backyard. From a larger perspective, a construction worker or a police officer. Law enforcement the standardization of statistical crime data has been instru- professionals recognized the need for good records as long mental in tracing the growth and complexity of criminal be- ago as 1829, when Sir Robert Peel persuaded the British Par- havior. Uniform Crime Reporting data as collected by local liament to pass the Metropolitan Police Bill. Peel included law enforcement agencies for the FBI provides the necessary two records-related tenets in his proposed reform of police means for comparing the crime problems of one city or area to services. He wrote: “The absence of crime will but prove the another. But statistical data does little to help in the prosecu- efficiency of police” and that “the deployment of police tion of individual cases. The real problem lies in the narrative strength by both time and area is essential.” Determining the portion of the report. level of crime and responding with the proper deployment of From a prosecutorial standpoint, the most common defi- personnel is at least as important today as in the early 1800s. ciency of police reports is that they lack detail, accuracy and The third basic reason for writing a report focuses on the clarity. The officer generally has the information needed but narrative portion of the police report. The objective of police does not or cannot communicate it through the report. The of- reports, according to the International City Management As- ficer may not include information in the report because he sociation publication Local Government Police Management, doesn’t feel comfortable with his ability to express the facts, is, “...to develop a system that yields the most complete and because he doesn’t feel the case merits this level of effort or accurate information for police use.” When written properly, that it will be prosecuted, or simply because his time is lim- the officer has the best possible tool for helping him recollect Training Key® published and copyrighted© 1993, by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc., 515 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314- 2357. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any system or transmitted in any form or by any means electrical, mechan- ical, photocopying, recording or other means without prior written permission of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc. necessary details to present the case successfully in court. As a pleteness. It also suggests that officers in some departments tool for use in the prosecution of criminal cases, officers must make better reports than do their counterparts in other agen- not report conclusions or opinions as if they were facts. cies. The fourth purpose for the police report, simply stated, is to The reason for these noticeable differences in the quality of protect the officer and the agency from false accusations. Fre- police reports between departments is unknown. It may have a quently, officers fail to write about their behavior during an in- direct correlation with differences in the education, training cident because the action may be controversial or involve the and the level of communication between the police agency use of force. Many officers have been led to believe that pro- and the prosecutor’s office. To prepare reports that meet the viding detailed descriptions of and reasons for their actions needs of the prosecutor, management from both agencies must could raise uncomfortable questions. In fact, the opposite is communicate candidly and openly. If prosecutors continu- true. A detailed, factual statement explaining an officer’s ac- ously find police reports weak, the prosecutor’s office must tions is usually the best way to avoid charges of improper or il- work more closely with the law enforcement agency. By legal conduct. working together, every officer knows the questions that must The five “C’s” of good police reports are: complete, clear, be answered based on the specific criminal offense. concise, concrete and correct. To successfully meet these five Police management must see to it that all personnel are requirements, officers must use commonly accepted English properly trained and understand the documentation needed by that does not contain police jargon or technical terms unless the agency and the prosecutor. Using a basic outline format for absolutely necessary. the narrative portion of the police report can help officers pre- pare a comprehensive report. In particular, police supervisors Complete should try to focus on the prosecutor’s needs as they review To make a complete report, an officer must understand the each report. In too many cases, such reviews are limited to an elements of a particular crime and be able to answer the six assessment of the accuracy of dates and completeness of sta- basic questions that police hear about so often. It is much eas- tistical data. The most important information of any report is ier to tell someone to answer the Who, What, Where, When, found in the narrative. In this context, the reviewing officer Why and How questions than it is to do it. There are literally must be willing and able to show an officer the shortcomings dozens of questions relating to these six basic ones. These of the report. Using a pre-formatted narrative outline will may include but are not limited to the following examples: make the review and evaluation task easier. Who was the victim? Who wrote the report? Who discovered the crime or incident? Who were witnesses? Who committed Clear the offense? Whom did the officer interview? Who marked the A police report may be complete but still lack clarity. Col- evidence? lecting the information needed for a good report is vital, but What type of offense was committed? What actions did the organizing and focusing the information is equally important. criminal take? What actions did the officer take? What evi- A police report contains an abundance of facts that must be dence was located? What was done with the evidence? What coordinated and focused in order to relay useable information. tools or weapons were used? What further action is needed? However, in doing so, there is little room for an officer’s opin- Where did the offense occur? Where was the evidence found? Where were the witnesses? Where is the perpetrator? ions and conclusions. Readers must be able to draw sufficient Where was the suspect caught? Where was the evidence understanding from the facts to formulate their own conclu- marked? sions. Ideally, everyone who reads the same report will be When did the incident occur? When was it discovered? guided to the same general conclusions. There are four basic When was it reported? When was the victim last seen? When strategies to accomplish this goal. did the officer arrive on the scene? When were the pho- First, the officer should use direct and explicit language. tographs taken? The writer should not use “iffy” words and phrases nor should How was the offense committed? How did the perpetrator he omit a direct quotation from a witness and attempt to para- enter the crime scene? How did he exit? How did you make phrase it. Sometimes this is done in order to avoid street or the arrest? How did you get the information? How did the sus- gutter language commonly encountered. While this is under- pect get information to select this particular crime target? standable, in editing the witness’s or suspect’s language, the Why was the offense committed? Why did it occur at that officer may significantly alter the meaning or diminish the particular time or place? Why were witnesses afraid to talk? clarity of the original message. Why did the suspect select the tool or weapon used? Second, the officer should try to avoid police jargon when- Of course these questions are not all-inclusive nor does ever possible. For example, do not write, “I arrested the sus- each pertain to every event or incident. However, officers must pect, Mr. Jones, who appeared to be a signal 24.” Instead, take the time to ask such key questions as these, then try to an- write, “I arrested Mr. Jones, who at the time of arrest was wav- swer them as they relate to the particular case. ing his arms wildly about and shouting: “God told me to kill Studies of reports in two police departments revealed that him, God said he was evil.” The first statement contained the of the 39 evidentiary questions needed by prosecutors to pre- fact that the officer arrested Mr. Jones. However, the phrase sent a robbery case effectively, less than 50 percent of the “who appeared to be a signal 24” was the officer’s opinion, not questions were adequately answered in one department and a statement of fact, and used a local police code reference for a only about 25 percent in the other department. This research, “demented person.” The description of Mr. Jones waving his while limited in scope, supports the views of many prosecu- arms is a factual statement and clearly shows the circum- tors that police reports often lack essential detail and com- stances at the time of arrest. Mr. Jones may not be demented 2 except in the eyes of the officer, and few police officers are “he” seems to refer to Jenkins, but who would be such a good trained to diagnose the mental health of a suspect. cop? Better: “When Jenkins became Smith’s partner in May, Use short words and short sentences to express yourself. he did not know Smith would be such a good cop.” Large or technical words may sound authoritative, but they Compare the following for clarity. Confusing: “Bill held seldom add meaning to a report. Always write to express, not the sandwich in one hand and the microphone in the other, eat- to impress. ing it while he talked.” Common sense tells us that Bill ate the Also, the active voice is more expressive than the passive sandwich, not the microphone. But the pronoun it could refer voice. In the active voice, the subject acts; in the passive voice, to either. Better: “Bill held the sandwich in one hand and the the subject is acted upon. Notice how much stronger the sen- microphone in the other, eating the sandwich while he talked.” tence sounds in the active voice compared to the passive. Ex- Similarly, which of the following is better? “Mary’s partner amples: said she couldn’t arrest the suspect” or “Mary’s partner told I shot the perpetrator (active). The perpetrator was shot her not to arrest the suspect.” In the first example, the reader by me (passive). cannot be sure who couldn’t arrest the suspect: Mary or her partner. The second example is better because it clearly tells The mayor and council announced a cost-of-living pay the reader what the writer intended. raise for police (active). A cost of living pay raise for police was announced by the mayor and council (pas- Concise sive). Conciseness and clarity are directly related. A police report should only be as long as necessary to provide requisite infor- Officer Williams tagged and bagged the evidence (ac- mation. The Little, Brown Handbook published by Little, tive). The evidence was tagged and bagged by officer Brown & Co., states: “Conciseness - brevity of expression - Williams (passive). aids emphasis no matter what the sentence structure. Unnec- essary words detract from necessary words. They clutter sen- Police writing should emphasize who does what. tences and obscure ideas.” The language in the report should The third element of clarity involves organizing thoughts be simple and direct. The efficiency of any report is found before writing. While this may seem difficult initially, it is re- partly in the economy of words. Get the message across in the ally quite simple. While most of the crimes and events re- shortest and easiest way possible. Simplicity is the key. ported by the police are different in some respects, they are To be concise, separate each idea into its own sentence. Do similar in others. Therefore, the officer can structure the police not try to combine several thoughts into one long sentence. report in advance if the communication between the police Length confuses the reader. Reading tests have demonstrated agency and the prosecutor is open and candid. that shorter sentences are easier to read. One of the best ways Most incident and crime reports can be organized chrono- to eliminate long sentences is to replace connective words logically. The initial paragraph may relate to preliminary in- such as “and” and “but” with a period. Example: “Mr. Jones formation such as establishing jurisdiction and venue. Exam- told me that he had received a phone call from Elliott Jenkins, ple: On Thursday, April 1, 1993, I, Officer John Jones, was but he didn’t remember the time of the call.” This sentence dispatched to 234 74th St. S.W. on a burglary-in-progress call. reads better as: “Mr. Jones told me he had received a phone The second portion of the report details anything that occurred call from Elliott Jenkins. He didn’t remember the time of the on the way to the scene. Example: While proceeding west on call.” If the connective word needs to be retained to maintain Indiana Blvd. toward 74th St. this officer observed a red Ford continuity of thought, it is generally better to start the next Mustang occupied by a young white male who failed to stop at sentence with that word. the stop sign. The next three elements of the report should de- scribe the actors upon arrival on the scene, after the officer Concrete was on the scene and finally, the disposition or conclusion. The language used in the police report must be specific. This basic report format can be completed by the officer Officers must stick to the facts while including sufficient de- recording observations and events in the appropriate areas tail. Vaguely worded sentences may result in different readers briefly and concisely. reaching different conclusions. If we edit that part of the report shown in the previous para- Sometimes the officer has no choice but to be vague in the graph using short sentences, it will read better as follows: “As report, but specific information should be used when it is I drove west on Indiana Blvd, I saw a red Mustang run the stop available. Review the following examples: Abstract - “The sign on 74th St. The Mustang was going north on 74th St. The majority of witnesses said that the suspect had blonde hair.” driver was a young white male.” Since all the actions and ac- Specific - “Four of the five witness said that the suspect had tivities were completed when the report was written, it should blonde hair.” Abstract - “I told the victim I would call him in be easy to remember to use the past tense. The only time the the near future.” Specific - “I told the victim I would call him present tense should be used in police reports is when victims, on Thursday at about 1700 hours.” Abstract - “A large crowd witnesses or perpetrators are being quoted. had gathered by the time I arrived on the scene.” Specific - The fourth strategy for good report writing involves using “Approximately 50 to 60 people were present when I arrived pronouns. Writing can be improved through the use of pro- on the scene.” nouns, provided the pronoun refers clearly and unmistakably Avoid using cliches in reports. Cliches are defined as trite to the noun it replaces. Compare the following statements: expressions or ideas. When the cliche was originated, it proba- Confusing: “When Jenkins became partners with Smith in bly had a special significance or emphasis attached to it. But May, he did not know he would be such a good cop.” The first time has eroded the purpose and meaning to the extent that 3 cliches are practically useless. They add nothing to the police April 1, 1993: 1345 hours report. Keep statements like these out of your reports: dead as B. Observations: a doornail, depths of despair, hasty retreat, birds of a feather Red Mustang traveling North on Indiana from 74th flock together, sink or swim, the whole nine yards and similar St. expressions. Vehicle being driven very slowly Vehicle almost struck two parked cars on Indiana Correct Vehicle crossed street and struck curb An officer can satisfy all other requirements of a good po- Took two blocks to get driver to stop after engaging lice report, but if it is incorrect, it is of little value. blue lights and siren The best way to prevent incorrect reports is to proofread. C. Actions Before Arrest: Make sure each sentence makes complete sense. Does the Car stopped at Indiana and 77th St. verb match the noun or pronoun? If the noun is singular, the Driver a W/F verb also must be singular. Is the sentence complete? Is the Asked for D.L. and insurance idea communicated clearly? Are sentences too long and con- Smelled strong odor of alcohol on her breath fusing? Would dividing the sentence into two or more sen- D.L. showed her as Mary Jones W.F. 34 Y.O.A. tences make the thought flow faster and better? Look for Lives at 4567 Tupolo Dr. transposed letters and numbers. Corrections must be made be- Did 3 field sobriety tests: fore the report is submitted. Double-check all days, dates and 1. Straight line 15 ft. (lost balance, almost fell) times mentioned in the report. Carefully proofreading your re- 2. Stand on one foot with eyes shut (could not do) port should identify these and related types of common errors. 3. Lean back and touch nose with forefinger If errors are missed even after proofing, reading the report (touched high on forehead with left, low on fore- backward may help. In this way, reading is slower, and errors head with right) may be identified more easily. The report reflects an officer’s D. Actions After Arrest: level of education, degree of competence and professionalism. read implied consent As such, the credibility of the officer is in many ways linked to She informed me she had been drinking since early how well his report is written. morning Another potential problem area involves spelling. When Tried to give me $50 to let her go. spelling the names of victims, witnesses and suspects, officers E. Conclusion: often automatically use the spelling that is familiar to them. Left Unit 625 with Mustang to impound Smith could be spelled S-m-y-t-h; Culpepper could be spelled Took Ms. Jones to station and gave Certified In- C-u-l-l-p-e-p-p-e-r, and the name one thinks is Johnson may toximeter test. be Johnston. When in doubt, an officer should always ask for Completed booking report the correct spelling. Most of us like to be called by our correct Allowed Jones to make phone call name and resent it when it is misspelled. Officers should re- With the information shown above, the officer could write member that misspelling records of names and addresses may a good DWI report. By placing the notes under predetermined result in misdirected subpoenas and missed court dates. An- categories, he simplified the process. Fine-tuning the report other solution is to make and keep a list of words that are mis- through better organization and a clear writing style will pro- spelled most often. duce a top-quality police report. The second phase is critical for completing the report. The 40-40-20 Rule About 40 percent of time needed to write a report is devoted to Looking at the report writing process in three stages helps proofreading, evaluating and editing the report. Before writing to understand it better. The first stage is writing detailed notes the final version of the report, the writer should take a few into a prepared format. This is done by combining words, minutes to read the edited version aloud. Ears may pick up phrases and a few complete sentences. Placing comments into what the eyes have missed. If it doesn’t sound clear and com- an existing format will reduce the time needed to organize plete, there is still some work to do before moving to the last thoughts into an effective report. It may be useful to separate phase of writing. each idea with a bullet, asterisk or other recognizable symbol. The last phase involves rewriting the edited, correct, tightly This style can even be retained in the final report if it makes written report. To improve neatness on the hand-written re- the report more readable, complete and concise. port, officers should take a little extra time to form the letters After taking notes, write the first draft using the basic pre- and space the words. In all, it generally takes about 40 percent structured format. Be sure to double-space between lines in of an officer’s time to prepare a good first draft, 40 percent to the first draft to provide room for revisions. This entire evaluate and edit the draft and 20 percent to write a profes- process should take about 40 percent of the total time needed sional- looking final report. to complete a good report. This approach can be examined more closely by applying it to a case example - in this in- Conclusion stance, writing an arrest report for driving while intoxicated. Attempting to apply every technique discussed here may Following is a sample DWI report format. The statements re- seem to be an overwhelming task. As a result, one may think late to notes made about the case. that report writing is too difficult. Henry Ford realized that A. Preliminary: building a car was a complex undertaking. He met the prob- Routine patrol in area of Indiana and 74th St. in Unit lem head-on and pioneered the assembly-line method of mass 714. production. Ford said, “No job is too difficult when you break 4 it into small enough parts.” This advice can also be applied to report writing. Break your reports into component parts and segments and address each systematically and individually. Report writing will be faster, simpler and better. Acknowledgement This Training Key was prepared by D.M. “Mike” Edwards of Decatur, Georgia. 5 questions The following questions are based on material in this Training Key®. Select the best answers. 1. Which of the following statements is true? (a) Police reports are used primarily for administrative and management pur- poses. (b) The most common deficiency of police reports is that they lack detail, accuracy and clarity. (c) The most important function of police reports is the compilation of statistical crime data. (d) Prosecutors can perform their jobs just as well without complete and accurate police reports. 2. Which of the following statements is false? (a) Good police reports can help protect an officer and his agency from false ac- cusations. (b) Providing detailed accounts of and reasons for an officers use of force in a po- lice report is only self-incriminating. (c) Officers should not report conclusions and opinions as though they are facts. (d) Using a standard format for a narrative report helps improve organization and clarity. 3. Which of the following statements is false? (a) Answering, who, what, where, when, why and how questions are essential in developing a complete report. (b) Open and candid communication between the police agency and the prosecu- tor’s office is essential to developing useful police reports. (c) Police reports may be complete but still lack clarity. (d) The use of police jargon in reports is useful in precisely expressing the actions and procedures of officers. answers 1. (b) Problems with police reports generally involve a lack of detail, accuracy and/or clarity. 2. (b) Providing complete and accurate accounts and explanations of officers’ use of force is one of the most important means of defense against unjustified accusa- tions. 3. (d) Police jargon should be avoided in police reports whenever possible. have you read...? “The Offense Report,” Training Key® #288, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Alexandria, VA 22314-2357. This Training Key® provides specific information on conducting interviews and recording information relative to the police offense report.