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Report Writing

Criminology (Bulacan State University)

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REPORT WRITING
The ability to write reports effectively is advantageous in any
profession, most especially in the police service because "EVERY
POLICE ACTION TAKEN MUST BE FOLLOWED BY A WRITTEN REPORT." Hence, all
information important to the police must be reduced to writing. In
many cases, however, there are no set patterns, but each police
officer prepares his written reports as he sees fit.

TWO GENERAL TYPES (CATEGORIES) OF POLICE REPORTS:

1.Basic (Informal) - This type of report deals with the ordinary
miscellaneous, usual, day-to-day memorandum, letter, or form
accomplished by any member of a unit or section, precinct, bureau, or
division within a department, in accordance with the prescribed
regulation.
Types of Informal Reports:
General Orders – used to publish matters relating to the
modification of the skeleton of the organization, shifting of
functions from one command to another, changes of territorial
jurisdiction of police precincts, and those that require the execution
of policies of the administration.
Special Orders – used to announce appointments of personnel, whether
original or promotional, reinstatements, rank promotions, salary
increases, transfers, designations, administrative fines, and
punishments, resignations, retirements, and dismissals.
Numbered Memoranda – it contains directives of general concern to,
and for compliance by, all units and offices on specific subjects
concerning various phases of external and internal police
administration.
Circulars – utilized in the publication of the law, ordinances,
executive orders, republic acts, administrative orders, opinions, and
other valuable information which serve as convenient guides and
references for members in the performance of their official duties.
Memoranda – used for the dissemination of specific orders for
implementation/compliance by certain units or individual members,
usually of temporary nature or lasting for a certain period only. This
is also utilized for the publications of letters of appreciation and
other communications from various government and/or private offices
and individuals.

Contents of a basic police report/letter:

1.The heading or the letterhead of the organization, office or section
where the writer is assigned;
2.The date of preparation or submission;
3.The person or office to whom it is addressed or submitted;
4.The text proper; and
5.The name of the writer or source of the report.
2. Investigative (Formal) - This pertains to the exact narration of
facts, without any addition or subtraction, which were discovered
during the course of investigation.

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CLASSIFICATION OF IRs:
1. Initial or Advance Report - This is a written narration of facts
concerning a new case assigned to an officer. It is written and
submitted immediately upon the termination of the initial
investigation.
This report is a piece of advanced information on a new or fresh
case assigned to an investigator. It is written and submitted
immediately after having conducted the initial investigation of the
case.
Initial reports may be either in the form of a:
1.SPOT REPORT
2.ADVANCE INFORMATION REPORT
3.ALARM REPORT
4.INCIDENT REPORT and the like

SPOT REPORT
A spot report is done after an important incident took place in a
certain area (a precinct, a station, a provincial or regional police
installation, or in the General Headquarters of the PNP) at a given
time. Verbal or written, it must be done or acted upon within 24
hours.

SPECIAL REPORT
This is done either because one feels he has some reporting to do or
is obliged to report, based on a directive or instruction from the
higher headquarters office.

PARAGRAPH CONTENTS IN A SPECIAL REPORT

Problem - What the report is all about? Why is it written in the
first place? This problem portion is reflected in the first paragraph,
sometimes contiued to the next. Rationale - This refers to the
specifications related to the problem. More often than not, these
details are shown in the subordinating paragraphs after the problem is
defined.
Action - Usually, the last paragraph has this. What action must the
receiver/reader do?

2. Progress or Follow-up - This is a written narration of facts

discovered by the officer-on-case in the course of his follow-up
investigation. For every development in the case, a progress report
must be immediately submitted as a result of the follow-up
investigation.

3. Final or Closing Report - This is a complete narration of facts

based on an exhaustive investigation of the case by the officer who
initially started investigating the case.

CRITERIA IN MAKING AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT:

It should be grammatically correct; abbreviations must be used
appropriately and correctly, and avoid slang and unnecessary terms.
PARTS OF AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
1. ADMINISTRATIVE DATA:

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a.Date - The date on which the investigator’s dictation or

draft of the report was given to the typist will be the date
of the report;
b.File Number - This is a matter of local custom. Standard
decimal classification file numbers can be used;
c.Subject - If the subject is known, his full name and
address, he may be
subsequently referred to in the same report as the SUBJECT or
by his last name in capital letters. If the subject is
unidentified, a short description should be given using the
fictitious name JOHN DOE;
d.Classification - The specific nature of the case should be
given. This may be done by citing the name of the crime and
section of the penal code under which it is punished;
e.Complaint - The name of the complainant and the manner in
which the complaint was received will be given. The complaint
may have been received directly or from another office;
f.Reporting Investigator - The name of the
ininvestigatorssigned to the case will be given. Assisting
investigators will be listed in the details of the report.

This is of particular importance to the prosecutor in preparing for

trial;
g.Office of Origin - The office, squad, or precinct in which
the complaint was received or which has jurisdiction over the
area where the offense requiring investigation took place is
considered as the office of origin ;
h.Status - This entry should reflect the status of the case
within the office or squad submitting the report. The status
is either “Pending” or “Closed”; 1) Pending - This term, when
used by the office of origin, indicates that the investigation
is continuing. In effect, it often means that the case is not
closed. 2) Closed - A case can be closed by the office of
origin. Ordinarily, it is closed for one of the following
reasons:
3) Auxiliary Completion - This designation status is used by
an auxiliary office or squad on completing its assigned
portion of the investigation.
i. Distribution - The disposition of the original and all
copies of the report should be clearly stated.

2. SYNOPSIS
Each report should bear on its cover sheet a synopsis or brief
description of the perpetrator's actions as established by the body of
the report and the summary of the major investigative steps thus far
accomplished. This is done in a single paragraph using the narrative
style. If the perpetrator is known, his name should be used, and his
present status described.

3. Details of the Report - The “DETAILS” section of the report has a

narrative account of the investigation for its objective. It should be

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arranged logically with an eye to the reader's comprehension. Each

paragraph should normally contain a separate investigative step.
Paragraphs and pages should be numbered. All pertinent details
uncovered by the phase of the investigation being reported should be
related. The investigator should refer parenthetically to all exhibits
which support details.
4. Conclusions and Recommendations (optional) - This comprises the
investigator’s opinions, conclusions, and recommendations regarding
the status of the case and the disposition of physical evidence that
should be expressed under this heading.
5. Undeveloped Leads - This is an “uncontacted” possible source of
information that appears necessary in bringing the investigation to a
logical conclusion. The investigator should try to make each lead
specific, stating exactly what information is to be expected from the
lead.
6. Inclosures - These are supplementary documents consisting of
photographs and sketches of crime scenes, identification photographs,
photostats of checks.

OTHER POLICE REPORTS:

1.Beat Inspection Report - This report is one of the widely practiced

written communications at the station level. It is routinary as it is
submitted daily by any duty inspector.

2.After Patrol Report or Mobile Patrol Report - This report uses a

form of communication. The team leader fills in the blank. Since three
(3) shifts within 24 hours, three after patrol reports (1st, 2nd, &
3rd shifts) are submitted daily by three team leaders - each one is
presumed to have observed an 8-hour tour of duty with their members.

3.Situational Report - This is done on a need basis. The commander or

the chief has to know the actual situation of a particular incident or
incident of public interest. He has to know from his subordinate
unit/s just what is happening even before media reports. If possible,
he should be informed even before the public is informed. This may
be done every hour, every six hours, every eight hours, depending on
the situation. During peacetime, a situational report is not
necessary.

TYPES OF REPORT WRITERS:

1.Those who write without thinking;
2.Those who write and think at the same time; and
3.Those who think first and write afterward.

NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE:
Among the techniques in composition, narration (long or short;
preferably short but complete) is effective in the police report
(Hurboda, 1996). This is because narration concerns with events, with
action, and with life in action. The action takes place in time. There
is a chronological movement from a beginning to an end. This means

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that the report begins when something happened; it ends when something
has finished happening.

THREE ESSENTIALS OF A NARRATIVE:

1.Setting
2.Character:
3. Action:
1.Complete and correct name. Wrong names result in failure to
locate a witness or apprehend a suspect. The spelling should be
correct; the name, including the middle initial, should be
exact.
2.Exact home address (be it a residence or a hotel) and
telephone numbers.
3.Relative questions under WHO may include the following:
a. Who was present at the crime scene: witness, suspects,
victims, etc.
b. Who was apprehended?
c. Who discovered the evidence?

B. BASIC PARTS OF THE SWORN STATEMENT

The Sworn Statement of the witness, complainant/victim, and informant
should be in a language understood or used by him and should contain
the following basic parts:
1.The title or identification of the statement containing the name and
address of the affiant, the name of the investigator as well as his
rank, the witnesses to the statement, information as to where and when
the statement was taken;
2.The affiant shall be informed of his Constitutional Rights;
3.The question revealing the personal circumstance of the affiant;
4.The question asking the affiant if he/she knows why he/she is being
questioned;
5.The questions proving the individual elements of the suspected
violation/crime (WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHO, and HOW);
6.The affiant's sworn statement should contain sufficient details as
to the commission of the offense/crime;
7.The affiant shall be informed that the investigator has no more
question to him/her;
8.The sworn statement should contain errors or mistakes in every page
intentionally committed by the investigator. While reading it, the
affiant's attention should be invited to these errors or mistakes.
He/she should be made to correct them in his/her own handwriting and
affix his/her initials thereto. In many instances, the affiant, upon
the counsel's advice, would wish to deny the statement or set up the
defense that he/she has signed the statement without reading it. All
personal corrections of the affiant thereof would disprove all the
foregoing denials; and
9.The signature of the affiant (if-minor - to conclude the signature
of the parents/guardian.

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