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CO 10- Report Writing for Corrections

Remember the three fundamentals of sentences.

1. Identify the subject of the sentence.

The probationer drove west

on Flower St. and collided with two parked cars near the intersection of West St

2. Be careful with pronouns.

Don't confuse the reader.

Be careful with he, she, it,

him, her, they, etc.

Intead of, "He pulled a gun on the victim"

Use:

The suspect pulled a gun on the victim

Be careful with verb use

Example

Mondays hearing was attended by

Officer Michaels

Or does this

sound better

Officer Michaels attended Monday's hearing

Recommended Grammar for Investigative Reports

Grammar

may be defined as the rules and guidelines used by writers to make their message clear and understandable to the reader.

There are a large number of grammatical guidelines in the English language.

Peace officers should be aware of a number of them that are recommended for use when writing investigative reports.

A noun

is a naming word.

It can be used to identify people, places, or anything else that can be named.

Proper nouns

name specific persons, places or things and always begin with a capital letter.

When referring to a specific person within a report, officers should use proper nouns (Tom Smith, Alice Jones) to clearly convey to the reader whom they are writing about.

Once the full name has been used once, just the last name may be used when referring to the same person again within a report (Smith, Jones).

Example:

Tom Smith said he saw the woman leap from the deck and run across the yard. Smith went on to describe the woman as...

is a word that substitutes for a noun or a proper noun.

There are two types of pronouns of which writers of investigative reports should be aware.

First person

Use when referring to the:

person writing the report.

Examples of Pronouns

• I/My/Mine/Me

• We/Our/Ours/Us

Examples of Use

• I told my partner...

• Our vehicle was...

A pronoun

Third person

person, place, or thing being written about.

• He/His/Him

• She/Hers/Her

• It/Its

• They/Their/ Theirs/Them

• He said that he was ...

• She told her sister...

• It was no longer present...

• Their father was ...

Note: First person pronouns can also be used within quotes to refer to the person speaking. (e.g., Wilson said, “I ran as fast as I could.”)

When writing investigative reports, officers should use first person pronouns when referring to themselves.

By doing so, the reader has a clear understanding of what the officer who wrote the report actually did, observed, experienced, etc.

Referring to themselves as “the reporting officer” or “the writer of this

report” or using third person pronouns can be needlessly awkward and

lead to confusion as to who was actually doing what.

Example:

My partner and I spoke with the witness about what they saw and heard during the fight.

Non-example:

The reporting officer and that officer’s partner spoke with the witness about what they saw and heard during the fight.

past tense verbs

expresses an action completed in the past

A present tense verb

expresses an action that is currently taking place.

Present Tense

He says his wife did kick him...

I then have Officer Baker . . .

She states that her husband...

On 04-06-98 at 0735 hours I respond to a call...

The suspect arrives at the scene...

Past Tense

He said his wife kicked him...

I then had Officer Baker...

She stated that her husband...

On 04-06-98 at 0735 hours I responded to a call...

The suspect arrived at the scene...

Active voice

A verb is in the active voice when the subject of the sentence is the individual or thing that is actually doing or performing the action.

A verb is in the passive voice when the subject of the sentence is someone or something other than the doer or performer of the action.

Officers writing investigative reports should use verbs that are in the active voice rather than the passive voice.

Most readers find sentences written in the active voice easier to follow and understand.

Passive Voice

The victim was given the report form by me.

The seminar was attended by law enforcement personnel.

The witness was talked to by me.

The suspect was patted down for weapons by my partner.

The driver was asked for his driver’s license by me.

Active Voice

I gave the report form to the victim.

Law enforcement personnel attended the seminar.

I talked to the witness.

My partner patted down the suspect for weapons.

I asked the driver for his driver’s license.

Proofreading

Proofreading may seem time-consuming to both experienced and inexperienced writers.

In the case of investigative reports where accuracy, clarity, and completeness are essential, proofreading is critical.

A report’s effectiveness and an officer’s credibility can be damaged by a report with too many mechanical errors.

When proofreading the reports they have written, officers should ask themselves:

• is the correct crime(s) cited in the report?

• are all the elements appropriately articulated?

• are the facts correct (based on the officer’s field notes)?

• is the report well organized?

• is all necessary information included?

• is the information in the proper order?

• are things said efficiently, or are statements too wordy?

• are all conclusions supported by facts?

• are there any gaps in logic?

When proofreading the reports they have written, officers should look for:

• inappropriate use of the parts of speech (e.g., use of nouns, pronouns verbs, etc.),

• language that may be vague or confusing,

• incorrect or inappropriate use of words,

• spelling errors,

• inappropriate punctuation, and

• incorrect use of law enforcement abbreviations.

Daily Journal

Two reasons

Field Notes

An officer’s field notes are the primary source document that the officer will use when writing the investigative report.

Why keep one?

Field notes are more reliable than an officer’s memory.

Other attorneys

Parole, probations and custody personnel

The type of crime or incident will also indicate what specific information is required for your notes.

A statement that can be open to different interpretations and expresses a belief not necessarily substantiated by proof.

Reports are used to...

Uses of Investigative Reports

aid in determining potential civil liability

Detailed field notes reduce the need to recontact the involved parties at a later time.

by...

Ethics

Failure

to file a

report

Specified crimes

Involved parties

The judicial process cannot function without the investigative reports written by the officers who have the direct knowledge of an event or incident.

An officer’s report must present each event or incident in a complete and clear manner. Any investigation, arrest, prosecution, or other action taken must be initiated, supported, or justified by the information included in the report written by that officer.

Because peace officer’s reports are so important to the judicial process, each one must be able to stand up to critical review and legal scrutiny.

An investigative report is a:

• written document

• prepared by a peace officer

• that records in detail

• that officer’s observations and actions

• as they relate to a specific event or incident.

Judicial process

State and federal statutes mandate that law enforcement agencies report certain events and incidents. Penal Code Section 11107 requires each sheriff or police chief executive to furnish reports of specified misdemeanors and felonies to the Department of Justice.

In order to ensure due process, officers, prosecutors, judges, etc., must have sufficient information and evidence to initiate or continue the judicial process and successfully prosecute or exonerate a suspect.

• forgery,

• fraud-bunco,

• bombings,

• receiving or selling stolen property,

• safe and commercial burglary,

• grand theft,

• child abuse,

• homicide,

• threats,

• offenses involving lost, stolen, found, pledged, or pawned property,

• domestic abuse, and

• sex crimes.

What is a report?

Statutory requirement

The users of an officer’s investigative report should be able to locate the answers to six primary questions within the body of the report.

A suspect’s freedom, rights or privileges cannot be taken away or denied

unless there is sufficient cause to justify such action.

Such reports must:

• describe the nature and character of each crime,

• note all particular circumstances of that crime, and

• include all additional or supplemental information pertaining to the suspected criminal activity.

assist prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other law enforcement agencies

serving as a source document for filing criminal complaints,

• providing a record of all investigations,

• providing information to identify the mode of operation of an individual offender, or

• providing a basis for follow up investigations.

giving the evaluating agency insight into the officer’s ability to:

- write clearly, accurately, and mechanically (error-free),

- demonstrate a knowledge of law,

- demonstrate a knowledge of agency policies and procedures,

- investigate criminal acts, and

- recognize potential evidence and relevant information.

providing records of all investigations,

• serving as source documents for criminal prosecution, or

• documenting agency actions

Any officer who knowingly files a false law enforcement report will be guilty of a crime. (Penal Code Section 118.1)

Peace officers have a legal and moral duty to investigate and report all crimes or incidents that come to their attention. Failure to uphold this responsibility can have negative consequences for officers

Different agencies vary in their policies, regulations, and guidelines regarding the roles and responsibilities of peace officers for writing investigative reports.

It is the responsibility of each officer to be familiar with and follow that officer’s specific agency policies.

Deliberate failure to report a crime may be considered a violation of agency regulations and grounds for disciplinary action.

Immediate supervisors and Field Training Officers

All reports are to be true, unbiased, and unprejudiced. These are easy words to say, but sometimes hard to live by. It is not always easy to know or find out the truth. However, it is clear that it is the peace officer’s moral obligation to seek the truth; and it is clear that lying is wrong. Truth and public trust cannot be separated.

• refreshing the officer’s memory before testifying, or

• preparing to provide hearsay testimony at preliminary hearings.

Agency policies

Media representatives

assist with the identification, apprehension and prosecution of criminals

assist officers prior to or during court appearances

A statement that is based on the

analysis of facts and opinions.

Report users

Timely

• documenting events such as:

- accidents or injuries on city or county property,

- industrial injuries, or

- fires or other events that prompt a peace officer response.

• presenting justification for an officer’s behavior or actions.

Insurance agencies

Factual

Representatives of other law enforcement agencies

Detectives and investigators

Reports should be brief and yet contain all relevant information the users will need to do their jobs. Wordiness can make a report less readable and therefore less effective.

Accuracy, completeness, or clarity should never be sacrificed for the sake of brevity. The following table identifies a number of factors that can affect a writer’s ability to write concisely.

provide a source of information for evaluating an officer’s performance

Accurate

Prosecuting and defense attorneys

The factual report provides an objective accounting of the relevant facts

related to the event or incident under investigation. Any conclusions made by the reporting officer must be based on objective facts. These facts must be articulated and documented within the body of the report.

Accurate

The basis for determining relevant information requires peace officers to make the fine distinctions between an opinion, a fact, and a conclusion.

There are six characteristics that all effective investigative reports have in common.

Characteristics of an Effective Report

No decisions can be made or actions taken if an officer’s report does not reach the users in a timely fashion. Evidence can be lost, suspects or witnesses may disappear, and the support and good will in the community can be lost if action toward resolving a case is delayed.

Details that might be more important than relying on your memory

There must be no inconsistencies or discrepancies between what took place and what is documented in the

officer’s report.

If any specific information is found to be inaccurate, the credibility and reliability of the report itself may be jeopardized.

Accuracy is achieved by carefully, precisely, impartially, and honestly recording all relevant information.

Fact

abbreviated notations written by an officer in the field while investigating a specific incident or crime

What is the difference between an opinion, fact or conclusion

Field notes can be used to defend the credibility of an investigative report.

An investigative report must speak for the investigating officer at a time when that officer is not present. There should be no doubt or confusion on what the investigating officer is reporting. If that information is not clear and understandable, it is of little use.

Clear

Clarity is achieved by the use of appropriate language and logical order. The following table identifies a number of factors that can affect the clarity of an investigative report.

including descriptions and details pertaining to stolen items as well as physical evidence

Opinion

They are:

• Factual,

• Accurate,

• Clear,

• Concise,

• Complete, and

• Timely.

To log normal everyday situations

An officer’s report must contain all the relevant information and facts the user of that report will need. If the user must contact the writer to gather additional information, the report is not complete and therefore ineffective.

A statement that can be verified or proven and has real, demonstrable existence.

Conclusions

Complete

Conclusions should always be accompanied with the supporting facts and opinions. Conclusions presented without supporting information may be considered unwarranted.

Concise

witness/victim

statements...

Fundamental Content Elements of Investigative Reports

The adequacy of that communication is dependent on the officer’s ability to logically organize events and clearly state the relevant facts related to the incident.

noting the details of the events the involved parties

observed or experienced.

No matter how an investigative report is organized, it must be factual, accurate, clear, concise, complete, and timely (FACCCT). It must provide prosecutors, investigators, and other participants in the judicial process with the information needed to do their jobs.

• Who?

•What?

• When?

• Where?

• Why?

• How?

Field notes should contain the facts and information that will aid in answering the questions what, when, where, who, how, and why.

They inculde

Identification of a crime

crime scene specifics...

An investigating officer communicates with the other participants in the report process through that officer’s written investigative report. The adequacy of that communication is dependent on the officer’s ability to

logically organize events and clearly state the relevant facts related to the

incident.

They should be taken:

• at the scene of an event or incident,

• when interviewing persons, (e.g., victims, witness, suspects, etc.)

• whenever an officer wishes to record specific facts for inclusion in the report, and

• any time the officer wishes to remember specific details at a later time.

officer actions...

Field notes are recorded while information is fresh in the investigating

officer’s mind.

identification of the involved parties...

For example, specific information for a burglary may include, but not be limited to:

• point of entry,

• point of exit,

• losses,

• types of property taken,

• description of suspect’s vehicle, or

• nature and location of evidence taken.

No matter how an investigative report is organized, it must be factual,

accurate, clear, concise, complete, and timely (FACCCT). It must provide

prosecutors, investigators, and other participants in the judicial process with

the accuracy of the information needed to do their jobs.

such as the reporting person(s), victim(s), witness(es), or suspect(s).

identification of

the crime...

property information...

Every incident is different and different crimes require different information. But certain content elements remain constant regardless of the crime or the formats used to present the information.

witness/victim statements...

Write a probation report on the suspect

in the Wheel chair assault Video

identification of

the involved parties...

establishing how the officer(s) became involved

with the specific incident and additional

background information.

crime scene

specifics...

Fundamental Content Elements of Investigative Reports

The victim was not

able to explain what

had happened

because she was in

pain due to her

broken arm.

Conclusion

including the facts that are necessary to show that the specific crime has taken place.

The victim’s arm

was broken.

A statement that:

- can be verified or proven

- has real, demonstrable

existence.

These are the

Violation and

Pre-Sentence

Reports

Questions Answered by an Effective Investigative Report

Three Step note taking process

Peace officers, correctional officers must recognize in order for an investigative report to be of used, the report must be well organized and include facts needed to establish that a crime has been committed and all actions taken by officers were appropriate.

This may include finding jobs or places to live for the people they are supervising

Opinion

An effective investigative report contains...

Opinions, facts, and conclusions

The users of an officer’s investigative report should be able to locate the

answers to six primary questions within the body of the report. These

questions are noted below.

• What?

• When?

• Where?

• Who?

• How?

• Why?

If an officer is not able to answer a question, the report should provide as

much information as possible. This information may prove vital for

investigators assigned to the case.

necessary to accurately reestablish the scene and events of the crime.

Let them talk, taking notes. NO questions during this time.

A statement that is based on the

analysis of facts and opinions.

Conclusions should always be

accompanied with the supporting

facts and opinions. Conclusions

presented without supporting

information may be considered

unwarranted

Person talking to speaks

property

information...

Factual

but

irrelevant

officer actions...

Example;

The number of fences the officer had to jump while apprehending a suspect

The victim was in

pain.

The basis for determining relevant information requires peace officers to make

the fine distinctions between an opinion, a fact, and a conclusion. The

following table illustrates these distinctions.

Pre-Sentence reports are written for a judge to use during the sentencing of a defendant.

Suspect is:

Jason Murtaw;

Priors for 211, Robbery,

on probation for that charge.

Identified in the Wheelchair assualt report, Detectives.

Mother contacted you saying Probationer was using Meth.

initial

information...

Fact

Violation Report

Using only your memory, recount exactly what you were doing from 1800 hrs. to 1900 hrs. two days ago. Write your actions as if you were taking field notes for an investigative report. How much of your account do you feel is exact? How much is speculation or assumption?

What is Parole?

“When I came out, the bike was

gone. I was really mad and started yelling and cursing. I looked up and down the street but didn’t see anyone or any signs of my bike.”

Violation reports

explain to various

users that someone

has violated terms

an conditions of

their parole or

probation.

Identify the Relevant and

Irrelevant information

Relevant and

irrelevant

information

including descriptions of all actions taken by peace officers that are related to the incident.

“I went inside my apartment to

fill my water bottle and was gone

for less than 5 minutes.”

A statement that:

- can be open to different

interpretations,

- expresses a belief not

necessarily substantiated by

proof.

When they finish, have them repeat their side of the incident

In your own words, explain what makes a fact relevant for the purposes of

an investigative report. Are all relevant details facts? Explain your

answer.

After this, repeat the story and they make additions or add clarifying input.

What are some reasons it is important to fully document within the report the officer’s reasons or rationales for taking specific actions?

Describe the possible effects on an investigation, the officer, and the officer’s department if this information is not included.

Asking clarifying questions during this time

Is the release of a prison inmate

before his full sentence has

been served.

Both write a variety

of reports. There are

two important ones.

Take out a piece of paper and answer the following questions.

“I just bought this bike from the

guy down the street a couple of

weeks ago. It wasn’t new but it

was in really good shape. After a

long ride, I parked the bike in

front of my building at the

bottom of the stairs. I didn’t

bother locking it up or anything

because I thought it would be

safe there, you know.”

The following statement is an excerpt from an investigative report. Has

the writer noted sufficient information to establish that the crime of

vandalism has been committed? Underline the information that supports

the existence of each element of the crime. If an element is not present,

identify the information that is missing.

In order for the crime of vandalism (Penal Code Section 594) to be complete, the necessary crime elements include:

- an act of a person or persons

- with malicious intent

- to deface, damage, or destroy with graffiti or other inscribed material

- personal or real property

- not their own.

The suspension

of a jail sentence

You are preparing to write the report after investigating a residential burglary where a number of expensive antiques were stolen. List the prospective users of that officer’s report.

You are an officer who has responded to a call involving a home burglary. The homeowner tells you that her son’s computer, the family’s television,and three pieces of her jewelry were taken.

List questions you can ask the homeowner that will aid you in describing the stolen property later in your report.

What is Probaion?

Why is it legally important to the officer’s

agency?

Explain what decisions will be

made or actions taken by each.

Probation and Parole

Reports

The subject has been

convicted of a crime, but

is freed from jail on restriction

placed by the court.

Report Writing Exercises

...As my partner and I approached the scene, we could see the spray painted markings on the windshield of a blue Ford Taurus, CA license number 12345, which was parked in the street in front of 9876 Rose Lane. The owner of the Taurus, Clyde Smith, who lived at 9876 Rose Lane came out of the house carrying two empty cans of spray paint that he found in

the gutter three houses down, at 9870 Rose Lane...

These restrictions

are monitored by a

probation officer.

What type of information will each be

looking for within that officer’s report?

Why should the ability to take accurate field notes and to write effective

investigative reports be personally important to a peace officer?

Sergeant Richards is reviewing a report written by Officer Young regarding an investigation of a domestic violence incident. What qualities should the sergeant look for in the report to determine if Young’s performance as a peace officer was adequate? What qualities of the report might indicate that Young’s performance was inadequate?

Consider your past experiences with conveying information in a written form. Who were the readers of your document? Were they able to understand the message you wanted them to receive from your document? What is your strongest writing skill? What areas do you have the most difficulty with?

Complete handout with the appropriate characteristics of an effective report represented by the letters FACCCT. In your own words, describe why each characteristic is important to the identified users.

Read the following narrative from an officer’s investigative report. Would it meet the FACCCT standard? If not, name the specific statements that need improvement. Describe why and how each should be improved.

GRAMMAR

While I was patrolling on the street next to the city park, I saw a man who was in the park after closing hours stumble and fall down. He tried to get up but fell down a second time. When I stopped to check on the man, he appeared to be drunk. He was carrying a bag which contained a half empty can of beer. I asked him if he had been drinking and he said he had a few beers with a friend but was now on his way home. He also told me that the path through the park was a shortcut. I asked the man for ID and he produced his driver’s license. I arrested the man because the man was drunk and had an open container of alcohol while being in the park after it was officially closed.

Example:

Active voice: I saw the inmate. “I” is the subject of the sentence. “I” is doing the act of seeing.

Active and passive voice refers to verb use. Active or passive depends on whether or not the subject of the sentence is doing the acting or is acted upon.

Passive voice: The inmate was seen by me. “The inmate” is the subject of the sentence, and is being acted upon, or “seen.”

Always use active voice; it’s better English, it is more powerful, and it takes fewer words. Active voice also eliminates some of the mystery or confusion about who did what to whom and who was involved.

Write reports using active voice

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