THE POLICE BLOTTER

POLICE BLOTTER
 The General Headquarters of Philippine National Police issued Circular No. 05 dated
December 10, 1992 entitled “Prescribing a Uniform Police Blotter for the Philippine
National Police” and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Number 2012-001 dated
March 26, 2012 also gives additional information on procedures in recording incident
reports in the Police Blotter. The purpose of this SOP is to lay down the standard
procedures for all police station and all offices of the National Operational Support
Units.
 It is a logbook that contains the daily registry of all crime incident reports, official
summaries of arrests, and other significant events reported in a police station (PNP
Manual, Revised 2010). At present, the PNP maintains an e-blotter, to facilitate a
more efficient electronic blotter system for recording crime incidents across the
county. It does not only facilitate crime documentation and modernize data storage
but also presents accuracy in crime data documentation. This ensures reliability in
storage for quick reference, and hassle-free transmission of data to the end recipient of
all police reports at the Philippine National Police Headquarters.
 It is defined as daily record of events within the territories of police unit; it contains
daily material concerning events for legal and statistical purposes (PNP Circular No.
05).
 It is a hardbound book measuring 12 inches by 16 inches. Printed in the front cover is
the name or designation of the police district or station, the number or book number,
the series number, and the period covered.
 The contents of the Police Blotter entry should answer the WHO, WHAT, WHERE,
WHEN, HOW and the DISPOSITION OF THE CASE. The ff. are possible incidents
or transactions in a police blotter: Violations of laws and ordinances reported and
recorded; all calls which any member of the PNP is dispatched or takes official action;
all firearms, report and information received by the stations; movements of prisoners
with corresponding notations on the authority for such movements; cases of missing
and found person, animals and property; vehicular and other types of accidents which
require police actions; all personal injuries, bodies found and suicides; damage to
property; all cases in which a police member is involved; all arrests and returns made;
and miscellaneous cases.

PROCEDURES OF MAKING BLOTTER ENTRIES: