POLICE BLOTTER

The police blotter is an informational record book that is utilized for evidentiary or referral purposes (Circular No. 5,
issued by the General Headquarters, PNP on December 10, 1992 – the rule: “Prescribing a Uniform Police Blotter for
the PNP”). This rule shall be followed by the different police officers and units throughout the country in making an
entry of events and incidents on the police blotter.
Each PNP operating unit shall maintain an official police blotter where all types of operational and undercover
dispatches shall be recorded containing the 5 W’s and 1 H of an information. It is a record of daily events occurring
within the territories/jurisdiction of a given police unit or command. It contains material detail concerning the event
for legal and statistical purposes.
Police Blotter for Cases Involving Women and Children
A separate police blotter, however, shall be maintained for crime incident reports involving violence against
women and children and those cases involving a child in conflict with the law to protect their privacy pursuant to RA
9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act of 2004) and RA 9344 (Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of
2006), respectively (PNP Operational Procedures 2013).
Contents of Entry
The entry in the police blotter should answer the following cardinal elements of a police record to wit: who, what,
why, where, when, how and the disposition of the case.
Who
These questions include the complete and correct name of all those who were involved in the incident such as the
victim/s, suspect/s, witness/es and whosoever may be listed as present during the incident, or may not be present, but
have knowledge about the said incident. The wrong name results in failure to locate a witness or apprehend a suspect.
The spelling should be correct including the middle name, exact home address/es whether residence or hotel,
telephone number, cellular phone number, and other contact details.
What
These questions are directed to the crime being committed. Police reports sometime indicate the crime committed
based on the RPC like Murder, Homicide, or Rape, among others. In initial reports such as Spot Report, which does
not require a thorough investigation yet, this is not essential. A report of a “Shooting Incident” may be sufficient. It is
the duty of the IOC to determine what crime was committed. What is more important is to present the detailed facts
and circumstances of what happened.
Where
These questions are concerned with the geographical location of the crime scene, property, or evidence. Describe in
detail where the incident exactly happened, e.g. “In the master’s bedroom of a two-storey brick house located at 69
Rizal Street, Villa de Calamba, Brgy. Halang, Calamba City, Laguna”.
When
These questions include the date and time when the felony/offense/infraction was committed, property found, suspect
apprehended, etc.
Why
These questions provide the object or desire which motivated the commission of the crime.
How
These questions pertain to the manner in which the crime was committed. The narrative on how the incident happened
shall be indicated to show the description of the chronology of events that led to the incident and all the circumstances
thereafter. The actions taken during the initial investigation at the scene shall also be included. This shall include the
weather, lighting, sounds, activities in the vicinity of the incident, a description of the circumstances prevailing before,
during, and after the incident and all other peculiar details that come to the senses of the trained police responder.
There is no limit to what to include in the “how” portion of the narrative.
Blotter Procedure
Before entry into the blotter book, the Duty Officer (DO) should evaluate first if the report is a crime incident, arrest
or event/activity, which is for records purposes only. If the report is a crime incident, the DO shall first accomplish the
Incident Record Form (IRF) from which the entry in the blotter book and IRS shall be extracted. All other reports
shall be recorded directly to the blotter book.
The following incidents or transactions, among others, are entered in the police blotter:
1. Violations of laws and ordinances reported and recorded;
2. All calls in which any members of the PNP are dispatched or takes official action;
3. All fire arms, reports and information received by the stations;
4. Movement of prisoners with corresponding notations on the authority for such movements;
5. Cases of missing and found persons, animals, and property;
6. Vehicular and other types of accidents which require police action;
7. All personal injuries, bodies found, and suicides;
8. Damage of property;
9. All cases in which police member is involved;
10. All arrests and returns made; and
11. Miscellaneous cases, general and special orders, violations of rules and regulations, and other reportable
accident that the substation, station commander, or higher authority desires to be recorded.
All crime incidents whether reported by the victims, witnesses or third parties must be recorded in the police blotter,
even under the following circumstances:
1. When the offender is ill and is unlikely to recover or is too senile or too mentally disturbed for proceedings to
take place;
2. When the complainant or an essential witness is dead and the proceedings cannot be pursued;
3. When the victim or an essential witness refuse, or is permanently unable to stand as a witness; and
4. The victim or complainant or witness is a minor.
The police unit with the territorial jurisdiction where the crime was committed shall have the primary responsibility to
record and report the same. If a continuing crime is committed in various areas of responsibilities, it should be
recorded and reported as a single crime by the unit taking cognizance of the crime.
Crime Incident Reporting System (CIRS)
Each PNP operating unit shall also maintain and utilize the PNP Crime Incident Reporting System (CIRS), an
electronic reporting system that facilitates crime documentation, modernizes data storage and provides quick and
reliable transmission of crime information from lower units and NOSUs of the PNP to the National Headquarters. This
is also known as electronic blotter or more popularly known as “e-blotter”.
Other Factors to Consider in Writing Police Blotter
1. All entries in the police blotter shall be handwritten in a clear, concise and simple manner but answering as
far as practicable the 5Ws and 1H. Clarity should not be sacrificed for brevity.
2. Only facts, not opinions, are entered in the blotter.
3. No erasures shall be made in the entries. Corrections are made by drawing one horizontal line over such
word or phrases and the actual entry initialed by the police officer making the correction.
4. A ball pen with blue or black ink is used for making the entries.
5. Misrepresentation in the blotter or any attempt to suppress any information therein are punishable criminally
and administratively.
6. The entries must be legibly written in long hand and consecutively numbered.
7. Every page of the blotter shall be consecutively or chronologically filled up. No line of space shall be left
blank between any two entries.
8. Any development of the case to be reflected in the blotter should be a new entry at the time and day it was
reported. A reference to the previous entry number of the case, however, should be made.
9. In every shift, the Duty Sergeant, under the supervision of the Duty Officer or Complaint Desk Officer, shall
make the actual entries in the blotter and at the end of his tour of duty, both the Duty Sergeant and Duty
Complaint Desk Officer shall sign the blotter.
Sample of a Police Blotter Entry

ENTRY DATE TIME INCIDENTS/ EVENTS DISPOSITION

NO.
2015-069 6-10-2015 8:10 AM At the stated date and time, an alleged shooting For referral to the
incident transpired along National Highway, Brgy. Investigation
Bucal, Calamba City, Laguna. Upon receipt of Section.
information, the operatives of this office responded
immediately to the crime scene. The victim was
identified as Romeo S. Tigasin, 38 years old,
married, carpenter, and a resident of Brgy. Halang,
this city.
The suspect left immediately after the commission
of the crime heading toward unknown direction. The
victim was brought to the nearest hospital at JP
Rizal Memorial Hospital for medication.
Sample of Incident Record Form
Certification of Police Blotter Excerpt
For whatever legal purpose, interested persons always seek a copy of a police blotter. Since the entry in the police
blotter is difficult to be machine-copied due to its size, a certification on the contents of a blotter entry, it should be
copied verbatimly, meaning, it should be copied word for word and no correction in the grammar or in any mistake
should be made in the entry.
Mistakes in the entry should be consulted to the Desk Officer who made the entry and he is the only person authorized
to correct it based on the procedures.

Sample Format of the Certification of Police Blotter Excerpt

Republic of the Philippines
NATIONAL POLICE COMMISSION
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE
NAGA CITY POLICE OFFICE
City of Naga

CERTIFICATION
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
 THIS IS TO CERTIFY that the following is an excerpt from the POLICE BLOTTER of this Police Unit dated
May 3, 2013, to wit:
2013-45, 03 May 13, 8:10AM
Robbery
Juanita de Guzman, 34 years old, married of No. 345 Abella Street, Brgy. Abella, Naga City, reported to this Police
Office that on or about 2:00AM of May 3, 2013, she was awakened with a noise from their kitchen and when she
checked it, she saw the person of Aldrin Dimayuga, of minor age, also a resident of their barangay, trying to escape in
an open door in the comfort room with her laptop and when she shouted for help, Dimayuga assaulted her with a
bladed weapon. Fortunately, her father was also awakened and successfully caught the suspect.
Officer-on-Case: SPO1 Jose C. Manzanero
Disposition: The case was filed in court with CC No. 2013-0056, Branch 15, RTC, Naga City.
====================================================================================
Given this 8th day of May 2013 at Naga City, Philippines.

FOR THE CITY DIRECTOR:

DANILO S. MAGBANUA
Police Superintendent
Chief, Admin Section