Report writting

[hemi444]

[QUOTE=N. A. Corbier]Learn how to write good reports now, so you have a basic understanding when you take Reporting Writing for Criminal Justice.QUOTE]

I thought about this and giving the wbc's only provide little I/R writting or none at all.

With a new s/o starting in the field they are only taught who, why, what, and where concept.

I had gotten burnt when I first started out and have learned the values of this concept.

When I was able to help s/o's that were assigned to me, I ried to stick to some of the basics such as follows.

Example:
Who:

Who reported it?
Who was involved?
Who discovered it?
Who committed it?
Who assisted with the incident?
Who is the victim?
Who summoned you?
So on and so on

Why:

Why was the act or crime committed?
Why was the act or crime reported?
Why were the witnesses unwilling to talk?
so on and so on

What:

What Happened?
What cirme was committed?
What did the suspect do or what were his action?
What do the witnesses know about the incident?
so and so on

Where:

Where did the crime or act happen?
Where were the witnesses?
Where was the victim>
Where is the offender know?
Where did the complainat come from?

When:

When did it happen?
When was it reported?
When was it discovered?
so on and so on

Does anyone have or does there agency have this type of report writting tips?

[Mr. Security]

.....

Example:

Why:

Why was the act or crime committed?
Why was the act or crime reported?
Why were the witnesses unwilling to talk?

Does anyone have or does there agency have this type of report writting tips?

Just a note of caution on the "Why" questions. If it calls for opinion, interpretation, conclusion or speculation, it is best not to document it. Otherwise your credibility may be attacked on cross-examination.

[ACP01]

Just a note of caution on the "Why" questions. If it calls for opinion, interpretation, conclusion or speculation, it is best not to document it. Otherwise your credibility may be attacked on cross-examination.
IF during the interview the victim states something like..
"When we broke up he sais he would burn my car for starters and I think he might do more." (OK time to get LE and Arson involved) That would not be an opinion and would be admissable.
"I think they had an argument and that is why he broke the window." would be an opinion.

If you can keep it to "Just the facts Ma'am", there shouldn't be any problem.

[Mr. Security]

IF during the interview the victim states something like..
"When we broke up he sais he would burn my car for starters and I think he might do more." (OK time to get LE and Arson involved) That would not be an opinion and would be admissable.
"I think they had an argument and that is why he broke the window." would be an opinion.

If you can keep it to "Just the facts Ma'am", there shouldn't be any problem.

I agree. :)

[hemi444]

My first tip would be to improve on your spelling and grammar.

Sorry but when you have a time limit before the thread post closes, you try and hurry.
http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/alles_moegliche/mixed-smiley-030.gif

[hemi444]

To. You try TO hurry.
I need to hurry because the computer will take me back to the login and I lose everything.
http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/alles_moegliche/mixed-smiley-037.gif

[Mr. Security]

I need to hurry because the computer will take me back to the login and I lose everything.
http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/alles_moegliche/mixed-smiley-037.gif

Try clicking on the box that says: "Remember Me."

[hemi444]

Try clicking on the box that says: "Remember Me."
Not an option at work.... Here at home I do not have a problem.

[hemi444]

ffemt.......Is it just me or is there a little bit of an attack?... Just wondering.

[Mr. Security]

Not an option at work.... Here at home I do not have a problem.

Sorry. :( I know how frustrating that is because it used to happen to me, especially after a good post. :eek:

[1stWatch]

Writting: an English gentleman who plays cricket and never misses his tea. Writing a report about Writting helps him with his self esteem.
:p ;)

[Mr. Security]

Guys: With all due respect, we try to be a little more kind and understanding on this forum. Even when we have a valid point, it?s always good to be tactful when responding. That's a big difference with this forum as opposed to some other forums that you may have visited.

I'm sure that hemi444 wanted to be helpful. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. OK, I'm finished preaching. ;) :)

[Bill Warnock]

Guys: With all due respect, we try to be a little more kind and understanding on this forum. Even when we have a valid point, it?s always good to be tactful when responding. That's a big difference with this forum as opposed to some other forums that you may have visited.

I'm sure that hemi444 wanted to be helpful. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. OK, I'm finished preaching. ;) :)

It is the content of the message that is important. Hemi444 has useful data as to the rest of you and for that I am greatful.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[ACP01]

Ey neavr hve ani trubl with mi spelng. :rolleyes:

[1stWatch]

Okay now, I sincerely apologize if I offended anyone with my posting there. I was trying to add nonsensicle (is that a word?) humor to the postings with a silly pun. I don't think I've emphasized enough how much of a dork I am :p

[Mr. Security]

Ey neavr hve ani trubl with mi spelng. :rolleyes:

me kneetheir. reedin, righten iz e z. ;)

[Mr. Security]

Why would you have offended anyone? You worry too much about what other people think if you're worried about what anyone on some Internet forum thinks of you.

Actually, he earned my respect with his apology. He did the right thing and that's what counts. :)

[Mr. Security]

No need to apologize when you don't do anything wrong.

That's true. Sometimes people misunderstand what we say even if we didn't mean anything bad by it. Clearing the air never hurts though.

[1stWatch]

No need to apologize when you don't do anything wrong.

Doing that seems to be the way of proper etiquette if someone raises an objection, even if in passing. Refusing to do that would make me seem like a pompous ass. Imagine these things being said in person. Some things get said in debate that are interpreted the wrong way by another person so it's important to clear up the incorrect message early on.

[ACP01]

That's true. Sometimes people misunderstand what we say even if we didn't mean anything bad by it. Clearing the air never hurts though.
In these forums it can be easy to misinterpret.
In face to face conversations you have expressions as well as body language that softens a statement whereas here it is just the written word.
Just one reason to consider before sending. I know I have been taken the wrong way before.

[hemi444]

Than You Bill and Mr Security... As for the Why goes, it can be answered in a report without even making an opinion or statement, clearly giving fact can answer why.

[Canuck]

our incident reports are basically blank pages with police called ( y / n ) officer name ( blank ) police report number ( blank ) on the top

[N. A. Corbier]

Our reports are different then most they are sworn affidavits here is an example:

My name is John Smith and I am currently licensed by the State of Connecticut Commissioner for the Department of Public Safety a Division of the State Police. I am a licensed Security Officer as defined by Public Act 04-192 defined as the licensed and registered person hired to safeguard and protect persons and property, by (A) the detection or prevention of any unlawful intrusion or entry, larceny, vandalism, abuse, arson or trespass on property such security officer is hired to protect, or (B) the prevention, observation, or detection of any unauthorized activity on property the security officer was hired to protect. Such security officer may be (i) employed by a security service, or (ii) employed by a business and is a uniformed employee who performs security work on the premises of the employer's business when such premises are located in an area that is accessible and unrestricted to the public, or has access only by paid admission. On the date of 09/29/06 Monday I was on duty at 11:00 p.m. for the above security agency. At approximately 11:20 p.m. I received a complaint call of a general disturbance at Smith Incorporated. located at 34 Money Avenue wherein I was greeted by Mr. John Smith the general operations manager. Mr. Smith advised me that they terminated an employee who was inside the business making threats to assault individuals, etc.......... I entered the business and found the primary suspect a Mr. James C. Robbins D/O/B/ 05/37/62 Connecticut Operators License# 7564733636362 making threats that he would kill everyone in violation of Connecticut General State Statutes Sec. 53a-62. Threatening in the second degree: Class A misdemeanor. (a) A person is guilty of threatening in the second degree when: (1) By physical threat, such person intentionally places or attempts to place another person in fear of imminent serious physical injury, (2) such person threatens to commit any crime of violence with the intent to terrorize another person, or (3) such person threatens to commit such crime of violence in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror. (b) Threatening in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor. (1969, P.A. 828, S. 63; Nov. 15 Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-2, S. 8, 9; P.A. 02-97, S. 16.) In accordance with applicable state law ( Malloy v. Smith Sess:362 1964 ) I placed Mr. James C. Robbins under arrest, blah, blah, blah.

The report is very detailed citing the incident, state statutes and case law, etc. my follow up actions and it’s sworn to under penalty of perjury.

That's not an incident report. That's an arrest affidavit. :)

Who notarizes the report? Self-Notarization is illegal in my state, unfortunately, so making all the officers Notarys Public is useless. Making the supervisors Notarys Public is doable, of course.

[N. A. Corbier]

our incident reports are basically blank pages with police called ( y / n ) officer name ( blank ) police report number ( blank ) on the top

That's not a useful reporting system. It doesn't prompt for the details discussed in the first post. In fact, I'd say its equivelant to a log entry with:

9:14 AM Police called for ___________.
9:27 AM Police arrived.
10:00 AM Patrolled. All secure.
11:00 AM Patrolled. All secure.
11:28 AM Police left. Officer Bob Jones took a man to jail. Report Number 06-34242.
12:00 PM Patrolled. Continued patrol. All Secure.

[HotelSecurity]

Our reports are different then most they are sworn affidavits here is an example:

My name is John Smith and I am currently licensed by the State of Connecticut Commissioner for the Department of Public Safety a Division of the State Police. I am a licensed Security Officer as defined by Public Act 04-192 defined as the licensed and registered person hired to safeguard and protect persons and property, by (A) the detection or prevention of any unlawful intrusion or entry, larceny, vandalism, abuse, arson or trespass on property such security officer is hired to protect, or (B) the prevention, observation, or detection of any unauthorized activity on property the security officer was hired to protect. Such security officer may be (i) employed by a security service, or (ii) employed by a business and is a uniformed employee who performs security work on the premises of the employer's business when such premises are located in an area that is accessible and unrestricted to the public, or has access only by paid admission. On the date of 09/29/06 Monday I was on duty at 11:00 p.m. for the above security agency. At approximately 11:20 p.m. I received a complaint call of a general disturbance at Smith Incorporated. located at 34 Money Avenue wherein I was greeted by Mr. John Smith the general operations manager. Mr. Smith advised me that they terminated an employee who was inside the business making threats to assault individuals, etc.......... I entered the business and found the primary suspect a Mr. James C. Robbins D/O/B/ 05/37/62 Connecticut Operators License# 7564733636362 making threats that he would kill everyone in violation of Connecticut General State Statutes Sec. 53a-62. Threatening in the second degree: Class A misdemeanor. (a) A person is guilty of threatening in the second degree when: (1) By physical threat, such person intentionally places or attempts to place another person in fear of imminent serious physical injury, (2) such person threatens to commit any crime of violence with the intent to terrorize another person, or (3) such person threatens to commit such crime of violence in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror. (b) Threatening in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor. (1969, P.A. 828, S. 63; Nov. 15 Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-2, S. 8, 9; P.A. 02-97, S. 16.) In accordance with applicable state law ( Malloy v. Smith Sess:362 1964 ) I placed Mr. James C. Robbins under arrest, blah, blah, blah.

The report is very detailed citing the incident, state statutes and case law, etc. my follow up actions and it’s sworn to under penalty of perjury.

The hotel management company I work for bought the Crowne Plaza in Hartford last year. I hope our staff down there don't have to write reports like this. It will kill us in overtime. That or hopefully there are not many incidents. How can you be doing security work (preventing crime) if you have to look up case law to add to a report? A report like that would certainly take time away from our primary job. :confused:

[N. A. Corbier]

The hotel management company I work for bought the Crowne Plaza in Hartford last year. I hope our staff down there don't have to write reports like this. It will kill us in overtime. That or hopefully there are not many incidents. How can you be doing security work (preventing crime) if you have to look up case law to add to a report? A report like that would certainly take time away from our primary job. :confused:

If your making misdemeanor arrests, your going to need the case law to support your position. Both to the processing police officer, to the state's attorney, and ultimately to the judge.

Police officers can write reports like that all night long. There are cheat sheets that you get which list commonly cited references. I'm also afraid that report is too short for my tastes. Part of the priamry job is reporting your activities to the client and your company. If those activies may result in liability to the company, then your actions should be documented in detail, with supporting elements as to why you took that course of action.

When I have time, I'll sit down and write one of my usual reports. You'll see why I like computers, we had to have these done at end of shift, ready to be faxed to the office and 1 copy go to the client. Anything less than two pages is automatically rejected for insufficient documentation.

The concept of:
I arrived at the front lobby, there was a man who was irate and yelling at the manager on duty. I asked the manager on duty if everything was ok, the manager on duty asked me to remove the man. I asked the man to leave, he refused. I told the man he must leave or the police would be summoned. He refused. Manager on duty called police. Police arrived after a few minutes, made the man leave. I returned to patrol.

This actually report, paraphrased, cost a Holliday Inn Express about 750 dollars in internal franchise fines. The guy called corporate and complained about being thrown out. The corporate office demanded the guard's incident report, it was sent, and found insufficient reason for the man to be removed by the police. They also had a fit that the guest relations person summoned the police instead of asking the guard to handle it, as the police created a public spectacle for the guest. I had a similar incident, corporate did not fine the Holliday Inn because my report articulated the threat to the MOD and myself by the man, including threatening body posture, being armed with a coffee mug, and irrational demands over his reservation not being found. He was ejected from the property after being appealed with, ordered to leave, and finally treated as a disorderly conduct offender.

If I had just jotted down a small entry, I'd probally of been fired for taking action. Again, the level of action dictates the level of reporting.

[HotelSecurity]

Working 1 person per shift & being on a very tight budget I can't have our staff writting a report for a long time & I can't pay them overtime to stay to write them after their shift. The facts, just the facts. We pay lawyers to quote Criminal Code articles & cases. In fact when we arrest someone we have to tell them why they were arrested but we don't have to tell them the article word for word or the article number.


I've worked at XYZ hotels since 1981. I've thrown out too many people to count. My hotels have never had to pay because of me. Just lucky I guess?

[Mr. Security]

.... How can you be doing security work (preventing crime) if you have to look up case law to add to a report? A report like that would certainly take time away from our primary job. :confused:

Many LEO's can empathize with your dilemma. Nevertheless, that's the way it is in our litigious society. Everything and anything is subject to scrutiny.
Someone is always looking for a fall guy, hopefully one with deep pockets. I have a close friend who works for a law firm. When they file suit, they put everyone’s name on it to begin with. Some manage to get off; others pay the penalty.

[N. A. Corbier]

Working 1 person per shift & being on a very tight budget I can't have our staff writting a report for a long time & I can't pay them overtime to stay to write them after their shift. The facts, just the facts. We pay lawyers to quote Criminal Code articles & cases. In fact when we arrest someone we have to tell them why they were arrested but we don't have to tell them the article word for word or the article number.


I've worked at Holiday Inn hotels since 1981. I've thrown out too many people to count. My hotels have never had to pay because of me. Just lucky I guess?

Just a slight correction. It's Holiday Inn not Holliday Inn. Just mentioned because 2 of the 3 hotels I work for are Holiday Inn hotels. (Holiday Inn protects their name as do most other companies-it is not proper to write Holiday Inns you have to write Holiday Inn hotels :D )

First, hit two many Ls. :)

Second, I think that the big thing is that we're doing the throwing out. The hotel I was assigned to was one of three. Two were business hotels, the other was a cash hotel. The cash hotel gave me the biggest headaches. The business hotels gave me the most narcotics issues - damn ravers smoking pot in the room and the hallways.

When the MOD would call the police, and the guest would call the 1-800 number, they would usually get fined for violating company policy and refusing to accomodate a guest or potential guest.

My former employer's report writing standards were extremely high, for whatever reason. If you did not complete the report at end of shift, you were to write the report on your own time. If you did not have it ready by next shift, you had best have a reason as to why it was not done, or else you may be disciplined for failure to obey company policy.

[Bill Warnock]

N.A., together with my boss in the Security Systems Branch, Court Security Division, US Marshals Service, you, Mike and I would have made an awesome team with the full support of the Division Chief and Director, some folks and their contractors would have had true fits. You would have been a true gem!
Good report writing is essential. Good report writing gives life to a survey or an incident.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[mdb]

Good advice on the basics of what questions to answer when writing a report; but if you know the answer, don't forget 'How.'

[scops8273]

I have a Report Writing Basic Training Module. I have been trying to create these training aids for security officer basic training. I can email this to you if you like. I think the file is too large to post here. I have others if you like this one. You can find all the modules I have done so far at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Security-Resource-Network/files/Training/. You may have to sign on as a member. And feel free to use anything you find at the site. You can email me at scops8273@yahoo.com.

Jeff


[QUOTE=N. A. Corbier]Learn how to write good reports now, so you have a basic understanding when you take Reporting Writing for Criminal Justice.QUOTE]

I thought about this and giving the wbc's only provide little I/R writting or none at all.

With a new s/o starting in the field they are only taught who, why, what, and where concept.

I had gotten burnt when I first started out and have learned the values of this concept.

When I was able to help s/o's that were assigned to me, I ried to stick to some of the basics such as follows.

Example:
Who:

Who reported it?
Who was involved?
Who discovered it?
Who committed it?
Who assisted with the incident?
Who is the victim?
Who summoned you?
So on and so on

Why:

Why was the act or crime committed?
Why was the act or crime reported?
Why were the witnesses unwilling to talk?
so on and so on

What:

What Happened?
What cirme was committed?
What did the suspect do or what were his action?
What do the witnesses know about the incident?
so and so on

Where:

Where did the crime or act happen?
Where were the witnesses?
Where was the victim>
Where is the offender know?
Where did the complainat come from?

When:

When did it happen?
When was it reported?
When was it discovered?
so on and so on

Does anyone have or does there agency have this type of report writting tips?