Technical Report Writing Definition of Terms

Technical Report Writing is the crafting of formal
written communication requiring the use of skills
and techniques.
Technical or Report Writing as a means of
communication is readily, cheaply, and
effectively available to all of us if we know how
to do it.
Communication is a necessity among human
beings – and more so in our modern civilization
now. It is also very important that official letters
by the government officials and employees
should be done economically, effectively and
correctly. It is just as important that business
and social letters in the private sector, including
your personal letters, be written likewise.
Police Report Writing is considered technical
writing, and as such, you will need to develop
special skills and techniques. Police Report
writing is the backbone of criminal investigation
and prosecution.
Communication – is defined as the use of
language, spoken or written to exchange ideas
or transfer information. The transfer of
information or ideas from one person to another
includes the transmission and receipt of a
message to effect some type of action or
change.
Report Writing - is a communication that lends
itself to a useful tool for people in a free society
to express their thoughts and ideas and to
obtain what they need or want.
Report- is a detailed account of an event,
situation, etc., usually based on observation or
inquiry.
Reporting- is knowingly passing along
information to someone else.
Fact- is anything which either through careful
observation or investigation, has been proven to
exist as to have happened.

Quite literally, the success of police operations Note Taking - is defined as a brief notation
depends upon the quality of your reports and concerning specific events that are recorded
your ability to write effectively. We rely on written while fresh in your mind and used to prepare a
reports to relay information to our superiors, report.
co-workers, the courts and numerous other
agencies. We use them to train personnel and to Chronological Order- is the arrangement of
get people to follow procedures and policies. events and/or actions in order by the time of
their occurrence.
Written reports are something we cannot just
evade. Yet, there are those who regard their
importance to be over emphasized and
downgraded the need to express ideas in
writing. This lack of understanding commonly
reflects itself in reports that are too frequently
incomplete or poorly prepared.

Written communication is the most difficult to

master. You always disclose something about
yourself in your writing. Typically, you disclose
your ability to organize information, your
educational level and your technical expertise.
 REPORT WRITING PROCESS:
Report or Technical Writing is a five-step
process. They are Interviewing, Note Taking,
Organizing and Planning, Writing the
Narrative and Proofreading. Your preliminary
investigation includes report writing. During the
investigation you must complete each of the
step, or your final report will not be accepted.
Interviewing. This is the first step in the
process. Your interview of the victims,
witnesses, and suspects are the backbone of
your preliminary investigation. Frequently, the
first officer at the scene of the crime has the best
opportunity to solve it by conducting a thorough
preliminary investigation. If you do not conduct
successful interviews, your actions or
preliminary investigation and police report will
not be acceptable.
Note Taking. Notes are the basis for your
report. You take notes to assist your memory
with specific details, such as names, date of
birth, serial numbers, addresses and phone
numbers. If you take neat and accurate notes
and they are subpoenaed in court, they add to
your credibility and demonstrate your high level
of proficiency and professionalism. Notes are
made of all pertinent information during an
investigation. There is seldom anytime to
evaluate which fragment of information will
ultimately be included in the report. After you
have obtained all possible information, arrange
and organize in logical order the names that are
related by time, place, person, cause and effect.
surveillance, publications, etc., will naturally vary
with the assignment.
Writing the Narrative. You have now reached
the final stage in the preparation of the report.
The task is not only to express your ideas, but to
make an impression upon the mind of the reader
as well. In other words, you must write for the
benefit of the reader. Place yourself in his
position and try to visualize his problem, his
knowledge of the subject and his dependence
upon the report. Writing the narrative should be
the easiest part of report writing. Before you
begin to write the narrative, stop and think about
what you have done and what you have left to
do. You have collected all the appropriate
information, determined your actions, taken
notes, and actually recited the report.
Proofreading. The last things to ask yourself
when proofreading are as follows: Is this report
the best I can do? Would I want to read it to the
Chief of Police? Is there anything else I can do
to make it better? Most officers are just thankful
to have finished the report and don’t take
additional moments or to review their works.
Think about who else is going to read the report.

Organizing and Planning. If your report is

properly organized and planned, it will be clear,
easy to read, understandable and concise.
Organizing and Planning your narrative are
closely related to chronological order.
Understand the Assignment – know what you
wanted and why you are preparing the report.
Start to assemble as soon as you are certain of
the subject matter and the purpose of the report.
The sources of information interviews, record
searches, old reports, personal observations,
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
You must understand chronological order to
write coherent and accurate police reports. Your
reports should not skip around or jump from
topic to topic. Frequently, officer’s reports will
jump from interview to interview, which makes
the report confusing and difficult to follow.
OBJECTIVE OF TECHNICAL OR REPORT
WRITING
In your reports, objective means you weren’t
influenced by emotion or prejudice. Your writing
is fair, impartial and not opinionated. Your report
can lose objectivity because of poor word usage,
omission of facts and uncontrolled personal
feelings. You maintain your objectivity by using
non-emotional words including both sides of the
story and remaining a professional during all
investigations.
WORD USAGE
Police Officers from all over the country tend to
use similar words and phrases. But you should
always make sure you know the correct
definition and spelling of the words you will use
in the reports.
Slang is usually a nonstandard vocabulary
developed by a group of people. You may be
familiar with street slang, drug slang, and police
slang. It is inappropriate to use slang in your
report, unless you are quoting someone; and
Jargon is usually the specialized language of a
profession. Criminal Justice Professionals, just
like other professionals, use a great deal of
jargon. You should not use jargon in your
reports.
FIRST PERSON AND THIRD PERSON
You may write your reports in either the first-or
third-person style. Both are acceptable -
First-Person writing style is preferred and the
most widely used. You should refer to yourself
as an active participant. The alternative to
first-person is the Third-Person writing style. You
refer to yourself as assigned officer, the
undersigned or this officer. Usually, Department
policy specifies which style you use. Police
Reports should be written in an easily
understandable style. The PNP organization is
catered to the Third-Person writing style.
PARAGRAPHING
A paragraph is a group of sentences that tells
about one topic. The topic sentence tells what
the sentences in the paragraph are all about.
Paragraphing is a method of alerting the reader
to a shift in focus in the report.
Steps in Writing Paragraph:
Your notes provide the key or topic sentence
and the outline for the paragraphs. Check for
completeness and rearrange sentences if it is
necessary.
Write the paragraph using 12 to 15 word
sentences. Paragraphs in police reports
generally have five (5) to seven (7) sentences
or approximately 100 words. However, it is
acceptable in police reports to write one- or
two-sentence paragraphs. One-or two-sentence
paragraphs are used to mark transition in
reports, from one topic or section to another.
Indent the beginning of each paragraph or skip
one to two lines between paragraphs.
ELEMENTS OF PARAGRAPHING:
Unity. Preserve the unity of the paragraph. A
paragraph should develop a single topic, the key
sentence;
Coherence. Compose the paragraph so it reads
coherently. Coherence makes it easy for the
reader to follow facts and events. It reflects clear
thinking of the report writer. A clearly stated
chronological order of events makes paragraph,
and therefore the report, coherent; and
Development. Paragraph should adequately
develop. The first step is to consider the central
idea. Include relevant facts, details, or evidence.
Explore and explain the causes of an event or
motive of the suspect.
PURPOSE OF WRITTEN REPORTS:
To preserve knowledge. Knowledge when in use
can be shared and used by others for greatest
possible benefits. It can pass on from generation
to generation;
To provide accurate details. Regardless of the
length of time the details recorded in a written
report will be available for future time and for
any purpose with accuracy;
To aid the personnel and other agencies. Written
report provides valuable assistance to other
members of investigation agencies and other
law enforcement agencies. Record and report
important part of achieving mutual cooperation
among agencies national, local or private
entities; and
To coordinate the activities within the
organization. A report by an individual may be
concerned with another office within the
organization. Mutual and supportive roles would
result to closely coordinate activities when the
report is widely disseminated or not limited to a
few.
QUALITIES OF A GOOD REPORT:
All police reports must contain certain qualities,
which can be categorized as Accurate, Clear,
Complete, Concise, Factual, Objective and
Prompt.
Accurate. This means in exact conformity to
fact (errorless). A fact is something that has
been objectively verified. You must report the
facts correctly and without error. The
identification of facts is imperative to establish
the corpus delicti or body of the crime in your
report. You must restrict your report to the facts
of the incident as you saw or as victims and
witnesses reported to you. You must accurately
report the conditions of the scene as you found
them.
Clear. The language and format in your report
must be simple and to the point. Clear means
plain or evident to the mind of the reader. You
should use simple words so the reader will know
exactly what you want him to know. Avoid using
words that can have double meanings, slang,
jargon and unnecessary abbreviations.
Complete. Your report must answer the Who,
What, When, Where, Why and How questions. It
must also contain the elements of the offense
(corpus delicti) and your probable cause to stop,
detain, arrest, search and seize. Your memory is
not sufficient to assure the completeness of
reports. Proper note-taking techniques assure
you will write complete reports.
Concise. This means your report says as much
as possible, in as few words as possible.
Conciseness relates to the elimination of
unnecessary words and does not mean short.
Suggestions to help you write concise reports
include using active voice, avoiding wordiness,
eliminating unnecessary words prepositional
phrases, and using ordinary and commonly
understood words. Most sentences in police
reports are 12 to 15 words long
Factual. Your report must be factual. A fact is
something that has been objectively verified and
is presented objectively. You must report the
facts correctly and without error. Avoid reporting
opinion, inference (drawing a conclusion),
supposition (assumption of truth), or hearsay as
though they were facts.
Objective. You must remember there are
always two sides to every story and both sides
have the right to be told. You must not be
influenced by emotion, personal prejudice or
opinion. You collect and report the facts in an
objective and professional manner.
Prompt. While you may not relish in report
writing, it is the most important task you will be
routinely assigned. Your reports must be
completed in a timely manner. Your reports must
be completed as soon as possible. Your
credibility may be open to speculation if this rule
is not followed.