Types of Reports Assignment
Addison Emr
The School of Criminal Justice, Liberty University
B-05-202330: Criminal Justice 231
Professor Jonathon Zemke
June 17, 2023
Law enforcement officers will write many different reports in their career, each one will
vary from the next. Each report can be different depending on the size of the area or municipality
they work in. Some of the most common reports officers will write are reports for traffic crashes,
traffic summons, misdemeanor crimes, felony crimes, domestic violence calls, incident reports,
and suspicious circumstances. No matter how large or small the crime may seem a report always
has to be written so it is documented. These reports must be accurate, well written and detailed.
Traffic summons, crashes and tickets are just handful of the reports law enforcement officers will
have to write. There are two types, directed and proactive. Directed, is where an officer enforces
laws at a specific location when they are directed to do so. Proactive is when an officer enforces
laws without any specific direction given. Some of the benefits that come out of these
interactions are that they “accounted for more than 43% of the contacts between law enforcement
and citizens in the United States” (Morris & Merson 2016, pg. 62). Traffic Crashes are another
type of report that is done when an officer is dispatched to a motor vehicle accident. These
reports are important because they help to prevent future crashes “good traffic crash
investigations can assist traffic engineers in recognizing potentially dangerous intersections or
roadways” (Morris & Merson, pg. 64). When making reports especially if they continue to occur
in the same spots, it shows that something may need to be done to help prevent future accidents
in that area It is important that officers are truthful, correct and detailed in these reports because
they could be used in court.
Misdemeanor crimes are used for offenses that carry an attached sentence of a year or
less. Different states may have different classes of misdemeanors, some of them are, “Class A
misdemeanors punishable by up to a year of imprisonment, Class B misdemeanors punishable by
up to six months imprisonment, Class C misdemeanors punishable by up to 30 days
imprisonment (Bieber Forbes.com). When filling out misdemeanor reports, it is important to
remember “These forms have a wealth of information on the types and number of crimes
occurring in the jurisdiction” (Morris & Merson 2016, pg. 65). A felony crime is a crime that
could be punishable by death or more than one year in prison. Felony crime reports must be
detailed and accurate as they are likely to be used in court by defense attorneys. When writing
felony crime reports, these reports, specifically need to be ensured they are “accurate, thorough,
and contain all of the pertinent information involving the case” (Morris & Merson 2016, pg. 70).
Domestic Violence crimes are violent crimes that occur within a family and were viewed
by law enforcement agencies as a family problem rather than a crime. For these types of crimes
most of the responding officers do complete the report when actual violence is involved. “In
criminal law, the crime of domestic violence may occur in one or more incidents. It may include
an attempted assault or threats of imminent physical harm" (Mascolo, J., 2023). Domestic
violence reports build and create a record. They also emphasize “the potential for devastating
consequences of domestic violence offenses” (Morris & Merson 2016, pg. 70). When on scene it
is important as an officer to remember to be unbiased which gives both parties the chance to
innocent until proven guilty. Although domestic violence is something that most can brush and
pretend it is nothing, as a law enforcement officer it is important to remember that those injured
or hurt in these types of cases may want to hide it in fear and not give any information. It
pertinent that we treat these calls with the upmost respect and sympathy for whoever is involved.
Incident reports are a type of report that captures, record, and manages, an incident
occurrence. These include injuries, property damage, or a security incident. They reports are
utilized for incidents, “when no other type of form fits the specific characteristics of the incident”
(Morris & Merson 2016, pg. 70). Most of the time writing an incident report is not going to be
for something criminal, it is still important that all information is correct and detailed and written
properly. Suspicious circumstance reports are used only when the element of the crime cannot be
established during an initial investigation. Most of the time these reports are involved with a
non-criminal act. An example of these could abandoned packages, backpacks, and briefcases left
in unusual highly populated areas. These reports are valuable as they can be used by other
officers to help increase their presence in specific areas to stop potential criminal activity. When
the intelligence needs to be documented, these forms are important to record accurate and timely
information for future reference (Morris & Merson 2016, pg. 75). With this, it can be seen that
both incident and suspicious circumstance reports are mainly used for non- criminal activity but
could be used for an investigation at a late time, this makes it important that all information is
detailed and accurate.
In conclusion, there can be many ways of writing these reports depending on what
agency or municipality you work for, and how their report types may vary from others. It is
important to write accurate and legible information as these are legal documents and can be used
in any court room during a court case. Law enforcement officers are the voices for victims and
the ones that us on our worst days. In Colossians 2:23 it says, “Whatever you do, work heartily,
as for the Lord and not for men,” (English Standard Version, 2001). As Christians we should
work for the lord to uphold our integrity in all we do. When it comes to report writing, officers
have the power to let them walk or lock them up, we protect the citizens of this country. It is
important as officers that we are truthful in our reports and pay close attention to the detail that
needs to go into each and every report.
References
Christy Bieber, J. D. (2023, June 14). . What is a misdemeanor? legal definition and examples
Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/criminal-defense/what-is-a-misdemeanor/
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). ESV Online. https://esv.literalword.com/
Mascolo, J. (2023, June 2). . What is the definition of domestic violence?
Findlaw. https://www.findlaw.com/family/domestic-violence/what-is-domestic-
violence.html Links to an external site.
Morris, K., & Merson, M. (2016). Report Writing for Law Enforcement and Corrections
Professionals. Pearson Education
(US). https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/books/9780133913347 Links to an external site.
