Criminal Investigations 9th Ed - Ch 3 - Writing Effective Reports

Question 1

The primary purposes of reports are vast and include the following:

Answer 1

o Examining the past
o Keeping other police officers informed
o Continue investigations
o Prepare court cases
o Provide courts with relevant facts
o Coordinate law enforcement activities
o Plan for future law enforcement services
o Evaluate individual officer and department performance
o Refresh a witness’s memory about what he or she said occurred
o Refresh the investigating officer’s memory during the trial
o Compile statistics on crime in a given jurisdiction
o Provide information to insurance investigators.

Question 2

Reports are often read by:

Answer 2

o	Other officers
o	Supervisors
o	Attorneys & judges
o	Jurors
o	City officials
o	Insurance adjusters and investigators
o	Citizens
o	Media (reporters)

Question 3

Some of the most common problems with police reports include:

Answer 3

o Confusing or unclear sentences
o Conclusions, assumptions and opinions
o Extreme wordiness and overuse of police jargon and abbreviations
o Missing or incomplete information
o Misspelled words and grammatical or mechanical errors
o Referring to “above” information

Question 4

When writing a report, the officer should

Answer 4

plan in advance.

Question 5

Reports are full of facts as well as _______. An inference is a conclusion based on facts. While a fact can be proven “true or false”, an inference can only be found _________ or __________.

Answer 5

inferences

believable or unbelievable (sound or unsound).

Question 6

An __________ is also referred to as conclusionary language. Avoid conlsuionary language by SHOWING, not simply telling.

Answer 6

interference

Question 7

________ _________ may also lead to inaccuracies in your report.

Answer 7

Conclusionary language

Question 8

The primary ______ of the investigator is to provide the facts and information needed to show that a crime occurred.

Answer 8

concern

Question 9

________ means making every word count without leaving out important facts. (Eliminating wordiness)

Answer 9

Concise

Question 10

• A report should be _________, meaning non-opinionated, fair, and impartial.

Answer 10

objective

Question 11

A report should be written in the _____ tense, _____ person, _____ voice.

Answer 11

past

first

active

Question 12

An example of writing in the past tense:

Answer 12

The suspect worked at John Doe trucking.

Question 13

An example of writing in the first person is:

Answer 13

I responded to the call.

Question 14

An example of writing in an active voice is:

Answer 14

I wrote the report.

Question 15

Writing in the “______ voice” results in a “whodunit” moment that can have serious consequences in court.

Answer 15

“PASSIVE”

Example: The report was written.

Question 16

An example of writing in the past tense, first person, active voice would be:

Answer 16

“I was dispatched to a call. Upon arriving, I made contact with the suspect. The suspect worked at John Doe trucking. Upon gathering all of the necessary paperwork, I wrote the report.”

Question 17

Avoid sentences such as:

Answer 17

“On the above date and time, I responded to the above address to investigate the above listed offense.”

Question 18

Technology called the “_________ _______” recognizes handwriting, taking what an officer has written and converting it into an electronic form.”

Answer 18

“Intuitive Pen”

Question 19

“This officer responded to the call” uses the _____ person form of writing.

Answer 19

Third

Question 20

Avoid “____ _______” in your reports (police jargon, excessive abbreviations, etc)

Answer 20

Cop Speak

Question 21

A key factor in _______ is speed. Officer need to slow down when writing.

Answer 21

legibility

Question 22

Always ensure that you ________ your reports.

Answer 22

proofread