Discussion – Effective Report Writing

Discussion – Effective Report Writing

Proper note-taking is crucial for effective report writing in law enforcement. Note-taking is effective if it helps a law enforcement officer understand the crime or civil issue being investigated. Notes taken by law enforcers include the victim’s information, the circumstances surrounding the crime, and any suspect information (Pham, 2020). Correct grammar during note-taking is essential since it helps draft the final report. Police reports are legal documents that contribute to criminal prosecution, requiring stylized writing and proper grammar.

When drafting the narrative reports, law enforcers should use formal language. The language should be simple so that it can be understood by the public, regardless of their educational background. The narrative should only be based on facts to sustain a case and for accountability reasons. Police report narratives should be written in an organized and chronologically ordered manner (Morris & Merson, 2017). Another grammatical requirement for police reports is that they should be written in the first-person singular (Morris & Merson, 2017). The reports must be as detailed as possible and accurately account for the circumstances leading to a crime for the prosecutors to take the cases seriously. While innocent grammar and brief points are allowed during note-taking, the final reports must be detailed and adhere to grammar rules.

Improper writing styles for law enforcers include writing in the present tense. This is wrong because, by the time a report is being drafted, the events narrated therein occurred in the past. Also, a report is improper if it does not detail how the events narrated constitute a crime. It is important to state how the events constitute a crime because law enforcement reports form the basis of prosecution.

References

Morris, K., & Merson, M. (2017). Report writing for law enforcement and corrections professionals. Pearson.

Pham, D. (2020). The need for report writing training for law enforcement professionals.

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Discuss the proper writing and grammar style for note-taking and for report writing. Is there a difference in the style used between the two? If so, why?

Effective Report Writing

Additionally, please discuss and identify the proper and improper writing styles and techniques for completing reports.