CDI105

Technical English 1
Investigation Report
Writing and
Presentation

Lecture Notes Prepared by: IKYR T. BEATINGO, RCrim,

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 Chapter 1
Report Writing
Learning Outcomes:

This module aims to:

1. Define the following: Police Report Writing and other important terms;
2. Determine the uses of Police Report
3. Determine the Characteristics of an Effective Police Report
4. How to use Field Notes, Note taking, and Conducting Field Interviews

Police Report – report made by the police containing the initial statement made by the
victim at the time she or he reported the crime. A Police report consists of a testament,
specific details of the event and names of people involved.

Report- is a written presentation of factual information based on an investigation or

research. Reports form the basis for solving problems and making decision, often in the
subjects of business and the sciences. The length of report varies; there are short
memorandum (memo) reports and long reports.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE POLICE REPORT

On a daily basis, police officers are faced with a variety of events and incidents.
At each one, officers are required to make significant decisions, oftentimes without
delay, and while under stress or the benefit of all the facts regarding the situation. For
this reason, crime and incident reports must reflect the details of the specific crime or
incident for further reference and use.

While the details of every incident or crime report will likely vary, there are six
characteristics that all effective reports have in common.

An effective police report is always:

1. Factual. A police report is an objective accounting of the relevant and observed facts
of the case, and any conclusions made by the reporting officer must be supported by
articulated and documented facts. Unsubstantiated opinions or conclusions are never
to be included in an effective report.

2. Accurate. The decisions and actions taken as a result of the report must be
supported by accurate information contained in the report. If any information is

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inaccurate, the credibility and reliability of the report will likely be jeopardized. Accuracy
is achieved by carefully, precisely, and honestly reporting of all relevant information.

a. Avoid putting period to end your sentence if the thought is incomplete.

On or about 3:15 o’clock in the afternoon on March 30, 2020inside Room S602,
University of the Cordilleras, Gov. Pack Rd., Baguio City, Juan Tamad y Talaga, 21
years old, married, an Instructor of University of Baguio, Baguio City, together with
primitive “Tibatiba” Pedro and Ben Tuma y Tumbling, two of his Criminology students.
Primo Pepito, the witness said that…….

Take note, a period should not be placed after the word students because the set
of words before it is a phrase that does not relay a complete idea. The comma should
be placed instead of the period.

b. Avoid starting your sentence with a coordinating conjunction (but, and, or, nor,
for, so, yet.).

Example

Armed with a warrant of arrest, PEMS Juan Tamad, the Police investigator, went to the
house of the suspect. But he did not find any person inside the house. (wrong)

Armed with a warrant of arrest, PEMS Juan Tamad, the Police investigator, went to the
house of the suspect, but he did not find any person inside the house. (correct)

c. The subject and the predicate of the sentence should agree with each other

Examples:

Every day, the chief of police go to the police station with two of his trusted police
officers. (wrong)

Every day, the chief of police goes to the police station with two of his trusted police
officers. (correct)

3. Clear. A police report speaks for the reporting officer when he or she is not present.
There should be no doubt or confusion regarding what happened during an incident or
crime, based upon the content of a police report. Clarity in report writing is achieved by
clear and logical organization of information, the judicious use of simple, common, and
first-person language, and effective writing mechanics.

Example

A man robbed the bank. (The robber is identified only as a man)

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4. Concise. Reports should be brief but also contain all relevant information necessary
for a complete understanding of the crime or incident, without additional explanation.
Brevity should never take precedence over accuracy, completeness, or clarity in report
writing.

Example

Wordy Brief

At a period of time When

At this present writing Now
In view of the fact that As
Under the prevailing circumstances As things are

5. Complete. A complete report will contain all the relevant facts, information, and
details that the reader will need to have in order to have a comprehensive
understanding of the crime or incident described in the report. The report is complete
when it is a complete word picture of the incident, there are no questions left
unanswered by the reader, officer actions are explained and justified by the contents of
the report, and both supporting and conflicting information is included.

6. Timely. Just like the spot report that should be submitted within twenty-four (24)
hours, any other police report should be submitted on time in order to serve its purpose.
A report that could no longer be used because it was not submitted on time is useless.

USES OF POLICE REPORTS

Police reports have many different uses, both within the criminal justice system and
beyond:

Identification of Criminals- Police reports assist with the identification, apprehension

and prosecution of criminals by serving as a source document for filing criminal
complaints, by providing a record of all investigations, and providing a basis for
additional follow up investigations.

Investigative Record- Police reports aid prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other law
enforcement agencies by providing records of all investigations and serving as source
documents for criminal prosecution, as well as documenting agency actions.

Court Preparation- Police reports assist officers prior to or during court appearances
by refreshing the officer’s memory before testifying, or preparing to provide hearsay
testimony at preliminary hearings.

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Civil Liability Assessment- Police reports are essential for risk managers, insurance
companies, and civil litigation attorneys for use in determining potential civil liability by
documenting events such as accidents or injuries on city, county, or state property,
workman’s compensation type injuries, as well as to presenting justification for an
officer’s behavior or actions in a civil complaint or lawsuit against the officer.

Statistical Analysis- Police reports assist police and civilian administrators as well as
the campus community by providing statistical information for analysis of crime trends,
equipment needs, manpower issues, continued professional training requirements, and
assist in the evaluation of officer performance.

FIELD NOTES

An officer’s field notes are the original source documents used to write a police
report. For this reason, if field notes are incomplete, poorly organized, or illegible, they
will be of little use to the officer in writing the resulting police report. For this reason,
field notes should always be taken at the scene, especially when interviewing suspect,
victims or witnesses, and whenever the officer wishes to remember specific details at a
later time.

When writing field notes, officers should consider that field notes are typically
more reliable than memory, especially since reports are typically written several hours
after a specific incident or crime has occurred. This time lapse can often cause an
officer to easily forget or confuse certain types of information, especially times,
observations, addresses, and key words and phrases from statements. Moreover, the
judicious use of field notes can minimize or even eliminate the need to recontact the
involved parties in a case at a later time.

Every event, incident, and crime are different, and for this reason, the facts and
information needed by the officer to write a police report is different. However, field
notes should always be able to answer the questions what, where, when, who, how,
and why regarding the incident.

Regardless of how the individual officer decides to take field notes, the following
information is a snapshot of the items that should be included in field notes.

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Basic Information Additional Information

Basic Information Additional Information

Victims and Witnesses  Full name  How to contact by

 Age telephone or in person
 Date of birth  Best place to contact
 Race  Best time to contact
 Sex  Place of employment
 Telephone numbers (including name and
(home, work, cellular) telephone number)
 Address
 Email address
Occurrence  Type of crime All persons involved:
 Location  Informants
 Date and time of incident  Reporting party
 Was physical evidence  Victims
handled by officer,  Witnesses
suspect, or victim?  Suspects, if known
 Disposition and chain of  Officers
custody for all evidence  Outside agencies and
 Suspect direction of members of outside
travel agencies
 Type and description of  Medical personnel
weapons  Members of the media
 Threats made with
weapons
 Direct statements made
by suspect
 Case number
 Assisting officer’s actions
(and supplements, if
necessary)
Suspects  Race  Unusual or memorable
 Sex gestures
 Age  Speech peculiarities,
 Build such as accents, tone,
 Height pitch, or noticeable speech
 Weight disorder, such as stuttering
 Eye color  Jewelry o Rings (identify
 Hair color which hand and finger) o
 Hair style Necklaces o Earrings o
Body piercings
 Facial hair

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Incident Specific
 Clothing type  Right or left-handed o
 Clothing color Which hand was
 Clothing style dominant? o Which hand
 Name and/or street held the weapon? o Which
name, if known hand opened a door? o
 Unusual physical Where was a watch worn?
attributes, such as scars,  Gang affiliation (if known)
tattoos, a limp, moles,
odor, and missing teeth
 Can the suspect be
identified by the victim or
witness?
 Scene description and
photographs (if available) 
Point of entry
 Point of exit
 Description of property
damage
 Types and values of
property taken
 Description of suspect
vehicle
 Nature and location of
evidence collected
 Suspect and victim
injuries
 Unique characteristics of
the crime
 Anything else not already
mentioned that the officer
believes is relevant to the
case

NOTE TAKING AND CONDUCTING FIELD INTERVIEWS

Typically, field notes are obtained from the officer’s direct observations and from
field interviews with suspects, victims, and witnesses. The field interview, however, is
where the officer will learn the majority of the information about a crime or incident.
Therefore, the statements taken during a field interview are often critical to learning
about the specific facts of a case, because the existence of certain crime elements may
only be revealed from the statements of witnesses, victims, and the suspects of a case.

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An effective field interview should generally follow the following five step format.

1. Separate the involved parties. This minimizes distractions and interruptions.

Separating the involved parties also focus their attention on speaking to the officer,
rather than each other, and also minimizes manipulation of witness statements by other
involved parties.

2. Establish rapport. Be courteous, considerate, and patient. Briefly tell the person
being interviewed why the interview is being conducted, and describe the interview
process to the individual.

3. Listen attentively. Ask the person what happened, and allow them to talk about it
freely. Let them explain it in terms that they understand. Be sure to keep the person
focused on the main subject being discussed in the interview. If they begin to get off
topic, guide the person back to the subject, and always use active listening skills to
encourage the person to talk. Listen carefully, and pay attention to the details of the
incident. Don’t take notes at this point in the interview!

4. Take notes/Ask questions. Ask the person to repeat their account of what
happened, but stop the person and ask questions for clarification, where necessary.
Take notes, but write in short, simple statements, highlighting the important thoughts or
ideas. Be sure to obtain accurate identification information for the person at this point,
and ask any additional questions that are necessary for clarification.

5. Verify information. Repeat specific information to the person being interviewed

from the notes taken in the previous step, to ensure accuracy, and give them an
opportunity to add facts. Be sure to confirm direct quotes, time relationships, weapons
information, and physical descriptions of suspects. Be sure to verify any changes made
in this stage. It is important to note that while some officers may elect to record an
interview with a digital voice or tape recorder, the use of a recorder may inhibit an
individual from talking freely. Also, electronic devices can malfunction or fail, thereby
eliminating the information from the interview. If interviews are recorded, officers should
also take written notes as a backup in the event of mechanical or device failure.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY AN EFFECTIVE REPORT

The facts and questions that an officer includes in his or her field notes should
typically provide the foundation for an effective police report. As discussed earlier, an
effective police report should always answer the questions who, what, where, when,
how, and why.

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 If any of the six questions cannot be answered by the officer’s report, the report
should contain as much information as possible, as the information can prove to be vital
to investigators, attorneys, and other users of the report.

The following table presents examples of the specific facts and information that
can be included in the body of the report to help answer of the six questions. It is not
intended to be all inclusive, and used as a guide. Specific crimes or incidents will
require certain information that should be noted by the investigating officer in the report.

1. Who? The who question identifies a person. In police communication, if we refer

to one person, then we should refer to him alone, and not to any other person. It
is then very important that then name of the person should be spelled correctly
and included are his or her middle name, alias/es, specific address, nature and
place of work, and contact number. The following answers the who questions:

a. Who was the victim?

b. Who was the suspect?
c. Who were the witnesses?
d. Who saw, heard, smelled anything relevant to the crime?
e. Whom did the suspect talk to?
f. Whom did the victim talk to?
g. Who helped the suspect commit the crime?
h. Who processed the crime scene?
i. Who was the evidence custodian?
j. With whom the suspect was last seen?
k. With whom the victim was last seen?
l. Who informed the police officers about the crime?
m.Who first noticed that the bank was burning?
n. Who called the fireman to the crime scene?
o. Who accompanied the victim to the hospital for treatment?
p. Who saw the suspect hiding in an open manhole?

2. What? The weakness of some police officers is that they tend to name the
specific crime that was committed, even with just a few pieces of information they
had gathered. The police officer’s duty is to just to gather all necessary data,
submit the case to the prosecutor’s office and the prosecutor’s office will be the
one to tell the police officer of what crime actually happened. In answering the
What, the police officer must see to it that he accurately names and describes all
material things relevant to the case. Just like the Who question, the writer must
see to it that he places all the characteristics of the things mentioned like, shape,
color, texture, size, length, width, etc. The following answers the What questions

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 a. What property was stolen, lost or found?
b. What type of property was attacked?
c. What type of evidence was found at the crime scene?
d. What type of weapon used in the crime?
e. What tool or machine was used in the crime?
f. What did the suspect do after committing the crime?
g. What defense did the victim offer after being attacked?
h. What did the witnesses observe about the crime
i. What was done to the pieces of evidence gathered?
j. What was done to the victim?
k. What was done at the crime scene?
l. What did the suspect say during, before or after the crime?
m. What was the relationship between the victim and the suspect?
n. What was the color of the suspect’s clothes
o. What was the victim doing when he was attacked by the suspect?
p. What word or words did the suspect tell after committing the crime

3. Where? This question answers the geographical location of the crime scene,
person, property or evidence. The police officer must see to it that he is so
specific about the location. It is not good if he just puts that the crime happened
in Baguio City because he will be asked, “Where exactly in Baguio City.” The
answers the where question:

a. Where was the crime committed?

b. Where was the piece of evidence discovered?
c. Where did the suspect hide the weapon, he used?
d. Where was the victim found/
e. Where was the suspect seen during the crime?
f. Where were the tools used in the crime?
g. Where was the entrance of the suspect?
h. Where was the exit of the suspect?
i. Where did the suspect hide after committing the crime?
j. Where were the hangouts of the suspects?
k. Where was the piece of evidence stored?
l. Where did the suspect pass through?
m. Where is the place of residence of the suspect?
n. Where is the place of birth of the victim?
o. Where were the witness when the suspect attacked the victim?
p. Where did the suspect run to after committing the crime?
4. When? This includes the date and time the crime was committed, pieces of
evidence discovered, victim found, suspect apprehended, etc. Just like in the
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 where question, the when must be very specific; hence, the date should be
written completely and the time indicated whether in the morning, at noon, in the
afternoon, or during nighttime. Sometimes it is not beneficial to report writing if
the writer will just place A.M. or P.M. because an unintentional mistake between
A or P makes a difference of 12 hours, and many things can happen in that span
of time. The following answers the When question:

a. When was the crime committed?

b. When was the crime discovered?
c. When was the victim found?
d. When did the victim see, hear, smell, touch, or taste something unusual?
e. When was the piece of evidence recovered?
f. When was the police informed of the crime?
g. When did the police arrive to the crime scene?
h. When did the suspect plan to commit the crime?
i. When did the victim know that he was robbed?
j. When was the crime scene cordoned/
k. When was the crime scene turned over to the SOCO?
l. When was the victim last seen?
m. When was the suspect seen with the victim?
n. When was the last time the suspect was charged of an offense?
o. When did the suspect know that the police are looking for him?
p. When did the suspect apologize to the victim?

5. Why? The why question answers the motive of the perpetrator committing the
crime. It is not enough that the police officer will just place that the motive is
revenge, hatred, jealousy, material gain or lust; he has to answer the question in
such a way that the reader will exactly understand why the suspect did the crime.
The following answers the Why question:

a. Why did the suspect commit the crime?

b. Why did the suspect choose to use certain tools or weapons?
c. Why did the person report the crime to the police?
d. Why did the suspect, himself, report the crime to the police?
e. Why did the victim go the police where he was attacked?
f. Why did not the victim defend himself?
g. Why did not the victim ask help from bystanders?
h. Why did the suspect choose the place to commit the crime?
i. Why did the suspect choose the time to commit the crime?
j. Why were the witnesses hesitant to give their testimony?
k. Why were the pieces of evidence destroyed?
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 l. Why were the pieces of evidence absent from the crime scene?
m. Why did not the police arrive on time to the crime scene?
n. Why was there no light at the crime scene?
o. Why was there somebody at the crime scene when the crime
happened?
p. Why did not the victim notice that the suspect was about to hack him?

6. How? The How question answers the manner the crime was committed. It is
necessary that the police officer should use adverbs so that the reader could
imagine and understand exactly how the crime was committed. The following
answers the How question?

a. How did the suspect commit the crime?

b. How did the suspect go to the crime scene?
c. How did the suspect leave the crime scene?
d. How did the witness observe the crime?
e. How did the victim know about the plan of the suspect to attack him?
f. How much money was taken from the bank?
g. How often do the suspects loiter around the pawn shop?
h. How long was the bolo that was used in the crime?
i. How much did the suspect give to witness for him not to testify in court?
j. How long did the suspects stay inside the bank before they declared the
bank robbery?
k. How heavy was the stone the suspect used?
l. How dark was the room where the crime was committed?
m. How did the victim run away from the suspect?
n. How did the police know of the crime?
o. How did the suspect stab the victim?
p. How much was spent by the victim in the hospital?

Example of a Police Blotter Entry

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On or about 4:30 o’clock in the afternoon on September 27, 2013 inside Room S503,
University of Cordillera, Gov. Pack Road, Bakun, Benguet, Juan Tamad y Talaga alias
Junjun, 45 years old, single, a 2 nd year student of the College of Criminology and a
resident at #34 Honey Rd, Baguio City stabbed three (3) times at his back Emilio Luna y
Aguinaldo, 65 years old, a college instructor of the same school mentioned above and a
resident at #5 Rimando Rd., Baguio City. Jose Rizal y Mercado, 35 years old, third year
student of the same college and school and a resident at Poblacion Dos, Bakun,
Benguet stated when he reported the incident to the police station that he was sitting in
front Mr. Luna, who was then busy checking quiz papers, when he saw Juan Tamad,
with a 24 -inch-long, double bladed Kapangan-made knife in his right hand, approached
Mr Luna from behind and without any word, stabbed hm in his back three (3) times. He
further stated that when the victim (Mr Luna) dropped on the floor, he (Juan) kicked him
on his body two (2) times, spat on his face and ran away while saying, “dayta ti
gunguman nga babaero.” Jose then asked the help from other students and they
brought the victim to the Baguio General Hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival
by the attending physician. Motive: Jealousy. Officer on case: PMSg Don Pedro. (initial
of the officer who wrote the police blotter entry)

QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY AN EFFECTIVE REPORT

Who

a. Who was the victim?

b. Who was the suspect?
c. Who were the witnesses?
d. Who saw, heard, smelled anything relevant to the crime?
e. Who informed the police officers about the crime?

What

a. What type of weapon used in the crime?

b. What did the suspect say during, before or after the crime?
c. What was done to the victim?
d. What was the relationship between the victim and the suspect?

Where

a. Where was the crime committed?

b. Where is the place of residence of the suspect?
c. Where were the witness when the suspect attacked the victim?

When

a. When was the crime committed?

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Why

a. Why did the suspect commit the crime?

How

a. How did the suspect commit the crime?

b. How long was the knife that was used in the crime?
c. How did the police know of the crime?
d. How did the suspect stab the victim?

FUNDAMENTAL REPORT CONTENT

As previously stated, every crime or incident is different, and as a result, each

report will require different information to complete a total word picture about the
incident. However, every report should have certain content elements, regardless of the
crime that was committed.

The following general content elements are fundamental to an effective report;

however, it should be noted that in some crimes or incidents, a specific element may not
be applicable.

1. Initial information. This should establish how the officer became involved with the
specific incident and additional background information. The initial information should
also describe the officer’s immediate observations and any actions they took upon
arrival at the scene.

2. Identification of the crime or incident. Always include the facts that are necessary
to show that the specific crime or incident has taken place. The report should include
the common name of the crime, the statutory reference number and the required
elements necessary for the crime to be complete.

3. Identification of the involved parties. Regardless of the type of report, the report
should always identify the reporting persons, victims, witnesses and suspects, if known.
Always include full names, address, home, work and cellular telephone numbers.
Include alternate contact information, such as work or school addresses, email
addresses, and their role in the incident.

4. Victim/witness/suspect statements. Summary statements of all involved parties

should be taken and direct quotes used, where necessary. Statements should always
include the details of the events, from their own perspective.

5. Crime scene specifics/description. Crime scene specifics are necessary to

accurately recreate the scene and events of the crime. Include photographs, where
possible, and include the locations of physical evidence prior to collection. Photographs
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should be printed for inclusion with the report, and booked as property as evidence,
where applicable.

6. Property information. Property information should include the color, make, model,
serial number, approximate value, and full descriptions where possible. Details
pertaining to stolen or recovered property, as well as property booked for safekeeping,
and property booked as evidence should always be included in the report, and entered
into CLETS, were applicable.

Chapter II

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 Fundamentals Style of Police Report Writing
Learning Outcomes:

This module aims to:

1. Explain the Basic Requirement of Police Report Writing, Basic English Rules
2. Define the Subject/Verb Agreement
3. Determine the Recommended Grammar for Reports.
4. Knowledge about writing clearly and logically.

The Basic Requirement of Police Report Writing

1. Write in the first person

2. Use chronological order
3. Use past tense
4. Use active voices
5. Use correct spelling and punctuation
6. Use correct subject/verb agreement
7. Use correct pronoun reference

1. Write in First Person

 To make reports easier to read and to understand, most departments ask officers
to write in the FIRST PERSON.
 The writer of the report refers to himself/ herself as I, and uses the first-pronouns
me, my, and mine.

First Person Second Person Third Person

I You (Singular) He
Me You (Plural) Him
My You (Objective) His
Mine Yours (Singular) Himself
Myself Yours (Plural) She
We Yourself Her
Us Yourselves Hers
Our Your (Singular) Herself
Ours Your (Plural) It
Ourselves You (Objective) Its

2. Write in Chronological Order

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  Chronological order is order by time. Your report should tell what happened in
the order that the events took place.
 Get all the facts and then list them in the order in which they happened if the
details are written in chronological order, even if the people involved do not tell
you the information in chronological order.

3. Write in Past Tense

Everything you write in your report has already happened, so use the past tense.

Past Tense

Do not use the emphatic form (the word “did”) in combination with other action words
(verbs).

This form implies that something else happened.

Incorrect: I did issue a citation.

Correct: I issued a citation.

Incorrect: Markly did say that Norman had a gun.

Correct: Markly said that Norman had a gun.

4. Use an Active Voice

Every sentence has a subject and a verb.

Active Voice: When the subject performs the action of the verb.

Active Voice: I asked the man about the broken mirror.

Passive Voice: when the action is done to the subject. The subject receives the action
of the verb.

Passive Voice: The Fire was reported by the child.

 Reports should be written in active voice whenever possible.

The report was written by Officer Jackson.

 Passive Voice
 Seven Words

Officer Jackson wrote the report

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  Active Voice
 Five Words

If you save two words per sentence, in a five-paragraph report, you will save
approximately 40 words

5. Spelling and Punctuation

 Basic Principle:
Spelling always counts, Avoid Looking, Stupid, Careless, Unprofessional, and
Uneducated

6. Subject/ Verb Agreement

 Singular subjects require a singular verb. (Note: Verbs that end in s are singular)
I was not aware of the new procedure.
 A plural subject must have a plural verb.
They were sent to the hospital.
 The pronoun “you” always requires a plural verb.
You were never good at telling a lie.
You all were to finish the exercise before you left the class.

Singular (He/She) Plural (They)-

Is are
Was were
Has have
Does do
Knows know
Wants want

Collective nouns are words which indicate a group (like committee, jury,
department, squad).

If the noun is used to show the group as an entity or whole (one), use the singular verb.

 The jury was able to reach a verdict.

If the noun shows member acting as individuals, use the plural.

 The squad cast their votes for a new president.

Certain subjects look like they are plural when they are really singular. The words each,
either, neither, and any word that ends in -one, -body, or -thing are singular.

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 Anyone Anybody Anything

No one Nobody Nothing

Everyone Everybody Everything

Someone Somebody Something

Subjects joined by And

If two or more singular subjects are joined by and, they are considered plural. (1+1=2)

 Officer Thompson and Officer Sims were transferred to District 5.

If singular and plural subjects are joined by and, they are plural.

 Officer Green and three teenagers were asked to testify in court.

Subjects Separated by Or or Nor

If two subjects are separated by or or nor, the verb agrees with the subject, the verb
agrees with the subject positioned nearest to it in the sentence.

 Mrs. Gayle or her sons were in the house at the time of the incident.
 Her sons or Mrs. Gayle was responsible for the fire.

Intervening words do not affect the S-V agreement (with, plus, beside, together with,
in addition to, aside from and prepositional phrases)

Ex. The professor, together with his students, knows exactly the time.
The behavior of most students now is quite alarming.

7. Use Correct Pronouns Reference

Pronouns

Pronouns are words that substitutes for a noun or proper noun. There are two
types of pronouns primarily used in report writing.

First person pronouns. First person pronouns are used when referring to the officer
writing the reports. Some examples are I/me/mine/my and we/our/ours/us (when riding
with a beat partner). First person pronouns can also be used within quotes to refer to
the person speaking (Wilson told me, “I ran as fast as I could.”). Officers should always
use first person pronouns when referring to themselves, because by doing so, the
reader has a clear understanding of the officers’ actions.

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Third person pronouns. Third person pronouns refer to the person, place or thing
being written about. Examples are he/his/him, it/its and they/their/them. Third person
pronouns must always agree and clearly refer to the noun or proper noun that is directly
before it.

PROOFREADING

Proofreading may seem time‐consuming, tedious, and difficult, but when writing
reports where accuracy, clarity, and completeness are important, proofreading is critical.
It is a difficult skill to master, yet one that cannot be overlooked.

When proofreading a report, special attention should be devoted to ensure that the
following basic questions are answered:

 Are the correct crimes cited in the report?  Is the information in the proper
order?
 Are all crime elements articulated?
 Are the facts of the case correct (based on the officer’s field notes)?
 Is the report well organized?
 Is all necessary information included?
 Are things said efficiently or too wordy?
 Are all conclusions supported by facts?
 Are there any gaps in logic?
 Are the names spelled correctly?

Proofreading Mechanics

A report’s effectiveness and an officer’s credibility can be damaged by a report

with too many mechanical errors. When proofreading the reports, they have written,
officers should look for:

 Inappropriate use of nouns, pronouns

 verbs, etc.
 Vague or confusing language
 Incorrect or inappropriate use of words
 Gaps in logic or narrative flow
 Spelling errors
 Inappropriate punctuation
 Incorrect use of police, fire or EMS
 abbreviations
 Overuse of words, such as “that”

20
 CHAPTER III

Punctuations
1. Colon – an introductory device used to enumerate, explain or extend an idea
already introduced.

a. Used before a list of items following an independent clause.

A tree has many parts: the leaves, branches and trunk.
b. To introduce a sentence that summarizes or explains the sentence before it.
She was absent for ten days: She went with her friend to Mindanao.
c. To introduce a formal appositive that follows an independent clause.
The police officer has one problem: jealousy.
d. Used before an announcement.
Listen gentlemen: We will have no class tomorrow.
e. To introduce a formal quotation without “he said/she said” expression.
Our pastor has tried to instill into the hearts of all believers: “Be born again.”
f. Special writing
Salutation - Dear Sir:
Bible references - John 3:16
Time - 10:30 o’clock
Titles - Recollection: My journey in the PNP
2. Semicolon – it connects independent clauses closely related in thought and
structure. It eliminates the possibility of confusion in sentences with other internal
punctuations such as commas.

a. Links two related independent clauses not joined by coordinating conjunctions

(but, and, nor, or, for, so, yet)
1. PCpl Juan Tamad has tried his best to arrest the suspect; he was not
successful.
2. PCpl Juan Tamad has tried his best to arrest the suspect, but he was not
successful.
b. Separates two long independent clauses that are punctuated internally by
commas.
1. She has been teaching police patrol, criminal investigation, and traffic
operation, but she did not finish any related course.
2. She has been teaching police patrol, criminal investigation, and traffic
operation; she did not finish any related course.
3. Pipita has eaten bananas, apples, grapes and guavas, but she has not
even seen papayas, mangoes and jack fruits.

21
 4. Pipita has eaten bananas, apples, grapes and guavas; she has not even
seen papayas, mangoes and jack fruits.
c. Used before words such as for example, for instance, namely, or that is which
introduce an example, enumeration, or items in a series.
1. There were five police officers present during the briefing; namely, PMAJ
Odnan, PEMS Pablo, PEMS Pepe, Pat Kulas, and Pat Pilo.
d. Connects related independent clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb (hence,
in fact, nevertheless, therefore, however, for example, on the other hand,
thus)
1. PMSg Don Juan was not promoted; nevertheless, he was able to prove
himself.
2. Pat Pedro, nonetheless, was able to arrest the suspect.

3. Comma

a. Separate non-essential information or expression

PEMS Juan, the man with a million moves, is a committed officer.
Culasa, grinning widely from ear o ear, hugs the police officer.
Pat Pedro, who owns the best record of arrests, is a rookie officer.
The accused, accompanied by her lawyer, answered questions from the
media.
b. Separates parts of dates, address
The retired police officer was born on January 1, 1961.
She will visit Bakun, Benguet.
c. Use comma to separate words or phrases that express contrast.
The police officers, not the soldiers, gained the trust of the community.
d. To separate a name from the words Inc., Sr., etc.
Juan Tamad Jr, likes to be a police officer.
e. After the salutation of a personal letter and closing of all letters.
Dear Nandref, My Everdearest One,
Yours Truly, Very respectfully yours,
f. Separate items in a series (words and phrases)
Words in a series – Cat, dogs, rabbits and birds are favorite pets.
Phrases – He works as a police officer by patrolling the streets, investigating
crimes and making reports.

4. Hyphen – Uses:
a. To avoid confusion by being misread
Eight-hour shifts
Re-press (to press again)
Re-treat (to treat again)
22
 b. Compound modifiers formed from a quantity and a unit of measurement
A beam three inches wide - a three-inch-wide beam
A journey of eight miles - an eight-mile journey
c. A single capital letter and a noun or participle
T-square
V-shape
d. Numbers from 21-99 when used before a noun and fractions when they are
spelled out.
Twenty-seven jobs three-fourths kilogram
e. Compounds made from half, all, or cross
Half-finished all-encompassing cross-country
5. Apostrophe – used to indicate possession, contraction, and some plurals.
a. Possession
1. Add an ‘s to show possession by singular nouns
A machine’s parts a package’ contents
2. Add an ‘s to show possession by plural nouns that do not end in s.
The women’s club the sheep’s brain
3. Add only apostrophe to plural nouns
Three machines’ parts the companies’ managers
4. Proper names that end in s, use the same rules.
Ted Jones’ job The Joneses’ banana plantation
b. Contractions – indicate that two or more words have been condensed into
one. As a general rule, do not use contractions in formal reports and
business letter.
I will – I’ll It is – it’s
They are – they’re should have – should’ve

6. Quotation Marks – used at the beginning and at the end of a passage that
contains the exact words of someone else.

a. Direct quotation
According to Padduyao (2014), “Nobody could go to heaven unless he
passes through Jesus Christ” (p. 7).
Padduyao said that nobody could go to heaven unless he passes through
Jesus Christ.
b. Single quotation marks for a quotation within a quotation
“The suspect said, ‘run away’” the witness told the investigator.
c. Title of short works
Jose favorite poem is “putol” by Pepe Pepito
d. Words single out for special attention.
“Lift” is a British word for elevator

23
 “Cop” is the slang word for police officer.

7.Parentheses – brief interruptions meant to give readers immediate

explanation, clarifications or directions.

a. To add information about an item

Acronym – The Philippine National Police (PNP) maintains peace and order

A definition – The police has emphasized on police omnipresence (the mental

condition where would-be criminals fear to commit crimes because of everybody’s
participation in crime prevention).

b.To add an aside to a sentence

Juan (the investigator) was told to report everything about Pedro (the suspect).
c. To insert direction
The image of the policemen is constantly going down (see related story on
page 7).
d. Numbers or letters making a series
As a police officer, I was able to visit (1) Darwin, Australia; (2) Dili, East
Timor; (3) Hongkong.
e. To insert the date of birth and death of a person
Pepito Kulas (1990-2091) was a well-loved Filipino.

8.Brackets

a. Used in quotations or clarifications in quotation when quoting someone else.

The witness said, “The suspect was at the crime scene at the time of arson
[Monday, June 1, 2010 at 2:10 in the morning].”

Parenthesis is used to make insertions in our own writings while bracket is used
to make insertions in the writings of others.

9. Dash – used in less formal writing. It emphasizes the material it sets off.

a. Before a name used after a quotation

Ex. “Everything is by God’s grace.”

- Fernando B. Padduyao
b. To introduce a series less formally than with a colon
Ex. An officer could arm himself with different equipment – baton, firearm, and
whistle.

10. Ellipsis Points – are three periods used to indicate that words have been
omitted from a quoted passage.

24
According to John 3:16, ‘For God so loved the word…that whosoever believes in
Him shall not perish but have an everlasting life’

25
 CHAPTER IV
Abbreviations
1. If an abbreviation might confuse your reader, use it and the complete phrase the
first time.
e.g.
Submit quarterly your personnel Evaluation Report (PER)

2. Use all capital letters (no periods and no space between letter or symbols for
acronyms)
e.g.
PNP CCJJE
NAPOLCOM DILG

3. Capitalize just the first letter of abbreviations for titles and companies; the
abbreviation with a period.
e.g.
Dr. Pres.
Mr. Corp.
a. The president of the Philippines will visit us today.
b. I was told that Pres Pinoy will visit us today.

4. Form the plural of an abbreviation (as well as numbers) by adding just an s.

e.g.
PERs DTRs
TORs 1990s

5. Omit the period after abbreviations of unit of measurement except in. for inch. Do
not abbreviate short words such as acre or ton.
e.g.
kg oz (abbreviation of measurements are not
km cm capitalized)

6. Use period with Latin abbreviations.

e.g.
e.g. (for example) etc. (and so forth)

7. Do not abbreviate units of measurement preceded by a approximations.

e.g.

26
 A number of kilometers (correct)
A number of kms (wrong)

Capitalization

1. Capitalize a title that immediately precedes a name, but do not capitalize if it is

generic.
e.g.
Senior Vice President Pedro will inspect our project tomorrow. (correct)
The senior vice president Pedro will inspect our project tomorrow. (wrong)

Senior Vice President will inspect our project tomorrow. (wrong)

The senior vice president will inspect our project tomorrow. (correct)

2. Capitalize proper nouns and adjectives.

e.g.
Asia Asian
France French

3. Capitalize trade name, but not the product.

e.g.
Apple laptops Isuzu motor vehicle
Zonrox toilet cleaner

4. Capitalize title of courses and departments and the tiles of majors that refer to
specific degree program.
e.g.
a. The first statistic course I took was Statistics 1.
b. He majored in Forensic Dactyloscopy and has applied for several forensic
dactyloscopy positions.

5. Do not capitalize after a colon. Capitalize after the colon if the second clause is
independent.
e.g.
a. The chair has four parts: legs, seat, arms, and back.
b. The 55-year-old retired police officer is physically very healthy: He has been
exercising and taking in Maxceemun C.

Numbers

1. Spell out numbers below 10; use figure for 10 and above.
e.g.

27
 Four suspects 17 victims

2. Spell out numbers that begin sentences.

e.g.
Twenty-five police recruits were dismissed from the service.

3. If a series contains numbers above and below 10, use numerals for all of them.
e.g.
Pedro, the suspect, has 3 rifles, 29 pistols and 1109 revolvers.

4. Use numerals for numbers that accompany units of measurements and time.
e.g.
1 gram 26 yards 1 minute

5. In compound-number adjectives, spell out the first one or the shorter one to avoid
confusion.
e.g.
75 twelve-volt batteries ten 1, 500-km runs

6. Combine figures and words for extremely large round numbers.

e.g.
10 trillion police officers three (3) police officers

7. For decimal fractions of less than 1, place a zero before the decimal point.
e.g.
0.896

8. Place the last two letters of the ordinal after fractions used as nouns.
e.g.
1/10th of a second but not after fractions that modify nouns (1/10 th horsepower-
wrong)

9. Spell out ordinals below 10.

e.g.
Third suspect ninth incident 13th victim

10. For 10 and above, use the number and the last two letters of the ordinal.
e.g.
21st month 55th police officer

28
 CHAPTER V
Memorandum
The memorandum format is used within an organization and every organization
has its own format; hence, the Memorandum is only used within the Philippine National
Police (PNP). It is then inappropriate for the PNP to use the Memorandum format in
communicating with other government or non-government agencies: It should use the
Civilian Business Letter Format

Parts of the PNP Memorandum

Heading – The heading includes the name of the organization, the unit or the police
station, and the address. The name of the unit or police station is written boldly and all
capitalized. The heading is aligned center.

Date – The date should not be abbreviated. Do not forget that after the date is a line
drawn from margin to margin.

Addressee – The addressee is written after Memorandum For or Memorandum To.

Memorandum For is used if the communication is sent to a higher office or of the same
level with the sender, and the Memorandum To is used if the communication is sent to a
lower office. The words “Memorandum For or Memorandum To, as well as the rank and
the name of the addressee or receiver of the report is written boldly, and all capitalized if
it is the name of a Police Commissioned Officer, but if not, then only the rank and
beginning letters are capitalized. If the writer intends to use the position instead of the
name, then it should be written boldly and only the beginning letters are capitalized.
Under the name is written the designation or position, then the office. Remember not to
put a colon or any punctuation after the word Memorandum. See to it that the colons
after For or to, Subject, and Date should be aligned with each other; hence, use the tab
and not the space bar.

Sometimes it is better to omit the name, so that the report can be received by
whoever holds the position. There is a problem if your report is on the way and all of a
sudden, the person who should receive your report is changed.

Attention Line – This is where the name of the specific person or office that will act on
your report is boldly written. The practice of writing the attention line could enable your
report to be acted upon immediately because your report will go directly to the
concerned person or office.

Sender of the Communication – below the attention line is written “From”. Police
reports before omit the “From” probably because it is the same with that of the signatory

29
or by just reading the heading, you have already known where the communication came
from. Anyway, it is important that if the “From” is written, then the designation in the
signatory should be omitted.

Subject – the subject is what the report is all about. It is written boldly and should not
be very long. It is enough that the reader, upon reading the subject, knows already what
the report is all about. For example, Vacation Leave, Request for.

Reference – this is the basis for the report. For some reports, this is not indicated
because there is no need for it or they have no basis at all. Remember, all paragraphs
in a memorandum are consecutively numbered using the Arabic numbers. So, if there is
a reference, then the reference should be paragraph 1 and continued until the last
paragraph of the body. If there is no reference, then the first paragraph of the body
should be numbered paragraph 1.

Body – consists of what the writer would like to tell the reader. In most police reports,
especially in Special reports, the first paragraph usually contains the problem; the
second and succeeding paragraphs, the rationale; and the last paragraph, the action.

Paragraphing:

Problem paragraph – contains what the writer would like the reader to know.

Rationale paragraph – these are the explanations to the problem.

Action paragraph – this is what the receiver of the communication will do after reading it.

Signature – any document without the signature is of no value. It is strictly written with
the name (First name, Middle name, Last name) with the rank typed below it, and the
designation or position typed below the rank. The name, for clarity, should be
capitalized and written boldly whether the signatory is a Police Commissioned Officer,
Police Non-Commission Officer or even a civilian.

Take note, in a memorandum, there are appropriate action paragraphs which

should be used that depend on whether the communication is for lower office, higher
office or of the same level.

If the communication uses Memorandum For, the appropriate action paragraph

could be:

Request priority action. Further request priority action.

Request consideration. Further request consideration
Request approval. Further request approval
Request acknowledge. Further request acknowledge
Request widest dissemination. Further request widest dissemination

30
 Request feedback Further request feedback
Request consideration and approval. (this is inappropriate because consideration
and approval are synonymous)
Use further request in the action paragraph when you have already made
mention of request in the earlier paragraphs.
Request further feedback (this is wrong because of the modifier further which is
misplaced. Here, the word that is modified is feedback instead of request)
If the communication uses Memorandum To, the appropriate action paragraph
could be:
For information For widest dissemination
For strict compliance. For guidance
For immediate action. For priority action.
During the PC/INP days the word “P o s t” is written just below the addressee. The word
post means that the addressee also works with the office as indicated in the heading.
This practice will save time, space and effort as the writer will just write post rather than
writing again the office of the addressee that already appeared in the heading.

31
 Republic of the Philippines
National Police Commission
Philippine National Police

BAKUN MUNICIPAL POLICE STATION

Poblacion Uno, Bakun, Benguet

MEMORANDUM
FOR : The Provincial Director
Benguet Provincial Police Office
La Trinidad, Benguet
Attn: Chief, Inves Div
FROM : Chief of Police
SUBJECT : Vacation Leave, Request for
Date : February 29, 2020

1. Request that the undersigned be granted a five-day vacation leave from March
16-21, 2020 so that he will take care of his wife who is confined at the Baguio
General Hospital, Baguio City. Address while on leave: #12 Sampaguita St.,
Purok 4, Irisan, Baguio City.

2. Further request approval

NANDREF B. ODNAN
Police Major

32
 Republic of the Philippines
National Police Commission
Philippine National Police

BAKUN MUNICIPAL POLICE STATION

Poblacion Uno, Bakun, Benguet

MEMORANDUM
FOR : The Chief of Police

FROM : Chief Investigator

SUBJECT : Criminal Investigation and Detection Course
Date : June 27, 2020

1. Request that the undersigned be permitted to attend the Criminal Investigation

and Detection Course at the Cordillera Administrative Region Training Center,
Teacher’s Camp, Baguio City on August 1, 2020 to October 30, 2020.

2. He has a Time in Grade of five (5) years as Senior Police Master Sergeant and
he would like to finish the course so that he could be eligible for promotion in
December 2020.

3. Further request approval

NANDREF B. ODNAN
Police Executive Master Sergeant

33
 CHAPTER VI
Reports Prepared by Investigators
Police Blotter – is a record of daily events occurring within the territory and
jurisdiction of a given police unit or command. It contains material details concerning the
event for legal and statistical purposes.

Form and Size – the police blotter shall be a record book with hard cover and
shall be 12 inches by 16 inches in size.

Writing a police blotter entry – before deciding to write reported information

inside the police blotter, police officers, especially rookies or those who are not used to
recording information inside police blotters, should get a piece of paper, jot down all 5
W’s and 1 H, answer them all, and then construct the paragraph. Afterward, the
immediate supervisor should check it before it is finally written into the police blotter in
order to minimize errors because he could be equally held accountable to the police
blotter entry, together with the police officer who made the blotter entry.

The duty of the police investigator is to gather all pertinent information regarding
the incident. Thus, it is premature and inappropriate to state in the police blotter entry or
in the spot report that the crime happened is murder, homicide, theft, robbery, malicious
mischief or whatever because the proper classification of the crime has not yet been
established. In addition, the police officer is not in the right position to say so unless
there is an endorsement from prosecution. What the police officer should do is to
describe in detail how the crime was committed. Fr example; if the officer has in mind
that the crime committed is robbery because of the presence of force upon things and
or violence or intimidation against person, what he has to do is to describe how the
robbery or the force upon things or the violence or intimidation against person
happened. Hence, it is better if the officer will just state in his report:

“Juan Tamad y Talaga Jr., 29 years old, married, a grade 3 dropout and a
resident at #3 Purok 2. Kiangan St., Hingyon, Benguet, while under the influence of
intoxicating liquor, went to the house of Miss Pipita Juan at #9 Raul St., Hingyon,
Benguet and seeing that there was no person inside the house, forcefully destroyed the
back door of said house by means of crow bar and a hydraulic jack, went inside and
took ten (10) 14-inch brand new Acer laptops with a total estimated cost of Three
hundred thousand (300, 000) pesos, moved out from said house and ran away toward
Session RD.”…

34
In robbery, the manner of destroying any part of the house that constitutes the “force
upon things” and using it as entrance should be clearly described. The same should be
done if the robbery was committed with violence or intimidation against person.

Police officers should not anticipate the opinion of the prosecution. For example;
in a report, the police officer stated that “the suspect committed the crime of murder
because of the presence of the qualifying circumstances of treachery and evident
premeditation.” What the officer should have done was to clearly describe how the
treachery or evident premeditation happened. So, if the suspect approached the victim
from behind and attacked him immediately without giving him the opportunity to defend
himself, then this should be the fact that should be well described in the report.

Whenever personal properties are involved in a crime like robbery, theft, or

malicious mischief, the approximate worth of the properties should be indicated
because the worth is sometimes important in the determining the penalty of certain
offenses.

In crimes against chastity, the real names of the victims and suspects, especially
minors are withheld in order to protect their dignity.

The following are incidents or transactions to be entered into the police blotter:

1. Violations of laws and ordinances reported and recorded.

2. All calls in which any member of the PNP is dispatched or takes official action.
3. All fire alarms, report and information received by the action.
4. Movements of prisoners with corresponding notations on the authority for such
movements.
5. Cases of missing and found persons, animals and properties.
6. Vehicular and other types of accidents, which require police station.
7. All personal injuries, bodies found, and suicides.
8. Damage to properties.
9. All cases in which a police member is involved.
10. All arrests and returns made.
11. Miscellaneous cases, general and special orders, violations of rules and
regulations.
12. Any other reportable incident that the chief or higher authority desires to be
recorded.

Procedures in making entries into the Police blotter:

1. All entries into the police blotter shall be handwritten in clear, concise and simple
manner but must answer as far as practicable the 5 W’S and 1 H.
2. Only facts are entered into the blotter.

35
 3. No erasures shall be made on the entries. Corrections are made by drawing a
horizontal line across such word or phrase and initiated by the police officer
making the correction.
4. A ball pen or pen with blue, black or blue-black ink is used for making the entries.
5. Misrepresentation in the blotter or any attempt to suppress any information is
punishable criminally and administratively.
6. All entries must be legibly written in longhand and consecutively numbered.
7. Every page of the blotter shall be consecutively and chronologically filled up. No
line or space shall be left blank between any two entries.
8. Any development of the case to be reflected in the blotter shall be a new entry at
the time and day it was reported. A reference to the previous entry number of the
case should be made.
9. During every shift, the duty sergeant under the supervision of the duty officer or
complaint desk officer shall make the actual entries on the blotter and at the end
of their tour of duty, both shall sign the police blotter.

Essential elements a Police Blotter Entry

Who –

What –

When –

Where –

Why –

How –

Motive –

Officer on case -

36
 Example of a Police Blotter Entry

On or about 4:30 o’clock in the afternoon on September 27, 2013 inside Room S503,
University of Cordillera, Gov. Pack Road, Bakun, Benguet, Juan Tamad y Talaga alias
Junjun, 45 years old, single, a 2 nd year student of the College of Criminology and a
resident at #34 Honey Rd, Baguio City stabbed three (3) times at his back Emilio Luna y
Aguinaldo, 65 years old, a college instructor of the same school mentioned above and a
resident at #5 Rimando Rd., Baguio City. Jose Rizal y Mercado, 35 years old, third year
student of the same college and school and a resident at Poblacion Dos, Bakun,
Benguet stated when he reported the incident to the police station that he was sitting in
front Mr. Luna, who was then busy checking quiz papers, when he saw Juan Tamad,
with a 24 -inch-long, double bladed Kapangan-made knife in his right hand, approached
Mr Luna from behind and without any word, stabbed hm in his back three (3) times. He
further stated that when the victim (Mr Luna) dropped on the floor, he (Juan) kicked him
on his body two (2) times, spat on his face and ran away while saying, “dayta ti
gunguman nga babaero.” Jose then asked the help from other students and they
brought the victim to the Baguio General Hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival
by the attending physician. Motive: Jealousy. Officer on case: PMSg Don Pedro. (Initial
of the officer who wrote the police blotter entry)

37
 CHAPTER VII
Nature and importance of Incident Report
Learning Outcome:

1. Determine the Procedure on Incidents Reporting and Filing Out the incidents.
2. Determine the Procedure on Recording Incident Report in the Police Blotter.
3. Deals on the Basic Guideline on Incident.

PROCEDURES ON INCIDENT REPORTING AND FILLING OUT THE INCIDENT

RECORD FORM

1. Incident Record Form. An entry of record in the Police Blotter shall not be done
directly to the Police Blotter book. The facts and information of a blotter entry shall at
first be recorded in the Incident Record Form or IRF (Annex “B”). Once it is signed and
acknowledged by the Desk Officer and the Chief of Police, or his representative, the
data that were provided by the complainant or client in the IRF shall be entered and
recorded in the Police Blotter book.

2. Duty of the QSL Officer. As soon as a client or complainant enters the police station
and is ascertained that his purpose is to file a complaint or to request to record a data in
the Police Blotter, the Duty Officer of the Quality Service Lane (QSL) must accord the
client with due respect and politely ask the person the nature of his transaction. The
Incident Record Form (IRF) shall be made available to the client for him to fill out.

3. Office Space for Clients. The QSL Duty Officer shall at all times guide and assist
the client in filling out the form. In the event that the client is illiterate or incapacitated to
fill out the IRF, the QSL Duty Officer shall do the same for him. The Chief of Police of
the station shall make available a space in the police station where this process is done,
in the privacy outside the scrutiny of kibitzers.

4. Confidential Reports. Whenever the subject of the complaint involves

confidentiality, as in cases involving protection of women and children, the QSL Duty
Officer shall escort the client to the female Duty Investigator of the Women and Children
Protection Desk (WCPD) where the filling out of the IRF shall be done. The female

38
police officer of the WCPD may assist the complainant in filling out the IRF, if
necessary, with the latter providing the facts and details of the case

5. Information on the Reporting Person. The first item to be filled out in the IRF is the
general information about the reporting person. It contains the name, address,
occupation, and other general information about the reporting person, whether he is the
victim of a crime or not. It is important that this general information be taken. The object
of this is to prevent a crime that did not occur, motivated by a client’s desire to later get
an extract of the Police Blotter for purposes of an insurance, for example, or to tarnish
the personal record of another person by imputing the commission of a crime by such
person. The inclusion of his home and work address and contact information will
prevent this malpractice and is likewise necessary in the event that a formal inquiry or
investigation is subsequently ordered by the Chief of Police.

6. Data of Suspect. The next item in the IRF is the data of the Suspect. There are two
(2) boxes in this item which should be indicated with a tick mark before answering the
data under Suspect. The first is whether there is no suspect or no crime was committed.
This is applicable for blotter entries where a client wants to put on official record the loss
of his Driver’s License, or Company Identification Card. Once this is checked, proceed
to the next item, which is the data of the Victim. The second box, however, should be
indicated if there are suspects in the incident. The data of the first suspects on a
separate sheet of paper which will then form as an integral part of the IRF.

7. Completeness and Correctness of Data. The data in all items on the IRF should be
as specific and complete as possible. The information indicated and brought forth in this
item will be a very vital tool of the Investigator-on-Case (IOC), which could mean the
solution of the crime. The client and/or the QSL Duty Officer is given the opportunity to
indicate, as completely as possible, any information and distinguishing features of the
suspects in the provided thereon.

8. Data of the Victim. The third item on the IRF is the general information about the
victim. It contains the name, address, occupation, and other general information about
the victim. It is important that this information be recorded.

The object of this is for the Investigator to easily locate the victim/complainant during
court trials if the case is filed in court.

9. Narrative of the Incident. On the second page of the blotter form, the facts of the
incidents should be narrated by the complainant. It contains a narrative of what
happened, answering the five W‟s (Who, What, When, Where, Why) and one H (How)
of an information report.

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10. Importance of the Signature. It is a mandatory requirement that at the end of the
narration of every incident, the duty officer who recorded the incident shall place his/her
signature and of the complainant certifying the correctness of the narration. Likewise,
the last line of the paper should indicate that nothing follows.

11. Incident Record Transaction Receipt. After the form is authenticated, an Incident
Record Transaction Receipt, cut from the lower end of the IRF, is given to the
complainant who confirms that the reporting person had completed a transaction with
the police office concerned and reported an incident.

12. Maintenance of the Official Police Blotter. For purposes of standardization, all
stations should only maintain one official Police Blotter and one official Police Blotter
IRF. As such, it is discouraged, and is henceforth unauthorized, that logbook, notebook,
or any other materials be used.

13. Turnover to Police Investigator. Thereafter, it is the duty of the police officer who
is in-charge of the Police Blotter to lodge the complaint to the proper investigator who
will handle the case. The investigator should review the complainant on the nature of his
complaint and ensure that all entries therein are complete to prevent duplication and
relieve the complainant from repeating his narration.

14. Supporting Documents. Check the necessary documents in support of the

complaint, if needed. If there are documents submitted, the same shall be attached and
will form part of the IRF.

15. Accuracy of Report. Make sure that all the information gathered is truthful and
exact in its documentation.

16. Amendment to the Report. In the event that the complainant desires to amend or
make supplemental of his complaint, the investigator shall inform the office-in-charge of
the blotter to make the necessary corrections and state therein that it amends or
supplements the previous report and shall place the signature both of the complainant
and the officer-in-charge of the blotter.

PROCEDURES ON RECORDING INCIDENT REPORT IN THE POLICE BLOTTER

1. Recording of the Crime Incident from the IRF to the Police Blotter. After the
transaction with the Reporting Person has been concluded, the crime incident report
recorded in the IRF, shall be transcribed and entered into the Police Blotter by the Desk
Officer of the police station. For those police stations equipped with the Crime Incident
Reporting System, popularly known as the e-Blotter, the designated Crime Registrar will
likewise enter the record into the System.

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2. Blotter Procedure in a Walk-in Complainant/Reportee Concerning Women‟s
and Children Concerned Desk (WCPD)

a. Upon arrival of a walk-in complainant at the police station, the Desk Officer (DO) will
courteously greet the complainant/reportee and will ask the same of the nature of
his/her complaint.

b. The DO will make assessment to the complaint/report out of the narration given by
the complainant/reportee.

c. If the complaint will fall under WCPD concern, the DO will assist the
victim/complainant directly to the duty investigator of WCPD for proper disposition.

d. The WCPD investigator will assist the victim/complainant in accomplishing the

Investigation Record Form (IRF) thoroughly and will record it in the separate blotter
book of WCPD.

e. After accomplishing the IRF, the WCPD investigator will issue Incident Record
Transaction Receipt (IRTR) to the victim/complainant and will proceed to the
investigation.

f. The IRF will be submitted to the personnel in-charge of the Station Investigation
Section (SIS) for Crime Incident Reporting System (CIRS).

3. Blotter Procedure of Crime Incident if the Suspect is Arrested

a. Upon arrival of the arresting officers, arrested suspect/s and complainant/s to the
police station, the DO will assess the nature of complaint or what crime/infraction of the
law the arrested suspect committed and if there is need for follow-up of the case.

b. In case there is no need for follow-up, the DO will refer the arrested suspect/s to the
fingerprint technicians for booking procedure.

c. The DO will issue IRTR to the victim/complainant

d. The DO will refer the case to the duty investigator for investigation including evidence
or pieces of evidence for proper disposition.

e. The IRF will be forwarded to the SIS for CIRS.

4. Blotter Procedure for Crime Incident and Emergency Cases

a. The DO will ask the initial data of incident from the duty Station Tactical Operation
Center (STOC) for example: fire, dragnet, arrival of VIPs etc. and the initial data will be
logged in the blotter book. The information will be relayed to the COP, Officer of the day
or Chief of Office concerned and other officers regarding the incident/event.

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b. If necessary, the DO will officially dispatch the concerned police personnel such as
Special Reaction Unit (SRU)/SWAT, Police Community Precinct (PCP)personnel,
Follow-up Operatives, investigators etc. logged in the blotter book to respond to a
particular police assistance or crime scene.

c. The DO will record all details of the incident that transpired within the area of
responsibility of the police station for future reference.

5. Importance of the Police Blotter

The Police Blotter entry reports serve as a permanent record of incidents, events,
problems, and occurrences. There are many types of reports each of which serves
different functions. A Police Blotter is used to keep informed of activities within the
police jurisdiction. It is also used to compile statistical information, identify problems in
the community, or identify police training needs. These reports are needed to facilitate
investigations, prepare court cases, or defend cases in court.

BASIC GUIDELINES

The narrative written in the IRF shall basically be the record that shall be
transcribed in the Police Blotter. While it is in a narrative form, it is prudent, however, to
list down some necessary information in the Police Blotter in itemized or outline form.
This shall answer the necessary requirements of the five W‟s and one H.

1. Who was involved? Write down the names of all those who were involved in the
incident, victims, suspects, witnesses, and whosoever may be listed as present during
the incident, or may not be present, but has knowledge about the incident. There is
nothing to lose, but all to gain, if all these persons are listed.

2. When did it take place? Be precise, as much as possible, indicating the time and date
of the incident.

3. Where did it take place? Describe in detail where the incident occurred. e.g. “In the
master’s bedroom of a two-storey brick house in 123 Juan Luna Street, Villa San Jose
Subdivision, Brgy. San Roque, Nabua, Camarines Sur”.

4. What happened? Police reports sometimes indicate the crime committed based on
the Revised Penal Code (RPC), like Murder or Homicide. In initial reports, which will be
subjected to thorough investigation, this is not necessary.

In the above example, a report of a “Shooting Incident” may be sufficient. It is the job of
the Investigator-on-Case to determine what crime was committed.

What is important is to present the detailed circumstances of what happened.

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5. Why did it happen? The pitfall of coming to a conclusion at this early is always
committed by the police responder. The „Why‟ answers a question, among others, as to
the motive of the incident. It is necessary to list down and detail all that were alleged by
the victims, suspects, and witnesses.

6. How did it happen? The narrative on how the

incident happened shall be indicated to show the
description of the chronology of events that led to
the incident and all the circumstances
thereafter. The actions taken during the initial
investigation at the scene shall also be
included. This shall include the incident, a
description of the circumstances
prevailing before, during, and after the incident,
and all other peculiar details that come to the
senses of the trained police responder. There is
no limit to what to include in the “How” portion of
the narrative.

7. Affixing Signatures and Contact Details. As

soon as the incident is transcribed in the
Police Blotter, the Desk Officer and the
Reporting Person shall sign in the Police Blotter.
It should be indicated under the name and
signature of the Reporting Person his address,
home telephone number, mobile phone
number, and identification card presented. In
the event that the

Reporting Person indicates that he does not

want his contact details to be recorded in a public
record as the Police Blotter, by reason of privacy,
the same should not be recorder as a matter
of respect to the said person’s rights, but it
should, however, be indicated in the IRF.

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 Chapter VIII
Nature and Importance of Spot Report,
Progress Report, Investigation Report

Learning Outcome:

1. Determine the definition of spot report, progress report and investigation report
2. Deals on the importance of Investigative Writing.

Spot report - 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 of
properties.

A concise narrative report of essential information covering events or conditions that

may have an immediate and significant effect on current planning and operations that is
afforded the most expeditious means of transmission consistent with requisite security.
Also called SPOTREP.

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Nature and
Importance of
Progress
Report

The
purpose of a
progress report
is to give clarity
on the progress
of a project, not
to describe every
single aspect
about what's
currently
happening in the

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project. Plus, the project manager reading the project will have an easier time reading
and remembering key elements in it.

Nature and Importance of Investigation report

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47
Endorsement - is a written communication that usually consists of only one paragraph,
but contains everything that the writer would like the reader to know. It is important to
take note that when the endorsement is going up, meaning from lower office to a higher
office, it should begin with “Respectfully submitted” or “Respectfully forwarded”. When it
is sent to an office of the same level, it should begin with “Respectfully transmitted”, and
when sent to a lower office, “Respectfully referred”. If what was endorsed is sent back,
the paragraph should begin with “Respectfully returned” whether the communication is
for a higher office, to an office of the same level, or lower office. Instead of using the
endorsement format, other police officers prefer the civilian business letter format.

Republic of the Philippines

National Police Commission
Philippine National Police

BAKUN MUNICIPAL POLICE STATION

Bakun, Benguet

1st Endorsement
November 7, 2020

Respectfully forwarded to the Honorable Provincial Prosecutor, Benguet

Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, La Trinidad, Benguet is the Case folder of Juan Tamad y
Talaga, alias Junjun, the suspect in a Robbery case committed on November 1, 2020 at
about 5:00 o’clock in the afternoon inside Room S230, University of Cordilleras, Gov.
Pack Rd., Bakun, Benguet for your further study, evaluation and final disposition.

NANDREV B. ODNAN, JR.

Police Major
Chief of Police

Enclosures:

Criminal Information------------------------------------------------------A
Criminal Complaint-------------------------------------------------------B
SS of Pedro Penduko----------------------------------------------------C
SS of Winny D. Poo------------------------------------------------------D
SS of Gabby Lim----------------------------------------------------------E
Joint Affidavit of Arrest---------------------------------------------------F
Booking Sheet-------------------------------------------------------------G
Xerox Copy of Police Blotter Entry-----------------------------------H

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Spot Report----------------------------------------------------------------I
Progress Report----------------------------------------------------------J
Final Report---------------------------------------------------------------K
Rough Sketch of Crime Scene---------------------------------------L
Finished Sketch of Crime Scene------------------------------------M
Photograph of Crime Scene------------------------------------------N
Dying Declaration-------------------------------------------------------O
Autopsy Report----------------------------------------------------------P
Medical Certificate------------------------------------------------------Q
Ballistic Report-----------------------------------------------------------R
Fingerprint Examination Report--------------------------------------S

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