Effective Police Report Writing: Summary of 10 Tips

Here is a summary of the 10 Effective Police Report Writing Tips I have discussed in this blog. I occasionally will add to this compilation. In future blog entries I will provide similar suggestions regarding testifying in court.

Effective Police Report Writing Tips

#1: An officer is known by his or her reports.

#2: Juries want corroboration of the officer’s observations.

#3: Put something unique about the suspect/arrestee in your report.

#4: The Prosecutor reviews your report over a cup of coffee.

#5: It's impossible to accurately predict which case will go to trial.

#6: Spelling Counts!

#7: Statements are not necessarily admissions. Alibis aren't necessarily true.

#8: Avoid conclusionary language. Rather, describe thoroughly.

#9: Each arrest, each suspect, and each report is unique.

#10: Anticipate defense challenges and preempt them in your report.

Effective Police Report Writing, Tip #10

Anticipate defense challenges and preempt them in your report.

Anything you don't put in a report provides an opportunity for the defense to argue an alternative reality. In DUI cases, common defenses include: rising alcohol, a different driver (the passenger was driving), distractions during the Field Sobriety Testing phase, mouth alcohol, and more. A thorough report will preempt many of these typical challenges. For example, if the individual's alcohol level was rising, the person should be more impaired at the police station than at the arrest scene. If you believe "rising alcohol" may be a defense, then document how the individual is sobering up. If you anticipate an "It wasn't me driving" defense, document why you are certain that no one else was driving. 

A comprehensive, accurate, and thoroughly descriptive report (CAT) that anticipates defenses will prevent the defense from filling-in missing details in your report with a different version of the event. 

Effective Police Report Writing, Tip #9

Each arrest, each suspect, and each report is unique.

Just as no two snowflakes are identical, no two police reports, even for the same crime, should be identical. Not only do the names, locations and times change from investigation to investigation, the signs and symptoms exhibited (such as in a DUI/DRE case) by an individual will differ. In the old days (yes, I was there) police reports were handwritten or typed. With the advent of word processing computer programs in the 1980's, some officers were tempted to submit reports in which only the names, locations, and times were altered.  Every DUI arrest read the same way; every DUI arrestee exhibited exactly the same signs and symptoms. If your reports are of this "rubber-stamp" variety, it's only a matter of time before a defense attorney will use this to challenge your credibility in court.  Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Rosemary Chavez, an ardent supporter of DUI and DRE officers, once remarked that (as the rock group Aerosmith sang) "the Dude looks like a lady." Rosemary was referring to her observation that rubber-stamped word processed reports sometimes confuse the gender of the arrestee - that John is all of a sudden referred to as Denise. Write your reports to enhance your credibility, not harm it.

Citizen Videos of Police

Though not directly related to DRE, this is certainly relevant to the work of police officers. I frequently teach in my courtroom testimony and report writing classes that officers should assume everything they do is being recorded. In the late 1980's and early 1990's, a former Hawthorne, CA sergeant, Don Jackson, video-taped officers during encounters. He was very good at inciting officers into conducting inappropriate searches and more. Today, Jackson, now known as Diop Kamau, runs the PoliceAbuse.com website that incorporates videos of encounters. Kamau's activities were highlighted in a USA Today front page feature story on October 15, 2010.

In about 1990 I encountered Jackson during an LAPD "Operation Hammer." I have not seen the video of this event until today. He knew the law, and nearly induced the officers into conducting an inappropriate, and possibly illegal, search. The officers fortunately came to me first asking for permission to demand ID of all the occupants of Jackson's vehicle. After conferring with the officers, it was clear to me that they did not have legal grounds to demand the ID.  I defused the situation, and we all went on our way. It was clear - based on subsequent "stings" by Jackson, that I possibly saved these officers' reputations and careers. Within a few weeks of this incident, Jackson was stopped by officers from a different Southern California police department. Jackson knew exactly what buttons to push, and the officers arrested Jackson. Unfortunately for the officers, their report did not match the video that Jackson had secretly recorded. Here's a direct link to the video of my encounter with Jackson.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6KK2zpF8rc&feature=player_embedded

Effective Police Report Writing, Tip #8

 Avoid conclusionary language. Rather, describe thoroughly.

Officers frequently use the term "paranoid" to describe an individual who is under the influence of certain drugs, particularly cocaine and methamphetamine. Well, unless you have performed a psychiatric assessment of the person resulting in a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, avoid using the term "paranoid" in your report, as well as on the witness stand. Paranoia is a very specific mental disorder, characterized by delusions of persecution.

Rather, thoroughly describe what is was about the individual's appearance and behavior that lead you to conclude that the person was paranoid. For example, the individual may be fidgeting, moving his/her head back and forth to see if anyone is behind them. The person may express feelings of irrational fear. The person may have a "case of the windows," and may express the thought that imaginary people are watching him/her. The reader of the report, including the judge and jury, may conclude from the descriptions of the person's behavior that "Wow, it sounds like he was paranoid."

"Following too close" is another frequent example of conclusionary language. Explain why and how you determined  the person was "following too close." After all, you want others to agree with your conclusion.