Module #1

A. Introduction

 Nearly half of a police officer’s work involves writing, because of this, the best arrests will go
unprosecuted if the reporting officers do not have the necessary writing skills to record their
actions clearly, concisely, and accurately, with sufficient detail in a case.

 An officer’s report must document every incident in a complete, clear, and concise manner. Any
arrest, follow-up investigation, prosecution, or administrative action that is to be taken as a
result of the report must be initiated, supported, or justified by the information contained solely
within the body of the report.

 Consequently, every police report must be able to withstand critical review and legal scrutiny,
and must be truthful, unbiased, and unprejudiced. Moreover, police officers have a moral and
legal obligation to investigate all crimes that are reported to them.

Note: Police officer must have the necessary writing skills to write all the details accurately in those
incident and all of the statements must be truthful

B. Definitions

Police Report

 Any written matter prepared by the police involving their interaction with members of the
community. Ex. Going to school to do a seminar
 A permanent written record of police activities that communicate facts concerning people
involved in criminal activities.
 A written record of an officer’s statement concerning his theory and opinion about the case
investigated.
 An exact narration of facts discovered in the course of an investigation which serves as a
permanent written record for present and future use.
 A verbal or written account of a police incident or a matter under investigation, or it is an official
statement of fact.

Note: The judge and prosecutor will use the report to know what really happened

C. Uses and Purposes of Reports

Criminal Investigations – Investigation reports serve as a basis for coordination of the complete
investigation and prosecution of the crime. It is also used to gain information for statistical reporting and
crime analysis. Whether the investigation is conducted by patrol officers, general investigators, or a
specialty unit of investigators; the original crime report is the source document. Initial crime reports are
also used to compare past and current crimes to determine modus operandi and identify suspects.

 Consequently, police reports assist with the identification, apprehension, and prosecution of
criminals by serving as a source document for filing criminal complaints, by providing a record
of all investigations, and providing a basis for additional follow-up investigations.
Newspapers and the Media – Crime reports, and in some cases, all reports, are available to the press
and the media. In most states, some parts of the crime reports may be deleted, for example, names of
juvenile suspects and victims of certain crimes. However, in general, the press has the right of access to
reports.

The result: they read exactly what you have written, including misspellings and grammatical errors.

Reference Materials – Reports are permanent documents; hence it provides an excellent source of
historical information. It might be used to document the agency’s actions, refresh memory about the
case or determine liability.

 Police reports assist officers before or during court appearances by refreshing the officer’s
memory before testifying or preparing to provide hearsay testimony at preliminary hearings.

 Likewise, police reports are essential for risk managers, insurance companies, and civil litigation
attorneys for use in determining potential civil liability by documenting events such as accidents
or injuries on public or private property, workman’s compensation type injuries, as well as to
presenting justification for an officer’s behavior or actions in a civil complaint or lawsuit against
the officer.

Statistical Data for Crime Analysis – The rapid development of computer technology, including expert
systems and automated pin maps, has resulted in improved crime analysis. The source document for
that information remains to be the crime report written in the field. Reports are used to identify trends,
locations, and methods of operations. ( what is the talamak na crime in a certain place)

 The result of that analysis may be directed patrol.

Documentation – Reports are used to document the action of the department and its officers. Because
police departments are typically reactive, reports document the actions taken to stop the criminal
activity or arrest the suspect. Consequently, reports provide evidence of the department’s
responsiveness to the community and its needs.

Officer’s Evaluation – It is common for supervisors to use reports to evaluate officer’s performance. An
experienced supervisor can determine a subordinate’s ability to organize information, his/her level of
education, technical knowledge, intelligence, and pride in the job.

Statistical reporting – Crime reports are the source documents for the collection of statistical data.
Statistical reports may also be generated for budget purposes, city council briefings, and other special
interest groups.

 Data generated from police reports assist police and civilian administrators as well as the
campus community by providing statistical information for analysis of crime trends, equipment
needs, manpower issues, continued professional training requirements, and assist in the
evaluation of officer performance.
D. Values of Reports

1. Reports are filed because they are needed for the efficient operation of law enforcement activities.

2. Reports are permanent records of all the important facts of a case. They are a stockpile of information
to be drawn upon by all individuals on a law enforcement team. The efficiency of a department is
directly related to the quality of the reports and its reporting procedures.

3. Reports are written to serve as raw materials from which records systems are made.

4. Reports are written to reveal as part of the component of the record system, the direct relationships
between the efficiency of the department and the quality of its reports and reporting procedures.

5. Reports are written to guide administrators for policy formulation and decision-making.

6. Reports are written to serve as a gauge or yardstick for the efficient evaluation of police officers.

7. Reports are written to guide prosecutors and courts in the trial of criminal cases investigated by the
police

E. Users of Police Report

1. Immediate Superior
2. Station Chief
3. Department Level
4. Congress (To make new laws for a certain crime)
5. National Prosecution Service
6. Courts
7. Prosecution and Defense Counsels
8. Media
9. Public and Private Agencies
Module #2 TYPES, CLASSIFICATION, CATEGORIES AND POLICE REPORT FORMATS

A. Two General Types of Police Reports

1. Basic or Informal Report

This report deals with the ordinary, miscellaneous, usual, day-to-day memorandum, letter, or form,
accomplished by any member of a unit, section, precinct, bureau, or division within a department in
accordance with prescribed regulation. Ex. PNP report about the daily basis related to job such as why
certain officer is absent

Formats (Generic):

a) The heading or the letterhead of the organization, office, or section where the writer is assigned.
b) The date of preparation or submission.
c) The subject (what it is about)
d) The person or office to whom it is addressed or submitted.
e) The text proper. (explanation of the report)
f) The name of the writer or the source of the report.

Note:

Basic or informal reports are generally internal in nature. It may be in letter form or memorandum
pattern

2. Investigative or Formal Report

This report covers a full-dress treatment (formal) in the presentation of the case. It is an exact and
exhaustive narration of facts, without any addition or subtraction, which were discovered during the
course of the investigation. It includes the cover, title page, letter of transmittal, summary sheet, text,
appendices, and perhaps an index and bibliography.

B. Classification of Police Reports

1. Performance Report- Report that contains information as to the status of an activity/activities or

operations (status)

2. Fact Finding Report- Report which involves the gathering and presentation of data in a logical order,
without an attempt to draw conclusion.

3. Technical Report- Report that presents data on specialized subject.

4. Problem Determining Report- Report about an attempt to find the causes underlying a problem or to
find whether or not a problem really exists. (root of the problem)

5. Problem Solution Report- Report that analyzes the process that lies behind the solution of a
particular problem
C. Categories of Police Reports

1. Operational Report- Report related to the reporting of police incidents, investigation and arrest,
identification of persons, and a mass of miscellaneous reports necessary to the conduct of routine police
operations.

2. Internal Business Reports- Reports related to the reporting necessary to the management of the
agency which includes financial reports, personnel reports, purchase reports, equipment reports,
property maintenance reports, and general correspondence.

3. Technical Reports- Reports that present data on any specialized subjects, but usually related to
complete staff work and add to specific knowledge necessary to proper functioning of police
management.

4. Summary Reports- Reports that furnish intelligence information necessary to the solution of crime,
accident, and police administrativeproblems.

D. Police Report Formats

1. Memorandum type- Shortly known as a memo; a precise official note, used to inform, direct, or
advise the members within the same organization.

Parts of the Memo

1. MEMO HEADINGS: Begin 2” from the top of the page. Typed in bold (including the colon). Press
tab after the colon
2. MEMO TO: Name of recipient – separate name and title with a comma
3. FROM: Name of writer
4. DATE: month, day, and year the memo was typed
5. SUBJECT: Subject of the memo
6. BODY: Usually begins 2 lines below the subject heading. This is your main body text for the
memo.
7. TYPIST INITIALS
8. ATTACHMENT: Notation that there is an attachment

2. Letter Type- Refers to a brief message sent by the office or organization to the person or entity, which
are outsiders

Parts of the Letter

1. Date
2. Name and address of receiver
3. Greetings
4. Opening paragraph
5. Closing paragraph
6. Complimentary clause
7. Name and signature of sender
Module #3 BASIC REPORT AND POLICE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS

A. Basic Reports

Also known as informal reports. This report deals with the ordinary, miscellaneous, usual, day-to-day
memorandum, letter, or form, accomplished by any member of a unit, section, precinct, bureau, or
division within a department in accordance with prescribed general orders, special orders, circulars,
numbered memoranda, etc. It is generally, internal in nature.

Notes:

1. General Order- A published directive originated by a commander and binding upon all personnel
under his/her command. It has a force of law.

2. Special Order- A routine order issued by an authorized officer that includes matter concerning
individuals but not of general interest.

3. Circulars- A letter containing some important information that is distributed to a large number of
people.

4. Memorandum- A document used to communicate with others in the same organization.

B. Investigative or Formal Report

This report covers a full-dress treatment in the presentation of the case. It is an exact and exhaustive
narration of facts, without any addition or subtraction, which were discovered during the course of the
investigation. It includes the cover, title page, letter of transmittal, summary sheet, text, appendices, and
perhaps an index and bibliography.

C. Classification of Investigative or Formal Report

1. Initial or Advance Report – An advance information on a new or fresh case assigned to an

investigator. It is written and submitted immediately after having conducted the initial investigation of
the case.

Note:

In the PNP, the Officer on Case prepares and submits the following police reports after his/her initial
investigation, to wit:

i. Alarm Report- for theft and robbery cases.

ii. Advance Information- For crimes against persons like murder, parricide, homicide, etc.
iii. Crime Report- For all cases like estafa, crimes against chastity, white slavery, etc.
iv. Information Report- For some cases initially taken cognizance by a police station but later
turned over to or found out to be handled by a special operating support unit.

2. Progress or Follow-up Report –Written narration of facts which were developed by the prober in the
course of his follow-up investigation. It is written and submitted every time or whenever any
development or progress is accomplished in the follow-up investigation. It is through these progress
reports that a supervisor can determine if the detective is working on his case and, therefore, serve as a
gauge or yardstick for his efficiency.

3. Final or Closing Report – A complete written narration of facts based from an exhaustive investigation
of the case by the prober who initially started the investigation of the case. It is the result of evaluation,
summation, analysis of all the facts and circumstances surrounding the case; tying all loose ends
pertinent thereto, so as to form a clear and composite picture of the crime committed in the minds of
the readers for prosecutorial and judicial actions.

 This final or closing report is written and submitted whenever the case is solved and classified as
closed. It is categorized as solved and closed when the offender is finally arrested, the evidence
against him is completely gathered to warrant prosecution, and witnesses are located to testify
during the trial.
 Final or closing report is the proof of the successful culmination of a work well done
Module #4

IV. THE MECHANICS OF POLICE REPORT WRITING AND EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE

A. Grammar for Police Reports

An effective report must always exhibit the writer’s command of the English
language, and be relatively free of errors in sentence structure, grammar, and other writing mechanics,
the more effective the officer’s command of the written language, the greater the clarity of the written
report.

Due to the large number of grammatical guidelines in the English language, this work deals only with the
understanding and application of the basic building blocks of sentence structure when writing reports.

1. Nouns -Nouns are naming words, and could be used to identify people, animals, places, things or
event. (pangalan, naming words, specific name always capital)

 Proper nouns Proper nouns refer to specific places, persons, things or events, and should
always begin with a capital letter. When referring to a specific person within a report,
officers should use proper nouns.
 Note: After the proper noun has been used once, just the last name may be used when
referring to the same person.

2. Pronouns- Pronouns are words that substitutes for a noun or proper noun. There are two types of
pronouns primarily used in report writing.
 First person pronouns. First person pronouns are used when referring to the officer writing
the reports. Some examples are/me/mine/my and we/our/ours/us (when riding with a
beat partner).
First person pronouns can also be used within quotes to refer to the person speaking
(Diego told me, “I ran as fast as I could.”). Officers should always use first person pronouns
when referring to themselves, because by doing so, the reader has a clear understanding of
the officers’ actions

 A first-person pronoun refers to the speaker ( sarili mo the one who is talking) You
put yourself inside the writing by describing how you felt and what you were doing.
Use 'I'. "I saw two messy monsters.

 Third person pronouns. Third person pronouns refer to the person, place or thing being
written about. Examples are he/his/him, it/its and they/their/them. Third person pronouns
must always agree and clearly refer to the noun or proper noun that is directly before it.

 (Refers to the person being spoken of. The story is about other people. Not
yourself or the reader. Use the character's name or pronouns such as 'he' or 'she'.
"He sneakily crept up on them. Fudge the monster looked scared.)

 Note: The Second person pronoun (You) is not used in report writing since the report
should be written in a story-telling manner and not conversational.
 Second-person pronoun refers to the person being spoken to. Address the reader
directly. You your "When you see a monster, you should tell them to tidy up.

3. Tense- Since most investigative reports are written about things that have already happened, the
words that are used should clearly indicate the events occurred in the PAST. This is expressed
through the tense of the action words (or verbs) in the report. Tense can be either present or past
tense.
 Present tense. Present tense verbs express an action currently taking place. For example,
the phrase “I am reading this module” is written in the present tense.
 Past tense. Past tense verbs express actions completed in the past. For example, the
phrase “I read this module last week” is written in the past tense.

4. Voice- The term “voice,” when used to describe a verb, refers to the relationship between the
action that the verb expresses and the subject. When the subject is the doer of the action, the verb
is in the active voice. When the subject is the target of the action, the verb is said to be in the
 passive voice. Reports should always be written in the ACTIVE VOICE, as most readers find
sentences written in the active voice easier to follow and understand.

 Active voice. A verb is in the active voice when the subject of the sentence is the individual or
thing that is doing or performing the action. Sentences in the active voice have a strong, direct,
and clear tone. An example would be“I gave the report form to the victim.”

 Passive voice. A verb is in the passive voice when the subject is acted on by the action word in
the sentence. The passive voice is always constructed with a conjugated form of to be plus the
verb’s past participle. Doing this usually generates a preposition as well. A common indicator of
passive voice is the word “by” in the sentence. An example would be “The report form was given
to the victim by me”

5. Writing Clearly and Logically- As previously discussed, effective police reports must be organized,
logical, and simply present all relevant information. An effective report must also be written in plain
English in order to be useful and understandable to the reader.

B. Basic Units Comprising Any Written Matter

1. Words

Definitions

 Word- sound or combination of sounds that has a meaning and is spoken or written. The
integral part which makes up the whole narration of facts.
 Vocabulary- sum or stock of words employed by a language, group, or individual, or work in a
field of knowledge.
 Diction- correct choice of words especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or
effectiveness. Selection of the exact, precise objective words to convey a meaning.
 Spelling- the forming of words from letters according to accepted usage.
 Homonym- a word that is spelled and pronounced like another word but is different in meaning
 Synonym- a word that has the same meaning as another word in the same language.
 Antonym- a word with a meaning that is opposite to the meaning of another word

Concrete vs. Abstract Words

Reports should be written using simple, common, and concrete language whenever possible. The use of
simple language can help keep reports concise and brief and addresses relevant information quickly and
clearly.
The following table presents examples of abstract words and phrases, along With more concrete
alternatives

The Homonyms

Homonyms are words that sound the same, but have different meanings. There are a number of
frequently used words that sound alike, but have completely different spellings and meanings. When
writing reports, officers should ensure that they are using the correct word for what they are trying to
express.

The following table identifies the most commonly confused sound‐alike words.
 2. Sentence

A group of words that expresses a statement, question, command or wish. It is a second largest unit
comprising any report. It has a subject and predicate.

Examples:

 The clandestine laboratory on the top of the floor was raided by the PDEA Agents.
 The suspect accused the arresting officer of kicking him.

Notes: The IR is a narration of facts; hence it must be written in a declarative sentence-styling that ends
with a period. Likewise, ot is written in a THIRD person

3. Paragraphs

A sentence or group of related sentences expressing a single idea. It is astructural unit for grouping
information. Regardless of whether a narrative style format or a category format is used for the
investigative report, all paragraphs within the report must be clear and easy to understand.

When writing an investigative report, the first sentence (lead‐in sentence) of each paragraph should
clearly state the primary topic or subject of the paragraph. The sentences that follow within the
paragraph should present facts, ideas, reasons, or examples that are directly related to the primary
topic.

Characteristics of a Good Paragraph

1. It must be short. A good paragraph confines only to one idea and limited as much
as possible to 100 words or less.
2. It gives readers rest.
3. It recaptures reader’s attention

Notes:

As stated earlier, paragraph should contain only single idea. However, the report must hold reader’s
attention by presenting each paragraph in sequence by using LINKING WORDS or TRANSITION WORDS
that will bridge the previous and the subsequent paragraphs like accordingly, besides,
consequently, furthermore, finally, however, hence, moreover, nevertheless, so, still, then, thus,
therefore, yet, etc.

Transitions

Transitions are words or phrases hat show relationships between thoughts, sentences, or paragraphs.
By selecting appropriate transitional words, officers can help readers move smoothly and logically from
detail to detail and sentence to sentence within the report. The following table suggests a few of the
possible transitional words and phrases officers may use within their reports.
The following table
presents examples of poorly organized contrasted to well-organized paragraphs.
Module 5

Division of Words

Rules in the Division of Words by Using the Hyphen (-):

1. Divide words only between syllables (Is a section of a word)

 Sus- pect
 sui- cide
 mur-der

2. Avoid two-letter division, and never carry over two letters only. (not allowed if 2 letters only)

 Ta- ble
 fu- ture
 eve-ry

3. When a final consonant is doubled before the suffix, the additional consonant goes with the suffix.

(Suffix are added to the end base of a word or inadd sa root word example: sleep-y. It also changed the
meaning of a word)

 Run-ning
 bid-ding
 control- ing

4. When two consonants come between two vowels, divide between the consonants

 Mil-lion
 struc-ture
 advan-tage

5. Single syllable words should never be divided

 Gun
 hide
 seize

6. Never separate a single letter from the rest of the word.

 rive-r
 sewe-r
 p-olice

Vowel: A E, I, O,U

Y, W can be a vowel or consonant

Consonants: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z.

Capitalization and Numbers

1. Capitalize the first letter of the first word of each sentence.

 Example: The witness fingered the suspect.

2. Capitalize direct quotations, slogans, and mottos that appear within a sentence as the first letter of
the first word, whether quotation marks are placed or not.

 Example: The suspect whispered, “This is a hold-up.”

3. Capitalize the first letter of the first word in any enumeration, when the enumeration is presented
in columns or itemized.

Example:

a) The victim was relieved of the following:

b) Fifty-five thousand pesos in cash of different denominations;
c) A gold necklace with a jade pendant; and
d) Assorted jewelry.

4. Capitalize names of persons, places, institutions, governing bodies, political parties.

5. Capitalize names of races and languages.

 Example: Nigerian students studying in the Philippine College of Criminology can speak
English and French.

6. Capitalize names of religious sect, words designating God and names of parts of the Bible.

 Example: The suspect confessed that he killed the victim; that he is not afraid of Cardinal
Tagle but fears only the Almighty God; that he is a member of the Iglesia ni Batman; that
he religiously read the Holy Bible.

7. Capitalize the names of historical epochs and events.

 Example: Rizal’s Day, New Year’s Eve

8. Capitalize any title of honor or respect preceding a proper name.

 Example: Atty, Doc,

9. Capitalize every word in the title of books, magazine, documents and newspapers excerpt articles,
prepositions and conjunctions.
10. Capitalize abbreviated personal and professional titles

Examples:

 Jr. Dr. Ph.D.

 Sr. Atty. D.C.L.
 Mr. Engr. S.J.D.
 Mrs. J.D. Prof.
 Ms. RCrim. Ed.D.

Note: Abbreviated titles start with capital letters and end with a period

 But in military and uniformed services, abbreviations of titles are usually capitalized
without a period or punctuation at the end. Examples: PBGEN PCOL PLT PEMS FO3 SJO4

11. Do NOT capitalize enumerations or summations within a sentence.

 Example: The duties of the first police officer at the crime scene are: (1) have the victim,
if still at the scene, rushed to the hospital, (2) arrest the suspect, if still at the scene, (3)
protect the evidence, (4) interview the witnesses, if available.

12. Do NOT capitalize the first letter of a sentence inserted within another when it is separated by
parenthesis or dashes.

 Example: He is (we believe) the suspect to be watched. How can this be possible? -the
record shows that he is in jail.

13. Do not capitalize institutions and geographical terms unless they are used with a proper noun.

 Example: This is a case for homicide investigators.

14. In literary terms, police reports are categorized as technical writings. As such, numerals are used
except at the beginning of a sentence.

 Example: Sixteen prostitutes, whose ages 35 to 45 were arrested by the police.

15. Numbers are written as numerals, quantities and measurements are always expressed in figures.
These include ages, dates, hours, with A.M. and P.M., street numbers, division of books, decimals,
percentages, unit modifiers.

 Example: The unidentified victim was a female, about 25 years old, about 5 feet tall,
about 110 pounds. She was found by a scavenger about 6:00 A.M., August 16, 2021 in a
vacant lot in front of house No. 143 Tambacan St., Lot 13, Block 3, Bario Masukal Q.C.
M.M.
Abbreviation

Brevity is one of the principles of a good report writing, that in some instances, in order to conserve
energy and space, the use of some abbreviations is allowed. However, clarity should never be sacrificed
for brevity and the use of abbreviations must be confined only to those words of common usages and
are widely accepted whether locally or internationally.

The use of abbreviation in note-taking during field interview of crime scene investigation is acceptable
because of time constraint. However, in actual report writing, limit the use of abbreviations to titles,
addresses, time, and names of agencies referred to as initials. Because investigative reports will contain
many details and facts, two abbreviations can be frequently needed and used, namely: e.g., to show
examples; and i.e., to make an explanation.

Exercises: The traffic cop arrested the motorist for calling him dirty names, “PI mo,” “Kawatan,”
“Timawa.” e.g.,

Punctuations

Punctuation Marks- customary little marks that determine whether a sentence is clear or has a doubtful
meaning. Its purpose is to make the report as clear as possible. It is used to clarify the structure and
meaning of sentences.

Note: All punctuations serve one of four general purposes: to terminate, such as period, question mark,
and exclamation point; to introduce, such as; comma, colon and dash; to separate, such as; comma,
semicolon, dash, hyphen or apostrophe; and to enclose, such as; comma, dash, quotation mark, single
quotation mark, parentheses and bracket.

Kinds of Punctuations

1. The Period (.)

a) Use the period at the end of a declarative or an imperative sentence.

 Examples: The PDEA Agents arrested the suspected drug pushers in their hideout at
No.69 Escolta St., Sta., Manila. Just surrender peacefully.

b) Use a period after an abbreviation.

 Examples: Dr. Jerry De Juan, Jr., died of COVID-19 at St. Luke’s Medical Center.
 Atty. Jonas Cingco, Sr., rushed to the hospital at 1:30 A.M. when he heard the news that
his son PLT Jonas Cingco Jr. was seriously wounded in an encounter with the terrorist in
Quezon Province.

2. The Question Mark (?)

a) Use a question mark after a question or after the part of a sentence which ask a question.
 Example: Whenever any of the 5Ws and 1H is used, it must be followed by a question mark.

 Who, in this class can identify the suspect?

 Who, in this class can identify the suspect? The police officer asked.
 The police asked, who in this class can identify the suspect?

3. The Exclamation Mark (!)

a) Use an exclamation mark after an expression of surprise or strong emotion.

 Example: “Help!” “Police!” “Hold-Up!” the victim shouted.

4. The Comma (,)

a) Use a comma before coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for) which join two independent
clauses.

Note: An independent clause is a group of words which contains a subject and a verb which
represents a complete thought.

Example: Diagram: ______________, and ________________.

 The suspect escaped in his car, and his accomplice rode with him.
 We must conduct the raid now, or we will be too late.

b) Use a comma to set-off appositives.

Note: Appositive is a word or a phrase which immediately follows a noun or a pronoun and
denotes the same person, place or thing.

Examples:

 Pat Elpidio Castro, a member of the Mobile Patrol Section, MPD, was stabbed by hold-
uppers.
 The pursuit for the suspects reached Isla Putting Bato, a slum area in Tondo, Manila.
 The fatal weapon, a .45 caliber pistol was presented as evidence.

c) Use a comma to separate two or more coordinate/equal adjective which modify the same noun.

Example:

 The crime scene was a dark, dirty room.

 The crime scene was a large, dark, gloomy and spooky room.


Note: If the adjectives are closely related or connected by and, the comma is omitted.

Example:

 The suspect wore brand-new Nike sneaker. (closely related)

 The crime scene was a dark and dirty room.
d) Use comma to separate basic duties of a police officer, such as; arresting him, and informing him of
his rights.

Note: Similarly, use comma to the following examples:

 The crime lab technician found prints on the polished floor, on the desk, on the doorknob, on
the windowsill, and on the window pane.
 The three safeties on automatic pistol are the grip, safety lock, and half-lock

e) Use commas to set off expressions like he said, she said, and they said from direct quotations.

Examples:

 The suspect said, “This is a hold-up.”

 “This is a hold-up,” the suspect whispered.
 “This is a hold-up,” the suspect whispered, “Give me your money.”

f) Use commas to separate contrasting expressions.

Examples:

 The suspect, not the victim wrote the suicide note.

 The killer, even more than his accomplice, had wanted to surrender.

g) Use a comma before Sr.- and Jr., titles following the name; between a title and the name of an
organization; between smaller and larger geographical units.

Examples:

 PMAJ J.F. Nazarino, Jr.

 District Director, Manila Police District
 SFO4 Cesar Flores, Sr.
 Sales St., Sta. Cruz, Manila

h) In numbers, a comma is placed after each group of three digits counting from the right.

Examples:

 The expenditure for 2021 of the PNP was P3,000,000,000.00.

Notes: In currency, the centavo is not included in the placing of a comma, instead, a period In insurance
policy numbers, serial numbers of engines, appliances, and street numbers, a comma is not used

Examples:

 The serial number of the insurance policy of the victim is 987654321.

 The laboratory examination revealed that enginenumber 002611 of the Toyota Corolla used by
the carnappers were tampered.
5. The Semicolon (;)

a) Use a semicolon between two independent clauses of a compound sentence when conjunctions such
as, but, nor, for, yet and so are omitted.

Examples:

 The police arrived at the hideout midnight; immediately, they conducted the raid.
 The police officer warned the suspect to halt; he fired.

b) Use a semicolon before a conjunctive adverb when it joins independent clauses.

Notes:

Examples of conjunctive adverbs:

 So Then
 Thus
 Therefore
 Moreover
 Furthermore
 Accordingly
 Consequently
 Yet Still
 However
 Besides
 Hence
 Otherwise
 Nevertheless
 Finally

c) Use a semicolon between (to separate) items in a series if there are commas within the items.

Examples:

 The tall, dark, handsome accomplice smiled; but the short, husky, ugly suspect sneered.
 The following suspicious articles were found in the possession of the suspects: plastic bag, for
masking; strong cord. For checking; and heavy tape, for gagging.

6. The Colon (:)

a) Use a colon to introduce a list of a summarizing word, phrase or clause.

 Example:

 Listed in the order of their importance are the three methods of developing fingerprints:
powder; iodine; and silver nitrate.

b) Use a colon in expressing time to separate the hours and minutes.

Example:

 The robbery was committed between 12:00 midnight, August 13 and 3:00 A.M., August 14,
2021.

c) Use a colon after a salutation either of a formal or informal letter.

Examples:

 Sir:
 Dear Sir:
 My dearest Ana:

d) Use a colon after itemizing a list presented in a column.

Example:

 According to the victim the following valuables were forcibly taken from her by the hold-upper:

(a) A pair of gold earrings with diamond stones, valued at--------- P25,000.00

(b) A gold necklace with jade pendant valued at---------------------- P30,000.00

(c) A cellphone Samsung Galaxy A32 5G valued at----------------- P15,000.00

(d) Five thousand pesos in cash in different denominations--- P10,000.00

TOTAL----------------------------P80,000.00

7. Quotation Marks (“”)

a) Use quotation marks to set off the exact words spoken or written by another person.

Example:

 “I will not say this again, surrender peacefully or I will shoot you!” PCpl Gino Guia said.


Note: Do not use quotation marks to set off indirect quotations

Example:

 He said that he will surrender.

 Did you hear him say that he will surrender?
b) When two or more paragraphs are quoted, quotation marks are placed at the beginning of each
paragraph and at the end of the last paragraph.

Example:

 1.”
 2.”
 3.”

c) Use single quotation marks to set off a quotation within quotation.

d) Generally, the close quotation mark is placed outside any proceeding punctuation.

Example:

 “ (2),” (3)?” (4) !”

8. The Apostrophe (‘)

a) Use the apostrophe to show possession. Singular and plural nouns not ending in S form the
possessive by adding S.

Example:

 The victim’s wallet was recovered from the suspect.

b) Singular and plural nouns ending in S, add the apostrophe only.

Example:

 All the ladies’ panties were confiscated as evidence.

c) Use the apostrophe to indicate the omission of a letter or letters in a contraction.

Note: Contraction combination of two words to form only one word.

Example:

 It’s his first day in jail.

 Don’t attempt to escape.
 We’ll shoot you

9. The Parenthesis ()

a) Use parenthesis when numerals are placed in formal enumeration within a sentence.
Example:

 In the Philippine setting, five pillars of criminal justice are (1) the law enforcement, (2) the
prosecution, (3) the courts, (4) the corrections, (5) the community.

b) Use the parenthesis to enclose supplementary or explanatory material.

Example:

 When the suspect was arrested, the solid gold wrist watch (see item 3 in the list) was recovered
in his possession.
 The number of robbery cases (see Table 3) for this month has increased.

10.The Hyphen (-)

a) Use hyphen with compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine

b) Use hyphen with two or more words forming a compound adjective preceding a noun.

Example:

 The suspect wore Marikina-made shoes.

d) Use a hyphen to indicate the division of a word in a syllable at the end of the line when the
remainder of the word is carried to the next line. (See rules on C. Division of Words)

G. The Email Correspondence

Technology upgrade is imperative in all types of organization, private or public, for more convenient and
quicker transactions. Presently, the widely used form of communication through internet is electronic
mails or email, which is horizontally and vertically accessed by the organization. Therefore, email
correspondences follow some rules of conduct.

The following are the basic etiquette in using email Correspondence:

1. Subject Line must clearly describe the content of the Email.

a. Police officers receive a lot of emails daily, using a clear and descriptive subject line will help
the recipient know right away which email should be prioritized.

2. Do not type in ALL CAPS.

a. Virtually, typing in capital letters seem like shouting, which will be considered rude if done in
person. Technically, some spam filters may also be triggered when using ALL CAPS in email
correspondence.

3. Avoid using exclamation points.

 a. Exclamation points show heightened emotions, such as anger, excitement, shock, etc. Email
correspondence within the organization should be delivered professionally. Like the rule in ALL
CAPS, some spam filters also detect exclamation marks when used in excess (like two or more
exclamation marks at the end of a sentence).

4. Remain Simple.

a. Remember the rules of an effective Police Report: Clear and Concise. Ideally, email content
should be brief and direct to the point.

5. Inform the recipient about attachments.

a. It is inevitable that you will be sending documents and files thru email. It is best to include the
information about the attachments sent within the email. It will save time and effort by not
needing to open each attachment one by one if the recipient is looking for a particular
document.

6. Refrain from using autoresponder.

a. Autoresponders are part of the features of the email technology. It is programmed to reply
with a pre-arranged message whenever you are out (e.g., “Hi! I got your mail, will get in touch as
soon as I can”). Acknowledgment of received email within the PNP organization should be done
consciously and not automatically.

7. Greetings and Sign offs used should be professionally sounding.

a. Opening and closing greetings make the email sound that it is coming from an actual person,
and not auto generated. Make it sound that it is coming from a professional.

8. Be cautious in using humor.

a. As mentioned earlier, email correspondence may be accessed by the entire organization. Save
the humor and clever quip in personal conversations.

9. Doing a follow-up is good but avoid being annoying.

a. Your fellow officers know that you need an answer, but do not think that your case is the only
case handled by the organization. Do not barrage them with follow-up emails.

10. Exercise caution in forwarding emails.

a. Some emails are sensitive and confidential, be cautious in forwarding such.

11. Proofread your email before hitting Send.

a. Typo errors are normal but needs to be minimize especially in official email. Make sure to
read and re-read your content before sending.

V. WRITING AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

A. Report-Writing Guidelines

Good reports are the product of a good fact-finding effort. Poor reports are the result of poor
investigations. This is why note taking, which will be discussed later, and interviewing are so vital to the
preparation of good reports. A good police report is prepared, whenever possible, in chronological
order. The properly prepared report should also always answer six (6) questions, known in law
enforcement circles as

CARDINAL POINTS IN INVESTIGATION.

B. The 5Ws and 1H or the NEOTWY Questions

When a police officer is involved in a fact-finding effort of any kind, it is very important that all pertinent
information be obtained. If the officer obtains the complete answers to the following questions, it is
generally agreed that all the needed information has been obtained:

NEOTWY Questions

 WheN
 WherE
 WhO
 WhaT
 HoW
 WhY

If the answers to all of these questions are obtained, the officer involved has obtained the needed
information. This is not as easy as it sounds, however, because there are so many variations of each one
of the six cardinal points, it is up to the investigating officer to cover all the variations involving a
particular incident. In other words, variations of these essential questions must be tailored to the
specifics in each case.

1. THE WHEN QUESTION- There are many “when” questions in almost any police incident.
For example;
• When did it happen?
• When was it discovered?
• When were the police notified?
• When was anything unusual observed?

Note: When inserting the answers to the “when” questions in a report, you must remember to put them
in chronological order.

2. THE WHERE QUESTION

For Example:

• Where did it happen?

• Where were you when it happened?
• Where is the suspect now?
• Where was the forced entry into the building made?
 • Where was the victim taken?

3. THE WHO QUESTION- The “who” question is perhaps the controversial, primarily for two (2)
reasons.

1) The average person is relatively unskilled at describing others. It is not unusual to obtain such varying
descriptions of the same suspect from two different witnesses, so much so that one swears the
witnesses weren’t describing the same person.

2) Persons who seem to be too anxious to answer the “who” question might have ulterior motives. For
example, in traffic cases, a friend of one of those involved might attempt to pose as a neutral witness
and convince the officer “who” caused the accident.

For Example:

• Who was at fault?

• Who is the suspect?
• Who is the victim?
• Who had a motive?
• Who was present?

4. THE WHAT QUESTION

For Example:

• What happened?
• What evidence was recovered?
• What type of weapon was involved?
• What was the license plate number?

THE HOW QUESTION

The “how” question is very important, because it is the modus operandi question. Criminals tend to
commit their crimes in the same way, and this is known as their method of operation, or modus
operandi. In some cases, a modus operandi is so unique that it is like a criminal signature at the scene of
the crime. In fact, many police departments have digitalized the “how” of all major crimes and the
modus operandi of known criminals. If the “how” of a particular crime matches the modus operandi, a
very important investigative lead is uncovered. But if the original police report is not properly prepared,
this cannot occur.

For Example:

• How did the criminal enter the building?

• How did the criminal act at the time of the incident?
• How did the criminal leave the scene?
5. THE WHY QUESTION- The “why” question is the motive question. In criminal investigations, motive
is a very important factor. Why someone would commit a particular crime is a question that often
leads to the perpetrator.

For Example:

• Why was the crime committed?

• Why didn’t the complainant report the incident sooner?
• Why would someone want to hurt you?
• Why would someone know the victim had cash on hand?

C. Characteristics of an Effective Police Report

On a daily basis, police officers are faced with a variety of events and incidents. At each one, officers are
required to make significant decisions, oftentimes without delay, and while under stress or the benefit
of all the facts regarding the situation. For this reason, crime and incident reports must reflect the
details of the specific crime or incident for further reference and use. While the details of every incident
or crime report will likely vary, there are six characteristics that all effective reports have in common.

An effective police report is always:

1. Factual. A police report is an objective accounting of the relevant and observed facts of the case, and
any conclusions made by the reporting officer must be supported by articulated and documented facts.
Unsubstantiated opinions or conclusions are never to be included in an effective report.

2. Accurate. The decisions and actions taken as a result of the report must be supported by accurate
information contained in the report. If any information is inaccurate, the credibility and reliability of the
report will likely be jeopardized. Accuracy is achieved by carefully, precisely, and honestly reporting all
relevant information.

3. Clear. A police report speaks for the reporting officer when he or she is not present There should be
no doubt or confusion regarding what happened during an incident or crime, based upon the content of
a police report. Clarity in report writing is achieved by clear and logical organization of information, the
judicious use of simple, common, and first person language, and effective writing mechanics.

4. Concise. Reports should be brief but also contain all relevant information necessary for a complete
understanding of the crime or incident, without additional explanation. Brevity should never take
precedence over accuracy, completeness, or clarity in report writing.

5. Complete. A complete report will contain all the relevant facts, information, and details that the
reader will need in order to have a comprehensive understanding of the crime or incident described in
the report. The report is complete when it is a complete word picture of the incident, there are no
questions left unanswered by the reader, officer actions are explained and justified by the contents of
the report, and both supporting and conflicting information are included.

6. Timely. No decisions can be made or actions taken regarding an arrest or request for follow up
investigation if a report is not submitted in a timely fashion.
D. Narrative Format

The narrative format used by the department for all reports will be a chronological narrative, with
categorical report headings.

Categorical headings will be in capital letters, and in bold face font. Report headings are limited to those
in the table below:

HEADING and description

Date- The date the report is written or other action was taken by the reporting officer.

Time-The time the report is written, in 24‐hour format.

Notification- A short summary of the circumstances which cause the officer to arrive at the scene of the
call.

Officer/ actions observation- The actions and observations taken Actions/ and noted by the officer
writing Observations the report.

Victim Statement- A detailed summary of the victim’s statement to the officer writing the report.

 The victim’s last name will be written in parenthesis after the heading. In cases in which there are
multiple involved parties with the same last name, both the first and last name will be used.

Suspect Statement- A detailed summary of the suspect’s statement to the officer writing the report.

 The suspect’s last name will be written in parenthesis after the heading. In cases in which there are
multiple involved parties with the same last name, both the first and last name will be used.

Witness Statement- A detailed summary of the witness’s statement to the officer writing the report.

 The witness’s last name will be written in parenthesis after the heading. In cases in which there are
multiple involved parties with the same last name, both the first and last name will be used.

Reporting Party Statement- A detailed summary of the reporting party’s statement to the officer writing
the report.

 The reporting party’s last name will be written in parenthesis after the heading. In cases in which
there are multiple involved parties with the same last name, both the first and last name will be
used.

Other Party Statement- A detailed summary of the any additional party’s statement to the officer
writing the report.

 The additional party’s last name will be written in parenthesis after the heading. In cases in which
there are multiple involved parties with the same last name, both the first and last name will be
used.
Recommendations- A brief summary of follow up required, or actions to be taken with the report, with
a brief explanation. If further follow up is required, the explanation should detail who is going to
conduct the follow up (e.g. the officer writing the report, detectives, other named officer).

E. Steps in Report Writing (GROWE)

Every police officer is a fact finder. When he investigates any incident, he must search for facts because
facts are the basis of his subsequent actions. Facts will be the only content of his report. Since the report
is the link between what happened in a particular case and what others will know about it, the report
must accurately reflect the facts of the case.

The following basic steps represented by acronym GROWE will guide in writing a police report:

1. Gather the facts- Conduct a thorough investigation, interview witnesses, interrogate suspects, etc.
Record the facts

 Jot down immediately and accurately in the official notebook/notepad the facts that are collected or
gathered in the course of investigation.

2. Record the facts- To record the facts, here is what a police officer (First Responder) will write in his
official notebook, to wit:

– Time/ date arrived at the scene

– Name of a person who discovered/reported the crime (include his personal circumstances)

– How he discovered the reported crime

– Name of the victim, his/her personal circumstances and description

– Mode of the victim’s identification

– Name and address of the witness, if any

– Condition of the victim

– Time/date the Desk Officer notified

– Time/date the investigator arrived

– Name of the investigator

– Time/date the case was turned over to the investigator

3. Organize the facts - Arranging the sequence of happening in an outline form, using the following

pattern:

 Setting- When (the time and date of occurrence)

 Character- Where (the situs or location)
 Who (the people involve) The victim The suspect
 Action
 The witness
 What (the nature of the crime)
 Why (the motive)
 How (the modus operandi)

In police report writing, organization is a critical process of grouping all the facts gathered during the
investigation and presenting those facts in the sequence of its happening.

3. Write the report

When writing a report, be guided by the following:
 The first paragraph should include an explanation of what the report contains and why it
was written.
 Use simple, concise sentence. Do NOT use run-on sentences.
 Deal with only one issue per paragraph. Hence, write a series of short, easy-to-read
paragraphs.
 Use only words you understand and that you can spell correctly. Don’t try to impress your
reader with an extensive vocabulary. Being clearly understood is the goal.
 Make sure of the accuracy of your facts. You must be careful to accurately transpose the
material from the facts you are given to your report.
 Make sure to use the facts given to you to support any conclusions or recommendations
you make.

4. Evaluate the report

 Evaluating means editing (content) and proofreading (form).

 Editing means determining the facts of the report- the answer to 5Ws and 1H. If so, then its
content is complete. It satisfies the qualities and characteristics of a well-written report.
 While proofreading means determining the mechanical format – the correctness in the use of
basic elements of grammar, the appropriate application of punctuations, spelling,
capitalizations, sentence, structure and paragraph construction

Proofreading of the Police Report

Proofreading may seem time‐consuming, tedious, and difficult, but when writing reports where
accuracy, clarity, and completeness are important, proofreading is critical. It is a difficult skill to master,
yet one that cannot be overlooked.

When proofreading a report, special attention should be devoted to ensuring that the following basic
questions are answered:

Proofreading of the Police Report

 Are the correct crimes cited in the report?

 Is the information in the proper order?
  Are all crime elements articulated?
 Are the facts of the case correct (based on the officer’s field notes)?
 Is the report well organized?
 Is all necessary information included?
 Are things said efficiently or too wordy?
 Are all conclusions supported by facts?
 Are there any gaps in logic?
 Are the names spelled correctly?

Proofreading Mechanics

• A report’s effectiveness, and an officer’s credibility can be damaged by a report with too many
mechanical errors. When proofreading their written report, officers should look for:

– Inappropriate use of nouns, pronouns verbs, etc.

– Vague or confusing language

– Incorrect or inappropriate use of words

– Gaps in logic or narrative flow

– Spelling errors

– Inappropriate punctuation

– Incorrect use of abbreviations

– Overuse of words, such as “that”.

• One of the most effective methods for proofreading the content and mechanics of any report is to
slowly read the completed report aloud. When sentences are heard, it is often easier to identify
mechanical errors, gaps in logical flow, skewed time sequences, incorrect verb tenses and cumbersome
phrasing.