EFFECTIVE POLICE COMMUNICATION

POLICE REPORT
POLICE REPORT
A police report is the physical record of an
incident deemed to be illegal or potentially
illegal. It is taken by a representative of a police
department and filed according to said
department's procedure. It is also known as an
"incident report."
Incident Data
The incident data on a police report typically
includes the type of crime alleged (burglary,
arson, rape, etc.), the place of occurrence, how
it was received and reported (over the phone as
an assault), the date and time of the report and
the actual incident, any injuries sustained, and
what officers are involved.
Reporting Party

The reporting party section records the name,

physical appearance, ethnicity, address, date of
birth, social security number, marital status and
relationship to the perpetrator of the individual
reporting the crime.
Victim
The victim section records the name, physical
appearance, ethnicity, address, date of birth,
social security number, marital status and
relationship to the perpetrator of the individual
reporting the crime. If damage has occurred to
property, or if any property (belonging to the
victim or otherwise) is used in the commission
of a crime, then a separate section for notating
that is used.
Known Suspect
The known suspects section may be singular
or multiple, depending upon how many are
accused of committing the crime. For each
suspect, a thorough physical description and any
other known data (such as phone number,
address and possible whereabouts) are
compiled for later apprehension.
Narrative
The narrative section details the series of
events leading to and resulting in the incident. It
is a first-hand account given by the victim and
any witnesses.
 Four Types of Police Reports
• Report writing becomes less overwhelming when
you realize that there are only four types of police
reports. Type 1 is the most basic, Type 2 adds one
factor, Type 3 adds another factor, and Type 4 is the
most complex. That means you’re actually learning
how to write one basic report with variations.
• When you’re new to law enforcement, report
writing can seem overwhelming: Every call is
different and seems to require a different type of
report.
 Four Types of Police Reports
• But after a while you’ll see that police calls and
investigations fall into four categories. Once you’ve
learned the four types of police reports, you’ll have
an outline to follow every time you write a report.
• You’ll also discover that each type builds on the
previous one, like a stairway. Type 1 is the most
basic, Type 2 adds one factor, Type 3 adds another
factor, and Type 4 is the most complex. That means
you’re actually learning how to write one basic
report with variations.
Here are the four types of police reports:

• Type 1: You simply record the facts. There is

no police investigation, and you don’t make an
arrest. Type 1 includes incident reports,
missing persons, and many non-violent
offenses. In most cases you’ll obtain the facts
from witnesses, victims, and suspects. It’s
usually a good idea to write a separate
paragraph for each person you talk to.
Here are the four types of police reports:

• Type 2: In addition to recording the facts, as in

Type 1, you add your own investigation:
Looking for footprints, fingerprints, the point
of entry or exit, or other types of evidence.
Here are the four types of police reports:

• Type 3: The additional factor here is that you

become part of the story—you might break up a
fight, chase a suspect, find a missing child, or make
an arrest. In most cases you’ll begin your report
with witness, victim, and suspect statements about
what happened before you arrived. Then you’ll
explain what prompted you to get involved
(probable cause) and what you did. It’s important to
be specific: “Gordon slapped Fitch’s right cheek” is
better than “Gordon became aggressive.”
 Here are the four types of police reports:

• Type 4: What’s different about a Type 4 report is that

you’re not dispatched to the scene—you make your own
decision to get involved. For example, you might see a
car driven recklessly or a man battering a woman. This is
the most complex type of report because it requires you
to establish probable cause for becoming involved.
Again, it’s important to be specific: Not “reckless
driving” but “the car crossed the center line three times
in thirty seconds.” The more details you provide, the less
likely you are to have to defend your report in court.
 The easiest way to remember the four
types is to focus on what the officer does:
• Type 1 Records the facts
• Type 2 Records the facts and investigates
• Type 3 Records the facts, investigates, and
takes action
• Type 4 Initiates police involvement, records
the facts, investigates, and takes action
 How to Write a Police Report
Following Protocol
Get the correct forms from your department. 
Each police department has a different protocol in
place for dealing with an incident and filing a report. You
may be responsible for filling out a form issued by your
department, or you may be asked to type or write up the
report by hand.
• Try to do your write-up using word processing software.
It will look neater and you'll be able to use spellcheck to
polish it when you're finished. If you write your report
by hand, print clearly instead of using cursive.
 How to Write a Police Report
Following Protocol
Start the report as soon as possible. 
Right after the incident, reflect on what happened
and jot down some notes about it. If possible, write your
report the same day as the incident because waiting will
make it harder to remember details. At the least, do
your report write-up within the first 24 hours after the
incident.
• If you can’t write the report on the day that the
incident happened, record some notes about what
happened to help you when you do write the report.
 How to Write a Police Report
Following Protocol
Include a line about the nature of the incident. 
Describe what brought to you to the scene of the incident. If
you got a call, describe the call and note what time you
received it. Write an objective, sentence describing what
happened. Don't write what you think might have happened.
Stick to the facts and be objective.
• For example, a report might say: On 8/23/10 at
approximately 2340, officer was assigned to 17 Dist. response
vehicle. Officer was notified via radio by central dispatch of a
911 call at 123 Maple Street. Officer was also informed by
central dispatch that this 911 call may be domestic in nature.
 How to Write a Police Report
Describing What Happened
Write in the first-person. 
Include a detailed chronological narrative of what happened when
you reported to the scene and tell the story from your perspective. Use
“I” to explain the who, what, when, where, and why of the incident.
• For example, an officer's report could say: Upon arrival, I observed a
40 year old white male, known as Johnny Doe, screaming and yelling
at a 35 year old white female, known as Jane Doe, in the front lawn of
123 Maple Street. I separated both parties involved and conducted
field interviews. I was told by Mr. Johnny that he had come home
from work and discovered that dinner was not ready. He then stated
that he became upset at his wife Mrs. Jane for not having the dinner
ready for him.
 How to Write a Police Report
Describing What Happened
Include rich detail in your report. 
If possible, make sure to include direct quotes from witnesses
and other people involved in the incident. Include an accurate
description of your own role in the course of what occurred. If you
had to use physical force to detain someone, don't gloss over it.
Report how you handled the situation and its aftermath. Follow
your department's protocol with regard to reporting on witnesses
and evidence.
• Use specific descriptions. For example, instead of saying "I found
him inside and detained him," write something like, "I arrived at
2005 Everest Hill at 12:05. I walked to the house and knocked on
the door. I tried the knob and found it to be unlocked..."
 How to Write a Police Report
Describing What Happened
Use diagrams. 
Draw a picture or diagram in your report if it is difficult
to explain certain information in words. You may also want
to use a picture or diagram to show what the scene of the
incident looked like.
• Police officers often have to write reports about auto
accidents. It can be much clearer to illustrate with a
picture or a diagram how the accident occurred. You can
draw a picture of the street and use arrows to show how
where each car was headed when they hit each other.
 How to Write a Police Report
Describing What Happened
Make a thorough report. 
Write as much as possible and include as many details as
you can remember. Don't leave room for people reading the
report to interpret something the wrong way. Don't worry
about your report being too long or wordy. The important
thing is to report a complete picture of what occurred.
• For example, instead of saying “when I arrived, his face was
red,” you could say, “when I arrived, he was yelling, out of
breath, his face was red, and he seemed angry.” The second
example is better than the first because there are multiple
reasons someone’s face is red, not just that they are angry.
 How to Write a Police Report
Describing What Happened
Include accurate details and leave out the rest. 
If you did not see something happen, make sure that you don't
report that you did. If a witness tells you something that you did not
see, whatever the witness says is considered “hearsay.” Hearsay is
something you hear that you cannot substantiate by personal
knowledge. Report hearsay as hearsay, not as something you
personally saw.
• Even though it is hearsay, make sure to write down what each
individual at the scene said to you. It may be important, even if he
or she is lying. Include any information about the witness’
demeanor, in case what he or she told you becomes controversial.
 How to Write a Police Report
Describing What Happened
Use clear language. 
Don't use flowery, confusing language to describe what
happened. Your writing should be clear and concise. Don't
use legal or technical words. Use short, to-the-point, fact-
oriented sentences that don't leave room for interpretation.
• Use the party’s name when possible, so you can avoid
confusion when talking about multiple people. Also, spell
out abbreviations. For example, say “personal vehicle”
instead of “P.O.V.” (personally owned vehicle), and “scene
of the crime” instead of “code 11,” which is a police term
for “on the scene.”
 How to Write a Police Report
Describing What Happened
Be honest. 
Even if you're not proud of how you handled
the situation, it's critical that you write an honest
account. If you write something untrue it may end
up surfacing later, putting your job in jeopardy
and causing problems for the people involved in
the incident.
• Preserve your integrity and the institution you
represent by telling the truth.
 How to Write a Police Report
Editing Your Report
Check your report for accuracy. 
Double check all of the facts, including spellings of
names, dates, times, addresses, license plate numbers,
and so on. Make sure you didn't leave out any
information that should have been included. Look for
obvious gaps in the narrative that you might need to fill
in.
• For example, if you forget to include the one party's
reason why the argument started, then that would
leave a gap.
 How to Write a Police Report
Editing Your Report
• Proofread your report. 
Read through your report one more time to make sure
it's easy to understand. Check it for typos, spelling errors,
and grammar errors that might make the report
confusing. Remove any words that could be seen as
subjective, like words describing feelings and emotions.

• For example, if you included phrases that start with "I

feel" or "I believe," then you would want to remove
these to eliminate any bias in your report.
 How to Write a Police Report
Editing Your Report
Submit your incident report. 
Find out the name of the person or department
to whom your report must be sent. If you can,
submit your incident report in person. Make
yourself available to answer further questions or
provide clarification as needed.
• If you have to mail or email your report, follow
up with a phone call within a 10 day period. Do
this to make sure your report was received.
 Items to Include in the Report:
▢ Existing witness reports
▢ Description of the crime scene:
▢ Address ▢ Specific crime committed
▢ Crime scene evidence ▢ Locations
▢ Date ▢ Time

▢ Chronological narrative (include each of the following, if they apply):

▢ How did you come upon the scene? ▢ Who was involved?
▢ Which investigative avenues are being taken? ▢ What was said?
▢ Arrests made ▢ Evidence
▢ Reason why the officer was on the scene ▢ Booking

▢ Description of witnesses ▢ Description of crime committed

▢ Details about other officers involved ▢ Any other relevant factors
Editing Steps
Report is typed (unless specifically requested to be
hand-written)
Report is current (continues up until the present
day)
Report contains proper grammar, spelling, and
punctuation
Names of witnesses and places are spelled correctly
Report is free of subjective wording and personal
opinions (except in witness reports)
SPOT REPORT

A concise narrative report of essential information covering even
ts or conditions that may have an immediate and
significant effect on current planning and operations that is affor
ded the most expeditious means of transmission
consistent with requisite security. Also called SPOTREP. 
(Note: In reconnaissance and surveillance usage, spot report is
not to be used.) 
• See Joint Tactical Air Reconnaissance /
Surveillance Mission Report
PROGRESS REPORT
An assessment that takes place during a
project or process, that conveys details such as
what sub-goals have been accomplished, what
resources have been expended, what problems
have been encountered, and whether the
project or process is expected to be completed
on time and within budget. Progress reports are
used by management to determine whether
changes are necessary to an ongoing effort.
PROGRESS REPORT
Progress reports are common and critical documents in
science and engineering, typically when you are part of a
research team reporting to a funding agency about your progress
on work you are doing for that agency. The basic point of a
progress report is to summarize the status, progress, and likely
future for a particular project. In a progress report you are often
expected to commit to an exact schedule for the project
completion, discuss the status of the materials being used and
account for the money spent, and summarize concretely both
the current findings and the predicted results. The
professionalism of the progress report is often vital to the future
of the project.
PROGRESS REPORT
In classes and projects involving writing, progress reports
are used as a way for you to summarize your progress to
your teacher or advisor, who will typically give feedback on
whether he or she is satisfied with your progress. These
reports could feel like a mere formality or a waste of time to
you, but they are an excellent opportunity to articulate some
of the key sentences of your final report and even pose
questions in writing to your audience. The rules for writing
progress reports are a lot more flexible in a classroom or lab
than they are on the job, with a lot less at stake, so you
should take full advantage of the opportunity for practice.
Style for Progress Reports
The following stylistic advice can be applied to most
progress reports you write:
• Include a working title and the words "Progress Report"
at the top of the page.
• Use section headings in the report to simplify both the
writing and reading process.
• Open the report with a "Scope and Purpose" section,
where you give a condensed version of your future
report’s introduction and objective.
• Always include a section entitled, for example,
"Progress," which summarizes the work’s pace and
progress and explains any snafus, dilemmas, or setbacks.
Style for Progress Reports
The following stylistic advice can be applied to most
progress reports you write:
• Always include a section entitled, for example, "Remaining
Work," which honestly assesses the work that must still be
completed. Think right on the page in this section, posing
questions, speculating meaningfully, exploring your
options.
• Always include a section that projects the expected
results. Commit to a schedule for obtaining those results if
possible.
• If necessary, include a section in which you directly solicit
advice from your teacher or advisor. Be forthright and
professional about the nature of the advice you need.
Style for Progress Reports
The following stylistic advice can be applied to most
progress reports you write:
• Keep your paragraphs short and focused—just
a few paragraphs per section, typically.
• Your tone can often be straightforward and
familiar—therefore, as a rule, you can use "I"
and "you" freely—but do not lapse into
informality.
• Avoid being overly optimistic, pessimistic,
apologetic, cocky, or self-deprecating.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Beginning the Process
Figure out what your purpose is for the proposal. 
There are a variety of different reasons someone asks you to write
a progress report. Obviously for any of them it's to show what kind of
progress you've achieved on a specific project. However, there are
some different types of proposals that you'll need to consider.
• Progress report for a research program or project is going to be
slightly different than for a project at work. In this case you are
more likely to need to cite information and are less likely to need to
consider things like cost (although not always).
• A work report for a client is going to read somewhat differently
than for a superior at work. You'll need to consider why you're
writing this report for them.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Beginning the Process
Consider your audience. 
When you've sorted out the purpose of writing your progress report, you need
to consider the kinds of things that your audience is going to need to know in the
report. While all progress reports have general things they tend to include, you'll
need consider the specifics:
• How are your readers connected to the project? How will the outcome of the
project affect them? (The connection and how they're affected is going to be
different for your superior than for the client, for example.)
• Consider what decision your readers are going to need to make after reading
the progress report (what support, money, time are they investing, for
example.
• Consider the information your reader is going to need to know to oversee and
participate in the project effectively. What technical aspects of the project will
they need to know. Are they comfortable with technical jargon?
 How to Write a Progress Report
Beginning the Process
Decide on the best way to communicate with your audience. 
A progress report isn't only a written document that you
send to your superior or your professor. It can take a number
of forms depending on what is needed.
• A progress report could be a brief oral report at weekly or
monthly staff meetings.
• It could be periodic emails to colleagues.
• It could be formal or informal memos to supervisors.
• It can also be formal reports for clients or government
agencies.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Beginning the Process
Check with your supervisor. 
Unless you've written this specific type of
progress report before (in which case, why are
you on here?), you'll want to get as much
guidance from your superiors. There may be a
specific format that your company uses, in
which case you'll want to be sure you follow the
rules for that.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Beginning the Process
Consider your tone. 
Not all progress reports need to be formal. In fact, internal
reports for colleagues or supervisors often tend to be more
informal in tone. This is why it's so important to check with
your supervisor for what they are likely looking for.
• When it comes to information for a client or government
agency, or thesis review board, you err on the side of
formality.
• No matter the formality or informality of your tone you
want it to be clear, focused, and honest.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Writing Your Report
Decide how you want to present your material. 
By the time you start writing your report you'll already have figured
out what the tone needs to be and the point of the report. Now you need
to decide the best way or ways in which to present that information.
• You might choose to do a bulleted list. It's a very clear way to present
the material and it's easy to skim and still get the needed information.
However, it can be a slightly less formal way of writing a progress report
so it might be better to use it for memos to supervisors and emails to
colleagues.
• You may also consider adding in graphs or tables. This might be
especially good if you're writing a progress report for a project in which
you're trying to get funding, or show why you deserve the funding
you've been given.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Writing Your Report
Consider using subsections. 
To write a successful progress report you want it to
be as clear as possible. Splitting your report into
subsections is a great way to cluster all relevant
material together.
• Adding subheadings to your can make this even
clearer, because it lets your readers or audience
know what to expect in each subsection. If there is
material that they are particularly interested in
they'll be able to jump right to that part.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Writing Your Report
Write the heading. 
This typically goes across the top of the paper,
if you're using a page format. Again, it will depend
on what your company or university prefers, so
make sure you check in with them.
• The heading should include the date, when the
report was submitted, the name and the
position of the recipient, the writer’s name and
position, and the subject of the report.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Writing Your Report
Write the introductory section. 
The introductory section goes below the heading. It
can often be set apart from the rest of the material
through italics. It gives a brief overview of the project,
and summarizes its status. You will be establishing
what progress has been made, and whether certain
goals have been achieved.
• Make sure to include: the purpose of the report,
introduce the project, remind that this is an update
on the progress of the project.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Writing Your Report
Do the body of the proposal. 
The body of proposal, whether it's broken into sections and subsections,
is basically just a more detailed version of the introduction. Consider the
information you've put into the introduction and make sure to expand on
that information.
• Specify tasks that have been accomplished since the last report and what
tasks are ongoing.
• Discuss problems that you’ve encountered, issues that need to be
addressed, and potential solutions for those problems and issues.
• Address changes that have happened and why they needed to be made.
• You can also include things like personnel changes, difficulty in obtaining
material, what cost overruns you may have encountered, any delays or
problems with technology or security.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Writing Your Report
Address what is next for your project. 
While this is still basically part of the body of the report,
you want to make sure that your audience understand where
you're going with the project. Make sure that you state what
problems might affect the deadline for completion, the
budget, or the management structure.
• You really do want to make sure say whether the deadline
for the project has changed or not.
• Avoid sugarcoating any problems for your audience, but
don’t alarm them unnecessarily or promise anything you
can’t deliver.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Writing Your Report
Add in total hours worked. 
You will need to show how much work you
and your team (if you have one) have put into
the project. This will show your audience
(whether it's your supervisor, your clients, or a
government agency who might give you money)
that you've been working hard.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Avoiding Common Difficulties
Make sure you stay on topic. 
As long as you stick the basic information outlined
above, you should be fine. You really want to avoid
wandering off into other areas only marginally related to
the project, interesting though they may be.
• For example: if your project is about reigniting a local,
nonprofit arts organization, it might be tempting to go
off into a discussion of the deplorable state of arts
funding, but it won't really help detail how your
project is coming along.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Avoiding Common Difficulties
Keep it simple. 
The point of a progress report is to get across the
progress you're making, without overwhelming your
audience with words and ideas. All you need to focus on
are how a particular project is coming, what still needs to
be worked on, and what changes made need to be made. 
• Depending on who you're writing the report for you
might be cut down to a specific page limit. A good rule
of thumb is to keep it as short as possible, while making
sure that you fit in the appropriate information.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Avoiding Common Difficulties
Try to avoid being too vague. 
You need to make sure that you give specific
details on where you're at in your project. For
example: you would want to avoid saying
something like "We're making good progress on
getting our arts funding" and instead say "with
the two $5,000 grants from these different
foundations, we are just $2,000 short of our
$12,000 goal."
 How to Write a Progress Report
Avoiding Common Difficulties
Cut down on expressive wording. 
Again, you want your report to be clear and
concise. You don't want to overwhelm your
audience with wording that doesn't add
anything to the report. For example, phrases like
“complete catastrophe” or “giddy success” are
too emotional and too vague to be of use to
clients or supervisors.
 How to Write a Progress Report
Avoiding Common Difficulties
Cite your sources. 
Any information you use that comes from an
outside source, any graphs or data, needs to be
properly cited. You can add an additional
sources cited page to your progress report.
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
An investigation may briefly explain about a specific investigation
by using investigation report template. It may be about a crime or
any other investigation regarding business. A well-written and
accurate criminal investigation report template is crucial to the
future of a criminal case, as it will be cited by countless attorneys
and law enforcement personnel as a case moves forward in court. To
write investigation report template, you first have to mention the
purpose of the investigation report. Then mention what is being
investigated. An investigation report is also part of police report and
is mandatory part of other legal reports. A properly prepared
investigation report can be present in any court of law. Therefore it
must be fill with proper care and understanding.
How to Write the Investigation Report
• Nobody likes writing reports. Nobody really likes
writing anything; this applies to professional
writers as much (if not more) than to the rest of
us who have to write to communicate, on top of
our other responsibilities.
• Fortunately, there are some ways of making it a
relatively painless process - and a good thing
too, because writing the report is absolutely
crucial to any investigation.
 THE POINT OF IT ALL
• In fact, you wouldn’t be far wrong if you defined the
report as the most important component of your
investigation. It’s the bit that communicates your
findings. The bit that explains what went wrong. The
bit in which you express your recommendations. 
• And the bit which can change the future - for the
better.
• That, after all, is the whole point of investigating in
the first place.
 WRITING TO PERSUADE
• The first thing to remember is that when you’re writing an
investigation report, you’re trying to persuade someone to do
something. Just like an advertisement or a direct-mail shot, you
want the reader to get to the end of your report and take action.
In this case, the action is: to put your recommendations into
practice.
• Before your reader can do that, therefore, they have to be
persuaded.
• And to be persuaded, they have to understand.
• That means - KEEP YOUR LANGUAGE SIMPLE AND
STRAIGHTFORWARD.
• We’ve all seen that sort of writing:
 WRITING TO PERSUADE
• For the purposes of a non-pre-scheduled process of elective rehydration by
means of the ingestion of a pre-prepared alkaloid infusion delivered by an on-
demand user-operated dose-consistent process, the victim was of necessity
engaged in a stepwise incrementation of his personal potential energy quotient
by means of a progressive elevation of his bodily mass using a pre-existing
manual-process “step-and-riser” system originally installed at facility
commissioning in accordance with standards then operative in workplace
standards & facilities standards currently pertaining. During this process, said
victim experienced an unpredicted decrement in personal adhesion due to a
local area of out-of-specification frictional coefficient due to an adventitious
“pooling” of non-pre-admixed solvent designed for subsequent admixture with
an anionic/amphoteric surfactant product by a routine preventive anti-
contamination operative, leading to said adhesion falling below the stress/shear
tolerance necessary for the continuation of the said process. This was followed
by a rapid non-linear reduction in potential energy and the resultant
transductive process caused the application of kinetic but non-fracturing shear
stresses to the victim’s dextro-patellar region and subsequent contusion and
minor haematomata…
 WRITING TO PERSUADE
• By which time you’ve long ago lost them. Easier, and just as accurate,
to say:
• The victim of the incident was going upstairs to get a coffee from the
machine when he slipped on a puddle of water left by a cleaner and
fell downstairs. He banged his knee in the fall, and bruised it.
• ..which is, of course, precisely what our phantom report-writer would
say if you asked them, face to face, what had happened. People often
write in an over complex, jargon ridden way because they think it
sounds impressive. It doesn’t; it just confuses and irritates.
• So, in general, the rule is simple: write it as you would say it. Writing
isn’t magic. It isn’t special. It’s no more than a way of allowing people
to hear what you are saying without being there while you say it.
 We can break this down into a few simple
components:
• Keep it simple. That’s self-explanatory.
• Avoid jargon & pomposity. Don’t forget: not everyone reading your report will be
an expert in your field. They may not know the jargon. It doesn’t mean that
professional jargon is wrong; just that it’s specialised. In a report, write for the
non-specialist. As for pomposity… have a look at what you’ve written. Does it
come across as really serious and important but you can’t tell what it means?
Okay: it’s too pompous. Simplify. Talk straight. Plain words.
• Keep It Active. Don’t say, “The man was bitten by the dog.” Say, “The dog bit the
man.” The first way is called the “passive voice” and usually is a way of keeping
yourself at arms’ length from what you’re saying. The end result lacks conviction
and is unpersuasive. Which - since you’re writing to persuade -you don’t want.
• Short Takes. This is an old newspaper anecdote. Reporters used to write their
stories a sentence at a time. Then they’d hand it to the copy-boy. One sentence
contained one statement. One paragraph contained one idea.
• For the next idea, they’d start another
paragraph.
It worked for them.
It still works for them.
It will work for you.
For example:

‘Bart Simpson, aka Nancy, Booked for Fringe’

Bart Simpson is to appear at the world’s biggest arts festival this year,
it emerged yesterday’. Nancy Cartwright the voice behind the cartoon
character, is to launch her debut one-woman show in Edinburgh this
summer. The three-week run will be based on Cartwright’s best-selling
memoir about her role as a spiky-haired tearaway, ‘My Life As A Ten
Year Old Boy’. Her performance at the Assembly Rooms in August is
expected to be one of the Festival’s hottest ticket sellers etc.
(‘Aberdeen Press and Journal’ - Feb. 4th 2004)
 We can break this down into a few simple
components:
• Get A Second Opinion. If you can get someone outside your
investigation, your department or, best of all, your industry, so
much the better. If you can get a reasonably intelligent 12-year-
old to read it, better still. The average senior executive wants
something straightforward and unambiguous. That doesn’t
mean they are stupid. Far from it; it just means that reading
dense texts isn’t one of their skills. And why should it be? Nor
do they have the time.  We understand, of course, that in many
cases there are other considerations. Legal implications.
Confidentiality. Trade secrecy. Fair enough; but, all the same,
you will be able to find someone to cast an eye over your
report, for sure. So please do so.
 STRUCTURING THE REPORT
The other main thing which will help you write clear, pain-free,
persuasive reports is following a clear and logical structure.

By this stage, you’ll have all the facts (or at least all the facts you’re
going to get). You’ll understand the timeline and the sequence of
events. You’ll have worked out your root cause analysis. And you’ll
know what your recommendations are going to be.

So where do you start? You may have a company reporting form

where you just fill in the blanks. In that case, fill them in. Job done (or
you can use the Reporting Template on the Kelvin TOP-SET web site at
www.kelvintopset.com)
 STRUCTURING THE REPORT
On the other hand, your investigation may be
too complex to fit on the standard company
form. What do you do if that’s the case?

Here’s a simple structure which will help you

get the information across in a clear, logical and
persuasive way. It’s not something we’ve made
up. It’s standard. And we suggest that, if you
follow it, you won’t go far wrong.
Summary
The formal report and the news story are the
only two human activities which start with the
climax.

In this case, start with your summary of the

incident. Keep it short, tight and clear.
Conclusions
• Next, set out the conclusions you reached in
your investigation.
Recommendations
• Finally, lay out your main recommendations
which will prevent this sort of thing happening
again and which are, therefore, the whole
point of the exercise.
Main Report
• Which outlines everything in much more
detail.

Notice that we are following that structure

here. So now…here comes the Much More
Detail.
SUMMARY
• In the summary, you explain briefly:

- Who was involved in the incident

- What actually happened
- When it happened
- Where it happened and
- Who you are (and why you are investigating
it)
CONCLUSIONS
• In this section, you give a broad overview of
WHY it happened. Summarise the immediate
causes and the root causes and anything else
you think is specifically relevant, but don’t go
charging off into detail. That
RECOMMENDATIONS
• In the Recommendations, you are simply answering the
question, "What now?" You might recommend changing
procedures, re-training someone, installing new equipment;
whatever it may be. For the sake of clarity, we suggest you link
your recommendations with the causes which prompted them.

For example:
“Root Cause #1: Driver of the trailer to be retrained. (Has ‘can
do’ attitude and reluctance to listen to advice.)

Then your reader can not only see what you recommend, but
why. Giving the reason makes it much more persuasive.
MAIN REPORT
• Now we come to the main body of the report. This expands on
all the points in the initial part of the report. It, too, falls into
clear sections, as follows:

1: Aims & Objectives

Tell the reader what you were trying to do in the investigation
(e.g. “The investigation was designed to get to the root causes
of the fire in the Loading Dock”) and what you hoped to
achieve by doing it. (e.g. “We intend, by addressing those root
causes, to prevent similar and related incidents happening in
the future.”)
MAIN REPORT
2: Incident Description
Describe precisely what happened, beginning with the initial
incident statement and resisting the temptation to launch straight in
with underlying or root causes or inappropriate detail. They come
later. At this stage you should be objective. (e.g. Incident Statement -
“Train ran off rail. Damage to property and potential injury.”) The
Incident Description expands on that adding the rest of the detail
which is known to be true.

Make sure you cover the Who, What, When and Where in your
description, and add any significant and immediately striking factors
which are known to be true. But this is not the place to go into your
methods of investigation or your findings. They come next.
MAIN REPORT
3: Methods of Investigation
Begin this section by describing your investigation
team: who it was made up of, their qualifications, their
positions and anything else relevant about them.

Next, detail any site visits you made. Attach any

photographs, diagrams or drawings you may have —
but remember: many people aren’t skilled at reading
engineering drawings or technical diagrams, and they
may need some explanation.
Methods of Investigation
• Summarise any findings you may have made concerning documentation. You
don’t, though, need to include all that documentation. It’s enough to say,
“Permit to work had expired the previous week”. Just make sure you can locate it
- or a copy of it - if you’re called upon to produce it (or you can include copies of
documents, photographs etc as appendices).
• Summarise, too, the results of any interviews you conducted. Who did you talk
to? Where? What was the relevant information the interviewee gave you? Again,
no need to include the whole transcript or detailed notes - just be sure you can
lay your hands on them if necessary. In all these cases, it’s worth noting the
location of supporting data in your report; in the future, another investigating
team may want to consult your own records and it will help them if they can find
them as easily as you can.
This section should also contain a summary of the details and the results of any
simulations, tests or reconstructions you did in the course of the investigation.
MAIN REPORT
4: Findings
This section is - as you’d expect - where you set
out your findings. There are plenty of perfectly
good ways of keeping your findings in some sort
of logical order. The main thing is not to jump
around all over the place like a cheap detective
story; that just confuses. We find that ordering
our findings in accordance with the TOP-SET
headings is extremely helpful:
T ime, Sequence and History
O rganisation / Control / Responsibility
P eople and their involvement
S imilar events
E nvironment and its effects
T echnology, equipment & processes
 We’d suggest you use these as sub-headings,
and you may even want to put your findings in
the categories of the planning chart you will
have used on the course.

Having set out your findings, also - as in the

introductory sections - set out your:
MAIN REPORT
5: Recommendations
In this fuller version, you will want to address not only the
root causes but also all the individual contributory causes
you found along the way; they have to be dealt with also.
In any case, once again, we suggest you tie in your
recommendations to your findings and classify them under
the TOP-SET headings/sub-headings, for clarity’s sake.

For example: T.3 Operating instructions or P.2 Activities

and Tasks
APPENDIX
We would seriously suggest that you should
attach, as an appendix, a clearly drawn root
cause analysis chart. This will clarify everything
you have said in the previous pages of your
report, and, as you yourself will have seen, a
well-drawn-up root cause analysis is something
that even someone completely unfamiliar with
the incident can come to afresh, read through,
and understand.