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JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1 GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION – REPORT WRITING

A well-written report is clear and concise. Explain and discuss how proper grammar and composition facilitates good report writing.

DQ2 POOR GRAMMAR & SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Evaluate the effects of poor grammar, syntax and sentence structure within the following scenarios: 1) the supervisor who reviews the report, 2) the detective conducting a follow-up investigation based on the report, 3) the state’s attorney reviewing the report for purposes of charging a suspect or presenting the case at trial, 4) a defense attorney reviewing the report in the defense of his client, and 5) a judge or jury listening to the officer’s testimony at trial.

JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 2 Discussion

DQ1 QUALITIES OF A GOOD REPORT

What are the qualities of a good police report? Examine the necessity for good report writing through the purpose and significance of reports within the whole criminal justice system and outside of the system. Be specific.

DQ2 PROBABLE CAUSE

What is probable cause? Discuss ways in which a police officer can establish probable cause. How can probable cause be best articulated in reports? What are the ramifications of failing to justify probable cause in reports?

JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 3 Discussion

DQ1 THE POLICE INVESTIGATOR

What is the role of the first responding officer to any crime scene? How important is it that this officer is an effective note taker? What other responsibilities besides gathering information does the first responding officer have?

DQ2 FATAL TRAFFIC ACCIDENT REPORT

What role do the police play in the investigation of fatal motor vehicle accidents? When it is determined that an accident has been caused by a driver who has violated the law, what courses of action do the police take? What types of reports are completed here?

JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 4 Discussion

DQ1 INTERVIEWING

What are different types of interviews that police officers conduct? Is an interview with a victim or eyewitness to a crime the same as an interview with a suspect of a crime? Is a field interview of that suspect the same as an interview at police headquarters?

DQ2 REPORT WRITING SUPERVISION

Why is there a need for supervisors to review police reports? Should departmental policy dictate who is responsible for report writing review and approval? If errors or omissions are found, can changes be made to the original report that was submitted by the initial reporting officer?

JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 5 Discussion

DQ1THE FOURTH AMENDMENT

Discuss the Exclusionary Rule. Evidence that is obtained by the police using methods not within the confines of the Fourth Amendment shall be excluded from a criminal proceeding. What impact does this rule have on police? Does it influence the service of search warrants?

DQ2 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Evaluate the impact of Miranda v. Arizona (1966) on police investigations. How does the police officer document the processes necessary to show that a person willingly has waived their rights during a custodial interrogation?

JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 6 Discussion

DQ1 DATA COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

Conduct an Internet search of data communications technologies available to law enforcement agencies. Present and discuss the findings resulting from that search. Is there one type of technology that stands out as the most important or most effective?

DQ2 DATA COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

Assume you are the chief of police of a medium-sized police department who is contemplating a new or upgraded data communication system for your department. Discuss what system you think is best suited for your department and explain your reasons.

JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 7 Discussion

DQ1 RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS – RMS

What is the purpose of a RMS? What capabilities should a RMS provide to the individual user and the law enforcement agency as a whole? Why?

DQ2 INTERFACING AUDIENCE

Why is it necessary that an RMS not “stand alone” but, rather interface with a variety of local, regional, state and federal systems? Given this availability of information to a vast audience, comment on the importance of accurate and complete report writing.

JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 2 Homework

Your Police Report Narrative Written Assignment is due this week.

Instructions: Go to page 98 of the Biggs Just the Facts textbook. Complete Exercise #6: Crime Report Exercise. Use the supplied fact pattern and prepare an appropriate crime report narrative. Complete this assignment as a Word document.

JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 3 Homework

Your Police Accident Report Narrative Written Assignment is due this week.

Go to the website of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration: National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey, located at www.nhtsa.gov (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Click on the Research & Data link on the right hand side of the horizontal menu bar and then select National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) (scroll down to the Data section of the page). Look for the link for the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Study Case Viewer. Click this link and it will open in a new window. In the Case ID box, enter: 2007009276170. Then click on Get Case.

Review the particulars of this fatal motor vehicle accident, case ID# 2007009276170. Use the supplied information and prepare an appropriate accident report narrative. Complete this assignment as a Word document

JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 4 Midterm Exam

Question 1 (TCO 1) Which of the following is not an example of a concrete word used in police reports?

Indicated

Drove

Searched

Found

Question 2 (TCO 2) Select one of the following that is not considered to be a part of report writing technology.

Grammar check

Internet access

Forced choices

Touch-screen feature

Question 3 (TCO 3) Which of the following is not a quality of a superior investigator?

They are aware.

They are energized.

They have experience.

They are ethical.

Question 4

(TCO 3) The most important thing to be established in a crime report is the _________, or elements of the crime.

corpus delecti

mens rea

habeas corpus

actus reus

Question 5

(TCO 6) Which federal agency is responsible for compiling and publishing yearly statistics on motor vehicle accidents?

National Transportation Safety Board

National Highway Transportation Safety Administration

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Department of Homeland Security

Question 6 (TCO 3) General questions that a police officer can answer, by checking a yes or no box for each question asked, can assist supervisors and investigators using ____________ to prioritize cases.

suspect information

victim information

solvability factors

case numbers

Question 7 (TCO 2) __________ is a reasonable belief that the person being arrested committed the act he or she is being charged with.

Probable cause

An absolute certainty

Proof beyond a reasonable doubt

Reasonable suspicion

Question 8 (TCO 1) Which of the following is not the correct way to start a report?

On 05/12/2010, I arrived on scene at 1235 hours&#-123;

On 06/30/2010, at approximately 2330 hours, I observed a male driving a vehicle&#-123;

On 04/01/2010, about 1500 hours, I appeared at court for a hearing&#-123;

On 06/01/2010, at 1440 hours, I was dispatched to Main Street…

Question 9 (TCO 2) When a police officer conducts an interview, it is the first time the officer will have the opportunity to compare the ________ and _________ s, and it establishes a behavior baseline.

verbal/ nonverbal

truthful/ untruthful

victim/ suspect

correct/ incorrect

Question 10 (TCO 2) To be of most value, notes should be all of the following except:

Readable

Chronological

Accurate

Concise

Question 11 (TCO 1) Define and evaluate the difference between facts and opinions. Which one should not be used in police reports?

Question 12 (TCO 2) Discuss and evaluate the four cost savings associated with officer being proficient at completing reports in an automated reporting system.

Question 13 (TCO 3) List and evaluate the qualities of a superior investigator.

Question 14 (TCO 3) List and discuss the four most common methods of arriving at value estimates in investigative reports.

Question 15 (TCO 2) Evaluate and discuss the differences between an interview and an interrogation.

Question 16 (TCO 2) List and discuss the four important mechanics of note taking.

Question 17 (TCO 3) Define and evaluate the categorizing of people for a police report, including victims, reporting parties, suspects, and witnesses.

Question 18 (TCO 2) Discuss and describe the difference between a criminal investigation and an administrative investigation.

JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 6 Homework

Your Search Warrant Affidavit Written Assignment is due this week.

Instructions:

Go to page 142-143 in our course textbook. Complete Exercises Number 3 and 4. Write a made-up introduction about yourself describing your experience as a law enforcement official, as described in Chapter 9 of the textbook. Be creative. Be any type, rank, or law enforcement official that you want to be! Then, in Exercise 4, use the supplied fact pattern to write an affidavit for a search warrant as outlined. Complete this assignment as one combined Word document, as if it would be the affidavit of probable cause attached to the other sections of a typical search warrant.

JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 7 Homework

Your Arrest Warrant Affidavit Written Assignment is due this week.

Instructions: Go to pages 116-117 in our course textbook. Use the supplied fact pattern to write an affidavit of probable cause for an arrest warrant as outlined. Complete this assignment as a Word document, as if it would be the affidavit of probable cause attached to criminal complaint to arrest the perpetrator of the crime described.

TIP: Refer back to the interactive contained within the Week 5 Lecture, where an example affidavit of probable cause is provided!

JADM250 Police Report Writing

Week 8 Final Exam

Question 1

(TCO 1) Which of the following is not the correct way to start a report?

On 05/12/2010, I arrived on scene at 1235 hours

On 06/01/2010 at 1440 hours, I was dispatched to Main Street

On 04/01/2010 at about 1500 hours, I appeared at court for a hearing

On 06/30/2010 at approximately 2330 hours, I observed a male driving a vehicle

Question 2 (TCO 2) Which is the following is not a cost savings for a police department using an automated records system?

Reports can be completed faster

Reduction in storage and reproduction of records

Public access to the automated system

Reports are automatically approved

Question 3 (TCO 2) It is the arresting officer’s responsibility to report all relevant facts in a complete, clear, concise, and __________ manner.

timely

professional

well written

accurate

Question 4 (TCO 3) What the ultimate goal of an investigation?

To apprehend the perpetrator

To uphold and enforce the law

To find the truth

To determine a crime has occurred

Question 5 (TCO 3) The most important thing to be established in a crime report is the _________, or elements of the crime.

mens rea

actus reus

corpus delecti

habeas corpus

Question 6 (TCO 4) The standard to follow in determining whether to issue a search warrant in a particular situation is: whether a reasonably cautious person could have concluded that there was a “____________” for the finding of probable cause.

justification

reasonable suspicion

substantial basis

significant reason

Question 7 (TCO 4 & 5) A search warrant consists of three distinct parts including all of the following except:

The return to the search warrant.

The criminal complaint.

The search warrant.

The affidavit in support of the search warrant.

Question 8 (TCO 5) __________ contain few, if any, factual allegations and merely state

the conclusive allegation that the defendant committed the offense charged, reciting

more or less the statutory language.

Criminal complaints

Court orders

Search warrants

Supplemental reports

Question 9 (TCO 6) When a fatal motor vehicle accident is the result of a violation of law, the accident scene becomes:

contaminated.

secured by the responding officer.

a crime scene.

documented on an accident report.

Question 10 (TCO 7) The major benefit of a fully integrated records management system is that it can:

communicate data with other records systems.

maintain crime reports.

allow officers to print their reports.

provide officers with a database of arrestees.

Question 11 (TCO 8) _______ is an agency-wide system that provides for the storage, retrieval, retention, manipulation, archiving, and viewing of information, records, documents, or files pertaining to law enforcement operations.

CAD

MDT

RMS

UCR

Question 12 (TCO 8) The ___________ includes collecting all relevant information on the subject and his or her arrest details, verifying the subject’s identity, and addressing obvious physical and mental health needs. This information may be obtained from the arrest report record within the RMS.

investigation process

court process

booking process

hiring process

Question 13 (TCO 1) Define and evaluate the use of concrete words as opposed to abstract words in narratives.

Question 14 (TCO 2) Describe and evaluate the Uniform Crime Reporting System (UCR).

Question 15 (TCO 2) Discuss and analyze how field notes are an “aid to memory.”

Question 16 (TCO 3) An evidence report has two basic components. The first is a description of the evidence, and the second is the chain of custody. Describe and discuss this phrase – chain of custody.

Question 17 (TCO 3) Describe and analyze the “average person test.”

Question 18 (TCO 4) List and discuss the things that police must show have recently happened or are occurring in order to establish probable cause to obtain a search warrant.

Question 19 (TCO 4) Examine and evaluate the particularity requirement in describing property to be seized in a search warrant.

Question 20 (TCO 5) List and discuss the information that should be included in a bench warrant.

Question 21 (TCO 7) Discuss and analyze the use of mobile data computers (MDC) by police officers out on the street, and how these are beneficial to data communications for law enforcement.

Question 22 (TCO 8) Discuss and evaluate the review process for police reports and how an RMS might be utilized to accomplish this task.