Transcript Document

Note ̶ Taking and Reports
Chapter 4
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Overview
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Note-taking
Reports
Review Questions
Opportunity for Student Questions
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Learning Objectives
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Understand how note-taking aids the criminal
investigator
List and define the various styles of notetaking
Use field notes to formulate the police report
Understand the purposes of the police report
List the elements of a well written report
Understand the various types of investigative
reports and the circumstances in which they
are used
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Field Notes
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Field notes are the basis for a complete and accurate
police report
Field note-taking is essential to capture information
that might otherwise be lost
Field notes are written impressions and facts gathered
during all investigative activities
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Arrival at the scene
Witness interviews
Interrogations
Crime scene searches
Record searches and reviews
Crime scene sketches
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Field Notes
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Serve as the factual foundation for the
report
Good notes turn into good reports
Serve as memory aids
– Future interviews
– Briefing other officers or supervisors
– Testifying in court
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Enhance the credibility of the officer and
the report
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Field Notes ̶ Specific
Information to be Captured
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Location and time of offense
Names and identifying data of victims,
witnesses, or suspects
Verbatim statements
Property and injury listings
Investigative data and method of
operation
Crime scene recording
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Field Notes ̶ Styles
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Outline style
– Arranged by subject
– Arranged by time
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Verbatim method
– Precise words of the individual giving the
statement
– Can be of great courtroom value
– Officers should use quotation marks when
documenting exact statements
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Keep crime scene notes separate from
statement notes
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Field Notes ̶
How to Write Them
Notes should be legible and orderly
Keep them organized
Follow a standardized pattern, regardless of the
type of case
Be systematic
Don’t put the names of confidential informants in
your notebook
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Defense attorneys are entitled to see your notes if you use
them to prepare your testimony
Use a code or number to refer to any informant (DD125)
Keep them professional
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Field Notes–
Documentation
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Times
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When you were dispatched
Arrival time
Beginning and end of interviews
All times!
Verbatim statements
Proper names and date of birth
Phone number, address, etc.
Remember: Effective notes are essential
for effective reports!!!
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Reports
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Police reports are the natural culmination
of field notes
Reports are a permanent record and are
intended to preserve information
15 ̶ 20% of an officer’s duty time is
expended on report writing
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
When are Incidents
Documented by the Police?
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Reports are written
– Whenever an arrest is made
– For all serious incidents including felonies that include
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Bomb threats
Homicides
Robberies
Officer discretion is involved in the report decision for
minor incidents, when no arrest is made, or when a
crime has not been committed
– Minor disturbances
– Noise complaints
– Minor thefts
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Who Reviews Reports?
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Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
Other investigators or
patrol officers
Supervisors
Officials from other law
enforcement agencies
Prosecutors
Defense attorneys
Judges (including
appellate judges)
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Reports are Public
Documents
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Most agencies must release law
enforcement reports as public
documents
– To media
– To a private requester
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Mandated by statute or case law in
most states
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
The Paper Trail…Starts
with the Initial Report
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
The Paper Trail…Ends with
Lack of Leads or Arrest
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
The Six Questions All Police Reports
Should Answer
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Who
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Committed the crime
Was the victim
Are the witnesses
Reported the incident
When
– Did the crime occur
– Was the crime reported
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
Where
– Did the crime occur
– Is the evidence
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How
– Did the crime occur
– Was the crime
discovered
– Were the police notified
What
– Happened
– Was stolen
– Evidence exists
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Why
– Did the suspect commit
the crime
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
General Report Writing Guidelines
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It must contain precise data
The typical report is totally objective
Opinions and conclusions not based on fact
do not belong in a report
Information in the report should be based
on fact
The majority of facts in a report will have
been experienced by the officer directly
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Specific Report Writing Rules
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It should be well organized
Events should be in chronological order
Reports should be accurate and brief
Reports must be complete
No slang or police jargon should be used
Quotations should be accurate and reflect
exactly what was said ̶ including
vulgarities, slang, profanity, etc.
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Five Essential Elements to
a Police Report
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Completeness
Conciseness
Clearness
Correctness
Courteousness or fairness
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Types of Investigative
Reports
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Preliminary reports
Progress reports
Prosecution reports
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Preliminary Reports:
What the Officer Documents
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The offense
Current date and time
Date and time of the offense, if known
Identification data pertaining to the victim
or other reporting party
Location of the offense
Method of operation
Identification data pertaining to the suspect
Identification of the officer
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Progress Reports
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Document the progress of the investigation
Are normally due at specified intervals or
whenever investigative activity dictates
Designed to ensure constant follow-up to the
initial crime occurrence
Are common to all detective bureaus
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Closing and Prosecution
Reports
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May be on a separate “Closing Case” form
Should be used with greater frequency
– Filters out essential information
– Identity of victims and witness are included
– Evidence information is included
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Lab test results
How evidence was located at the scene
Transmission of evidence
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Reports are Links to
Successful Prosecution
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Well-organized, accurate, and complete
reports are key
Many successful plea negotiations
resulting in guilty pleas are due to wellwritten police reports
One of the biggest factors to a case going
to trial is a poorly written police report
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Review Questions
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Explain what “field notes” are.
List five examples of what should be documented
during an investigation in field notes .
Why shouldn’t you put the names of informants in
your field notes?
Explain the relationship of field notes to formal
police reports.
What are the six questions that all police reports
should try to answer?
Give an example for each of the six questions in
Question 5.
What are the three types of investigative reports?
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Student Questions
Criminal Investigation, 7th Edition
By James N. Gilbert
PRENTICE HALL
©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458