Lecture Field Notes and Reporting

FIELD NOTES AND REPORTING Objectives 1) Understand the importance of field notes. 2) List the six interrogatory investigative questions. 3) Understand formats for basic incident reports. 4) Discuss aids to information gathering. 5) Summarize report approval and disposition processes. 6) List elements common to incident reports. 7) Explain techniques involved in writing effective reports. Overview Field notes play a significant role in every criminal investigation. They provide a short written record of events, times, places, suspects, witnesses, and other information; and they are used as the basis of incident/offense reports. The importance of taking effective and complete notes in every investigation, regardless of the offense, should not be underestimated. Because field notes are more reliable than a person’s memory, they can be used as a source of specific facts and details that otherwise might be forgotten. Detailed field notes also reduce the need to recontact victims and witnesses regarding information that was overlooked or questions that were not asked in the initial contact. Moreover, it is not uncommon for officers to testify in court several months or years later regarding a particular investigation. Comprehensive field notes not only help refresh the investigator’s memory but also strengthen his or her court testimony. This chapter examines several aspects of the field note and report writing process. After discussing field notes and the basic and primary questions that need to be asked in an investigation, it addresses the importance of completing well-prepared incident/offense reports. Incident report formats vary among law enforcement agencies. Despite the variation, however, there are common elements that should be included in all reports. Investigators should gain as much information as possible when arriving at the crime scene. Even facts and details that seem unnecessary at first may later prove to be highly valuable for the investigation. Aids to information are also discussed in this chapter. Investigators will often interview witnesses and victims who may be unable to provide or articulate important details. Visual and descriptive aids such as suspect description forms and photographs of weapons can improve the information-gathering process. After presenting a brief overview on the growing use of mobile data terminals and other computerized tools that facilitate the report-writing process, the chapter concludes with a discussion on how o write effective reports. Lecture Notes I. Field Notes A. The Importance of Field Notes Field notes are the shorthand written record made by police officers from the time they arrive at the scene until the assignment is completed. The following factors form the importance of field notes: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. B. Field Notes are More Reliable than an Officer’s Memory. It only takes a short period of time for some important details to slide away from your memory, and the only way to combat this potential loss of information is to rely on field notes which you previously prepared. Field Notes are the Primary Information Source for the Incident/Offense Report. Because the first-responding officer is usually the person who writes any incident report which is required by the situation, field notes are important because they represent the information which forms the content of the incident report. Detailed Field Notes May Reduce the Need to Re-contact the Parties Involved. Once in a while, victims and witnesses get annoyed and even angry when they are re-contacted by an officer who obviously did not take good field notes when he/she talked to them earlier and therefore cannot complete the incident report without additional information. Field Notes Are Used to Defend the Integrity of the Incident/Offense Report. During courtroom testimony you may refer to field notes to refresh you recollection of the events. FIELD NOTES CAN BE SUBOPOENED FOR COURT. When this occurs, the entire notebook may become available for inspection by the defense. Do not put any information, comments, or personal information in your notebook unless you would be comfortable seeing this information in the newspaper or on TV. Guidelines for the Note Taking Process There are six main guidelines for taking notes: a) Listen attentively, without interrupting the person who is speaking. b) Intervene if the speaker is losing focus; bring the person back to the topic as gently as possible. c) Review all specifics in your notes with the person providing the information. d) Allow time for the person to consider the information you have stated and to verify it, correct it, or add information. e) Add and/or correct information as needed. f) Verify all changes in your notes with the speaker. 2. Six Interrogatory and Basic Investigative Questions a) In terms of the incident report, the basic questions which the firstresponding officer to a crime scene needs to find answers for are blank spaces on the face of an incident report. Typically this includes information about who the victims and witnesses are and how to contact them, the specifics associated with the crime, and descriptions of the suspect. b) There are also numerous other questions which must be asked called interrogatory questions. These include: what, when where, who, how, and why. Although no single set of questions can meet the needs for investigating all types of crime, there are six primary questions which have long be recognized in the field for being very useful. II. The Six Interrogatory and Basic Investigative Questions First-responding officers and follow-up investigators should phrase all questions beginning with the six interrogatories—who, what, where, when, how, and why. III. Incident Reports Incident reports are important to the police agency for a variety of reasons and have many uses as lists. A. Formats for Incident Reports Basic Incident Reports While the exact layout for incident reports typically varies from one jurisdiction to another, they all have a “face” with blanks into which the officer conducting the preliminary investigation enters basic case information. These blanks require information about the type of crime committed, the complainant, victim, witnesses, and offenders, and other details. Additional investigative information is written in the blank space available on the reverse of the face or on a page which may be referred to as “continuation.” Less commonly, the procedures of an agency may require that the narrative is written in a particular format with the following kinds of headings and content: 1. Suspects: Additional information about suspects. 2. Witnesses: Information from witnesses, including their descriptions of events and things as they experienced them through their four senses. 3. Evidence: The evidence seized, how it was marked, the chain of custody, and numbers assigned and recorded by the property or evidence control room. 4. Interviews: All persons with whom the investigator talked during the course of the inquiry should be identified, even if they could not provide information at the initial contact. 5. Investigation: A short description of the crime scene may be given to permit a basic conceptualization by persons who are unfamiliar with the scene. 6. Reconstruction: Reconstruction is a narration of the probable manner in which the crime was committed, based on interviews, documentation of evidence, and examination of the scene. B. NIBRS—Complaint Incident Report Forms For roughly a decade, there has been a voluntary program underway which is moving police departments away from the basic incident report format and toward a detailed format which collects much more data about an offense. This program, the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), is administered by the FBI. C. Aids to Information Gathering for the Incident Report D. E. F. G. Whenever there are witnesses to a crime, even the most conscientious investigator may fail to elicit all information available. For example, a form may be used for collecting all personal description information from witnesses. Computer-Generated Reports The use of computers in cars is not a new development. By the 1980s, many police cars were equipped with mobile data terminals (MDTs). 1. The continued development of wireless technologies has created new options and possibilities for the use of technology in police cars. 2. In addition to using MDTs, some agencies are using Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). These small hand-held units are particularly useful in traffic enforcement. Handwritten Reports Although there are many MDTs in use nationally, still there are sizeable numbers of officers who write all of their reports by hand because their jurisdiction cannot afford to acquire MDT technology. It is not a priority in their budget process, or the expenditure to acquire the technology is seen as more costly than benefits created. Supervisory Disposition of Incident Reports After approving an incident report, the supervisor must make some disposition of it. The following dispositions may be made by the supervisor. The case may be retained for further investigation by uniformed officers; it may be unfounded, which means the complaint is false. Also, the case may be inactivated due to the lack of leads; it may be referred to plainclothes investigators, or the case may be completed and closed. Common Elements of Incident Reports 1. Name The full names of complainants, witnesses, and other parties must always be obtained. 2. Race, Ethnicity, and Sex Race or ethnicity extraction should never be documented in such a manner as to cast aspersion on any one person. 3. Age On entries requiring only a person’s age, they should be indicated as of the last birthday. 4. Physical and Email Addresses Physical and email addresses are particularly important because it helps investigators to find people for additional interviews or related procedures. 5. Telephone/Pager/Wireless Numbers Telephone/pager/wireless numbers of an individual should always be obtained, including area code, residence number, and business number, including any extension number. 6. Personal Descriptions A model form for gathering personal descriptions is shown and discussed later in this chapter. 7. Property Description 8. 9. 10. 11. Elements useful in describing property are make, model, serial number, color, and material type from which the property is constructed. Occupation The occupation of a person may be of importance to an investigation. Value The value of property stolen may determine whether the offense is a felony or misdemeanor. Date As a result of Y2K problems, police departments abandoned the use of a six-digit format to record dates (MM/DD/YY, e.g., 10/22/98) and adopted an eight-digit format (MM/DD/YYYY, i.e., 10/22/2000) for the same purpose. Time For all official business, excluding general public and related information, most police agencies use the military system or 24-hour clock. III. WRITING EFFECTIVE REPORTS A. If incident reports are going to serve the many uses to which they can be put, they must meet certain standards. 1. Fill in all of the blanks on the incident report unless the information is not available or it is refused to the officer. 2. Write the report in the first person, using “I arrived at the scene at 1645 hours.” 3. Avoid unnecessary technical or legalistic jargon such as “hereinafter,” “point of fact,” or “thereof.” 4. Write short sentences because they are less likely to be confusing or to be misunderstood by the readers or listeners. 5. Use short paragraphs for the same reason as those for writing short sentences. 6. Support any conclusions you express with details. 7. Do not repeat facts. 8. Check your spelling. 9. Edit what you write. IV. THE FOLLOW-UP INVESTIGATION AND SUPPLEMENTAL REPORTS A. Periodically during the follow-up investigation supplemental reports must be initiated. B. The purpose of writing follow-up reports is to keep the file current as new or corrected information is gathered. Additionally, specific acts or accomplishments might require individual supplemental reports, such as issuing a BOLO. At other times a supplemental report may be required including: 1. When the offense is unfounded. 2. When it is exceptionally cleared. 3. When the case is inactivated.