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Reviewer in
INVESTIGATIVE POLICE REPORT WRITING

CONCEPT
The concept of the Investigative Report Writing is to establish a language that could be adopted to reach
the levels of the formal and the informal dictions. Formal diction is the language of the scholars, intellectuals,
poets, doctorals and even politicians. This includes the use of vocabularies that have deep meanings, high-level
phrases or words and/or use of technical terms. On the other hand, informal diction is the fashionable, colloquial,
and/or disrespectful informality use of slang and jargon.

CHARACTERISTICS OF POLICE REPORT

A. CLARITY - is the comprehensibility of the idea. The writer must consider that the reader does not have enough
time to look for the meaning of the words or phrases he used in the communication. The writer has an
obligation to service his reader by letting him easily understand what he wanted to convey.

Rules to observe in Clarity:

1. Avoid impressive expressions

  The use of “big words”, “bombastic”, “highbrow”, “gobbledygook”, and “euphemistic” words
should be avoided in the correspondence.

“ The most appropriate action shall be done.” 1

 2. Avoid unwitting language transfer

Clarity is understanding the idea to be expressed and conveying it through the level that could easily be
understood. In some cases, trying to know what to say, some writers try to substitute literally local dialect into
English language. Unconsciously, his written communication becomes literally deviated from the English rules,
hence resulting to uncertainty and losing direction in the process.

3. Avoid illiteracy

The indefinite article “a” is used with words beginning with sounded “h” like “ a holy day ” , “a
house ” and “u” pronounced as letter “y” such as “a union” , “a university” ; and “an” to be used before silent
“h” like “an honor” , “an honest” and in “u” being pronounced as “uh”. “A” is generally used for words beginning
with consonants and “an” is for words beginning with vowels.

COMMON USAGE PROBLEMS

AMONG and BETWEEN

Guideline. Use between when you are drawing a connection involving only two persons or things. Use
among when three or more persons or things are involved.

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CAN and MAY

Guideline. Use can when you mean the ability to do something. Use may when you are seeking
permission or using the word as a synonym for might.

GOOD and WELL

Guideline. Use good when the sentence calls for an ADJECTIVE (especially after the linking verb feel). Use
well when the sentence calls for an ADVERB, but with one key exception: when you are describing the state of
someone’s health.

FAMOUS and INFAMOUS

Guideline. Use famous to describe anybody who has achieved wide renown. Use infamous to describe
famous people with notorious reputations.

ALL TOGETHER and ALTOGETHER

Guideline. Use altogether when you mean “ entirely ” or “ all told ” . Use all together when you mean
“ assembled ” or “ all in a group ” .

BRING and TAKE

Guideline. Use bring when the act of carrying or escorting is directed toward the speaker or to a place
normally identified with the speaker. Use take when the act of carrying is moving away from the speaker.

i. e. and e. g.

Guideline. Use i.e. [(id est) that is or that is to say] when the writer cites the related ideas to the one
discussed in the sentence. Use e.g. [( exempli gratia) for example] when the writer gives models of the idea or
topic discussed.

B. ACCURACY - se of words for a particular purpose. Choose the words exactly or are suited for your idea and
circumstance. Let your readers or listeners feel and experience what you are trying convey or what you are
trying to express.

When you are referring to an act, which is a violation to the Revised Penal Code, and the act or omission is
serious, it is a “crime”. When it is a violation or breach of Special Laws then you call the same action an
“offense” when you seem to judge it less seriously. When you want the readers appreciate it as against the
teaching of the church or religion, then it is referred to as “sin” and “misdemeanor” if it is a violation of an
ordinance. When you are referring to behavior, which degrades or corrupts the person involved and it
becomes habitual, you label it as “vice”.

When reporting an accident “ the speeding ten-wheeler truck run-over the man”, the writer must not
mistake the context as “the man run-over the speeding ten-wheeler truck”. 5

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C. BREVITY - is the conciseness of the communication. Readers tire of wading through a stream of verbiage in
search for the nuggets of sense. Avoid padded phrases. Outright redundancy duplicates words that exactly the
same.

Take note of the following sentences:

Avoid redundancy:

Brevity or conciseness means saying much in a fewer words. Notice the following wordy expressions
changed to shorter interpretations:

D. SPECIFICITY - When we write about concrete examples or situations that bring ideas to life, we need specific
words that bring the reader closer to first hand experience. Words that remain too general keep people and
events colorless and anonymous.8

Observe the following sentences:

In describing persons, give description on how he/she look like.

Describing things

Describing Places

To help you determine the specific word or expression to be used in your sentence, observe and
follow the “abstract ladder” Ms. Hurboda in her book-Police, Fire. Jail Correspondence

REPORT WRITING

Documenting an activity, results of undertakings, ideas and related matters are done in writings. Most
agencies require the so-called “black and white” communications rather than verbal. In the Public Safety Offices,
they follow certain forms of communications which varies according to its purpose, such as civilian letter,
memorandum, office order, special order, investigation report, etc…

CIVILIAN LETTER – is the basic of all types of communication. It is used when communicating with civilian officials,
offices and/or private individuals or companies.

MEMORANDUM – maybe of general application requiring compliance by, or information of a majority or all of the
Officers and personnel of an organization. They may also be of limited application, such as those directed to, or
requiring performance of an action by an individual or group of individuals within a particular unit, section,
directorate, service, region, province or station.

OFFICE ORDER – are issuances for the regulation of administrative matters in the General Headquarters, Regional,
Provincial and Municipal Offices. Purely internal. Office orders contain administrative instructions, which are
regulatory in nature, mandatory in character, and requiring personal conduct and other related matters.

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CITATIONS – It provides the information necessary for the reader to locate the reference (e.g. specific statute,
court opinion, law review, encyclopedia, and others), thus allowing the reader to check the content of the
reference. Citations are usually required in cases of Office Legal Memorandum, Court Briefs, and Scholarly Writings
such as Law Review, Journals, Term Paper, Thesis, etc.

Short citation

Id as short citation . It means “ the same ” and is used in the same way as “ ibid ” . Use id, not ibid, in
legal writing. Id is italized or underlined. When it is underlined, the period is also underlined (id.). Id is used in
court documents and legal memorandums when you are referring the reader to the immediately preceding
citation. In other words, you must be referring to the same citation as the last citation presented

“Discount bond. A bond sold for less than face or maturity value. No interest is paid annually, but all interest
accrues to the maturity date when is paid.”1

“Discount period. The period during which the discount stated in an invoice can be claimed.” 2

Books (full citation)

- Volume number (if any)
- Full name of author (or editor when name is given)
- Full name of publication as it appear on the title page, in italics or underlined
- Number of the section or page you are referring
- Editor when there is an editor, edition or series, publisher
- Year of publication

Internet citations:

As technology develops, more research is conducted using electronic sources, like the internet services.
Information taken from the internet must also be cited to acknowledge its source.

Example:

http://www.friendster.com
http://www.englishgrammar.edu.com
SUMMARY

The reputation of an office is partly shaped with the style communications (especially, written) sent out
to other agencies or clientele. An accurate report develops trust and confidence; a clear and brief one makes the
reader enthusiastic and a complete report gains respect.