Report Writing: Controlled Delivery Narrative
You are drafting the seizure section of an HSI report after a controlled delivery. Your notes say: surveillance began at 0915; the package was delivered at 1022; subject A signed for it; subject B arrived at 1035; both were arrested at 1047; a consent search of the apartment yielded 4.2 kilograms of suspected fentanyl, a digital scale, and $9,800 cash. The field test was positive at 1105. A later evidence log shows the cash was entered as $8,900 at 1210. The case agent's draft says 'at approximately 0900, agents observed both subjects arrive together and carry the package inside.' Your partner says the discrepancy is 'close enough.' The U.S. Attorney's office will use the report for a detention memo. You have 45 minutes before the draft is due.
1. Identify the factual problems in the draft and explain how to correct them.
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The draft has three material problems. First, it says both subjects arrived together at approximately 0900, but the notes show surveillance began at 0915, A signed at 1022, and B arrived at 1035. That is not a minor rounding error; it changes who was present and when. Second, the cash amount is inconsistent: $9,800 in the notes and $8,900 in the evidence log. Third, the draft implies agents saw the subjects carry the package inside, which the notes do not establish.
I would correct the narrative to match the recorded times and observations, and I would not use 'approximately' to hide a 90-minute difference. I would flag the cash discrepancy rather than pick one number. If it cannot be resolved before the deadline, the report should state that the field count was $9,800 and the evidence log reflects $8,900, with the discrepancy under review.
2. Write a corrected narrative paragraph for the seizure section.
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On the date in question, agents established surveillance at 0915 hours. At 1022 hours, the delivery package was delivered and Subject A signed for it. At 1035 hours, Subject B arrived at the apartment. At 1047 hours, agents arrested both subjects. A consent search of the apartment followed, and agents recovered 4.2 kilograms of suspected fentanyl, a digital scale, and cash. The field count of the cash was $9,800. The evidence log later recorded $8,900 at 1210 hours; that discrepancy is being verified and is documented in a supplemental memorandum. A field test of the suspected fentanyl was positive at 1105 hours. The report does not state that both subjects arrived together or carried the package inside because the notes do not support those facts.
3. What should you do about the cash discrepancy before submitting?
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I would ask the partner and the evidence custodian to recount the cash in each other's presence, compare the original field envelope and the log entry, and check whether any cash was separately recorded as buy money, seized from another location, or returned. I would not simply change $9,800 to $8,900 or the reverse to make the report look consistent.
If the recount resolves the issue, I would prepare a memorandum documenting the correction and the basis for it. If it does not, I would preserve the original notes and log, notify the case agent and supervisor, and tell the AUSA before the detention memo is filed. The report can say the amount is subject to verification, but it cannot state a false figure.