What your prosecutor doesn't know could hurt you.

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If you can have another o�cer read your report with a critical eye you might be able to correct or improve your report. (Photo/PoliceOne)

What your prosecutor doesn’t know could hurt you Report writing is not a chore, it is the best tool for avoiding lost cases, lost lawsuits and in this current era, lost careers

Jul 24, 2020

As was often the case, sta�ng was short and I was on call and fast asleep when I awoke to my "Hill Street Blues" theme song ring tone. Dispatch was reporting two suspicious males vandalizing vehicles on my campus.

It was about 0400 when I drove up in my personal car to see two young men walking past the student activity center. I stopped, identi�ed myself and asked for identi�cation.

Since the car vandalism report mentioned possibly slashing tires, I patted both down while waiting for con�rmation on warrants. Without going into detail, my detention was outside of Terry V. Ohio. However, in Colorado, there is a speci�c statute requiring persons on campus to provide identi�cation to campus o�cials. Therefore, college campuses are not like random street corners, but government property over which certain broader caretaking and monitoring is allowed.

The case was dismissed. The prosecutor did not cite the statute that made my stop lawful, and the judge was unaware of that speci�c law. My error was assuming that the prosecutor knew the law, so I did not cite it in my report. Lesson learned.

An o�cer in my county followed a vehicle in the wee hours of the morning that turned onto a seldom-used graveled road, then on to a worn path o� the road. Knowing that some irrigation equipment was in the area and that there had been reports of poaching in the area, the o�cer made an investigatory stop resulting in the �nding of methamphetamine in the vehicle. The district court dismissed the case and the prosecutor appealed citing the o�cer’s reasonable suspicion. The case ended up in the state supreme court where the o�cer’s actions were vindicated, and the prosecutor’s position upheld.

INFORMATION GATHERING

Being well informed about your patrol area is crucial. If it is a new assignment or even a new shift in the same patrol area, be sure to absorb as much information as you can about recent activity. Making a stop on a vehicle or pedestrian may be more solidly reasonable if you know there has been speci�c criminal activity that you can articulate relative to

Topics  Patrol Issues

Chief Joel F. Shults, Ed.D. Passion for the Job

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/392/1/

https://www.police1.com/law-enforcement-topics/

https://www.police1.com/patrol-issues/

https://www.police1.com/columnists/joel-shults/

your contact or interview. Pay attention to brie�ngs, past activity logs, seasoned o�cers, intel reports, crime analytics and training bulletins.

In the county o�cer’s case I referenced, the deputy knew what was in season for hunting, knew that copper was a theft target in irrigation equipment and knew what activity was unusual in his patrol area. When his conclusions and actions came under scrutiny, he was able to point to clearly articulated reasons for his actions.

Corrections o�cers and jailers are tremendous sources of information on persons, habits and contraband. Knowing where criminals hide their contraband and weapons and being able to cite the source of your information can be key in reporting on your investigation.

REPORT WRITING

Providing information is essential to give prosecutors all the information they need. While there is a bit of risk involved in citing case law in a report it is helpful to cite statutes, policy, and recent trainings and brie�ngs. The danger in justifying one’s actions under a speci�c case is that you may sound presumptuous to attorneys and judges, and you are subject to a diversional attack on the case you cited by defense attorneys who love doing that kind of thing.

Citing laws that you leveraged in your investigation but that may not show up in a booking or charging sheet is also helpful. Keep in mind that you want to guide the reader to see, hear, feel and experience the same things that you did so that they will arrive at the same conclusion and actions that you did.

Thinking like a defense attorney as you review the report is a challenging but necessary discipline. It is natural to assume that you did the right things for the right reasons and avoided any oversight or misconduct. It is often natural to assume that your actions were so obviously right that no one would imagine your intentions were inappropriate or unlawful.

A good defense attorney looks for any opportunity to impugn your character or professionalism, so don’t give them an easy opportunity.

O�cers still report that a person “acted suspiciously” rather than articulating how they concluded that. “The subject was walking in the shadows rather than in the lighted area, held his arm to his side in an unnatural gait as though holding something, did not look toward my patrol car as I passed, and was within three blocks of two reported yard ornament thefts reported within that last two days” is much better, citing multiple factors or something very obvious.

Defense attorneys will pick on everything you articulate, but they won’t be able to convincingly create hypotheticals as easily as if you had left gaps in your reasoning. This does not mean that you are looking for loopholes or calculating ways to falsify your report but putting �nishing touches on a work product that may someday �nd itself an exhibit before the Supreme Court.

ARTICULATING THE NEGATIVES

I know you need to get back on the street to the next 911 call, but if you can have another o�cer read your report with a critical eye you might be able to correct or improve your report.

Body-worn cameras don’t show hostile persons in the area or the car that pulled up while you were making a contact that caused you to move a subject. If you don’t list any witnesses, but fail to state that you attempted to �nd witnesses but there were none or they �ed, you’ll answer the question of why there were no witnesses interviewed. If you had no available backup, say so. Since we now know that everyone is a police procedure expert, o�cers must anticipate even the most foolish of objections and address them with the facts of the case.

Report writing is not a chore, it is the best tool for avoiding lost cases, lost lawsuits and in this current era, lost careers.

About the author Joel Shults operates Street Smart Training and is the founder of the National Center for Police Advocacy. He retired as Chief of Police in Colorado. Over his 30- year career in uniformed law enforcement and criminal justice education, Joel served in a variety of roles: academy instructor, police chaplain, deputy coroner, investigator, community relations o�cer, college professor and police chief, among others. Shults earned his doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Missouri, with a graduate degree in Public Services Administration and bachelors in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Central Missouri. In addition to service with the U.S. Army military police and CID, Shults has done observational studies with over 50 police agencies across the country. He has served on a number of advisory and advocacy boards, including the Colorado POST curriculum committee, as a subject matter expert.

His latest book The Badge and the Brain is available at www.joelshults.com.

Follow Joel on Twitter @ChiefShults.

Contact Joel Shults

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