Types of Written Communication in Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice as a system relies on myriad forms communication, and the types of
communication a specific criminal justice worker will use depends on her role in the
system, specific lo duties and similar factors (Thompson, 2017). Here are some of
the type of written communication used in the field of Criminal Justice:
1. Narratives and Reports
Narrative writing is a daily job duty for many police officers, who must write
clear reports detailing their interactions with and arrest of suspects. Police narrative
construction is a formal story-telling process necessary to focus investigative
strategy and to form the basis of a prosecution case file. The narrative tells the story
of the crime; what happened and why it happened. For the police the crime narrative
must achieve a certain end, it must result in a successful prosecution and conviction,
it must be plausible and believable, it must be supported by the evidence and it must
convince a jury to convict.
The narrative consists of facts; what the officer saw, heard, smelled,
observed, and experienced.
2. Legal Pleadings and Citations
Legal pleadings are formal pieces of writing submitted to the court, such as
motions for summary judgment and complaints for damages. The court may also
evaluate formal legal citations, such as tickets written by police officers. These
documents provide the court with information it needs to make a decision about
criminal defendants.
3. Judicial Orders
A judicial order is a document written by a judge that renders a decision about a
case. It outlines the legal rationale for the judge's decision, and may also outlines the
basic facts of the case.
4. Studies and Research
The criminal justice system is a massive institution that includes courts, jails
and even mental health facilities. Consequently, many criminal justice workers are
interested in studying the system to obtain various information. Studies on
sentencing, the causes of criminal behavior, proper police protocol and the
demographics of those involved in the criminal justice system are all common. Most
studies are highly formal and academic, and are typically overseen by academics or
by criminal justice experts with years of experience in the field.
5. Informal Communications
Like in any other profession, criminal justice professionals routinely draft
informal communications, such as emails to police officers or lawyers. When these
emails are between government officials, they are often open records subject to
public review. Consequently, criminal justice workers must often write their emails as
if they will be read by a third party.
Parts of a Narrative
1. Introduction
2. The Body
3. Conclusion

Writing Styles
Writing a narrative in criminal justice fields a combination of two writing styles
are used; they are:
1. Narration - It is the dominant writing style in criminal justice document
narrative. Narration tells a story by presenting events in an orderly structure and
logical sequence. In order to help the reader or the audience understand the
narrative, events are presented in chronological order starting with the writer's initial
involvement with the recent event and ending when the writer completes taking part
in official activities.
2. Descriptive Writing - Documents used in the criminal justice field need to
be very detailed and specific about names, times, dates, events, and geographical
location. Descriptive writing uses the five senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting
and touching) to tell the audience or reader the physical nature of a person, place, or
things, and in order for the narrative to be convincing, it must include specific details
to help create a picture for the reader.

Narrative Point of View

Point of view is the "eye" or narrative voice through which a story was told.
The story could be told by a character who is involved in the story, or from a
perspective that sees and knows all of the characters but is not one of them. There
are three primary types of point of view:
1. First Person Point of View - In the first person point of view, one of the
characters is narrating the story. This is generally revealed by the "I" sentence
construction and relies on first person pronouns such as I, Me, My, We, Us, Our,
Myself, and Ourselves.
2. Second Person Point of View - Second person point of view is structured
around the "you" pronoun. It uses second-person pronouns like "you" and "your" as
well as third-person POV words like "hers," "they," and "itself" but not "I" or "us." In
this uncommon POV, the narrator is usually an unspoken "me" talking to the spoken
"you."
3. Third Person Point of View - The author is narrating a story about the
characters and refers to them with the third person pronouns "he/she." It uses third-
person pronouns: He/him/his, She/her/hers, It/its, and They/Them/their/theirs.
Sample jargons/ slangs, and their simple terms
SLANGS AND JARGONS SIMPLE TERMS
Instead of these ambiguous and Use these easily understood
wordy terms... words instead…
stated
verbalized said
related
transpired happened
exited got out
responded went, drove
responded to
went to (give specific location)
the area of
initiated
instigated started
commenced
attempted
tried
made an effort
monitored
watched
surveilled
altercation
physical disturbance
fight
mutual combat
struggle
closed fist
fist
open fist
struck
battered hit
contacted
implement
tool
device
at this point
then
at this time
requested
asked
inquired
was in possession of
possess had
was running in a