WHY THERE IS A NEED TO DEMONSTRATE FAIRNESS IN

MAKING POLICE REPORT?

Because police are the most visible face of government

power for most citizens, they are expected to deal effectively with
crime and disorder and to be impartial. Producing justice through
the fair, and restrained use of their authority. The standards by
which the public judges police success have become more
exacting and challenging.

Accurate and intelligent reporting and documentation is

crucial to Law Enforcement. Police officers spend a significant
amount of time completing paperwork necessary for the criminal justice process. An
officer is most often the first point of contact in a criminal Figure 1 Illustrated by webstockreview.net
situation, and having professional writing skills is imperative to
creating a thorough, well-written report.

A written report is often the first impression an officer

makes on commanding officers, lawyers, or judges – and a
poorly written report can cause an inaccurate portrayal of
competence level. Additionally, it can also mean the difference
between a rightful conviction and an erroneous release of a
guilty person. On the other hand, an accurate and intelligent
report can make a positive first impression, and has the ability
to lead to new opportunities for the future.
Figure 2 Illustrated by utne.com
A well-written report can also serve the following purposes for
an Officer of the Law:

 Time saver: Accurate organization of the material and

repetition elimination can cut hours out of an officer’s
reporting time.

 Better court preparation: A well-written report can

prove more efficient in a court of law, speaking more
logically and correctly to lawyers and judges.

 Possible avoidance of court: A report that leaves little Figure 3 Illustrated by pursuitresponse.org
material for questioning could help an officer avoid
having to attend court at all. If the report is written clearly and leaves little room for
questions, counsel may have no reason to call the officer into the court.

 Respect from superiors and fellow officers: If a report is written well the first
time, an officer’s superior has little revision to make, saving time and energy, and
earning the officer respect in the eyes of his/her superior.

 A gateway to a Criminal Justice writing career: Crime and punishment has

always been a topic of interest for the general public, and writing about criminal
justice experiences is an option for those who polish their professional writing
skills.

NOTE: The investigator should not be faulted too much for errors of form, but
errors of substance are seriously considered due to their effects on the lives of the
people and the agency itself.
OTHER REPORTS PREPARED BY THE INVESTIGATOR

CLASSIFICATION OF POLICE REPORTS:

1. Informal Reports – it is unusual letter or
memorandum, or any of one the many prescribed
in day-to-day police operations. It customarily
carries three items besides the text proper, i.e.,
date submitted, subject, and person to whom
submitted. It may, however, contain many items of
administrative importance along with the subject
matter of the text. Actually, most police reports Figure 4 Illustrated by policemag.com
may be placed under this category.
2. Formal Reports – a formal report suggest the full-dress treatment, including the
cover, title page, letter of transmittal, summary of sheet, text, appendices, and
perhaps an index and bibliography.
POLICE REPORTS ARE ALSO CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO PURPOSE:
1. Performance Report – it contains information as to the status of an activity or
operation.
2. Fact-Finding Report – it involves the gathering and presentation of data in logical
order, without attempt to draw conclusions.
3. Technical Report – it present data on a specialized subject.
4. Problem-Determining Report – it attempts to find out the causes of a problem or
to find out whether or not the problem really exists.
5. Problem-Solution Report – it analyzes the thought process that lies behind the
solution of a particular problem. It may include all of the elements found in the other
types of reports, including presentation of data collected, discussion of possible
solutions to the problem, and an identification of the best solution.
CATEGORIES OF POLICE REPORTS:
1. Operational Reports – include those relating to the reporting of police incidents,
investigations, arrests, identification of persons, and miscellaneous reports
necessary to the conduct of routine operations.
2. Internal Reports – Relate to the reporting necessary to the management of the
police organization and include financial reports, personnel reports, purchase
reports, equipment reports, property maintenance report, and general
correspondence.
3. Technical Reports – Present data on any specialized subject, but usually related
to completed staff work, and add to the specific knowledge necessary to proper
police management.
4. Summary-of-Information – Furnish intelligence information necessary to the
solution of crimes, accidents, and police administrative problems. In addition,
police reports in this category are in recognition of the importance of public attitude
toward police operations and serve the purpose of keeping executive and
legislative authority, and the general public informed as to the problems, progress,
and needs of the police organization.
OTHER REPORTS TO BE PREPARED BY THE INVESTIGATOR:
1. Spot Report – it refers to an immediate initial investigative or incident report
addressed to Higher Headquarters pertaining to the commission of the crime,
occurrence of natural or man-made disaster or unusual incidents involving loss of
lives and damage to properties.
 2. After Operation Report – it may be rendered after any successful police operation
that yield to the arrest of any member or some members of a syndicated crime
group.
3. After SOCO Report – it is rendered by the Team Leader of the SOCO who
conducted the scene of the crime operations, processing or investigation.
4. Case Operation Plan (COPLAN) Report – It refers to a preparatory plan on how
to carry out a case operation. Case operations refer to a definite target-specific
activity conducted in relation to an intelligence project under which it is put into
effect. Several case operations may fall under one (1) intelligence project. Case
operation is the last resort measure to purse intelligence objectives when normal
police operations fail.
5. Summary of Information (SOI) – it is an intelligence report rendered regarding
any illegal activity or violation of laws being observed by intelligence operative
within a given Area of Responsibility (AOR). This is the usual basis of case
operation, hence information received should be cared, validated, counter-
checked, analyzed and evaluated.
6. Coordination Report – it is used as a means of formal coordination to be made
by the investigating agency with the police unit or military unit having operational
jurisdiction over the place where a police case operation shall be conducted.
7. Background Investigation Report – this intelligence report is very important in
rendering the result of a background investigation on any newly designated or
appointed or assigned personnel of a uniform unit. Background investigation
essentially involves records check and neighborhood check regarding the personal
background, present activities, and previous criminal record in the community
especially in the place where he or she resides.
OTHER TYPES OF POLICE REPORTS

1. Spot Reports – A spot report is done after an important incident occurs in a certain
are at a given time. Verbal or written, it must be done or acted upon within twenty-
four hours. The idea is to inform an immediate chief, considering the fact that
whatever happens in the area in his command responsibility or those in higher
positions must be informed regarding the details of a particular occurrence.
A spot report may use a radiographic message form, especially if the
reporting unit is far from the addressee or receiving office concerned.
When using a radiographic message form, the following must be indicated:
originating office, addressee, cite numbers, the precedence action, the
precedence info, date-time group, the text answering the 5 Ws and 1 H which are
all written in capital letters, and others.
2. Special Reports – Special reports are done either because one feels he has some
reporting to do, or a lower police unit or office is obligated based on the directive
or an instruction from the higher police offices.
Formalizing a special from a lower police office follows a memorandum form
of correspondence, wherein security classification, heading, reference file, office
origin, sender, addressee, the subject or title of the report, date, and signature of
the head of office must be included.
The following are required when preparing a police report using the
typewriter: seven roller spaces from the upper edge of the paper, fifteen bar spaces
on the left margin, seven back spacers at the right margin, and at least one inch
space between the name, rank and signature on lower edge of the paper.
However, with computerization, marginal spaces are not strictly being observed
anymore.

This kind of report must have the following paragraph contents:

1) Problem
What is the report all about? Why is it being written in the first place? The
problem portion is reflected on the first paragraph and is sometimes continued
to the next.
2) Rationale
This refers to the specifications related to the problem. More often than not,
these details are shown in the following paragraphs after the problem is
defined.
3) Action
This is generally placed at the last paragraph. What action should be
expected after the receiver or reader has read the report?
3. Progress Report – A progress report has a follow-up effect. Is this a follow-up of
an initial report previously sent? Is this a follow-up of an investigation submitted
before? Or is this a follow-up of a project or a program?
A progress report can simply be an accomplishment report which may be
analytical in nature and may be comparatively longer. This may be in memorandum
form or in radiographic message form. And it must have these important highlights:
1) why the report is being made; 2) purpose and scope of the report; and 3) sources
of information.

If it is written in memorandum form, the body of the report must contain the
following: authority for investigation, details and recommendations; or, if written in
radiographic message form, the format of the spot report shall be adopted.
4. Investigation Reports – in criminal investigations, the arrangement of the material
presented in an investigation report follows a certain pattern. The idea is for the
report to be easily read.
The form is similar to the memorandum form except that the text or body
should include the following parts; 1) AUTHORITY; 2) MATTER TO BE
INVESTIGATED; 3) FACTS OF THE CASE; 4) DISCUSSION; 5) CONCLUSION;
and 6) RECOMMENDATIONS. If a part is not important because it is included in
another part, it may be excluded. Parts are capitalized, and followed by a colon.
All the paragraphs composing the text of the report are numbered consecutively in
Arabic numerals.
The investigator signs the report. On top of the letterhead and on the lower
fold of the paper, the word CONFIDENTIAL is typed or stamped.
5. Beat Inspection Reports or After-Patrol Reports – Beat inspection report is one
of the most common forms of written communications. It is submitted daily by the
duty beat supervisor.
This report differs from the after-patrol report in terms of movement. Those
on beat inspection do their routine check on foot; and those on patrol, check their
assigned sectors by using patrol cars.
As to form, the beat inspection report and after-patrol report use the
memorandum format. Beat inspection reports and after-patrol reports are
submitted daily by the beat patrol supervisors, each one presumed to have done
an eight-hour tour of duty with their members.

6. Situation Reports (SITREP) – The situation report is similar to the patrol report.
Both are submitted every eight hours. However, while the patrol report is done on
a regular basis daily, the SITREP is done on a need-only basis.
7. Formal Report – Essentially, a formal report is a presentation of facts or ideas.
Sometimes, this written work is lengthy. A long, formal report usually contains the
following basic parts: 1) introduction; 2) summary; 3) body; 4) conclusions, and 5)
recommendations.
 Sometimes, the subject matter of the report may not require a conclusion
because the report may just be a fact-finding one; therefore, a personal
observation is not necessary.
If conclusions and recommendations are not asked for, the writer must use
his best judgment. All in all, a complete formal report must consist of the following
parts: 1) cover; 2) title page; 3) letter of transmittal; 4) table of contents; 5)
introduction or preface; 6) summary; 7) body of the report; 8) conclusions; 9)
recommendations; and 10) supplemental materials like appendices, among
others.