Module TECHNICAL ENGLISH 2: Legal Forms

CHAPTER 4

Basic Numbering System of Police Reports

At the end of this module, the learner will be able to:

 Interpret administrative controls of record

 Remember the basic numbering system

INTRODUCTION

To meet the exacting

requirements of the police service,
the total records system must be
oriented toward providing certain
classes of information on a random
basis, and still ensure the integrity
and security of the files. Integrity
centers on the honesty of the
reporting effort and on the
maintenance of complete files. At the
end, there is accurate reporting and
easy monitoring of the contents of the records files.

Administrative Controls

All records maintained by the department should be considered

irreplaceable. This means that no original document should be released unless to

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an authorized individual as established by specified criteria. Moreover, only

trained records personnel should be permitted to retrieve or replace records.

As a public agency, the police department has an obligation to provide

citizens with certain information in accordance with legal requirements and
departmental policy. To this end, copies of appropriate police reports should be
provided if proper requests are made. While a reasonable fee for copies may be
charged to citizens, waivers-of-fee should be granted to all law enforcement
agencies and for supported bodies on a reciprocal basis,

The records access policy must be compatible with departmental policy

governing relations with media and rules established by the court. Officers
requiring copies of reports for court appearances should request in writing the
proper number of copies in advance of trial dates,

The record processing areas should be physically secured from

unauthorized personnel, and files and other storage devices should be designed
to prevent tampering pilferage if left unattended.

Basic Numbering System

The establishment of several basic numbering systems to match the

types of files maintained will assist in the control and audit processes. A
department should adopt three basic numbering systems; all major files should
be in consonance and compatible with them.

The records control and audit system include:

1) Case Report Numbers - it is the primary control number for all

police reports; it should be issued at the time a complaint or call
is received by the department, maintained through completion of
the case, and thereafter. It should be assigned by the
dispatcher to traffic accidents as well as crimes and non-
criminal incidents and noted on all materials relevant to each
case.

It is desirable that the dispatcher assign the number as he is

the first police employee to learn of most crimes, accidents, and
other incidents requiring police service. If he assigns case
number to each and every request for service, most cases will
be recorded officially as soon as they become known to the

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department. This avoids discrepancies concerning the general

nature of the original request and time of occurrence or
notification of the police. It also ensures that the sequence of
case numbers matches as early as possible the order in which
the cases were brought to the attention of the police.

When case reports are filed sequentially by report number,

the department can sort groups of cases by time sequence. The
numbers are important to external audit control; without them,
cases can remain unreported, be lost, or misfiled. If certain cases
are not numbered, are out of time sequence, have no number,
and are missing, the completeness and the integrity of the case
report file system is destroyed.

2) Arrest numbers (sometimes known as central booking numbers)

are issued to persons actually arrested and booked. Because the
arrest report file is controlled by the same methods as the case
report file, all arrest numbers should be issued by the dispatcher
or by the arrest and personal identification unit of the records
element through the dispatcher. Control and audit responsibility
should be outside the field operations elements and the detention
staff. Arrest reports should be made out by the arresting officer
immediately following an arrest. The arrest number, as well as
the case report number should be marked clearly on the report; a
person should receive a new number each time he is arrested,
regardless of the charges or circumstances.

3) Personal Identification Number - when an arrested person is

fingerprinted or photographed, a third number, known as
personal identification number should be issued from an
identification number ledger. This number is issued only once to
an individual regardless of the number of times he is arrested.
This number should be issued by the arrest and personal
identification service detail.

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References:
Technical Report Writing 2
POLICE REPORT INVESTIGATIVE WRITING
By
Prof. Normita Mercado
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