Effective Police Report Writing, Tip #2

Juries want corroboration of the officer’s observations.

This tip comes from City of Minneapolis, MN Prosecutor Karen Herland. Karen, who served for many years on the IACP’s DRE Technical Advisory Panel (TAP), successfully prosecuted the landmark State v. Klawitter case. This was the first time that DRE testimony passed the scrutiny of a State’s Supreme Court.

Right or wrong, today’s juries don’t automatically assume that the police are infallible. Juries may not even believe that police officers always tell the complete truth. Therefore, your report should include the names and identifying information of others, particularly civilians, who witnessed the driving, the personal contact phase, the SFSTs, or other relevant aspects of the investigation. These witnesses may be valuable in corroborating your observations.