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Criminal Justice Report Writing

NCJ Number
76545
Author(s)
R C Levie; L E Ballard
Date Published
1981
Length
218 pages
Annotation
This handbook for criminal justice personnel outlines a basic process for writing reports on investigations and then presents sample reports on a variety of cases in law enforcement, corrections, probation, parole, and security.
Abstract
The first section of the handbook discusses report writing as a process, with emphasis on blending information, form, and written expression to give a complete and accurate account of a case. Taking notes during an investigation in a field notebook is the first step in preparing a report. Suggestions for organizing the notebook, recording data, conducting interviews, and maintaining a daily activity record are offered, along with examples. Procedures for writing a police report are then detailed, beginning with the title page and then proceeding through the synopsis of a case, lists of witnesses and evidence, and the narrative. Organization, mechanics, vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure used in writing the narrative account of an investigation are considered. Types of cases described in the murder, suicide, narcotics, prison riot, presentence investigation, and store security. The appendixes contain the following reference materials: a list of words that are commonly confused or misused, a guide to writing numbers and amounts in police reports, abbreviations regularly used in police reports, and a basic spelling list. An index is provided.