Criminal Tech

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CRJU 4169: Reports, the English Language, and Police Jargon

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Introduction

• Report writing is one aspect of the law enforcement profession most officers look upon with disdain.
• Report writing is an acquired skill that can be mastered in a short period of time.
• As the first officer on the scene, your response to the incident is not finished until a complete and thorough case report has been written and submitted for filing.
• It may be easy to arrest somebody, but when you do, you need to have a case that you can prove in court.

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The Case Report

• The case report is critical in capturing every significant detail of the incident.
• The report is an investigative tool utilized to find perpetrators and begin to bring some type of closure to a criminal incident.
• The case report is a legal document which can be subpoenaed into court.
• You must be able to defend every work written about the incident.
• When preparing your case report, always be thinking about your future courtroom testimony.

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Importance of the Case Report

• The case report enables others who were not at the crime scene to understand the facts that occurred at the scene.
• If it isn't written, it doesn’t exist.

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Who Might Examine Your Case Report?

• Your initial supervisor
• Chain of command (Command staff)
• Follow-up investigators
• Any officer of the court
• Judge, district attorney, defense counsel, jurors
• The media

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When Composing Your Case Report

• Think about how you would describe all of the activities that took place.
• What are the elements of the crime that will help prove your case in court?
• Is it written in proper English?
• Keep it simple.
• Were you careful of grammar and punctuation?
• Ask the question, “How do you know?”

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Agency Requirements

• Each agency has a specific format and style, which will be contained in their case reports.
• This class focuses on the common elements of writing a good case report.
• These specific elements can be transferred to any style and format that your agency may require.

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Basic Principles of the English Language (1 of 2)

• The case report should be written as a free-flowing type of document that reads as a story.
• Be concise, yet thorough.
• Avoid abstract working.
• It is best to use the first person singular style of writing in case reports.
• “I” instead of “this officer”
• Use the past tense.
• Put information in chronological order.
• Use active voice instead of passive voice.
• Put the “who” before the “what.”
• Use: Sgt. Smith placed the knife into evidence.
• Avoid: The knife was placed into evidence.

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Basic Principles of the English Language (2 of 2)

• Factual Statements
• What you observed
• What you heard
• What you stated
• What you smelled
• What you touched
• If possible, use the names and titles of the involved individuals.
• Use quotes sparingly.
• Avoid run-on sentences.
• Avoid police jargon.
• Avoid abbreviations.
• Avoid overcomplicated and sophisticated wording.
• Avoid subjective wording.
• Objective wording is essential.
• Avoid stating conclusions.

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Ethical Considerations

• Always remember that you are not the judge and the jury.
• Your mission is not to prove a suspect’s guilt, but to gather the facts and let the judicial system determine the outcome.
• You must report all facts of the case, not just those that point in one direction.

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