A Guide to Writing Quality Police Reports

Introduction

PART 1 – FUNDAMENTALS OF POLICE REPORT WRITING

Chapter 1  The Purpose of Police Reports

Chapter 2  Types of Reports

Chapter 3  Preparation

Chapter 4  Writing Chronological Narratives

Chapter 5  Categorical Narratives

Chapter 6  Revising

Chapter 7  Editing

Chapter 8  Submitting and After-Submission Concerns

PART 2 – PRACTICAL EXERCISES

Exercise 1  Completion of Citizen Contact (Field Interview)

Exercise 2  Found Property

Exercise 3  Damage to Squad

Exercise 4  Burglary Alarm

Exercise 5  Criminal Damage to Property

Exercise 6  Municipal Citation – Disorderly Conduct

Exercise 7  Municipal Citation – Theft

Exercise 8  Domestic Abuse Narrative

Exercise 9A  Emergency Detention – Mental Health

Exercise 9B  Emergency Detention – Alcohol Incapacitation

Exercise 10  Disorderly Conduct

Exercise 11A  Missing Person – Endangered Narrative Report

Exercise 11B  Missing Person/Runaway Narrative Report

Exercise 12  Motor Vehicle Theft

Exercise 13A  Burglary Report

Exercise 13B  Supplement to a Burglary Report

Exercise 14A  Search Warrant Affidavit

Exercise 14B  Search Warrant Return Report

Appendix A  Course Competencies

Appendix B  Search Warrant Affidavit Example

References

“Written by two police officers, this book does an excellent job moving beyond the traditional "how to" report writing textbook that we often see permeating the textbook market on the subject. It incorporates activities in the form of a workbook, on several important aspects of creating written reports, which is such a valuable tool in my skills-based report writing class. This allows me to teach my future police officer students through doing, which lends itself perfectly to an active learning environment. I highly endorse this book and would recommend it to any instructor looking to add practical learning to a class such as mine. Terrific!”

-Jennifer Hulvat, College of Lake County

"The overall concept of this work is both worthwhile and important.  When I first heard of this project, I was excited to see the outcome because the authors were an experienced police officer and an academic. I particularly like the fact that the book was designed to focus more on the 'application' of professional writing in criminal justice (with a bent toward policing) because I teach an “academic” writing class that explains the why; what was missing was explaining the how. This book is definitely going to be beneficial to those who teach a special section on technical writing or career-specific writing, as it is chock full of great advice, best practices for professional writing, and plenty of opportunity for students to practice what they are learning. Because one of my primary objectives in teaching is the development of critical thinking, I support the author’s “integrated” approach.  They introduce a concept, provide an opportunity to give the idea a bit of practice, then move on to another topic.  With the book being arranged the way that it is, the entire second half is devoted to practical application—which equates to actual practice."

- Milt Hill, Stephen F. Austin State University

"The learning objectives are tightly drawn and closely connected to the text, inasmuch as any textbook can prepare a recruit for the realities of actually writing the types of reports they will be required to complete. The profusion of activities is a very nice element of this manuscript. It pushes the learner to think about many different types of situations - and the kind of documentation they might require."

- Mathew Pate, University at Albany