CTECHENGL1 Lateral Reports assist in coordination in the organization
WEEK 1 – INTRODUCTION TO INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
WRITING
Investigative report writing is a fundamental skill for law
enforcement professionals, private investigators, and
individuals involved in uncovering and analyzing information
related to specific incidents or cases. This form of writing
serves as a crucial tool for documenting findings, presenting
evidence, and communicating the results of thorough
investigations. Effective investigative report writing entails
clear, concise, and objective documentation of facts,
observations, and conclusions, enabling stakeholders to
understand the investigative process and its outcomes.
REPORT WRITING
A communication that lends itself to a useful tool for people in a
free society to express their thoughts and ideas and to obtain
what they need or want. It is a natural and necessary part of
the very job description of an investigator.
REPORT
A detailed account of an event, situation usually based on
observations or inquiry. A specific form of writing that is
organized around concisely identifying and examining issues,
events, or findings that have happened in a physical sense. A
report of investigation is an objective statement of the
investigator’s findings. It is an official record of the information
relevant to the investigation which the investigator submits to
his superior. The effectiveness of an investigator is judge to a
large extent by his report of investigations. The reputation of
the investigator is measured to alarge extent by the kind of
report he submits.
COMMON TYPES OF REPORT
1. Formal or Informal Reports
Formal Reports
 carefully structured
 stress objectivity and organization
 contain much detail.
 written in a style that tends to eliminate such elements as
personal pronouns.
Informal Reports – (internal memorandum)
 usually, short message with natural, casual use of
language.
2. Short or Long Reports
A two -page report or sometimes referred to as a memorandum
is short, and a thirty-page report is long.
Long Report – a major study that provides an in-depth view of
the problem or idea. It examines a problem in detail.
Short Report – an organized presentation of relevant data on
any topic that an agency or company tracks in its daily
operations. (routine duty)
3. Informational or Analytical Reports
Informational Reports provides facts, data, feedback, and other
types of information to assist management make decisions. It
does not provide recommendations. – just the fact reports.
Analytical Reports provides facts, data, feedback, and other
types of information, but they also provide analysis,
interpretation, and recommendations.
4. Proposal Report
A document prepared to describe how one organization can
meet the needs of another organization. Most government
agencies advertise their needs by issuing “requests for
proposal” of RFPs.
5. Vertical or Lateral Reports
Vertical reports are more upward or downward the hierarchy
that contributes to management control.
traveling between units of same organization level. –
(production and finance departments).
6. Internal or External Reports
Internal reports travel within the organization while external
reports are prepared for distribution outside the organization.
7. Periodic or progress reports – status reports
Issued in regularly scheduled dates. Generally, upward
directed and serve management control. Preprinted forms and
computer-generated data contribute to uniformity of periodic
report.
8. Functional Reports
Track every pertinent detail in the company’s operational
process. It includes accounting, marketing, financial and variety
of other reports.
ELEMENTS OF REPORTS
1. To whom the report is about and/or prepared for
2. What was done, what problems were addressed, and the
results, including conclusions and/or recommendations.
3. Where the subject studied occurred
4. When the subject studied occurred
5. Why the report was written (function) including under
what authority, for what reason or by whose request.
6. How the subject operated, functioned, or was used.
ORGANIZATION OF PATTERN OF REPORTS
1. Direct Pattern - Direct reports contain routine, non-
sensitive information. Presents the most important
findings first followed by facts, data, and other
explanatory details. It is more appropriate in informal
reports.
2. Indirect Pattern – May contain sensitive controversial,
debated, or unpleasant information. Consequently, not
all readers will be knowledgeable of, in agreement with,
or accepting of the information and/or recommendation
made in the report. It is used when the audience must be
educated about or persuaded of the credibility of the
information presented and merits of the
recommendations made. It is used exclusively with
analytical reports.
INFORMATION ORGANIZATION METHODS IN REPORTS
1. Time – to provide information in the order of events.
2. Component – used for information report (location,
geography, division, product, or parts) to present the
data.
3. Importance – most important to least important
4. Criteria – established standards to assess different
options, plans strategies and products.
5. Convention – reports created using a prescribed
template. (short report)
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
An objective statement of the investigator’s findings. An official
record of information relevant to the investigation relevant to
the investigation which the investigator submits to his/her
superior. It is a document that details the findings (evidence)
related to a formal complaint or allegation. These reports are
often commissioned immediately upon the receipt of a formal
complaint and are generally used to establish whether an
allegation is supported by facts.
IMPORTANCE OF INVESTIGATIVE WRITING
1. They serve as records for police administrations planning,
directing, and organizing the unit’s duties.
2. Reports can be used as legal documents in the
prosecution of criminals.
3. Reports can be used by other agencies.
4. Reports can be useful to local media that needs access to ADVERB Describes a quickly, My dog eats
quickly. When
public documents. verb, silently, he is very
5. The author of the report should also consider that the adjective or well, hungry, he eats
(written) work is reflective of the writer’s personality. adverb badly, really quickly.
6. Report can be basis for research. very,
really
REQUISITES OF A GOOD INVESTIGATION REPORT PRONOUN Replaces a I, you, he, Tara is Indian.
1. Accuracy – report should be a true representation of the She is beautiful
noun she
facts to the best of investigators ability. PREPOSITION Links a to, at We went to
2. Completeness – must answers 5Ws and 1H. school on
noun to after, on Monday.
3. Brevity – irrelevant/unnecessary materials should be another
omitted. word
4. Fairness – investigator should take the facts as he finds CONJUNCTION Joins and, but, I like dogs and
them. cats.
clauses or when Ilke dogs but I
5. Form and style – organize/easy to read. sentences don’t like cats.
6. Clarity – use of simple language and format or words
7. Specific – brings the reader close to firsthand INTERJECTION Short oh!, ouch!, Ouch!, Hi! How
experience. exclamation, hi!, well are you? Well, I
don’t know.
8. Timeliness – prompt completion of report sometimes
inserted into
BASIC STEPS IN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WRITING sentence
1. Gather the facts
Conducts of through investigation, interview of witness or Parts of Speech
victims and interrogation of suspects. Preliminary investigation 1. NOUNS – a word used to name a person, place or
made by the officer who first arrived at the scene has the best thing, measures of time, action, or quantity.
opportunity to solve the case. o Common Noun – generic name for a
2. Record the facts person, place, or thing in a class or group.
Immediate and accurate recording of the facts gathered to Not capitalized unless it either begins a
assist the investigator’s memory with specific details such as sentence or appears in a title.
names, date of birth, serial numbers, addresses, and contact
details.
 Concrete – perceptible to the senses (Car, Table,
3. Organize the facts Book, Dog, Mountain)
Outlining the sequence of events. A properly organized and  Abstract – involving general ideas or qualities
planned report is easy to read and understand. (Justice, Happiness, Freedom, Courage)
4. Write the report  Collective – referring to a group or collection (team,
The report must be written in factual, clear, relevant and, brief, family, committee).
complete, accurate, objective, fair and up to date manner. o Proper nouns – refer to specific places,
5. Evaluate the report by editing and proof reading persons, or things. Always begin in capital
 Is this report the best I can do? letters. When referring to a specific person
 Would I want to read it to the COP? within a report, officers should use proper
nouns.
 Who else is going to read the report?
 Count Nouns – can be counted as one or more (pen,
 Is there anything else I can do to make it better?
book, bottle). Take an “s” to form the plural (pens,
books, bottles). Work with expressions such as (few,
WEEK 2- REVIEW ON ENGLISH RULES
many, some, very, each, these, and the number of).
An effective report must always exhibit the writer’s command of
Work with appropriate articles (a, an, or the).
the English language, and be relatively free of errors in
sentence structure, grammar, and other mechanics. The more  Non-Count Nouns – usually express a group or a
effective the officer’s command of the written language, the type (water, woods, ice, air). Cannot be pluralized.
greater the clarity of the written report. Work both with and without an article (a, an, or the),
depending on the context of the sentence (Sunshine
PARTS OF SPEECH is bright, I drink coffee). Work with expression such as
VERB action or (to) be, Peoples (some, any, enough…I hope to see some sunshine
state have, do, Club is a today). Do not work expressions (these, those, every,
like, work, web site. I each).
sing, can, like Peoples  Possessive Nouns – used to indicate ownership.
must Club. Usually formed by adding an apostrophe (‘) and (s)
NOUN thing or pen, dog, This is my dog. (Mike’s cellphone, Job’s car).
He lives in my
person work, house. We live
music, in Manila
2. PRONOUNS – words that substitute for a noun or
Manila, proper noun.
town, o First person pronouns – used when
teacher referring to the officer writing the report (I,
ADJECTIVE Describe a a/an, the, I have two me, mine, my, and we, our, ours, us).
dogs. My dogs o Third person pronouns – refer to the
noun or two, are big. I like
pronoun some, big dogs. person, place or thing being written about
good, big, (he, his, him, it, its, they, their, them).
red, well,
interesting First Second Third Person
 Person Person Male Female Neutral  Take off: to remove clothing or to leave the ground (in
Singular I you he she it the case of an airplane). It's hot in here; I need to take
Subject off my sweater.
Singular me you him her it  Look forward to: to anticipate or eagerly await
Object something in the future (I look forward to meeting you
Singular myself yourself himself herself itself next week).
Reflexive  Run out of: to deplete the supply of something
Plural we you they (We've run out of milk; I need to go to the store).
Subject
Plural us you them Verb Tense – indicates the time when the action or condition
Object occurred.
Plural ourselve yourselves themselves
Reflexive s
PAST TENSE ex:
SIMPLE PAST Describes actions or states She walked to the
Third Person Point of View that occurred and were store yesterday.
Report writers generally refer to themselves as “this officer”, completed in the past.
“the undersigned’ or the use of more general term “this office”.
 This officer immediately rushed to the scene of the PAST Describes actions or states They were studying
crime. CONTINUOUS that were ongoing in the when I called.
 This office received a phone call from anonymous past at a specific moment.
caller about the escape of the kidnapped victim.
 The undersigned formed a response team to assist PAST PERFECT Describes an action or state By the time we
completed before another arrived, they had
the rescue of the kidnapped victim. point in the past. already eaten.

3. VERB – a word that expresses action or describes a FUTURE TENSE

state of being. ex:
SIMPLE FUTURE Describes actions or states They will arrive
o Action verbs that will occur in the future. tomorrow
Physical action – talk, laugh, arrest (SSGT Carlos arrested the
suspect yesterday at Sto. Domingo Street Angels City).
FUTURE Describes actions or states At 3 PM tomorrow, I
Mental action – think, hope, consider (I consider driving my CONTINUOUS that will be ongoing at a will be working on a
car). specific point in the future. project.
 Linking verbs
Be-verbs or helping verbs (am, was, is, are, were, being, has FUTURE Describes an action or state By the time you arrive,
been). PERFECT that will be completed I will have finished my
o Phrasal verbs - are combinations of a main before another point in the work.
future.
verb and one or more particles (prepositions,
adverbs, or both) that together convey a The voice of a verb indicates the relationship between the
single semantic unit. action or state expressed by the verb and the participants
1 Call off cancel
2 Call on Visit identified by its subject and object.
3 Look after Take care of someone
4 Give away Offer for free Active Subject as the doer The cat (subject) chased (verb)
5 Break into Enter by force the mouse (object)
Passive Subject as the The mouse (subject) was
receiver chased (verb) by the cat
 Turn off: to stop the operation of a device or to (agent)
extinguish a light (Please turn off the lights before
leaving). The passive voice is formed using a form of the verb "to be"
 Bring up: to mention or introduce a topic in (such as "is," "am," "are," "was," "were") along with the past
conversation (She brought up an interesting point participle of the main verb. The agent (the doer of the action) is
during the meeting). often included using the preposition "by," but it can also be
omitted, especially when it is unknown or not essential to the
meaning.

SIMPLE TENSE ex:

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE Encompasses the past, present and future. I exercise every morning.

SIMPLE PAST TENSE indicates that an action terminated in the past For regular verbs, add "-ed" to the base form of the
verb.
The police officer arrested the suspect.
Irregular verbs have unique past tense forms that don't
PRESENT follow a regular pattern.
TENSE ex:
SIMPLE GoDescribes
(base form) → Went
general (simple past)The sun rises in the
truths,
PRESENT habits, or regular occurrences east.
in the present.
SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE used to describe actions or events that will happen after the Use "will" + the base form of the main verb:
present moment. I will study for the exam.
PROGRESSIVE TENSE ex: PRESENT Describes actions or states I am reading a
PRESENT PROGRESSIVE Subject + "am/is/are" (present tense of "to > i amCONTINUOUS
reading a book. that are ongoing or happening book.
TENSE be") + present participle (base verb + "-ing") > she is working on a project.at the moment of speaking.

PRESENT Describes actions or states I have visited Paris

PERFECT that started in the past and several times.
have relevance to the present.
 > they are watching a movie

PAST PROGRESSIVE TENSE Formation: Subject + "was/were" (past tense > He was studying when I called.
of "to be") + present participle (base verb + > We were playing in the park.
"-ing") > She was cooking dinner

FUTURE PROGRESSIVE Subject + "will be" + present participle (base > They will be traveling to Europe next month.
TENSE verb + "-ing"). > I will be working on a new project.
> She will be waiting for you.

PERFECT TENSE ex:

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE used to express actions that started in the Subject + "have/has" (present > I have traveled to many countries.
past and are still relevant to the present or tense of "to have") + past > She has read that book.
actions that have just been completed participle. > They have lived in this city for five years.

PAST PERFECT TENSE
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
used to describe an action that was
completed before another past action or a
specific point in the past.
used to describe an action that will be
completed in the future before another
future action or a specific point in the future.
Subject + "had" + past participle
Use "will have" + the past participle
of the main verb.
> He had already finished his work when I
arrived.
> We had seen the movie before.
> She had visited the museum once.
> By 5 PM tomorrow, I will have finished my
work.
> She will have completed her assignment by
the end of the week.
> They will have arrived at the airport by the
time you get there.

PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
TENSE
PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
expresses an action that started in the past
and has continued up to the present.
Subject + "have/has been"
(present perfect of "to be") +
present participle (base verb + "-
ing").
ex:
> I have been studying for two hours.
> They have been working on the project all
day.
> She has been reading that book for a while.

PAST PERFECT emphasizes the duration of an ongoing Subject + "had been" + present > He had been waiting for an hour before the
PROGRESSIVE TENSE action that was happening before another participle. bus arrived.
past event > We had been living in the city for five years
before we moved.
> They had been working on the assignment
when I called

FUTURE PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
used to describe an ongoing action that will
continue up to a specified point in the future.
Subject + "will have been" +
present participle
> By this time next year, I will have been
working at this company for a decade.
> She will have been studying French for two
years by the end of the semester.
> They will have been living in the new house
for a month.

whether the emphasis is > The team are

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
A grammatical concept that ensures that the subject and the
verb in a sentence agree in number (singular or plural).
SINGULAR Singular subjects take
SUBJECTS singular verbs
PLURAL Plural subjects take plural
SUBJECTS verbs
COMPOUND For compound subjects
SUBJECTS joined by "and," use a
plural verb.
COMPOUND If the subjects are singular
SUBJECTS WITH and joined by "or" or "nor,"
"OR" OR "NOR". use a singular verb. If one
of the subjects is plural,
use a plural verb.
INDEFINITE Some indefinite pronouns
PRONOUNS are singular (e.g.,
everyone, nobody) and
take singular verbs, while
others are plural (e.g.,
both, many) and take
plural verbs.
COLLECTIVE Collective nouns (e.g.,
NOUNS team, family) can take
either singular or plural
verbs, depending on
on the group acting as a arguing among
single unit or as themselves.
individuals. (Emphasis on
individuals within the
team).
> The cat is sleeping.
> She runs every WEEK 3- POLICE REPORT
morning Police Report serves as an official document that records
> The cats are
sleeping. details of an incident or crime that has been reported to the
> They run every police. A crucial tool in law enforcement and has various uses.
morning.
> Tom and Jerry are
friends.
Classification of Police Reports
§ Pancakes and syrup 1. Informal reports – usually a letter or memorandum,
go well together. or any of one of the many prescribed in day-to-day
police operations. Contain administrative importance.
> Neither the cat nor
the dogs is in the
2. Formal reports – suggest the full-dress treatment,
house. including cover, title page, letter of transmittal,
> Either the dogs or introduction, summary sheet, text, conclusions,
the cat are in the yard. recommendations, appendices, index, and
bibliography.
> Everyone has a role
to play. Uses of Police Report
> Many were present
at the event.
1. Investigation and Documentation
2. Legal Proceedings
3. Insurance Claims
4. Crime Statistics
5. Record Keeping
> The team is winning 6. Search Warrants
the game. (Emphasis 7. Employment and Background Checks
on the unity of the 8. Criminal Investigations
team)
 9. Public Safety Alerts
10. Community Policing
C 7. Situation report - this relates the present condition of a
lassifications of Police Reports according to purpose
1. Performance report - contains information as to the
status of an activity or operation.
2. Fact-finding report - involves the gathering and
presentation of data in a logical order, without attempt
to draw conclusions.
3. Technical report - presents data on a specialized
subject.
4. Problem-determining report - attempts to find out
the causes of a problem or to find out whether a
problem really exists.
5. Problem-solution report - analyzes the thought
processes that lie behind the solution of a particular
problem. It may include all the elements found in the
other types of reports, including presentation of data
collected, discussion of possible solutions to the
problem, and an identification of the best solution.
Categories of Police Reports
1. Operational reports - include those relating to the reporting
of police incidents, investigations, arrests, identification of
persons, and miscellaneous reports necessary to the conduct
of routine operations.
2. Internal reports - relate to the reporting necessary to the
management of police organization and include financial
reports, personnel reports, purchase reports, equipment report,
property maintenance reports, and general correspondence.
3. Technical report - present data on a specialized subject,
but usually related to completed staff work, and add to the
specific knowledge necessary to proper police management.
4. Summary of information - furnish intelligence information
necessary to the solution of crimes, accidents, and police
administrative problems. It keeps executive and legislative
authority, and the public informed of the problems, progress,
and needs of the police organization.
Types of Police reports
1. Spot report - is done after an important incident takes place
in a certain area at a given time. It is done within 24 to inform
the immediate chief because of the principle of command
responsibility. It is done using the memo form or the
radiographic form.
2. Special report - is done either because one feels he has
some reporting to do, or a lower police unit is obligated based
on directives.
Paragraphing a Special report:
a. Problem - it answers the question, what is the report
all about?
b. Rationale - this presents details, explanations, or
specifications regarding the problem.
c. Action - it gives the reader the idea of what to do after
reading the report.
3. Progress report - this is a follow-up report to a report
previously sent or it could be an accomplishment report which
may be analytical in nature and may be comparatively longer.
4. Investigation report - it is a report that is classified as
Confidential and follows the following parts:
 AUTHORITY
 MATTERS INVESTIGATED
 FACTS OF THE CASE
 DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS
 RECOMMENDATIONS
5. Beat Inspection report - submitted by the beat supervisor
after inspecting those on the beat.
6. After Patrol report - is submitted by the personnel on patrol
immediately after their tour of duty.
place or unit and could be submitted daily, hourly or as the
need arises.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD POLICE REPORT
A police report is a chronological account of an incident that
happened at any given time and place. An account of an
investigation, or an official statement of facts.
 Clarity
 Avoid impressive expressions:
 Avoid illiteracy – misuse of the English word.
 Accuracy
Police communications should conform exactly to the
truth or to a standard. They should be without error, precise,
exact, and correct.
 Avoid putting a period to end your sentence if the
thought is incomplete.
 Avoid starting your sentence with a coordinating
conjunction (but, and, nor, or, for, so, yet).
 Armed with a warrant of arrest, PEMS Julian
Kumang, the police investigator, went to the
house of the suspect. But he did not find any
person inside the house.
 The subject and the predicate of the sentence
should agree with each other.
 Use the correct tense of the verb
 Avoid Shift in voice within sentence.
 Avoid dangling modifiers.
 Avoid shift in the tense of the verb.
 Avoid shift in person
 Maintain the antecedent-pronoun agreement.
The provincial director likes to play with his dog when
they are newly bathed.
The provincial director likes to play with his dog when
it is newly bathed.
 Use the exact or appropriate word that serves
your purpose.
Sin - violation of religious law
Vice- habitual degrading or corrupting behavior
Crime - violation of man's law
Felony- punishable by the RPC
Offense - punishable by special laws
Misdemeanor- punishable by ordinances
 Use numbers properly.
In general, technical report writing, single numbers
are written in words and for double numbers from 10
and above, the numbers are written instead of the
words.
In police technical report writing, however, the
practice of writing the number in words first then
putting the number in open-close parenthesis makes it
more accurate.
 The ranks and names of police commissioned
officers (from Police Lieutenant to Police General)
are all capitalized.
For police non-commissioned officers (Patrolman-
Police Executive Master Sergeant), the beginning
letters of their ranks and names are capitalized.
The PNP and the military do not place a period after
their middle initial.
POLICE MAJOR NANDREF B YAO
POLICE COLONEL DEON JUAN, JR
Police Corporal Simplicio Pepito
PEMS Don F Bravad
  Use the proper punctuations. committed, even with just a few pieces of
 Brevity – saying much in fewer words. information they had gathered.
Avoid redundancies.  The police officer's duty is just to gather all
Avoid padded phrases necessary data, submit the case to the
Avoid unnecessary sentence openers. Prosecutor's Office, and the Prosecutor's Office
 Specificity will be the one to tell the police officer of what
Gives life to a sentence by using particulars that call crime happened.
up shape, texture, color and movement. a. 7 lost or found?
b. What type of property was attacked?
Concretize abstract words. c. What type of evidence was found at the crime scene?
 Timeliness d. What type of weapon used in the crime?
e. What tool or machine was used in the crime?
Like a spot report that should be submitted within twenty-four f. What did the suspect do after committing the crime.
(24) hours, any other police report should be submitted on time
in order to serve its purpose. WHERE?
A report that could no longer be used because it was not
 This question answers the geographical location
submitted on time is useless.
of the crime scene, person, property or evidence.
Security  The police officer must see to it that he is so
Most police reports are either classified as Restricted, specific about the location.
Confidential, Secret or Top Secret.  It is not good if he just puts that the crime
1. Restricted - a report that is not available to the happened in Baguio City because he will be
public or has limited access. asked, "where exactly in Baguio City.
a. Where was the crime committed?
 Ongoing Investigation b. Where was the piece of evidence discovered?
 Juvenile Cases c. Where did the suspect hide the weapon he used?
d. Where was the victim found?
 National security
2. Confidential Police Report - generated by law
WHEN?
enforcement that is treated with a higher level of
sensitivity and restricted access.  This includes the date and time the crime was
committed, pieces of evidence discovered, victim
 Undercover Operations found, suspect apprehended, etc.
 Ongoing Investigations  Just like in the where question, the when must be
 National Security Concerns very specific; hence, the date should be written
 Informant Protection completely and the time indicated whether in the
3. Secret or Top Secret - required for classified morning, at noon, in the afternoon, or during
information within government and military nighttime.
organization. Used to safeguard information that, a. When was the crime committed?
if disclosed, could harm national security. b. When was the crime discovered?
c. When was the victim found? (sent with celebration effect)
Impartiality d. When did the victim see, hear, smell, touch, or taste something
The report should be based on facts and not the opinions of unusual?
the writer. e. When was the piece of evidence recovered?
The writer should then be always objective and avoid bias in
presenting his reports. WHY?
 The Why question answers the motive of the
Completeness perpetrator committing the crime.
Simple reports do not need all 5 Ws and 1 H, but as much as  It is not enough that the police officer will just
possible, the writer should use at least the 5 Ws and 1 H. place that the motive is revenge, hatred,
The writer should be aware that the reader, after reading the jealousy, material gain or lust, he has to answer
report should have no question hanging in his mind because all the question in such a way that the reader will
the necessary information he needs to know are provided in exactly understand why the suspect did the
the report. crime.
a. Why did the suspect commit the crime?
THE 5WS AND 1H OF POLICE REPORTS b. Why did the suspect choose to use certain tools or weapons?
c. Why did the person report the crime to the police?
WHO? d. Why did the suspect, himself, report the crime to the police?
 The who question identifies a person. e. Why did the victim go the place where he was attacked?
 In police communication, if we refer to one person
then we should refer to him alone, and not to any HOW?
other person.  The How question answers the manner the crime
 It is then very important that the name of the person was committed. It is necessary that the police
should be spelled correctly and included are his or her officer should use adverbs so that the reader
middle name, alias es, specific address, nature and could imagine and understand exactly how the
place of work, and contact number. crime was committed.
a.
b.
Who was the victim?
Who was the suspect?
 The weakness of some police officers is that they
c. Who were the witnesses? just mention a verb without a modifier (adverb).
d. Who saw, heard, smelled or tasted anything relevant to the  In addition, so that the report will be easily
crime?
understood especially in a narration, it should
start from the first that happened, then the
WHAT?
second, until he lasts.
 The weakness of some police officers is that they a. How did the suspect commit the crime?
tend to name the specific crime that was b. How did the suspect go to the crime scene?
 c. How did the suspect leave the crime scene? Eye color accents, tone,
d. How did the witness observe the crime? Hair color pitch, or
e. How did the victim know about the plan of the suspect to attack Hair style noticeable
him? Facial hair speech
f. How much money was taken from the bank? Clothing type disorder, such
g. How often do the suspects loiter around the pawn shop? Clothing color as stuttering
Clothing style Jewelry
Rings (identify
STEPS IN POLICE REPORT WRITING Name and/or street name, if known which hand and
1. Pre-writing Unusual physical attributes, such as finger)
2. Gathering Facts scars, tattoos, a limp, moles, odor, and Necklaces o
3. Recording and Organizing missing teeth Earrings
Can the suspect be identified by the Body piercings
4. Writing and Evaluating victim or witness? Right or left-
handed.
WEEK 4 – NOTE TAKING AND FIELD INTERVIEWS Which hand
was dominant?
Typically, field notes are obtained from the officer’s direct Which
observations and from field interviews with suspects, victims, handheld the
and witnesses. The field interview, however, is where the weapon?
officer will learn most of the information about a crime or
Which hand
incident. Therefore, the statements taken during a field opened a door?
interview are often critical to learning about the specific facts of Where was a
a case, because the existence of certain crime elements may watch worn?
Gang affiliation
only be revealed from the statements of witnesses, victims, (if known)
and the suspects of a case. Specific Basic Information Additional
Incident Information
Steps in Field Interview Scene description and photographs (if
available)
1. Separate the Involve Parties. Point of entry
2. Establish rapport. Point of exit
3. Listen attentively Description of property damage Types
4. Take notes/Ask questions. and values of property taken
Description of suspect vehicle
5. Verify information. Nature and location of evidence
collected.
FIELD NOTES Suspect and victim injuries.
Unique characteristics of the crime
An officer’s field notes are the original source documents used Anything else not already mentioned
to write a poli report. For this reason, if field notes are that the officer believes is relevant to
incomplete, poorly organized, or illegible, they will of little use the case.
to the officer in writing the resulting police report. For this
reason, field notes should always be taken at the scene,
especially when interviewing suspect, victims or whenever the FUNDAMENTAL CONTENT OF REPORT
officer wishes to remember specific details at a later time. 1. Initial information.
2. Identification of the crime or incident.
Information that should be included in field notes. 3. Identification of the involved parties
Basic Information Additional 4. Victim/witness/suspect statements.
Information 5. Crime scene specifics/description.
Full name Age How to contact 6. Property information.
Victims and • Date of birth by telephone or
Witnesses • Race in person 7. Officer actions/observations.
• Sex Best place to
Telephone numbers (home, work, contact. Proofreading of the Report
cellular) Best time to
• Email address(es) contact.  Is the information in the proper order?
• Place of  Are the correct crimes cited in the report? Are all
employment crime elements articulated?
(including name
and telephone  Are the facts of the case correct (based on the
number) officer's field notes)?
Type of crime Location All persons  Is the report well organized?
Occurrence • Date and time of incident involved:
Was physical evidence handled by Informants  Is all necessary information included? Are things said
officer, suspect, or victim? Disposition Reporting party efficiently or too wordy? facts?
and chain of custody for all evidence. Victims  Are all conclusions supported by Are there any gaps
Suspect direction of travel Witnesses
 Type and description of • Suspects, if
in logic?
weapons known Officers  Are the names spelled correctly?
Threats made with weapons. • Outside
 Direct statements made by agencies and
members of
PROOF READING MECHANICS
suspect.
Case number outside When proofreading the reports, officers should look for:
 Assisting officer’s action agencies  Inappropriate use of nouns, pronouns, verbs, etc.
Medical
(and supplements, if
personnel
 Vague or confusing language
necessary)
Members of the  Incorrect or inappropriate use of words
media  Gaps in logic or narrative flow
Race Unusual or
 Spelling errors
• Sex memorable  Inappropriate punctuation
Suspects • Age gestures  Incorrect use of police, fire or EMS abbreviations
• Build Speech
• Height peculiarities,  Overuse of words, such as "that"
• Weight such as
 WEEK 5 - MEMORANDUM
The memorandum in only used within the Philippine National
Police (PNP). It is not used as a format in communicating with
other government or non-government agencies.
KINDS OF MEMORANDUM
1. From a chief of office to his subordinates, the tone is
impersonal, i.e., "For guidance and strict compliance." We
often used the word "MEMORANDUM TO" as addressee in
this kind of memorandum.
2. From a writer sending a memorandum to somebody of
equal rank, the tone is casually personal, i.e., "The
undersigned noticed changes in…” We again used the word
"MEMORANDUM TO" as our addressee.
3. A subordinate police officer writing a memorandum to a
higher police officer uses a more formal tone, i.e., "For info and
request acknowledge." In this kind of memorandum, we use
the word "MEMORANDUM FOR" as our addressee. One thing
to remember, we use the word "MEMORANDUM FOR" when
the correspondence is intended to be sent to higher office or
officer.
Police organization adopts memoranda in the following
general usage:
 to inform;
 to answer;
 to record a significant event;
 special reports;
 basic transmittals,
 other purposes.
Parts of the Memorandum
 Heading - The heading includes the name of the
organization, the unit or the police station, and the
address. The name of the unit or police station is
written boldly and all capitalized. The heading is
aligned center.
 Date - The date should not be abbreviated. Do not
forget that after the date is a line drawn from margin
to margin.
 Addressee - The addressee is written after
Memorandum For or Memorandum To.
Memorandum For is used if the communication is sent
to a higher office or of the same level with the sender,
and the Memorandum To is used if the
communication is sent to a lower office. The words
"Memorandum For or Memorandum To, as well as
rank and the name of the addressee or receiver of the
report, is written boldly, and all capitalized if it is the
name of a Police Commissioned Officer, but if not,
then only the rank and beginning letters are
capitalized. If the writer intends to use the position
instead of the name, then it should be written boldly
and only the beginning letters are capitalized.
 Attention Line - this is where the name of the specific
person or office that will act on your report is boldly
written. The practice of writing the attention line could
enable your report to be acted upon immediately
because your report will go directly to the concerned
person or office.
 Sender of the communication - below the attention
line is written "From", Police reports before omitting
the "From" probably because it is the same with that
of the signatory or by just reading the heading, you
have already known where the communication came
from. Anyway, it is important that if the "From" is
written, then the designation in the signatory should
be omitted.
 Subject - the subject is what the report is all about. It
is written boldly and should not be very long. It is
enough that the reader, upon reading the subject,
knows already what the report is all about. The most
important word or words should be mentioned first.
For example, Vacation Leave, Request for
 Reference - this is the basis for the report. For some
reports, this is not indicated because there is no need
for it, or they have no basis at all. Remember, all
paragraphs in a memorandum are consecutively
numbered using the Arabic numbers.
 Body - consists of what the writer would like to tell the
reader. In most police reports, especially in Special
reports, the first paragraph usually contains the
problem; the second and succeeding paragraphs, the
rationale; and the last paragraph, the action.
Paragraphing:
 Problem paragraph - contains what the writer would
like the reader to know.
 Rationale Paragraph - these are the explanations to
the problem.
 Action Paragraph - this is what the receiver of the
communication will do after reading it.
Signature - any document without the signature is of no value.
It is strictly written with the name (First name, Middle name,
Last name) with the rank typed below it, and the designation or
position typed below the rank. The name, for clarity, should be
capitalized and written boldly whether the signatory is a Police
Commissioned Officer, Police Non-Commissioned Officer or
even a civilian.
Request consideration and approval. (this is inappropriate because consideration and approval are synonymous).
Use further request in the action paragraph when you have already made mention of request in the earlier paragraphs.
Request further feedback (this is wrong because of the modifier further which is misplaced. Here, the word that is modified is feedback instead of
request)
If the communication uses Memorandum To, the appropriate action paragraph could be:
For information. For widest dissemination
For strict compliance. For guidance
For immediate action. For priority action
=====================================================================================
Republic of the Philippines
National Police Commission
Philippine National Police
ANGELES CITY POLICE STATION
Sto Cristo, Angeles City

MEMORANDUM
FOR : The Chief of Police
FROM : Chief Investigator
SUBJECT : Criminal Investigation and Detection Course
Date : January 15, 2024
_____________________________________________________________________________________
1. Request that the undersigned be permitted to attend the Criminal Investigation and Detection Course at the Camp Olivas Region Training
Center, San Fernando City on March 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024.
2. He has a Time In Grade of five (5) years as Senior Police Senior Master Sergeant and he would like to finish the course so that he could be
eligible for promotion in December 2024.
3. Further request approval.

JAMES IVAN C. PEREZ

Police Executive Master Sergeant

=====================================================================================

Republic of the Philippines

National Police Commission
Philippine National Police
PAMPANGA PROVINCIAL POLICE OFFICE
San Fernando, Pampanga

MEMORANDUM
TO : The Chief of Police
Angeles City Police Office
Sto. Cristo, Angeles City
Attn: Chief, Opns Div.
FROM : Provincial Director
SUBJECT : Seminar on Crime Prevention
Date : January 16, 2024
_____________________________________________________________________________________
1. You are directed to conduct a three-day seminar on Crime Prevention from March 2-3, 2024 at Barangay Dalubhasa which was ranked No. 1
regarding the number of crimes committed for CY 2023.
2. Submit an after-activity report to reach this office NLT March 5, 2024.
3. For strict compliance.

PATRICK MARLON N. ROQUE

Police Colonel