Police Reports

The core of any police report is the complete narrative of the incident that contains all the elements and details of the crime and written chronologically. It is essential that the report writer is able to lay the legal foundations of the actions proceeding from the incident. The report must be able to show that the actions taken has been reasonable, that the legal rights of the culprits were not violated, and that there is probable cause to proceed with the case.

Basically, a police report is a blueprint that is used during trial of a case. Arguments brought up in court will be based on what has been written. Hence, it is essential that the report is able to convey pertinent information, such as physical evidence, collected and discovered during investigation.

What is a Police Report?

A police report is a written narrative of the step-by-step or chronological sequence of an event that transpired in a given time, date and place. It is also defined as a written document prepared after a crime or incident is reported to police or any other law enforcement agency. It typically includes the following:

• names, status and addresses of the victims
• names and addresses of witnesses
• the classification and the elements of the offense
• the facts and circumstances surrounding the offense
• names, status and addresses of the suspects, should the identity be positively established; otherwise, their descriptions as provided by the victims and/or witnesses

Purpose of the Police Report

As mentioned above, the police report is essentially the blueprint of a case that it used during trial. Everything written in the report will be argued on or against by the lawyers involved in the case. An excellent police report could help in getting a conviction. Otherwise, the case could be thrown out after a defense lawyer successfully argues that a “clown” wrote the report.

Specifically, police reports are created for the following reasons:

1. To serve as the community’s official document and permanent record of incidents
2. As data which could later be used in identifying community problems
3. To aid investigations, criminal prosecution, and court presentation
4. To help determine training requirements for police officers

Furthermore, police reports are used:

1. In the identification of criminals Since police reports contain details of a criminal incident, the details contained therein could be used in the future as reference for the identification of criminals. Specifically, when details such as name, physical descriptions, and unique characteristics are available, law enforcement can use this information to help find the people involved.
2. As investigation records As previously mentioned, police reports serve as the basis for many future related documents including progress reports on further investigations. These, in turn, help prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other law enforcement agencies because they get to have a source document for their needs.
3. For court preparation As a comprehensive document detailing a criminal incident, police officers can use their police reports to refresh their memory before their court appearances. This way, the statements they make during their testimonies will match with what was reported by others.
4. During civil liability assessment This is done when there is a need to compensate a person, especially a worker, for injuries suffered at work. Also, this assessment is done whenever there is a civil complaint against police officers. The basis for the assessment will be the details recorded in the police reports.
5. For statistical analysis Data in police reports can be used later in research, especially those that involve crime trends. The research can then be used to improve public policing policies and resources acquisition.

Six Interrogatives in a Police Report

As has already been mentioned, the 5W’s and 1H are important in report writing. Answering all these questions help the report writer create a comprehensive document that is able to provide useful and complete information.

Who

The police report should include all the parties involved in the case. They must be identified by their complete names and personal circumstances, including aliases and their roles, e.g. suspect, victim, or witness.

Do not use abbreviations. They might seem like this can save you time, but they might give the case a turn for the worse at court.

Avoid the use of pronouns. Instead, use nouns whenever possible to keep the clearest picture of what took place and who did it.

Another part of the “who” in a report is being able to identify the mentioned persons and find them again. As such, the report writer must obtain the phone numbers and addresses for both the home and place of work, date of birth, ethnic origin, descriptions, occupation, and identifying numbers such as a driver’s license ID number.

“Who” should also include the property owner of the location of the incident, who took the victims or suspects to the hospital, who treated the injured, and who can describe them in court.

What

The “what” question leads to the heart of the crime. This is where the police officer should include the elements of the crime and the modus operandi. All the “what” relevant to the crime should be included in the report, especially the “what happened.”

Details of the “what” should be included, such as the elements of the crime positively identified and all the relevant descriptions for future reference. Statements made by the relevant parties should also be included.

When a particular action involves the violation of special laws, the police officer would do well to make sure that all the elements of the crime are documented and that the suspect is charged with each offense, whether it is a violation of the penal code, special laws, or even local ordinances.

Some questions that may be answered during the report writing could be: What damages or injuries occurred as a result? What clothing was the suspect wearing? What exactly did he say and what did he do? Did he have particular speech patterns or physical abnormalities? What type of business or property was involved? What did the suspect use for transportation?

Of course, depending on your case, your questions will vary and will not always include the examples above.

When

Details about the time is incredibly important in any case brought into court. Hence, it should be written down as carefully and as accurately as possible.

This detail could make or break a case as it enables the prosecution to show how an incident could have possibly happened and eliminate alibis. If there is a major discrepancy in the times and dates stated in the report, the case could be dismissed or turned right out of court.

For future law enforcement purposes, careful noting of this detail can help in crime prevention as it could help law enforcement officers establish crime patterns in their jurisdictions.

Where

The police report should describe in detail where exactly a crime took place. This is a critical piece of information when determining the legal jurisdiction of the court, as well as the area of responsibilities of the law enforcement agencies involved.

The information about the location should be as detailed as possible, i.e. it should include the number, street, barangay, city or municipality, province must be indicated. It must also be noted whether it is a residential or business place.

For robberies and similar crimes, the point of entry has to be described. For traffic accident reports, the point of impact must be located.

Why

Basically: Why did the crime take place?

This might be the most difficult question to answer as this goes into the core of the crime. Without a completed investigation and/or a confession from the perpetrator, a police officer can only make proposals or suggestions on why the crime happened.

It might be a simple question, but it could show the motive of the suspect and establish his state of mind. From there, the investigators could then fully establish the elements of the crime and/or any circumstances relative to the incident.

How

This question answers the part of the “modus operandi” requirement of the report. Information on the exact steps taken by the perpetrator to commit the crime are described here. For instance: How did the suspect approach the scene of the crime? How did the suspect use his weapons? How did the suspect announce his demands?

Additionally, there is a need to indicate the “how’s” pertaining to the information gathered. That is, how did the police officer manage to get hold of the information being reported. For example, a report on a robbery could state: Investigation conducted discovered that the suspect entered through the unlocked kitchen door. Through this, the report writer discloses how the information was obtained and, at the same time, show the court that the information was not obtained illegally.

Use of Notes in a Police Report

Many police reports begin with written notes. They are often taken down in a pocket-sized notebook, often called a “tickler.” No one’s memory is perfect, not even trained police officers. So, a notebook is most helpful in ensuring that the police officer can have accurate information regarding the facts of the case.

At the beginning of an officer’s career, they may find during report writing that they have written so much trivial information in their notes that they ended up missing important details. With experience, the police officer improves their notes and starts including more information that are relevant to the case.

Field notes do have a limited value in court as evidence. Nevertheless, it would not hurt to save field notes for future reference.

Field Notes

These are notes that the officer creates while on the line of duty; for instance, while on patrol or during the conduct of interviews.

Every incident is unique. As such, the information needed by any officer when writing a report would vary for each individual case. This is where field notes would come in handy. As much as possible, the notes should answer the 5W’s and 1H of the incident.

The following table should serve as a guide regarding the details that should be included in the field notes for different types of subjects:

Remember that these are meant to serve as a guide only and not an exhaustive list of all information that could be included in the field notes.

Field Interviews

These are interviews done in the line of duty.

An effective field interview generally follows this five-step format:

1. Separate the involved parties
   This helps reduce interruptions and distractions. Separating the parties also allows them to focus on speaking with the officer rather than each other. Additionally, it reduces the possibility of the witness testimony being manipulated by others.
2. Establish rapport
   Be polite, considerate, and patient. Briefly explain why the interview is necessary as well as the interview procedure.
3. Listen attentively
   Ask the person about the incident and allow them to speak freely about it. Make sure that their attention is focused on the main topic of the interview. If they begin to stray from the topic, gently steer them back, and constantly use active listening skills to motivate them to speak further. Remember to pay close attention to every detail being narrated.
4. Take notes, ask questions
   Request that the subject repeat their narrative, but, this time, interrupt when clarifications are necessary. Take notes, but keep them brief and basic, underlining the most important thoughts or ideas. At this stage, make sure that you already have the subject’s correct identity information.
5. Verify information
   Repeat certain details noted in the previous steps to the subject to ensure accuracy and give them the opportunity to add facts. Make sure to double check all gathered information and ensure verification of any modified information.

Below are some guide questions that could be used to help make an effective police report.

Fundamental Police Report Contents

The following content elements are essential towards an effective police report. However, we should always remember to only use this list as a guide since some elements may not be appropriate for certain types of cases.

1. Initial information how the officer became involved in the incident, relevant background information, officer’s early observations, actions taken upon arrival at the scene
2. Identification of the crime or incident all information necessary to prove that an incident happened, common name of the crime, statutory reference number, requisite essential elements of the crime
3. Identification of the involved parties information (if known) about the reporting individuals, victims, witnesses, suspects – names, addresses, and work and personal phone numbers of everyone involved, alternative contact details, email addresses, specific roles in the incident
4. Statements from victims, witnesses, and suspects summaries and direct quotes, the facts of the occurrence (from the point of view of the individuals involved)
5. Details about the crime scene crime scene specifics necessary to precisely recreate the scene, images and locations of physical evidence prior to collection (if possible), photographs should be printed for inclusion in the report and, if applicable, booked as property as proof
6. Information regarding properties involved exact or precise details about stolen or recovered property, also property booked for safekeeping and evidence – these should also be entered in the LETS (Law Enforcement Telecommunications Systems) if applicable
7. Actions and observations done by the officers detailed descriptions of all events that occurred during the incident; if more than one officer responded, each should submit a supplement detailing their own activities during the incident

General Types of Police Reports

Basic or Informal Report

This deals with the ordinary, miscellaneous, usual, memorandum letter, or form accomplished by any member of a unit, section, bureau, or division within a department in accordance with prescribed regulation. Usually, this report contains the following:

1. The heading or letterhead of the unit where the writer is assigned;
2. The person or office to whom it is addressed or submitted;
3. The text proper; and,
4. The name of the writer or source of the report

Investigative or Formal Report

This covers an exhaustive and exact narration of facts. These are classified as:

1. Initial or Advanced Report An advanced account regarding a new case assigned to an investigator. It is written and submitted without delay after having conducted the initial investigation of the case.
2. Progress or Follow-up Report Contains the results of the follow-up investigation of a recent case. It is accomplished whenever any development relevant to the case is discovered. It serves as a gauge or yardstick for the detective’s efficiency.
3. Final or Closing Report It is a comprehensive narration of facts and details based on a thorough inquiry of the case by the detective who started the investigation covering all the facts and circumstances surrounding the case. It forms a clear picture of the crime committed in the minds of the readers for prosecutorial and judicial actions. The final or closing report is undertaken whenever the case is solved and considered as closed, signifying that the offender has been arrested, the evidence against him is complete to warrant prosecution, and witnesses are located to testify for the trial.

Other Types of Reports

• Spot Report or Special Report Written immediately after an incident took place in a certain area. It must be done or acted upon within 24 hours
• Beat Inspection/After Patrol Report Written after completing an inspection of an officer’s patrol area
• Situation Report Completed on a case-by-case basis; contains the state of a specific incident or incidents that are of public concern; primarily addressed to the commander or leader in order for him to be aware of the current situation before the media and general public
• Incident Report Prepared after a crime incident or accident is reported to police or law enforcement agencies.
• Post-Operation Report May be rendered after any successful police operation
• Status Report Describes the situation of the investigation at the present time
• Investigation Report Details the findings of an investigation as soon as a formal complaint is filed or an incident occurs
• Vertical and Lateral Reports A vertical report is meant to go upward or downward the hierarchy. A lateral report assists in organization and communication between groups that are at the same level of the hierarchy.
• After Incident Report Generated after a particular incident, such as a crime, accident, or any event requiring police intervention. The purpose of the After Incident Report is to document the details and actions taken by law enforcement personnel following the incident.
• Periodic or Evaluation Report An evaluation report is a paper that examines whether the process is working, according to a set of standards. It includes an introduction, background information, criteria, evaluation, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Police Blotter Report A log book that keeps track of all crime incident; official summaries, reports, arrests, and other noteworthy events that occur in a police station are recorded in the blotter
• After Operation Report written following a successful police operation that resulted in the arrest of one or more members of a syndicated crime group

Qualities of a Good Report

Factual All details and information are based on the five human senses. The simplest words constructed in declarative and short sentences using the third person are all that is necessary.

Accurate A report should only conform to the facts and be free from errors. Being accurate is being exact. All facts must be objectively verified. The identification of facts is imperative to establish the corpus delicti or the body of the crime in the report. You must restrict your report to the facts of the incident as you saw them or as victims and witnesses perceived and reported to you. You must accurately report the conditions of the scene as you have found them.

Clear The format and language used in the report must be as simple and as direct as possible.

Concise The report should be brief in its expression. That is, saying much in as few words as possible. Conciseness relates to the elimination of unnecessary words. Some ways to do this when writing are using the active voice, avoiding wordiness, eliminating unnecessary prepositional phrases, and using ordinary and commonly understood words. Most sentences in police reports are 12 to 15 words only.

Complete The report must contain all the facts and essential information revealed during the investigation.

Timely Reports should be done within a timeframe that would not make it a hindrance to the progress of the case.

Fair and Objective The report must show all the angles and sides of the event. Emotion, opinion and personal prejudice should always be avoided.

Mechanics of a Police Report

The following mechanics of a police report are highly suggested:

Capitalization

Remember to use proper capitalization. It is used in, but not limited to, the following:

• the first word of a sentence
• proper nouns and adjectives derived from proper nouns
• the names of the days of the week, month, holidays and religious days
• common organizational terms

Depending on the content of the report and the nature of the case, other types of words might still require capitalization, so do not be careless in your writing.

Number Expression

In general, numbers zero through ten are spelled out while anything above ten is written as figures. Figures are also used in the following:

• dates
• all numbers, if two or more related numbers are used in the same sentence
• measurements, such as time, money, distance and weight
• percentages
• mixed numbers

However, note that numbers used as a first word of a sentence must be spelled out along with the shorter of two adjacent numbers and the words million and billion in even amounts.

Additionally, decimals must not be used with even amounts and fractions.

Abbreviations

As previously mentioned, abbreviations must be avoided as much as possible. Do not abbreviate the following:

• common words such as department (i.e. as dept.) or organization (i.e. as org)
• compass points
• units or measure
• names of the days of the week nor the months in the year
• cities or provinces

On forms and in tables, units of measure may be abbreviated if they occur frequently, but should not use periods, i.e. use “cm” instead of “cm.” when the relevant measure is in centimeters.

When writing initials, use a period after each letter but do not add internal spaces. For all-capital abbreviations on the other hand, do not use periods nor internal spaces.

Punctuation

The following is a refresher on how to properly use some of the different types of punctuation marks.

1. Apostrophe ‘ Used to show connections of one or more letters, one or more words or figures in a number, show possession, and to show plurals of numbers, letters and words discussed
2. Brackets [ ] Used as parentheses within parentheses, to correct a mistake in a direct quote, to indicate explanation or one’s own comments without quotation
3. Colon : Used after a statement followed by a list, after a statement followed by a clause that extends, explains or amplifies the statement, after the salutation of a business letter, to separate the hours from minutes when indicating time, and to separate parts of a citation
4. Comma , Used to separate the day of the month when indicating the date, to set off words or phrases that suggest a break in thought, to set off first, second, no, yes and other similar words when they introduce a sentence, to set up groups of digits in large numbers, to separate unrelated numbers in a sentence, to set off words that explain or define other words, to set off phrases and dependent clauses that add to the main thoughts of a sentence but are not essential to it, to separate long coordinate clauses of compound sentences, to set off coordinate phrases modifying the same noun, between parts of a sentence that suggest contrast or comparison, to indicate omission of one or two words, to separate identical or similar words in a sentence, and to separate adjacent words that might mistakenly be joined when reading a sentence
5. Dash – Used in place of or between numbers or dates, before a summarizing statement introduced by all, this, or similar words, before a repeated word or expression, to emphasize or define a start of a sentence, to indicate an aside or a point of view of the speaker, to suggest halting or hesitant speech, and to indicate a sudden break or interruption within a sentence
6. Ellipses … Used within a quotation to indicate places where a word or words have been omitted and at the end of a quotation to indicate words omitted before the period
7. Exclamation Point ! Used after a word, phrase or sentence that expresses strong or sudden feeling, to emphasize a command or strong points of view, and to show sarcasm, irony, or amusement
8. Hyphen – Used to mark the division of a word at the end of a line, to join word parts, and to separate words
9. Period . Used after a sentence, after a command given without emphasis, after initials, after an abbreviation or part of many abbreviations, and after each number or letter that begins a heading in an outline
10. Parentheses ( ) Used around explanatory material of a sentence when this material has no essential connection with the rest of the sentence, to enclose sources of information within a sentence around numbers, letters that indicate subdivision of a sentence, and around figures which repeat numbers written out
11. Question Mark ? Used after a direct question, after a statement followed by a question, after a word that indicates a question
12. Quotation Marks ” ” Used to indicate exact words of a speaker, around each part of a direct quotation when explaining words come between the parts, enclose quoted words or phrases within a sentence, around titles, around a word or phrase explained or defined by the rest of the sentence, and around a word to which attention is called
13. Semicolon ; Used between parts of a compound sentence when they are joined in by conjunctions, before a conjunction connecting independent clauses when either clause contains commas, after each clause in a series of three or more clauses
14. Underline Used in the name of any book or complete volume, the name of a magazine or periodicals, any foreign word that is not commonly used in English, and any word considered not for their grammatical meaning but as words
15. Virgule / Used as a dividing line in dates, fractions and abbreviations, when recording bibliographical information and to indicate the end of lines in a title or subtitle

Checking the Police Report

Upon completion, the report writer should carefully read the police report purposefully to check the following:

• Elements of the Offense
• Inherent Circumstances
• Probable Cause
• Specific Terminologies
• Custodial Rights
• Suspect’s Statement
• Witness’s Statement
• Grammar and Spelling

If any one of these are not done properly or reported correctly, the case could be dismissed before it could even get to court. Hence, it is vital that the report writer double-check all these important factors before submitting a report.

Police Blotter

Each PNP operating unit shall maintain an official blotter where all types of operational and undercover dispatches shall be recorded containing the 5W’s and 1H of an information.

A police blotter refers to the record of daily events occurring within the area of responsibility/territory/jurisdiction of a given police command or unit. It contains material facts and details concerning the event for legal purposes. It is an informational record book that is useful for investigation, evidentiary or referral purposes.

Contents of Police Blotter Entries

Police blotter entries should contain the following:

• The 5 W’s and 1 H along with the disposition of the case
• All material details pertaining to the event and the status of the case

The following transactions or incidents are entered in the police blotter:

• Violations of ordinances and laws reported and/or discovered
• All calls in which any member of the PNP is dispatched or takes official action
• All fire alarms, reports and information received by the stations
• Movement of detention prisoners with corresponding notations on the authority for such movement
• Vehicular and other types of incidents which require police action
• All injuries, bodies discovered, and suicides
• Damage to property
• All cases to which a member of the PNP is involved
• All arrests and returns made
• Miscellaneous cases

Guidelines in Making the Entries

• All entries in the police blotter shall be handwritten in a clear, concise and simple manner.
• Only facts, not opinions, are entered into the blotter.
• No erasures shall be made in the entries. Corrections are made by drawing one horizontal line over such word or phrases and the actual entry initiated by the police officer making the correction.
• A pen with black or blue ink is used in making entries.
• Falsification in the blotter or any attempt to suppress any information therein is criminally and administratively punishable.
• The entries must be legibly written in long hand and consecutively numbered.
• Every page of the blotter shall be uninterruptedly and chronologically filled-up. No line or space shall be left blank between two entries.
• Any development of the case to be reflected in the blotter should be a new entry at the time and day it was reported. A reference to the previous entry number of the case shall be made.
• In every shift, the Duty Sergeant, under the supervision of the Duty Officer, or Complaint Desk Officer shall make the actual entries in the blotter and, at the end of their tour, they shall sign the blotter.

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