Help...help...report Narratives..help!

[Sig 20]

I am constantly messing up my report narratives...i just can not seem to get the thought process in order...if anyone has some examples that they could spare I SURE WOULD BE VERY APPRECIATIVE!!! Most of the problems come with BMV's, UUMv's, Theft, Asslt and Asslt w/FV. Connot ssem to get past I was dispatched to.....then I feel like I fall apart and my FTO has to verbatim to me....I need to do these on my own. SO PLEASE ANY ADVICE on where I could get some practice reports, or how you experienced officers handled this, or any examples I coud use to practice would be so GREATLY APPRECIATED by me!!! I feel like MURPHY'S LAW walking when it comes to these reports....
Thanks ahead to any and all for anything and everything!! I surely need all the help I can get!!


Stay safe out there and God Bless!!

:bounce: :confused: SIG 20

[DelC]

Make some notes before you start your report, about when, where and what. Then, do your report from your notes. If need be, write the body of the report out on notepaper and then transfer it to the report form. Didn’t they cover report writing in the academy??

[Kegan30317]

Try this.....

Forget you have a pen (or keyboard) in your hand. Pretend that you are speaking to your buddy after work. Even if you have to close your eyes and imagine that you have the phone up to your ear. Now, tell him the story of what happened. Don't worry about using too much or too little police jargon. Remember, your buddy doesn't know anything about police work, so you will have to fill in the details. Once this is done, you should have a chronilogical report. Now correct it for grammer, appropriate use of words, etc.

The basic idea is that when someone reads the report (think about people on a jury), they have to easily be able to visualize what happened. Don' t skip over major parts. For example, don't write.... I was dispatched to 300 W. Elm St. I then saw the Mr. Jones throw a knife under the bed. That does not allow a reader a clear picture of what happened. It jumped over several steps. good luck.

[Kegan30317]

One other thought. Why not pull old reports from other officers and read them. Better yet, re-write them Copy them over and see if you don't see a pattern emerge. BTW, I was wondering just like DelC.... don't they teach this in the academy?

[Kahuna5150]

I don't really care for this style of report writing, but a lot of the new officers in my department, (and all over for that matter) are usuing a new style of writing reports. (New to me, but I guess it's the way most write now). I will try to give you a small example for lets say a shoplifting.

** Source of Activity **

Dispatched to ABC Market to the report of an adult male subject being detained for shoplifting. Myself and Officer X arrived at the store at 2100 and made contact with thes store manager (W/RP) Bill Smith in the back office where he was detaining (A) John Doe.

** Statements **

Smith advised me he was working in the back of the store stocking shelves when he noticed Doe near the film display counter, (isle 12). Doe selected several packages of film and opened them in front of the display. Smith watch Doe remove the film from the packages and conceal them in his front right pants pocket. Doe then left the empty boxes on the display shelf.

Smith followed Doe toward the front exit of the store. Doe walked past the cash registers and at no time made any attempt to pay for the film in his pocket. Doe walked outside the store where Smith followed him and contacted him. Smith told Doe he needed to come back inside the store to talk about the merchandise he had failed to pay for. Doe replied, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have done it" and reached in his pocket handing Smith 3 rolls of 36 exp 35mm Fuji Film. Smith walked with Doe to the back office of the store and call the police.

Doe was identified by me with his CA state driver's license. Doe was advised of his Miranda Right's which he said he understood. Doe agreed to talk with my by saying, "yes" when asked. Doe told me he was stupid for taking the film, but he needed it for his daughter's birthday party and he could not afford to buy it. Doe had a $1.00 bill on his person with no other check book, credit cards or means of paying for any items.

** Evidence **

3 rolls of Fuji 35mm film. Photographed at the scene and released to Smith. Empty film boxes were also photographed and released to Smith at the scene.

** Synopsis **

Doe entered the store with the intent to steal the film as he had come to the store specifically to get film for his daughter's birthday. As Doe only had $1.00 on his person and no other means to pay for the merchandise, Doe was charged with Burglary for entering the business with the intent to steal.

There are a few other things some guys put in their reports, but that pretty much covers everything. Depends on what your FTO wants or is looking for, but I see a lot of that type of format now. Personally I just tell the story in my reports. (Drove here, talked to this guy, saw that, did this, end of story).

Good luck!

Kahuna

[Sig 20]

Thanks to all who have replied! Just a quick thought on the report writing from the Academy....yes, they actually did have a scheduled class, but it kept getting cancelled and changed around...so we did not really get to much out of it. What I did learn does not even seem to correspond along the lines of what my FTO expects on my narratives. I'm not trying to seem stupid, I just really feel like I need help, and I do not want to fail. I TRUELY APPRECIATE ALL THE HELP I GET ON THIS BOARD because for the most part I really have no where else to turn to sometimes. Again, thank you one and all, the support I get is invaluable as is the advice! I hope that someday I may be able to return the favor!


:bounce:
SIG 20

[nclawdawg2001]

Even know I'm still a rookie this has helped me alot, go with these and it should get everything you need in a report.

Who
What
Where
When
How
With What
Why
With Whom
How much

Hope that helps.

[dano1427]

Report writing styles vary with Departments...Also, my academy had a lot of hours in report writing (based on POST/State standards), but "real" reports are written very differently. I just use basic paragraphs, with a similar pattern:
--dispatch, loaction, arrival, med treatment, etc
--statements
--transport, booked or cited
--evidence dispo...

Traffic accidents and DUI's use a slightly different format...

My best advice: PRACTICE...during any situation, even if its cleaning the cat's litter box, write it down like a report, then ask someone else to read it, adn see if they understand what went on. SAVE your old reports to use as templates, or if there are some friendly officers, as them if you could have a copy of some of their reports to read...

--dan

[BVG819]

As an FTO, I gave a very general guideline for doing reports.

Paragraph 1- "On date/time I was dispatched...."

Paragraph 2- "The victim advised me....". If I spoke to several
people, they would each get a paragraph.

Paragraph 3- "I examined the 'blank', and noted the following:"
I would write down what I observed, i.e. broken
window, bleeding from a 2" laceration over the
right eye, etc.

Paragraph 4- "At this time, I...". Write down what actions you
took, such as made an arrest, attempted to locate
witnesses/suspects, contacted a detective.

Paragraph 5- Write a conclusion as necessary.

Obviously, some reports require more paragraphs, and others can be condensed slightly, but this is a good start.

[GPD840]

Now I can relate to them (instructor) not really going over the narratives very well. My intructor went line by line over the 'forms' part were you check boxes and what not, but for the narratives he just told us to use only the facts. What's up with that? But I appreciate everyones help on this topic.

One More Thing---- On Milwaukee's report there's a section on the arrest report that says include the elements of the crime- this is suppose to be a really short narrative that establishes probable cause and what not- i'm really stumped on how to write this part...it need not be more than a paragraph.

thanks guys/gals

[IL Lawman]

A number of our rooks have this problem also. I think that the academies EVERYWHERE don't pay enough attention to this. It's VERY important as it can make or break your case in court.
Rule #1: Keep it as short as possible. You're not writing the great American novel here.
Rule #2: Avoid like the plague the use of the word "stated" unless you KNOW first hand what was said & you're willing to testify to it in court..and you'd better be 1000% RIGHT! A little mistake here may well throw your entire report into question, especially if it's an inculpatory comment "Ya got me copper, I did it."
Rule #3: Nouns & verbs must run in proper order and tense.
e.g. Not "He do it" but "He did it". etc
Rule #4: Be careful using pronouns such as he, she, they.
Instead refer to the parties by surname. It sounds repetitive, I know, but you'll be glad you did once you get into complicated ones with numerous hes and shes.
Rule#5: Avoid run on sentences. If the sentence looks too long, break it up into two seperate sentences.
Rule#6: Know where you're going with the report. If it's a simple theft, it shouldn't take more than a few lines. Don't "prattle on" forever. Say what you've got to say, then close it out.
Rule#7: If it's going to be a lengthy report, make an outline first. Use it to guide you along (rule #6) so you don't miss anything important. As you write it out, then all you'll have to do is expound upon what's already in the outline.
Rule #8: PLEASE don't put at the end of the report "Nothing further to report". Good Lord, we hope not! If there was, you'd include it, right? Or at least we hope you would! :-)
These are a few of the things that I catch in my rooks' reports.
There are some books & videos out there on report writing which your PD or library may be able to get for you.
Good luck!

[Kegan30317]

One other thought. Take good notes in the field. They will help you write the report later on.

[BVG819]

And another thought... What ever you do, DON'T write what another officer did, at least not in specific terms. Here is an example. I used to be in a jump-out unit where we made quite a few drug arrests. If we stopped a large group and made numerous arrests, one officer would be the primary report taker for the incident. Each officer who did anything related to the case (recovered evidence, observed a transaction, etc.) would write a supplement narrative. I remember one case where I recovered 2 baggies of marijuana from a defendant's right front pants pocket. I wrote my supplement indicating the same. When it came to court, I found out that the primary report writer indicated that I found 3 baggies of marijuana in a jacket pocket. It was an honest mistake, because we stopped 5 people and all of them had drugs. Obviously, this didn't look good to the prosecutor, but we still won the case.

If you have to write what another officer did, write as little as possible in the vaguest of terms. Write "Ofc. Smith initiated a traffic stop and arrested the driver. I noticed the front seat passenger ducking down and reaching under his seat. I conducted a pat-down of the front seat passenger and felt a hard object in his waistband....". Don't go into great detail as to what made Ofc. Smith intiate a traffic stop, what he saw that made him suspicious, why he made an arrest. That's for Ofc. Smith to write in his report. You should concentrate on your actions and your arrest, because that's what you will be testifying about in court.

[Samurai004]

Kahuna5150 stated in the above post:
Doe replied, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have done it"

I am about to start the academy and I might be way off here, but I just want to check out my idea to see if it makes sense...

Shouldn't the report have read,



Smith then told myself and Officer X that Doe replied, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have done it".

I would have said that Smith told me that because I did not actually hear Doe admit to the wrongdoing. Does that make any sense?:confused:

Take care you all,
James

[RDF105]

This may sound dumb, but when I do mine I pretend I am watching a video or movie of myself in my head. Then I go from there. I also make a flow chart or timeline of events to help organize me. List all parties involved with heading, victim, susp, witness, method, etc
Ryan

[tcsd1236]

Good notes are a must. Before leaving the scene, YOU must understand what occured, so that you can put it on paper. If you don't understand, ask the complainant/ victim more questions until you DO understand.

As far as actually writing the report, I'll give you the same advice that I give people who give me a voluntary statement: it's like going to a play. The play starts with an opening act in which the charecters and storyline are introduced. Then the main body, or acts II, III, IV, etc, IN sequence. Then a closing act to wrap up the threads. You don't go to the play and have it start with the final act, unless you have one doped out playwright.

Bottom line, anyone who picks up your report needs to understand that a certain thing happened in a certain sequence , involving certain people and events. Read it and reread it until you think that a complete stranger will understand what happened. Don't be afraid to rewrite a report. Although it means more work, and the frequency with which you need to do that should diminish, a well-written report will save you a lot of ass-ache with the bosses and in court. And be sure to write each and every report as if THAT case is the one which will go to trial. You never know which case can come back to haunt you if its poorly documented.

Part of your problem may be the way you write the reports. I need to go into a "bubble" to write my reports. If I try to just jot them off while sitting in my car, for instance, I find that I do less than stellar work. I have to sit down and actually think the things through so I can get it on paper in the manner I described.

[jaybird]

This is a great thread.
I've really learned a lot reading this.

I think this thread has as much good information as you can get from any academy session.

Jay

[kels]

If it is going to be a LONG report, do like they told you
in english class. Start with an outline of what happened.
With computers, it is easy to cut and paste and move stuff
around in the outline.
If you are writing a report on a computer, remember to
save the report from time to time.
I lost a 6 page report when I hit spell check one time.
Yes, please use spell check. Also fix any sentence
fragments if possible.
After you finish a report, print a copy. I find it easier to
proof read for mistakes.
Correct these mistakes.
See if you can find someone else to proof read the report.
One of my dispatchers is an ex- school teacher. Not much
gets past her.
Try to write in the first person. The OLD days of writing
as a third person went the way of the clam shell holster.
(I HOPE)
REMEMBER, you know what happened.
You want them to know what happened.
Write like you are telling it to a fourth grader.
This is the rumored IQ level of a lawyer.
If you dont put it in the report,
it didnt happen.
It will get easier to do in time.

[krellum]

Even though my report-writing differs slightly from what I think this thread is aimed at, I will give my unsolicited 2 cents anyway:

The who, what, where, when, etc. is the best advice (in my opinion) for any LE report - be it of an incident, interview, surveillance, whatever. The most important thing to remember is that too much information is generally better than too little. I'm obviosuly talking about information that is RELEVANT, of course.

For writing in general, try to be detailed, but not wordy. This sounds tricky, but really isn't. Don't use words or phrases that are not easily understood or that you think "sound good" in order to impress someone. Chances are, you'll be using a word/phrase with which you are unfamiliar, may use it incorrectly or out of context, and will give the reader the wrong impression.

Don't use common phrases that are TOO common (especially common phrases that are grammatically incorrect to begin with) like "he said he didn't have no change for the bus" unless you are quoting someone directly. Better to say "the subject stated that he did not have enough change for the bus." This can be a problem here in the South, because I obviously cannot convey what was said clearly by using "local speech" - this is not to be offensive to anyone, but a report full of "ain't" and "he done got himself a job cuttin' cribs up thar in the holler" isn't going to cut it, unless you quote the person. By the way, "cribs" are supports used in a coal mine - one of my guys wrote a report recently and did not explain that to me (the reader) in the report - you need to EXPLAIN something that is unfamiliar.

This brings me to an important point: I am of the opinion that a direct quote is worth it's weight in gold, but you have to take excellent notes (because we all know that a quote is what that person said, VERBATIM). I know for a fact that any quote I write down in my notes is what that person said and I can testify to it - you should be able to as well. I feel that it's well worth the time to write the sentence out word for word and use the quote.

On that subject - TAKE NOTES! Even if you have a steel-trap memory, you may get your a&* in a wringer for NOT taking them. I know that if I were a defense attorney, I would play hell with any officer who did not take notes: " so, you just wrote the entire report from memory, right officer?" "Is your memory 100% accurate?" How many things hapened from the time of the incident to the time you wrote the report which could have distracted you?"

Which reminds me - try to write the report as soon after the event as possible - this way, the details are fresh in your mind and you will be able to be more descriptive than if you did it the next day, etc. After I interview someone or document some event, even though I took notes (and I understand that sometimes you cannot take them; if that's the case, this step is even more important), I sit in my car and sketch out any additional notes and organize them a bit better. After a bit of practice, what you end up with is a basic outline of what your report will look like. All you have to do when you get back to the office is plug it all in to the generic report.

I know I'm rambling now, so I'll stop. If anyone has any specific report-writing questions that I have not covered, feel free to PM me - keep in mind that my reports are purely narrative - no forms or anything. As an investgator, I usually do not write reports of traffic stops or specific incidents, but many aspects of writing are universal.

Remember that your reports are a reflection of the way you do your job - how detail-oriented you are and how complete your investigation is. At some point, a specific report can make or break an investigation/prosecution, so it IS important.



k