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Common Mistakes in PoliceCommon Mistakes in Police Report WritingReport Writing

Jun 21, 2021

Common Mistakes in Police Report Writing Posted By Brick�eld & Donahue   

What Could Happen if My Police Report is Poorly Written? Police reports are the backbone of the criminal justice system, as they lay the foundation for a criminal case. For this reason,

police reports are considered legal documents that only trained o��cials can complete. Details matter, as any mistake made

in a police report could a�fect the entire case. Luckily, attorneys are skilled at identifying inaccuracies, �laws, and other issues

with police reports, as with any legal document pertaining to the case for that matter.

As you can see, police reports matter. They essentially trigger the criminal justice process. For this reason, it is important to

understand the common mistakes found in police reports. Police o��cers make mistakes as all people do, but considering the

gravity and signi�cance of their job, they cannot take their responsibilities lightly. One error on their police report could land

an innocent person behind bars, increase the charges against a defendant, and ultimately, ruin a person’s life. As such, our

defense experts at Brick�eld & Donahue explain some common mistakes made in police reports below:

Grammar, spelling, punctuation errors: O��cers tend to make mistakes such as putting periods and commas outside of

quotation marks when they should be placed inside the quotation marks. Other mistakes include capitalization errors, such

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as capitalizing directions like “north,” “south,” “east,” or “west,” when they should be lowercased. When referring to regions in

the US, however, you may capitalize “West,” “East,” etc.

Jargon: Using unfamiliar words in a police report paves the way for confusion and thus, complications in a criminal case.

Using “big” words that are di��cult to comprehend could result in ambiguities, which is the last thing needed in a police

report. Police o��cers should write their reports according to how average people speak rather than how professionals,

experts, and scholars speak. For instance, instead of writing “uttered,” o��cers should put “told.” Instead of writing “residence,”

write “home.”

Writing in passive voice: For context, passive voice is a grammatical construction in which the subject is acted on by the verb.

Active voice, which is the preferred style of writing in police reports, the subject acts on the verb. With that being said,

o��cers who write in passive voice tend to omit key details of a reported crime. Passive voice can make it di��cult to

understand who did what. For instance, “The suspect was taken into custody at the Bergen County Jail” is written in passive

voice. But who took the suspect into custody? Instead, this sentence should be written as “O��cer John Doe took the suspect

into custody at the Bergen County Jail.”

Leaving out the results of the investigation: Another common mistake police make in their reporting is leaving out critical

details of an investigation, including the results. Some o��cers may write thorough and detailed accounts of their

investigation but fail to report the results. For example, a police o��cer may write, “I searched for �ngerprints on the

doorknob of the master bedroom” but fail to write whether or not they found �ngerprints.

Writing vaguely: As we said before, details are essential in police reporting. Although it can be a tedious task, reporting

every detail of the incident is critical in the criminal procedure. It is the police o��cer’s responsibility, a�ter all. Thus, it is

important for police reports to be comprehensive and thorough. Reporting that a witness is “uncooperative” is not good

enough. It’s too vague. A better way to report the uncooperative witness is to write something like, “The witness avoided eye

contact and stated that he/she refused to answer questions without their attorney present.”

Bias: Making assumptions is a big “no-no” in police reporting. Even if a suspect demonstrates qualities that align with a

certain pro�le, that doesn’t mean they �t the pro�le. While implicit biases are natural, police o��cers don’t always recognize

when they are exercising implicit biases in their reports. As a result, o��cers may write statements like, “the suspect appeared

like they were gang-a��liated,” or “The suspect’s baggy, oversized clothing indicate a possible the�t o�fense.”

Mistakes of fact: Factual inaccuracies on police reports are more common than you may think. Police o��cers may record

incorrect times, license plate numbers, driver’s license numbers, names, addresses, and other critical details needed in a

criminal case. As a result, an attorney can challenge the validity of a report as well as the integrity of a police o��cer to help

get their client's charges reduced or dropped altogether. Don’t believe that an entire case will be dismissed as a result of a

minor error in a police report, however, these �laws could work in a defendant’s favor.

Facing Charges? We Can Help.

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Free Consultation

Available 24/7

(201) 574-7919 Home Firm Overview Attorney Pro�les Criminal Defense Blog FAQ Contact Us

https://www.brickdonlaw.com/

https://twitter.com/brickdonlaw

https://www.facebook.com/BrickfieldDonahue/

https://goo.gl/maps/QJSCUugA9DH2

https://www.linkedin.com/company/2403521

https://www.brickdonlaw.com/case-evaluation/

tel:(201) 574-7919

https://www.brickdonlaw.com/

https://www.brickdonlaw.com/firm-overview/

https://www.brickdonlaw.com/attorney-profiles/

https://www.brickdonlaw.com/criminal-defense/

https://www.brickdonlaw.com/blog/

https://www.brickdonlaw.com/faq/

https://www.brickdonlaw.com/contact-us/

If you were accused of a crime, one of the �rst things our lawyers will do is examine the police report �led against you. We

can scrutinize the details of the report and �nd ways to minimize your charges and penalties as a result. To get started on

your defense, get in touch with our attorneys online or at (201) 574-7919.