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.Friday, October 22, 2010
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.
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.
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