Report Writing, Records, and Administrative Duties
What the exam tests
This domain tests supervisory review of reports for elements, probable cause, clarity, and records handling: retention, public records, discovery, and corrections.
Core rules
- Reports are first person, chronological, factual, and complete; include who, what, when, where, how, and the elements of the offense.
- Separate observation from hearsay and opinion; quote statements.
- Articulate facts supporting probable cause; avoid labels like drunk or resistive without behavior.
- Corrections use a single line, initials, and date; never obliterate or rewrite without documenting.
- Records follow retention schedules; confidential and juvenile records have limited release.
- Brady and Giglio material must be preserved and disclosed.
Worked example
A report says, Subject was drunk and resisted. The sergeant should return it for specifics: odor of alcoholic beverage, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, unsteady balance, field sobriety test results, and the exact actions constituting resistance, such as pulling an arm away or refusing to place hands behind the back. Reasoning: elements and probable cause must be provable from facts, not conclusions. The sergeant should document the review and coaching, not rewrite the officer's account as if it were the sergeant's.
Traps that cost marks
- Editing reports without documenting who changed what.
- Allowing boilerplate that does not match the facts.
- Mixing the sergeant's conclusions into the officer's narrative.
- Ignoring retention and public-records deadlines.