Class 1 Lesson PlanLONG BEACH POLICE ACADEMY
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WRITING
LONG BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT
LD-18 INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WRITING
EXPANDED COURSE OUTLINE AND COURSE SCHEDULE
I. LEARNING NEED
A peace officer's ability to clearly document the facts and activities of an investigation
not only reflects on the officer's own professionalism, but also on the ability of the justice
system to prosecute the criminal case.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
A. Legal basis for requiring investigative reports
1. How investigative reports are used
2. Prospective users of investigative reports
II. LEARNING NEED
Peace officers must recognize that the information gathered during their initial
investigation in the field will become the foundation for their investigative reports
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
A. Discuss the importance of taking notes in preparation for writing reports
1. Field notes are more reliable than an officer’s memory
2. Field notes are the primary source of information for the investigative
report
3. Detailed field notes reduce the need to re-contact the involved parties at a
later time
4. Field notes can be used to defend the credibility of an investigative report
B. Apply appropriate actions for taking notes during a field interview
1. Listen attentively
2. Take notes and ask questions
3. Verify information
C. Distinguish between:
1. Opinion
2. Fact
3. Conclusion
III. LEARNING NEED
Peace officers must recognize in order for an investigative report to be of use in the
judicial process, the report must be well organized and include facts needed to establish
that a crime has been committed and all actions taken by officers were appropriate
LONG BEACH POLICE ACADEMY
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WRITING
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
A. Summarize the primary questions that must be answered by an investigative
report
1. What
2. When
3. Where
4. Who
5. How
6. Why
B. Identify the fundamental content elements in investigative reports, including:
1. Initial information
2. Identification of the crime
3. Identification of the involved parties
4. Victim/witness statements
5. Crime scene specifics
6. Property information
7. Officer actions
IV. LEARNING NEED
Peace officers must recognize that an effective report must exhibit the writer's command
of the language and be relatively free of errors in sentence structure, grammar and
other writing mechanics
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
A. Apply guidelines for recommended grammar used in investigative reports,
including use of:
1. Proper nouns
2. First person pronouns
3. Third person pronouns
4. Past tense
5. Active Tense
B. Organize information within a paragraph for clarity and proper emphasis
1. Proper paragraph formation
2. At least three sentences
3. All sentences related to same topic
C. Select language that will clearly convey information to the reader of the
investigative report
1. Transitional words
2. Concrete versus abstract words
D. Distinguish between commonly used words that sound alike but have different
meanings
1. Homonyms
LONG BEACH POLICE ACADEMY
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WRITING
E. Proofreading for content and mechanical errors, including:
1. Spelling
2. Punctuation
3. Grammar
4. Word choice
5. Syntax
V. REQUIRED TESTS
A. An exercise test that requires the student to prepare an investigative report
including the arrest of one or more suspects as described belo w:
Given a depiction of a criminal situation, which requires investigation and the
arrest of one or more suspects based upon a POST-developed video re-
enactment or scenario or an equivalent presenter-developed video re-enactment,
simulation, or scenario, the student will write an acceptable report in class.
To be of sufficient complexity, the report must reflect a criminal investigation
that minimally incorporates:
1. Elements of a crime
2. Reasonable suspicion or probable cause to stop
3. Justification for a pat down search
4. Probable cause to search/seize
1. Discovery, recovery and disposition of evidence
2. Probable cause to arrest
3. Miranda admonishment and response of the suspect, if appropriate
4. Statements of victim(s) and/or witness(es)
5. Pertinent crime scene details
B. To be considered acceptable, the report must meet the following criteria:
1. The writing must be reasonably fluent, well developed, and well organized
to clearly communicate to the reader
2. All essential information, including any facts needed to establish the
corpus of the crime, must be included in the report
3. The report must be free of mechanical errors (i.e., grammar, punctuation,
spelling and word choice) that significantly diminishes its evidentiary
value or usefulness
4. The time required to complete the report must be reasonable and
consistent with the expectations of a typical field-training program
C. The student will demonstrate competency in the following performance
dimensions:
1. Knowledge of Report Forms
2. Elements of Crime(s)
3. Narrative Organization
4. Narrative Content
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INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WRITING
5. Writing Mechanics
D. Presenters must use the POST-developed Investigative Report Writing
Competency Test Form or a presenter-developed form approved by POST,
which minimally includes the performance dimensions used for this exercise test.
1. The POST-developed Investigative Report Writing Competency Test
Form accommodates two available grading processes:
a. Pass/Fail using the LD 18 Investigative Report Writing
Competency Test Scoring Matrix
b. Point deduction using the LD 18 Investigative Report Writing
quantitative/numerical deduction scoring system based on overall
award of 100 points per written exercise with the minimum pass
point set by the presenter
2. The presenter will determine which grading method will be used and what
the pass point is for the test report
VI. Required Learning Activities
A. Students will participate in a learning activity that requires the writing of five
practice reports based on either POST–developed video re-enactments of
crimes, investigations or law enforcement-related incidents, or based upon
equivalent simulations, scenarios or videotape depictions developed by the
presenter
B. The events selected should require reports reflecting a progressive level of
difficulty (e.g., from a simple incident or crime to more complex events involving
the articulation of probable cause to stop, probable cause to arrest, statements of
witnesses, etc.)
C. Each learning activity must incorporate:
1. Generation of appropriate field notes narrative
2. Formal feedback to the student regarding the quality of student writing.
The purpose of requiring feedback is to provide ongoing evaluation and
documentation of student strengths and weaknesses so that the student is
able to progressively improve
Assessment of the practice reports should address:
a. The adequacy of the decisions made by the student regarding the
incident/crime. This includes:
(1) The determination of the existence or nonexistence of a
crime
(2) If a crime has been committed, the proper identification of
that crime
(3) The taking of proper safety measures
(4) The preservation of evidence
(5) The capturing of all essential information
b. The ability of the report/narrative to communicate with the reader
and employ proper format and conventions. This includes:
(1) The organization and development of the report
(2) The inclusion of relevant information
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INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WRITING
(3) The anticipation of possible defenses that might be asserted
by the suspect
(4) The use of the active voice
(5) The use of the first person
(6) The proper use of grammar, punctuation, spelling and word
choice
D. The student will participate in one or more learning activities from the POST-
developed Instructor’s Guide to Learning Activities for Leadership, Ethics and
Community Policing or other comparable sources regarding investigative report
writing. At a minimum, each activity, or combination of a ctivities, must address
the following topics:
1. Written communication as an expression of integrity, reliability, fairness
and credibility
2. Effective reports as a demonstration of an officer’s character, decision
making and courage
3. Potential stakeholders that may be positively or adversely affected by a
well-written report (e.g. victims, suspects, courts, witnesses)
4. Consequences of an ineffective/inaccurate report to the officer, officer’s
agency, policing profession and the community
Description Hours
POST Minimum Required Hours 48
Additional POST Hours
Agency Specific Hours __22__
Total Instructional Hours 70
LONG BEACH POLICE ACADEMY
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WRITING
CLASS 1
I. CONTENT
a. This class is an introductory class. We will focus on housekeeping issues,
instructor introduction, course overview, and what is expected from each recruit.
We also focus on the construction of a proper police report. I will instruct the
recruits to bring a required thumb drive to the next class.
II. LOCATION
a. This class is held entirely inside the recruit classroom.
III. SCHEDULE
A. 1300-1305 INSTRUCTOR INTRODUCTIONS, HOUSEKEEPING
a. Introduce each instructor
b. Give course schedule
c. Student expectations
B. 1305-1315 INTRODUCTION TO REPORT WRITING (POWER POINT)
a. Three skills to master
i. Common sense
ii. Verbal skills
iii. Written skills
b. Why is LD-18 unique?
i. It ties all other Learning Domains together.
c. Three parts of the police report
i. Automated Reporting System (Fill in the blanks)
ii. Narrative
iii. Additional Forms
d. Grammar
i. Proper grammar is essential
C. 1315-1330 WHAT IS A POLICE REPORT
a. What is an Investigative Police Report
i. Written document
ii. Prepared by a police officer
iii. Records in detail
iv. Officer’s observations and actions
v. As they relate to a specific incident
b. What crimes must be reported
i. Homicide
ii. Sex crimes
iii. Bombings
iv. Domestic violence
v. Child abuse
vi. Safe and commercial burglary
vii. Grand theft
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viii. Threats
ix. Receiving or selling stolen property
x. Crimes involving lost/stolen/found property
xi. Forgery
xii. Fraud/bunco
c. Why is 118.1 PC important
i. Any officer who knowingly files a false police report is guilty of a
crime
d. What is the purpose of a police report
i. Assist with the identification, arrest and prosecution of criminals
ii. Assist prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other law enforcement
agencies
iii. Assist officers in court
iv. Aid in determining civil liability
v. Serve as reference material (media, insurance, etc.)
vi. Assist decision makers and criminal justice researchers
vii. Source for officer’s performance evaluation
e. Who reads your reports
i. Field training officers
ii. Supervisors
iii. Detectives
iv. Other law enforcement agencies
v. Department of Justice
vi. Prosecution and defense attorneys
vii. Civil attorneys
viii. Parole, probation and custody personnel
ix. Involved parties
x. Media representatives
xi. Insurance agencies
f. Characteristics of a good police report (FACCCT)
i. Factual
ii. Accurate
iii. Clear
1. Organization, simple language, mechanics
iv. Concise
1. Word selection, grammar, relevance
v. Timely
g. What does that mean
i. Word picture
ii. No unanswered questions
1. Who
2. What
3. When
4. Where
5. Why
6. How
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iii. Officer’s actions are described and justified
iv. Both supporting and conflicting information included
v. Chronological narrative with logical descriptions
vi. Simple explanations of complex issues
h. Opinion-Fact-Conclusion
i. Opinion
1. A statement that can be open to interpretations and express
a belief
ii. Fact
1. A statement that can be verified or proven and actually
exists
iii. Conclusion
1. A statement that is based on the analysis of facts and
opinions
i. Relevant versus irrelevant facts
i. Relevant facts
1. Facts that appropriate for the investigation
ii. Irrelevant facts
1. Facts that either are not appropriate for the investigation or
have nothing to add
D. 1330-1350 PEANUT AND BUTTER EXERCISE
a. An instructor will remove a plate, a jar of peanut butter, a jar of jelly, two
slices of bread, and a knife and place them on a table
b. The instructor will use the knife and place peanut butter on one side of
one of the pieces of bread
c. The instructor will use the same knife and place jelly on one side of the
other slice of bread
d. The instructor will put the two slices of bread together, with the peanut
butter and the jelly touching each other
e. The instructor will place the sandwich on the plate and show it to the class
f. The instructor will tell the class to write a report on the peanut butter
sandwich they just watched being made
E. 1350-1400 BREAK (REVIEW PB&J REPORTS)
a. The instructors will review all the peanut butter and jelly sandwich reports
and locate the report with the least detail. The instructors will make a
copy of this report and place the original back on the recruit’s desk.
F. 1400-1415 THREE PART INTERVIEW AND FIELD INTERVIEW CARD
a. Three part interview
i. Part one
1. Ask the person to recount what happened
2. Keep the person focused
3. Listen carefully to what the person says
4. Verify a crime occurred
5. Determine the role of the interviewed person (victim,
witness, etc.)
LONG BEACH POLICE ACADEMY
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6. Determine the location of the interviewed person during the
crime
7. Listen for the timeframe of the incident
ii. Part two
1. Ask detailed questions about the incident
a. Loss description
b. Suspect description
c. Walk through the crime scene and ask follow-up
questions
2. Write down short statements and quotes
3. Guide the interview and keep the interviewed person
focused
iii. Part three
1. Review the information and repeat the story
2. Give the person a chance to add or correct facts
3. Ask for confirmation on important details
4. Make modifications or corrections as necessary
b. The field interview card
i. Show the recruits a copy of the field interview card
ii. Purpose of the card
1. Investigative notes
a. Notes you take during the interview process to
complete your report
b. Shred your field interview cards when you complete
your report
2. Field contact report
a. Documents your contact in the field with a subject
i. Entered into the Automated Reporting System
b. Turn the field interview card into the reporting box
iii. Information to be gathered and written as notes on a field interview
card
1. Victims and witnesses
a. Full field interview card
b. Multiple phone numbers and contact information
c. Description of injuries
d. Description of loss
2. Suspect
a. Full field interview card
b. Facial hair
c. Clothing
d. Jewelry
e. Unique attributes
i. Scars/marks
ii. Tattoos
iii. Limps
iv. Moles
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v. Missing teeth
vi. Odors
vii. Physical oddities
f. Direction of flight and mode of travel
g. Weapon information
3. The incident
a. Type of crime (elements)
b. Location of crime
c. Date/time of incident and when reported
d. Physical evidence
e. Assisting officer’s actions
f. Case number and call number
G. 1415-1440 THE INVESTIGTION (POWER POINT)
a. Officer safety
i. Make sure the scene is secure before anything else. Separate
parties involved. Search and handcuff if necessary. Constantly
evaluate the scene and make sure it is safe for the interview.
b. Medical
i. When necessary ask the involved parties if they need medical
attention. If any person is injured request medical attention.
Always error on the side of caution. Document the fire units who
respond and transport. Document the hospital they transport the
party to.
c. Confirm a crime
i. Upon arrival spend 10 – 15 seconds answering two questions: did
a crime occur and what was the time frame? If the crime just
occurred then a crime broadcast is necessary.
d. Crime broadcast
i. Assisting officers need two specific pieces of information: what
does the suspect look like and where did the suspect go? Put all
the information quickly on the radio. Do not wait to write it down on
a field interview card.
e. Start resources
i. Many of the important resources (lab, towing, and supervisors)
require early notification. Start them as soon as possible.
f. Get the field interview card
i. Identify all the important people involved. Ask people for their
identification cards and verify the information on those cards.
Ensure all spelling is correct. Finish the field interview card from
top to bottom. Be sure to get phone numbers and email addresses.
g. Three part interview
i. Let the person tell you the story and write down notes. Ask
questions to fill in the holes. Make sure the story is in chronological
order. Read the story back to them to make sure it is accurate.
Get detailed descriptions of the loss, suspect and the scene. If
necessary draw a sketch to help you document the scene.
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h. Walk the scene
i. Look for evidence around the crime scene. Follow the suspect’s
flight path and look for dropped evidence. Search for things the lab
can process. Do knock and talks with neighbors to look for
witnesses.
i. Obtain a case number
i. Use your radio or KDT to obtain a Department Record (DR)
number. Document the number on your field interview card and
your Report Receipt.
j. Report Receipt
i. Give the victim a Report Receipt and a Marsy’s Card. Explain to
the victim how to get a copy of a police report. Ask the victim if
they have any questions prior to leaving.
H. 1440-1450 VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL SKILLS,LASO CRIME SOLVING
INFORMATION
a. Verbal and non-verbal skills
i. Verbal skills
1. Word choice
a. The words you use to convey your message can be
powerful. Though words may have a specific
definition, our lifetime of experience also provides us
with useful slang terms and street lingo that can help
with an investigation.
2. Volume
a. The degree of loudness in your voice can indicate
your energetic involvement and conf idence with a
topic. It conveys your temperament and mood. A
loud but friendly voice is commanding. A quiet and
calm voice in the midst of chaos is calming and
reassuring.
3. Tone
a. Emotion is conveyed through the temperament of
your voice. It tells your audience if you are angry,
sympathetic, or happy. An officer that chooses the
inappropriate tone is certain to lose his audience.
4. Inflection
a. The ups-and-downs in your talking helps signal to
your audience what is important and may even
indicate your emotional state. A strong inflection of
an important word stresses a point.
5. Tempo
a. The pacing, rhythm, or rate of your speech is the
speech at which you talk. Matching your rate of
speech and your intensity to that of your audience
creates rapport and connection.
6. Silence
LONG BEACH POLICE ACADEMY
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WRITING
a. Allow room for your audience to absorb what you
have said. A deliberate silence coupled with strong
non-verbal signals can be very powerful in the middle
of a tense conversation. It tells your audience that
you are focused and very serious.
ii. Non-verbal skills
1. List of non-verbal clues officer can use to improve their
investigation
a. A clean uniform that is free of holes and stains
b. A shined badge and shined shoes
c. A clean shave and good haircut
d. Clean, fresh breath
e. Proper table manners
f. Smile and wave at children
g. Make solid eye contact with the victim
h. A strong handshake
i. A calm demeanor in the face of chaos
j. A strong stare to get loitering subjects to move along
k. Good driving skills
l. Kneeling to make eye contact with children
m. Keeping your gun side away during interviews
n. Putting your hand out to signal stop
o. Do not dip, chew, smoke, or spit in front of a citizen
p. Do not run to things that do not require urgency
q. Do not fumble with your notes and FI cards
r. Do not roll your eyes when victim’s confess their
private thoughts
s. Do not tap your fingers or toes to try and make things
happen faster
t. Do not ask your training officer for help or suggestions
in front of a victim
b. LASO Crime Solving Information
i. 12 factors that help categorize which crimes can be solved
ii. The most important factors which give a good chance the crime will
be solved
1. Suspect in custody
2. Suspect named/known
3. Unique suspect identifiers
4. Vehicle in custody
5. Unique vehicle identifiers
6. Writer/detective description
iii. The next factors that make the case a bit more difficult to solve
1. General suspect description
2. General vehicle description
3. Unique MO or pattern
4. Significant physical evidence
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5. Traceable stolen property
6. Multiple witnesses
I. 1450-1500 BREAK
a. Pass out “Blue Books” to all the recruits
J. 1500-1505 EXPLAIN THE BLUE BOOK
a. Explain the book format
i. Front pages
1. Class Contract, schedule, grouping, POST test form, and
POST Rubric Matrix
ii. ARS tab
1. A user guide to the Automated Reporting System
iii. Invest tab
1. The ten part narrative
iv. Arrest tab
1. The ten part arrest narrative
v. Forms tab
1. Standard abbreviations
2. Vehicle Report
3. Short form
4. Loss Report
5. Property Report
6. Field Show-up form
7. Private Person Arrest form
8. Booking/RNB form
9. Medical Evaluation form
10. Probable Cause form
11. Citations
vi. GPS tab
1. The basics
2. LBPD specifics
3. Word choice
4. Punctuation
5. proofreading
K. 1505-1545 THE TEN PART NARRATIVE (POWER POINT)
a. The Introduction
i. Use the provided template. Stress the importance of including the
name of a location when possible. Note when and how to include
any assisting units and how to detail long dispatches. Include the
template on how to file a officer initiated dispatch.
b. While en route
i. Updated information while the responding units are in transit. It
helps to explain the officer’s mindset as they arrive to a location.
Note “en route” is two words. This information can be gathered
from the call history but must be put in the report in plain English.
c. The Location
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INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WRITING
i. Also referred to as “the setting.” This is how the area looks
everyday regardless of today’s specific crime scene.
d. Upon Arrival
i. As the patrol officer steps foot out of their police car they need to
make a mental note of what they hear, smell, see and perceive.
This also includes the arrival of other units, emergency services,
injuries, and medical requirements. This is also called “the scene.”
e. Statements
i. The meat of the report includes statements and observations. This
is the facts and the timeline. Use chronological order. Note the
“gas and brakes” philosophy. Document if translators were used.
Note how to document multiple statements.
f. Descriptions
i. Officers typically describe three things, the suspect, the loss, and
the crime scene description. Stress the importance of a detailed
suspect description that includes an identification statement. Detail
the loss to improve chances of recovery. Crime scene description
is a follow-up to statements from the interview.
g. Evidence
i. All evidence requires chain-of-custody statements of who found it,
where it was found, and what they did with it. Ensure you had the
legal right to seize it. Note the standard chain-of-custody
statement.
h. Additional Resources
i. Some incidents require a tow truck or Lab unit and some require a
sergeant, detective or property owner to respond. Some incidents
require additional paperwork and the reader needs to be referred to
these forms. Some incidents require a hospital transport or medical
response so note those as well.
i. The Conclusion
i. Some investigations require the officer to make a conclusion based
on their investigation. This is due to the fact some investigations do
not have a witness to the crime committed. These statements are
characterized by the “My investigation revealed” statements.
j. The Ending
i. Long Beach Police Department and state law require officers to
provide victims with a Report Receipt and a Marsy’s Card during
their investigation. Explain to the victim what is on the both of the
forms. Note the correct way to document the ending sentence.
L. 1545-1600 PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY EXERCISE, HOMEWORK, SIGN
CLASS CONTRACT
a. Peanut and Butter Exercise
i. Set up a table to recreate the sandwich made earlier in the class.
Have multiple jars of peanut butter and jelly, different types of
knives, different plates, and different types of bread available.
LONG BEACH POLICE ACADEMY
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WRITING
ii. Assign one instructor to read the previously chosen report written
by the recruits.
iii. Use the same instructor who made the first sandwich recreate the
second sandwich.
iv. Have the instructor read the report out loud and have the other
instructor make the sandwich based on the report.
v. Make the sandwich exactly how the report tells you to make it.
vi. After the sandwich is made stress the importance of providing
many details in a police report.
b. Class Contract
i. Hand each recruit a Class Contract
ii. Have the recruits read out loud the Class Contract.
iii. Have each recruit sign the Class Contract and hand it in
c. Homework
i. Hand out both homework packets and tell them when the
assignments are due.
M. (If time remains) SMALL GROUP INTRODUCTION
a. Break the class up into each of the groups.
b. Each Report Writing instructor should introduce themselves again to their
group and give them their expectations.
c. Ask the recruits if they have questions