HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-12-1999 ICPD Reports/Memos7AL-1
Report Writing Basics
Complete and concise
Adapted from Alert training video Report Writing I: The Basics
An officer must have coined the adage "the jobs' not
done until the paperwork is complete". With this in
mind department members should consider the
following when writing their reports.
Department members must remember that reports are
a permanent record, and must assume that the report
will eventually become a public record. Reports may
be read, reviewed and challenged by; supervisors,
prosecutors, the defense, victim(s), judges, probation
and parole, juries, insurance companies, the media,
and other parties.
If the report deals with a criminal offense the report
needs to address each element of the crime. These
reports should be written in chronological order and
include all important details. In addition they should
also include the giving of any rights and spontaneous
utterances. Reports should be objective. They need to
record the fads.
Reports should; be concise, avoid jargon, avoid the use
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
I Report Writing Basics
1 Non -Verbal Communications
$ CALEA, Update
4 September Training
F_ T A:—]
Non-verbal Communication
It's not necessarily what you are saying but....
Lt. Johnson
Adapted from Verbal Judo by Dr.George Thompson
Nonverbal Communication.
Nonverbal communication is made up of several
elements, including, body language, spatial
relations, and proxemics, The combination of
these elements makes up between 50 and 60
percent of the "message" projected and received in
communication. The rest of communication can be
broken down into "voice" which makes up
between 33 and 40 percent and "content" which
makes up between 7 and 10 percent of the
message. Given the strength of each of these
aspects of communication, it is easy to see why the
three must be in sync for the speaker to project
effectively. Any contradiction in these three parts
of communication, will result in the receiver
believing the strongest of the three, nonverbal
communication.
As we know, the body can not lie, but 90-99
percent of it can. What this suggests for the
officer, is, if they see conflict in body language in
a subject, be prepared for the worst. For example,
a subject is displaying some tendency toward
flight, yet there are minute indicators of fight. The
streetwise officer will be prepared to believe the
fight indicators and prepare accordingly. What are
these indicators? Here are some of the more
common kinds of body language you may
encounter.
training 1
t
of 10 codes, avoid redundant and repetitive phrases,
avoid formal medical terminology, avoid Guttering with
excessive adjectives and adverbs, and avoid
abbreviations.
Officers should consider the use of active verbs. This
will allow the reader to "see" what happened. When
practical, instead of writing down just a conclusion,
officers should consider including the
actionstbehaviors, which lead to the conclusion. Le.
Instead of Smith was intoxicated, the officer may be
better served by writing something like: Smith smelled
strongly of alcohol. He was swaying from side to side
until he leaned back against the wall. His eyes were
watery and bloodshot. When asked for his ID he
thumbed through his wallet 2 times before finding his
ID. His ID was clearly visible to me when he first
opened his wallet.
After a person is completely identified in a report, they
may be referred to by last name only. (In instances
where there is another person with the same last
name, include a first initial.) Addresses and/or
locations should be listed as specifically as possible.
When writing about an item or object officers must be
as specific as possible. The description of these items
should include; make, serial number, size, color, type,
distinguishing marks, other information, which would
assist in identifying a particular object.
This and That
It is important that officers include statements or
comments made by both the victim(s) and
suspect(s). Reports should also contain facts or
information, which is exculpatory in nature. Failure
to do so could lead to a question of your credibility.
Officers should completely identify all witnesses
and potential witnesses in their reports. As the
County Attorney regularly reminds us at MATS, "if it
is not in the report, it didn't happen."
Other factors, which can affect the credibility of a
report are; grammar, punctuation, and spelling. (Is
the officer sloppy and/or lazy?) These errors can be
minimized if officers complete their reports using
the word processing programs on the in-house
computer system. For hand written reports
including charges, if in doubt about the spelling,
look it up.
Members of the department must remember that it
is not unusual for cases to extend over several
years. This is particularly true when an incident
involves civil litigation. You may be called to testify
on behalf of the City or an outside party regarding
your observations of a particular incident several
years in the past. You have an obligation to
provide complete and accurate information.
The video Report Writing I: The Basics is available
for viewing. (30 minutes) ♦ kh
An inconsistency has been noted in the operation and use of the Carcorders. It was stated in the training
video that when a tape was rewound and then removed and then returned to the unit, that it would fast
forward to the point where the recording had stopped. This is correct when the video is not viewed on an
outside VCR. IF the tape is viewed on a VCR and then reinserted in the Carcorder, the unit will start
recording where it is inserted. To avoid recording over previously recorded information you must manually
fast forward to the last point of recording on the tape, prior to continuing operation. Pursuant to General
Order 99-08, In Car Recording Devices, the taping over of previously recorded information is prohibited.
For the newer officers who may not be aware of the policy, the following pertains to attendance at voluntary
schools. Voluntary schools are those, which the officer requests to attend. Per Department Memo 94-02
"Officers will not be paid for travel time." Le. If you request to attend a school at MTTU IV and the school is
from 08:00 to 16:00 you will not be paid two hours OT for your travel time. In a related issue, if attending a
volunatary school and the day extends in excess of 8 hours, you will not be paid aver time for the excess.
THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO BE CLEVER. FIRST, THINK OF A BRIGHT REMARK IN TIME TO SAY IT.
SECOND, THINK OF IT IN TIME NOT TO SAY IT.
training 2
page
UPCOMING TRAINING
This is a partial listing of upcoming training that MAY be
available. DO NOT consider this a posting. Any letters
submitted based on this listing WILL NOT be considered a
request to attend.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
TRAINING EVENT
PLACE MTTU IV
DATE 10/28/99
The taw of Search and Seizure (for Iowa Officers)
TRAINING EVENT
PUCE CEDAR RAPIDS
DATE 1025-29199
Firearm and crowd control training
TRAINING EVENT
PLACE MTTU IV
DATE 11/15-17 AND 22,23 (coNrINUED AFTER WEEKEND)
Crime Scene Technician School
TRAINING EVENT
PLACE MTTU IV
DATE 11/8-12/99
BASIC FTO ScnooL
CALEA UPDATE
The Vehicle Crashes G/O 99-09 OPS-13 is being
issued. It covers 16 standards and 41 bullets (sub -
standards) relating to traffic and crash investigation.
Of note to officers, if there is a death or serious
injury, or probability of city liability, an Accident
Investigator needs to be called. Also, when a TI or
Reconstructionist is called to the scene, they will be
responsible for the technical report, but the initial
officer is responsible for the State Accident Report
form unless otherwise advised. Also of note, officers
are expected to take appropriate enforcement action
when responding to vehicle crashes. IF PC exists for
the issuance of a traffic citation, officers are expected
to file the appropriate charge. If the officer elects to
not file the charge they may be required to justify
their decision.
-Frequent focus by the suspect on a particular
feature of the officer, such as the gun (prepare for
a disarming attempt), or the proximity of the
officer to the suspect (prepare for an assault
(strike/kick))
-Narrowing of eyes by the suspect
-Clenching/unclenching of fists by the suspect
-Tightening/releasing of the jaw muscles by the
suspect
"Rolling" the head/neck by the suspect
Of equal importance for officers, is for them to be
aware of their own body language. Because other
nonverbal language assumes such a strong role in
communication, if officers are demonstrating
nonverbal behavior that is not in sync with their
spoken message, that message will be lost on the
receiver. The receiver may, instead, believe what
the nonverbal language is communicating. An
officer who is giving directions to someone lost in
traffic, while that officer is attempting to direct
traffic around a major accident scene, may be seen
as conveying impatience if not outright hostility.
This is based on the officer's body language, when
in fact the officers spoken message is addressing
the very request made by the `lost" driver. In this
instance not taking a moment to align your "non-
verbals" with your words may generate a
complaint.
In a related fashion, take a situation in which
officers respond to a domestic. After dealing with
the subjects for 45 minutes a decision is made to
arrest the husband. You tell him he is under arrest.
He asks, "are you going to hurt me?" You
respond in a harsh tone, severe stare and
threatening stance, "no". In this case he will
likely believe the voice (tone) 33-40 percent plus
proxemics 50-60 percent instead of the response,
"no" 7-10 percent. Relating this to Defensive
Tactics and arrest procedures, you may have just
turned a yes or maybe person into a NO person.
Remembering the words of the creator of Verbal
Judo, Dr. George Thompson, "If people don't
think we're there to help, they're free to fight!"
The key for officers is to get the role, voice, and
other non-verbals in sync when they
communicate.
training 3
September Training
Members of the Police Department attended the
following training during the month of September.
Member(s) Training
Hours
39/46
ASP Instructor
16
53124
Patrol Interview Tech.
8
99,95,90,84,82
Verbal Judo
4
80+ members
Cultural Diversity
3
88/99
Internal Affairs
8
26/35
Crime Scene Photo
24
80
Personnel Issues
20
FATS (0)
Sent in for repair
SRT (15)
Range
8
SRT (16)
Situational
8
Watch Tm WT 00-02, 00-10
Watch Training
In Sept. we implemented watch training. While the
format has not been finalized it will generally proceed
along these lines; a topic will be selected and
covered at watch meeting. Topics will range in
subject from legal considerations to arrest
techniques. The selected topics will often focus on
important tasks that are not used on a regular basis,
as well as areas of concern. They will also cover or
review new and existing General Orders. Officers
who have an expertise in a particular will be
consulted for ideas or suggestions pertaining to a
particular topic. Anyone with an idea for watch
training may contact the Training Sergeant or a watch
supervisor with the recommendation. The training will
be from 5-10 minutes in length. Due to the brief time,
the topic will not be covered in detail, but will often
times focus on a particular aspect of a subject. The
training may be by video, demonstration, review of
printed material or other. The watch supervisors will
VEHICLE OPERATION
If a person wants a vehicle to perform at its
maximum potential the vehicle can only do one thing
at a time. Le. If you brake while turning you are
doing neither to full efficiency With this in mind
operators of motor vehicles should remember:
1. You should not turn and accelerate or brake at
the same time.
2. Officers should do all their braking prior to
reaching a turn point.
3. You can't brake and accelerate at the same time.
4. Braking should be done in a straight line. (once
brakes lock you will continue in a straight line
regardless of wheel position)
5. Over or understeering in a turn can be slower
than cornering at the limit.
6. Every steering correction causes a weight
transfer
7. Smooth steering is your primary goal.
occasionally call on officers to demonstrate or go over
a particular subject.
You can also expect to see topics covered in multiple
formats, i.e. watch training, training bulletin, video or
MATS training.
To document the training, the supervisor will attach a
copy of their watch roster to the days -training scenario
and forward it to the Training Sergeant. Supervisors
may repeat a particular training over the number of
days they deem necessary. Over time the scenarios
may be repeated to ensure that all officers are
exposed to the material. At this time it is anticipated
that watch training will be implemented one or two
times per week.
training 4
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