Report Writing, Documentation, and Evidence Handling
Why reports matter more than memory
A report is read by the client, your supervisor, police, insurers, and possibly a jury, months or years later. Yours is often the only record. Write it as though the writer will not be available to explain it.
Structure that survives review
- Header data: report number, date, time of incident (24-hour format), location, author, badge/registration number, others present.
- Who, what, when, where, how - and why, if known. Names, dates of birth, descriptions, vehicle plates, serial numbers, injuries, witnesses.
- Chronological narrative, active voice, first person, short sentences.
- Facts, not conclusions: write that he placed two bottles inside his jacket and walked past the register, not that he was drunk and stole liquor. If you infer, label it: appeared to be, smelled of, stated.
- Direct quotations for admissions and threats, in quotation marks.
- Corrections: single line through the error, initial and date. Never erase, never white out, never rewrite and re-sign.
- Close-out: signature, date, time, and the name of who received the report.
Evidence and chain of custody
Log every item as it comes into your control: description, identifying marks or serial numbers, where and when found, from whom, and to whom transferred. Seal packages, sign across the seal, store in a locked evidence locker, and record every handoff. A break in the chain does not automatically destroy evidence, but it gives the defense its argument.
Worked example
Two officers respond to a fight. One writes from memory two hours later and omits the time the injured man was moved. Reasoning: contemporaneous field notes taken at the scene, converted into the narrative in time order with measured times and initials, protect the officer and the client. Ambiguity about who moved the man becomes an accusation of concealment.
Traps that cost marks
Vague times such as around midnight; opinions stated as facts; hearsay not attributed; missing negative details (what you checked and found secure); writing in the passive voice so no one knows who did what; late reports that invite a claim of fabrication.