1

MIDTERM
INTRODUCTION TO TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING

 INTRODUCTION

Investigative Report Writing embraces the knowledge in correspondence,

investigation and law. The integration of its respective principles will help one
come up with a reporting standard in the field of public safety services, as well as,
in private practice. Report Writing is one of the types of communication and it is
considered as an art, although observing the proper form and substance is
important to become comprehensive.

Report writing includes but not limited to the preparation of investigation

report, memorandum, letters, office orders or any form of written communication,
either in the plain or coded languages. It is the medium through which the
communicator expresses his/her ideas.

The ability to write reports effectively is advantageous in any profession,

most especially in the police service because “every police action taken must be
followed by a written report.” Hence, all information important to the police
must reduce in writing. In many cases, there are no set patterns but each police
officer prepares his written reports as he sees it fits.

Lesson 1


POLICE REPORTS

The Concept

The concept of the investigative report writing is to establish a language that could be
adopted to reach the levels of the formal and informal dictions.
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 Formal Diction is the language of the scholars, intellectuals, poets, doctoral

dissertation and even politicians. This includes the use of vocabularies that have
deep meanings, high – level phrases and words and/or use of technical terms.

 Informal Diction is the fashionable, colloquial, and/or disrespectful informality use of

slang and jargon.
Slang greatly affects the professionalism of the language as it lessens its guilty. It is a
shoptalk, fad phrase that can immediately go out of date. The following are examples from
the book “Police, Fire, Jail Public Safety Correspondence” by Isabel Hurboda: such as
“boss” is an imprudent address to a superior officer; “cop” is slang for police officer. Similarly
related to the colloquial expressions that used the tags like “cop” for police officer.

Jargon is an expression that is considered unprogressive, obsolete, outworn,

overused and stale. Jargons like “anent” could be simply written as “about”, or “regarding”, or
“concerning”, “per” could be written as “based on”, or “on” and “esteem” could be written as
“regard” or “respect”.

To deepen your understanding on technical report writing. Let’s define what is meant by
report/police report.

REPORT

 A report is designed to fulfill a need to tell and need to know by

communicating a set of ideas from a writer's mind to a reader's mind.

How do you define Police Report?

POLICE REPORT

 According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (as cited by Gammage,

1961), a report is an account of some subject specially investigated or an
official statement of facts.
 A police report is a chronological or step-by-step account of an incident
that transpired in a given time (Soriano, 2005).
 A permanent written record of police activities classified as informal and
formal which communicates important facts concerning people involved
in criminal activities.

Purpose of Police Reports

1. To serve as the raw materials from which records system are made.
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2. To reveal as part of the component of the record system, the direct

relationship between the efficiency of the department and the quality of its
reports and reporting procedures.
3. To guide police administrators for policy formulation and decision.
4. To serve as gauge for efficiency evaluation for police officers.
5. To guide prosecutors and courts in the trial of criminal cases investigated by
the police.

1. Investigative Reporting – is an objective statement of the investigator's

findings. It is an official record of information relevant to the investigation
which the investigator submits to his/her superior.

2. Communication – the use of language, spoken or written, to exchange

ideas or transfer information.

3. Report – is a detailed account of an event, situation, etc., usually based on

TERMINOLOGI
observation or inquiry.
ES used in
writing a 4. Reporting – is knowingly passing along the information to someone else.
Report
5. Report Writing – is a form of communication that tends to help people to
freely express themselves through written communication, express their
ideas, beliefs, information, or any other facts that are pertinent to their
writing.

6. Fact – is anything which, either through careful observation or

investigation, has been proven to exist as to have happened.

7. Note Taking – is defined as jotting down specific concerns and data or

facts that they intend to recall or that seem important to them. It may pertain
to a specific happening that the writer wishes to recall and record.

8. Chronological Order – is the arrangement of events and/or actions in

order by the time of their occurrence.

Lesson 2


Uses of Police Report and Characteristics of Effective
Report Writing

 USES OF POLICE REPORTS

1. They serve as records for police administration in planning, directing and
organizing the unit’s duties.
If a police station chief receives several reports of vehicular
accidents in a particular area, he will probably recommend road
improvements to local authorities. If he reads a number of reports on
extortion by police officers who are assigned to maintain smooth flow of
traffic in their area of operation, he will possibly issue directive to all
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concerned, warning them of disciplinary actions if such malpractice

continues.

2. It can be used as legal documents in the prosecution of criminals.

To avoid confusion on the witness stand, a police officer can make a
solid report that will be clear, accurate and complete. A witnessing officer
is not at all apprehensive or hesitant in answering questions by examining or
cross examining lawyers because he has a ground technical report as a piece
of evidence during the trial.

3. It can be used as reference by related agencies in the service.

Law enforces exchange information among them. A crime
investigated in one station can be useful to another.

4. It can be useful to local media which usually have access on public

documents for accurate statistics.

5. It can be basis for research among students in Criminology, law

enforcement, police administration and other related agencies.
6. Reports improve the personality of the writer.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE REPORT (CONTENT AND FORM)

1. Accurate and Specific

 Accurate means not only being exact, but also non-commission of errors.
Words
presented must be precise and correct. The report must be free from mistakes or
errors.

 Akin to accuracy is specificity. The use of specific words in conveying ideas

most
clearly to the readers is very important

NOTE:
In order to achieve accuracy and specificity, all forms of correspondences and
reports should be thoroughly edited in spelling, punctuation, standard format,
sentence structure, mechanics, and grammar, among others.

2. Brief and Concise

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 This means that reports should be short or economy of words. Use necessary
words
only as you retain the natural tone of your sentences.

 Conversely, being brief and concise does not mean deleting important words
to
make your report short, but write forcefully when using three or more words
where only
one word is sufficient. Good writers impress their readers with ideas, not words.

NOTE:
In order to make your reports brief and concise, avoid the use of
redundant or
superfluity, jargons, triteness, and misleading euphemisms, among others.

3. Clear and Complete

 This means that the report is free from confusion and ambiguity, and is
easily
understood.
 The report should include all necessary information such as the 5Ws and 1H
(Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How).
4. Factual and Objective

 The report contains only facts, not hearsays. A fact is a thing that has
actually
happened or that is really true.

 Being objective is not injecting his/her own bias or prejudice into the
report.
The police writer should be fair and impartial in conducting investigation and
gathering facts and pieces of evidence

5. Well-organized and Grammatically Correct

 Chronological order is usually used in organizing and writing the facts in

police
reports. It is also important to follow the standard format and required
specifications
prescribed by the PNP such as official font style which is Arial and font size is 12
including
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quality paper, proper and clean printing, format, spacing, margin, and indention,
among
others.
 Aside from the fact that the report is written using the proper form and
arrangement of words and sentence structures, it should also be edited before
submitting
to the higher authorities. Avoid also the use of full uppercase or full lowercase all
throughout the document especially if it is not necessary to do so.

CRITERIA TO BE CONSIDERED IN POLICE REPORT WRITING

1) Clarity- police report must be clear

2) Accuracy- data presented must be precise, information given must be factual
3) Brevity- must be short, easy to understand
4) Specificity- must be specific by using concrete examples
5) Completeness- must complete by using the 5W’s and 1H’s
6) Timeliness- must be submitted on time
7) Security- must be considered as classified
8) Impartiality- must know what the receiving office needs to know

Lesson 3


TYPES AND CLASSIFICATION OF POLICE REPORTS
CONCEPT OF TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING

What are the two (2) types of Police Reports?

a) Informal report – usually is a letter or memorandum or any one of many

prescribed or used in a day-to day police operations. It customarily carries
three items besides the text proper; date submitted, subject, and persons
or person to whom submitted. It may, however contain many items of
administrative importance along with the subject matter of the text.
b) Formal report- suggest a full-dress treatment, including cover, title page,
letter of transmittal, summary sheet, text, appendixes, and perhaps an
index and bibliography.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF POLICE REPORT

 Performance report- contains information as to the status of an

activity, activities or operations
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 Fact-finding report- involves the gathering and presentation of data

in logical order, without an attempt to draw conclusions
 Technical report- represents data on a specialized subject
 Problem-determining report- attempts to find the causes underlying
a problem
 Problem-solution report- analyzes the thought process that lies
behind the solution of a particular problem.

HOW ARE POLICE REPORTS CATEGORIZED?

 Operational reports- include those relating to the reporting of police

incidents, investigation, arrests, identification of persons, and a mass of
miscellaneous reports necessary to the conduct of routine police operations
 Internal business reports- relate to the reporting necessary to the
management of the agency and include financial reports, personnel reports,
purchase reports, equipment reports, property maintenance reports, and
general correspondence
 Technical reports- presents data on a y specialized subject, but usually
relate to completed staff work and add to the specific knowledge necessary
to proper functioning of police management
 Summary reports- furnish intelligence information necessary to the solution
of crime accident, and police administrative problems.

MODULE II
BASIC GRAMMAR REVIEW

 INTRODUCTION
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This module will present a basic grammar review in preparation of making reports
and the types, classification

OBJECTIVES

After studying the module, you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate skills on the basic elements of grammar.

2. Develop skills in crafting sentences and paragraphs.
3. Apply the rules on agreement and grammar.
4. Improve skills in writing style and mechanics in grammar.
5. Apply the rules on the elements of styles and mechanics.
6. Be familiarize with the preparations in writing a report
7. Identify the steps in investigative report writing
8. Identify the types of police report.
9. Have an in-depth knowledge on the classification of investigation
reports
[Link] the criteria in making an investigative report
[Link] the types of report writers.

Lesson 1


Parts of Speech
The Sentence and the Paragraph
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The words in the English language can be designated to one of the eight
categories, known as the Parts of Speech. These are considered as one of the
basic elements of grammar. Each of the part functions in accordance with the
standard rules of grammar.
A. NOUN is a word used to name a person, place, thing, or idea.
Types of Nouns
Singular – a word used to name one person, place, thing, or idea
Plural – a word used to name more than one person, place, thing, or
idea
Q: What is the easiest way to make a singular noun plural?
Add an –s or –es to the end of it!
Proper – a word used to name a particular person, place, thing, or
idea; this noun is usually capitalized
Examples: (Criminologist Jennifer Guitba, Department of criminal
Justice Education, North Luzon Philippines Sate College)

Common – names any one of a group of persons, places, things, or

ideas, and is not capitalized
Example: (victim, cop, explosives, station, district, evidence)

Concrete – names an object that can be perceived by the senses (most

likely is tangible)
Example: (criminal, police officer, jail, courtroom, patrol car, gun,
dead body, police station)

Abstract – names an idea, a feeling, a quality, or a characteristic

(cannot be physically touched)
Example: (nationalism, terrorism, delinquency, morality, love,
credibility)

Collective – names a group; although it contains individual members,

it is identified as a singular noun.
Example: (council, delegation, delegation, jury, team, committee,
troop, entourage)

Compound – consists of two or more words used together as a single

noun; they may be written as one word, two or more words, or as a
hyphenated word.
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Example: (fingerprint, shotgun, police officer in-charge, Director

General)
B. PRONOUNS a word used in place of one or more nouns or pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Singular Plural

First Person I, my, mine, me We, our, ours, us

You, your, yours You, your, yours

Second Person

Third Person He, his, him, They, their, theirs, them

she, her, hers,
it, its

 Reflexive Pronouns

Singular Plural

First Person Myself Ourselves

Second Person Yourself Yourselves

Himself, Themselves
Third Person Herself, Itself

 There is no such word as “hisself.” The grammatically correct reflexive

pronoun is himself.

Interrogative Pronouns – used to begin questions

Interrogative: who, whom, whose, which, what

Demonstrative Pronouns – used to point out a specific person, place,

thing, or idea
Demonstrative: this, that, these, those

Indefinite Pronouns – used to refer to people, places, things, or ideas

in general; frequently used without antecedents
Indefinite: all, any, either, many, none, etc.
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Pronoun and Antecedent

 A pronoun usually refers to a noun that comes before it. This
noun, called an antecedent, gives the pronoun its meaning.
Example: Thomas closed his book and put it down.
 his refers to the antecedent “Thomas”; it refers to the
antecedent “book”.

 Pronouns and Antecedents must match in number.

Example: The coach showed the players how they should
throw the ball.
 They refer to the antecedent “players.” Since players is
plural, the plural pronoun must be used.
 A pronoun may appear in the same sentence as its
antecedent or in a following sentence.
Example: Have the birds flown south yet? They should
start migrating soon.
Example: Lee hit a home run. It was his first of the
season.

C. ADJECTIVES a word used to modify (describe or make more definite) a noun

or pronoun
 Adjectives will answer at least one of the following questions:
1. Which one? The first witness (which witness?)
2. What kind? A white patrol car (what kind of car?)
3. How many? Two .45 caliber pistols (how many pistols?)
4. How much? Php 350, 000. 00 ransom (how much
ransom was paid?)
 Adjectives usually precede the words they modify (unlike other
languages).
 The most frequently used adjectives are called ARTICLES.
 Indefinite Articles are used for any general noun. They are “A”
and “AN.”
Q: How do you know when to use “A” and when to use “AN”?
A: Look at the word that follows and choose:
A= word beginning with a consonant sound
AN= word beginning with a vowel sound
 Use the Definite Article “THE” to indicate someone or
something in particular.
Q: How do you know when to use “THE”, and not “A” and/or
“AN”?
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A: It can precede any word, regardless of the initial sound, but

must indicate something in particular

D. VERBS are words or group of words that express time while showing an
action, a condition, or the fact that something exists. Every complete
sentence contains at least one verb.
The examples below show the different kinds of verb with its
corresponding description

Action Verbs – make up the majority of the English verbs; they expressed either
physical or mental action – that is what someone or something does, did or will do.
The suspect attempted to jump over the fence.
The police officer blows his whistle incessantly.

Linking Verbs – these verbs serve a more passive function, because it just simply
expresses a condition showing that something exist.

Patrick Garcia is an outstanding student.

They are both students of North Luzon Philippines State College.

Be Verbs – these are the most common linking verbs; when be verbs act as linking
verbs, they express the condition of the subject and sometimes they merely
express existence usually by working with other words to show where the subject
is located.

The suspects are inside the interrogation room.

The suspect will be subjected to a polygraph examination

Transitive Verbs – action verbs that express action directed toward a person or
thing named in the sentence

Coco Martin rang the bell.

Intransitive Verbs- action verbs that express action without passing the action
from a doer to a receiver

The children laughed.

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E. ADVERBS are also modifiers, as they describe words and make them more
specific in a sentence. When an adverb modifies a verb, it can answer any of
the following questions:
Where? The SOCO Team secured the crime scene behind
the building.
When? The victim was found dead at around 5:00 o’clock
yesterday.
In what manner? The judge officially dismissed the session.
To what extent? The conclusion of the investigators is extremely
important.

Normally, adverbs modifying adjectives and adverbs will immediately

precede the word they modify.
Examples: The investigator’s analysis of the crime scene was quite
logical.
He performed very competently in his action.

F. PREPOSITIONS express the relationship between words and phrases of the

sentence.
Accompaniment: The suspect was with his friends when he was
arrested.
Appeal: You need to confess with all honesty
Cause: He was given a citation for violating traffic rules.
Condition: The corpse was in a state of decomposition.
Degree: He won the case by the unanimous decision of the
jury.
Destination: They went up to the attic to investigate.
Direction: The fire truck headed toward the burning
building.
Instrument: She killed the girl with a .45 caliber pistol.
Manner: The perimeter of the crime scene was secured by
the police.
Place: The drug laboratory was found in Candon City.
Purpose: The Criminology students are working for a
project.
Source: We have reliable field operatives from PDEA.
Time: The first batch of police interns were deployed
before 8 o’clock.

Below are examples of common prepositions:

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above before down into our across

behind during nearby under after below

for off throughahead of beneath from

onto until beyond inside within out

A. CONJUNCTION are words used to join or connect other words in a sentence

Three kinds:

Coordinating Conjunction – used to connect similar parts of speech or group of words

Examples: and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet

Correlative Conjunction – used to join elements of equal grammatical weight in sentences; they
always work in pairs.

Example: both….and, either…. or, neither…. nor, not only…. but also, whether…. or

Subordinating Conjunction – used to join two complete ideas by making one of the ideas
subordinate to or dependent upon the other.

Example: after, because, provided, unless, although, before, since, until, as, even, that, while, as if,
lest, whenever, if, as soon as, in order that

G. INTERJECTION are words that have no grammatical connection to other

words in a sentence; they are just statements that express feelings or
emotions.
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List of Common Interjections

ah dear hey ouch well

aha goodness hurray psst whew

alas gracious oh tsk wow

gee good oh my yuck hello

yippee gosh really great huh

above before down into our across

behind during nearby under after below

for off throughahead of beneath from

onto until beyond inside within out

The Sentence and the Paragraph

A SENTENCE is a group words expressing a complete thought or idea. A complete

sentence is made up of a subject and a predicate. The diagram below explains
further on this concept.

SENTENCE
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A group of words expressing

complete thought or idea
fig. 2 The Sentence (illustrated by MCBN)

Subject Predicate

The topic of the sentence talks about the subject

Tells who is spoken of talks about what the subject
is doing

It is a noun or pronoun it is a verb

FOUR KINDS OF SENTENCE ACCORDING TO STRUCTURE

A. Simple Sentence
A group of word that can stand alone and gives a complete thought. It has
two basic parts: the subject and the predicate. It has one subject and one
predicate.
Examples:
The lawyer is attending a hearing.

subject predicate

B. Compound Sentence
This is a sentence consisting of two or more independent clauses or simple
sentence joined by a semi-colon, coma, or a coordinating conjunction.
What is a clause? – it is a group of words that contain a verb and its subject.
A clause that can stand alone is called an independent clause. A clause that
does not express a complete thought and cannot stand by itself is called a
dependent clause.

Example: independent clause conjunction

The judge looks around the courtroom and orders the crowd
to keep silent.

C. Complex Sentence
This is a sentence containing one independent clause and one or more
dependent clauses.
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Example: independent clause

dependent clause

Jessa Chan went to the police station, filed an affidavit of

complaint,
dependent clause

and felt relieved.

D. Compound-Complex Sentence
Contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent
clauses.

Example: independent clause

dependent clause

When the robbers left the house, they were in a hurry and left
traces of evidence.

 PARTS OF SPEECH
A part of speech explains how a word is used. In traditional English
grammar, there are eight parts of speech.

1. Noun: a noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing.

2. Pronoun: a pronoun is word that is used in place of a noun.
3. Adjectives: Is a word that describes a noun. It can tell what kind and how
many.
4. Verb: is a word that shows action. A present tense verb shows action that is
happening now. A past tense verb shows action that has already happened.
A future tense verb shows action that will happen.
5. Adverb: an adverb is a word that describes a verb. It can tell how or when.
6. Conjunction: A conjunction is a word that connects words in a sentence.
7. Preposition: A preposition is a word that links and relates a noun or a
pronoun to another word in a sentence.
8. Interjection: An interjection is word that expresses emotion. It is usually an
exclamation that is followed by an exclamation point (!). sometimes it is
followed by a comma (,).
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Parts of Kinds Functions/Definition Examples

Speech

Noun Proper name of persons, places or things and Danica, Samsung, Robinson
begins with capital letter

Common Generic name of persons, places or Doctor, girl, pencil

things teacher

Compound A noun made up of two or more words. Ice cream

Each word makes up part of the meaning Rain forest
of the noun

Countable Nouns that we can count Pen

apple

Uncountable Nouns that cannot be counted but can be Salt, flour, sand, oil
(Mass) weighted

Collective Refers to group of people, animals or A cup of tea

collection of things taken as a whole A bundle of sticks

Concrete Nouns that can be touched, felt, held or Water

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seen House, glass

Abstract Things that can’t be perceive with five love

senses or cannot be touch, feel, hold or
see

Pronoun Possessive A word that replaces a noun and shows Mine, yours, his, hers, theirs
ownership

Indefinite A pronoun that refers to a person or a All, any, anyone, anything, everything
thing without being specific

Relative Used to connect a clause or phrase to a Who, which, that, whose

noun or pronoun

Intensive A pronoun that intensifies the subject Myself, himself, herself, itself

Demonstrative Represents a thing or things near in This, these, that, those

distance or time or far in distance or
time

Interrogative Pronouns that ask a question What, which, who, whom, whose

Reflexive Used to specify that the subject is doing Myself, yourself, himself, itself,
something by or to itself ourselves

Adjective Possessive Used to express who owns something My, your, his, her

Descriptive Used to express the size, color, or shape Excellent, awesome, brilliant
of a person, a thing, an animal or a place
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Numeral Used to represent the numbers or order Some, many, double, few, one
of any substance or anything else in a
sentence

Demonstrative Used to modify a noun and That, this, these, those

identify a specific noun or
nouns

Interrogative Used along with ouns to ask Which, what, who,where

questions

Verb Regular One that forms its simple past Hand-handed

tense and its past participle by Kick-kicked
adding -ed or-d to the base Joke-joked
form of the verb

Irregular A verb that the past tense is not Feel-felt

formed by adding the usual -ed Go-went
ending Sing-sang

Transitive A verb that requires an object Address

to receive the action Offer
Borrow
write

Intransitive A verb that does not need a Exist, appear, arrive, work, listen
direct object to complete its
meaning
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Auxiliary A verb that adds functional or Been, shall, is , are, will, ought to
grammatical meaning to the
clause in which it occurs so as
to express tense, aspect,
modality, voice, emphasis etc

Adverb Manner Used to tell us the way or how Accidentally

something is done Slowly
Honestly
Loudly
softly

Time Used to tell when an action Before, weekly,early, hourly, late, yet
happened but also for how long
and how often

Place Used to tell where something Near, far, over, away, oindoors
appears

Degree Used to tell about the intensity Too, hardly, perfectly, quite
of something

Preposition Time Used in reference to specific At breakfast, in 1983, on Monday

times on the clock or points of
time in the day

Place Used to refer to a place where Next to, behind, below, in front of, under
something or someone is
located
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Direction Used to tell about the way By, inside, next to, close to, among
which a person or thing moves
or is directed in relation to
other people and things

Agent Used to indicate action By, with

conducted on something or
someone by something or
someone

Instrument Used when describing certain The man opened the door with a key.
technologies, machines or He was hit by a ball.
devices

Compound Prepositions that are made by Amongst, beyond, beside, without

prefixing the preposition to a
noun, an adjective or an adverb

Double A preposition that is made by Out of

combining two simple Because of
preposition According to

Participle A verb ending with -ing, -en, or Given, considering, regarding

-ed which also acts as a
preposition

Conjunction Coordinating A word that joins two elements For, and, nor, but, or
of equal grammatical rank of
syntactic importance
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Correlative Pair of words used to connect Neither-nor

two parts of a sentence with The-the
equal value Such-that
So-that

Subordinating Used to join a subordinating Than, rather than, as soon as, though,
clause to another clause or
sentence

Interjection A word, phrase, or sound used Aah

to convey an emotion Yeah
Shh
Ouch
Yikes
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FOUR KINDS OF SENTENCE ACCORDING TO FUNCTION

A. Declarative Sentence – a sentence that states an idea and ends with a period.
Examples: Nam Valenciano is a second year Criminology student
Criminology is the scientific study of crime and criminals

B. Interrogative Sentence – a sentence that asks a question and ends with a question mark.
Examples: Who is the principal suspect of the robbery incident?

What was the possible motive of the crime?

C. Imperative Sentence – a sentence that gives an order or direction and ends with a period or
exclamation mark.
Examples: Please call the police station right away.
Watch out for falling debris!

D. Exclamatory Sentence – a sentence that conveys emotions and ends with an exclamation
mark.
Examples: Stop! You are under arrest.
Hey! Look at those floating dead bodi

Lesson 2


Punctuations and Capitalizations
Numbers and Spelling

PUNCTUATIONS

To help clarify the structure and meaning of sentences, punctuation marks are used. Their
functions are as follows: to separate group of words for meaning and emphasis; to convey an idea
of variations in pitch, volume, pauses, and intonations; to help avoid ambiguity. The most common
examples of punctuation marks are: apostrophe, colon, comma, hyphen, parenthesis, period, and
quotation marks. Each of these are elaborated below.

1. Apostrophe ‘
- It is used to from most possessives, contractions, as well as the plurals and inflections of
words.
Examples:
The field operative’s report is accurate.
She wasn’t in the hearing yesterday.
The victim’s body is in a state of decomposition.
2. Colon:
- It is used to mark an introduction, indicating that what follows it generally is a clause, a
phrase, or a list.
Examples:
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The judge has trial experience on three judicial levels: county, state, and federal.
The issue comes down to this: will death penalty be legalized or not?
We are required to pass the following: initial, progress, and final reports of the
case.
3. Comma ,
- This is used to separate items in a series, and to set off or distinguish grammatical
elements within sentences.
Examples:
He was charged with reckless imprudence, and robbery resulting in homicide.
The suspect was described as tall, has brown complexion, medium-built, and
between 20-25 years old.
We are required to pass the initial, progress and final reports of the case.
4. Hyphen –
- It is used to join the element of compound nouns and modifiers.
Examples:
The officer-in-charge of the case is on leave.
The first-runner-up of the pageant was shot in the head.
His mother-in-law was invited for questioning after the disappearance of the
child.

5. Parenthesis ( )
- A pair of this is used to enclose material that is inserted into a main statement, but its
not intended to be an essential part of it.
Examples:
The six patrol cars (all outdated models) will be replaced soon.
The diagram (Fig. 1) illustrates the flow of the traffic.
The suspect (who was also an ex-army) was caught.
6. Period .
- This serves to mark the end of a sentence or an abbreviation.
Examples:
There is a vehicular accident in Candon City diversion road.
Bill Clede is the author of the book Police Handgun Manual.
Atty. De Jesus teaches law subjects in the Department of Criminal Justice
Education.
7. Quotation Marks “ ”
- These are used to enclose quoted statements in a regular text.
Examples:
“Not guilty”, was the plea of the rapist.
“Shhh!” rapist hissed.
“You are found guilty beyond reasonable doubt!” was the last statement he
wanted to hear.
 26

CAPITALIZATIONS

To indicate that words, have a special significance in a particular context they are capitalized.
Below are the basic rules of capitalization.
1. The first word of a sentence or sentence fragment is capitalized.
Examples:
There are criminals. (fragment)
Mar belongs too upper echelon of the police bureaucracy.
He will pass the samples for accurate testing in the laboratory.
2. Abbreviated forms of proper nouns and adjectives are capitalized.
Examples:
Gen. (General)
PNP (Philippine National Police)
CSI (Crime Scene Investigation)
3. Name of academic degrees are capitalized when they follow a person’s name.
Examples:
Jennifer F. Guitba, Criminologist
Jeffson Naungayan, MSCrim
Donabelle Buting, Ph. D.
4. Full names of legislative, deliberative, executive, and administrative bodies are
capitalized.
Examples:
the House of Representatives
the Philippine Congress
the Senatorial candidates
Department of Interior and Local Government
5. The names of some historical and cultural periods and movement are capitalized.
Examples:
Fifth Republic
The Edsa Revolution
The Renaissance
Third Reich
6. Capitalize months, holidays, and days of the week.
Examples:
The bodies will be due for cremation on Monday.
The bombing exactly happened during the Independence Day celebration.
Their investigation will commence in the month of December.
7. All major words in titles and subtitles of books and articles should be capitalized.
Example:
The Icarus Agenda is a detective novel written by Robert Ludlum, A Time to Kill is
also a detective novel but it is written by John Grisham.
Copies of The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology are now available in our
library.
Are you aware that Police and Security News is a publication about information source
foe law enforcement and homeland security?

NUMBERS
 27

The writer’s knowledge on the rules and usage governing numbers is significant in the writing
process. Below are these basic rules:

1. For numbers one through nine, it should be spelled out, and figures be used for exact
numbers greater than nine.
She said she repeated her testimony a hundred times.
He spoke for an hour, convincing his audience of 20,000 law enforcers from all over
Asia.

2. Numbers that begin a sentence are written out.

Thirty-five convicts were brought to the New Bilibid Prison last year.
Twenty new police cars are given by the governor.

3. Ordinal Numbers are written as figures together with its suffix combination.
He wrote the 3rd and the 4th sections of the Bill.

4. House numbers should be written in figures except for the word ‘one’.
The suspect is living at #11 Quano Street.
The suspect is living at #eleven Quano Street.

5. Dimension, percentages, decimals, weighs, measurement, page numbers should be

written in figures.
The size of the bladed weapon is 3 by 5 ½ by 5 inches.
The liquid matter found in the crime scene contained 0.9 percent blood.
The rock that was used to pound his head weighed 2 pounds.
Please refer to page 20 of the Revised Penal Code for your reference.

6. If two numbers occur together, write the smaller number in words, and the larger
number in figure.
We are required to submit a 100 thirty-page investigation report.

7. Numbers with o’clock should be written in words.

The investigation team will meet at one o’clock this afternoon.
The exhumation of the body will be done at ten o’clock in the morning.

8. Numbers with P.M. or A.M. should be written in figures.

The investigation team will meet at 11:15 A.M.
The investigation will resume at 1:00 P.M.
The dead body was found at 10:00 A.M.

SPELLING

Hacker (1999) stressed that a writer will learn to spell from repeated experiences with words in
both reading and writing. Words have a look, a sound and even a feeling as the writer’s hand moves
across the page.
Spelling rules may differ among countries that use English as a medium of instruction.
Americans use American spelling, while the British and the Europeans use British spellings.
Specifically, here in the Philippines, the American spelling is widely used in written
communication. Below are common spelling variations and examples between American and British
spellings.
AMERICAN SPELLING BRITISH SPELLING
connection, inflection connexion, inflexion
civilization civilisation
 28

defense defence
canceled, traveled cancelled, travelled
theater, center theatre, centre
anemia, anesthetic anaemia, anaesthetic
color, humor colour, humour
realize, apologize realise, apologise
mold, smolder mould, smoulder

It is very vital that a writer must become familiar with the major spelling rules, because
misspelled words are not desirable. Below are these rules:
1. Use i before e except after c
Examples:
i before e (relieve, believe, sieve, niece, fierce)
e before i (receive, deceive, sleigh, freight, eight)
exceptions: (seize, either, weird, height, foreign, leisure)

2. When adding a suffix that begins with a vowel, drop a final silent –e; but if the suffix
begins with a consonant, keep the final –e.
Examples:
combine – combination
desire – desiring
remove – removable
achieve – achievement
care – careful
entire – entirety

3. When adding –s or –d to words ending in –y, change –y to –ie when the –y is preceded by a
consonant but not when it is preceded by a vowel.
Examples:
country – countries
fry – fried
stay – stayed
monkey – monkeys

4. For proper names ending in –y, do not change the –y to –ie though it is preceded by a
consonant.
Example:
The Monterry family – (the Monterrys)
There are two Percy names in this class – (two Percys)

5. If a final conconant is preceded by a single vowel and the consonant ends a one-syllabus
word, double consonant when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.
Examples:
let – letting
transmit – transmitting
commit – committed
occur – occurrence

6. Add –s to form the plural of most nouns; add –es to singular nouns ending in –s, –sh, –ch,
and –x.
Examples:
evidence – evidences
fingerprint- fingerprints
lash – lashes
fish – fishes
 29

crutch – crutches

7. When a noun ends in –o and is preceded by a vowel, add –s; when it is preceded by a
consonant add –es.
Example:
video – videos
rodeo – rodeos
piano – pianos
hero – heroes
potato – potatoes

8. In forming the plural forms of hyphenated compounds, add the –s to the chief word.
Examples:
attorney-at-law – attorneys-at-law
runner-up – runners-up
mother-in-law – mothers-in-law

9. For English words that are derivation of other languages, and other irregular words, form
their plurals by changing its spelling.
Examples:
Alumna – alumni
Ox – oxen
Medium – media
Datum – data
Agendum – agenda
Oasis – oases
Syllabus – syllabi
Lesson 3


Preparations in Writing a Report
Rules on Grammar and Mechanics in Police Report
Writing

PREPARATIONS IN WRITING A REPORT

OVERVIEW

A well-written report helps the criminal justice system operate more efficiently and
effectively,
saves the department time and expenses, reduces liability for the department and the officer and
reflects positively on the investigator who wrote it. One’s skills as a police officer are largely
evaluated based on his or her written reports. An officer must not only be able to do his job well
and within the scope of the law, but he must also be ableto accurately record information
concerning those activities and present it to those who were not there.

A. Background Preparation
– the gathering and arranging of the information in a logical sequence, thus, outlining
the report.

 Arrange notes, evidence and exhibits in the same order as you intend to present the
information in the report.
 Reports should refer to each other and are correlated.

 30

B. Five Basic Steps in Investigative Report Writing

– as earlier emphasized in this study, the contents of police reports are solely based
on facts. Conformably, before any investigative report can be written, the investigator must
undertake the five stated basic steps.

Record the Facts

Gather the Facts
– immediately and
– conduct a thorough
accurately record in your
investigation, interview
clipboard, not in your
witnesses, interrogate
memory, the facts
suspects.
gathered.

Write the Report

– a well – written
report must radiate Evaluate the Report
qualities such as
Organize the Facts factuality, clarity, – means editing and
relevance, brevity, proof-reading what you
–arranging the sequence
completeness, have written before it can
of happenings in an
accuracy, be considered a finish
outline form.
objectivity, fairness product for submission to
and be up – to – higher officials.
date.

 RULES ON GRAMMAR AND MECHANICS IN POLICE REPORT WRITING (Additional from

previous lessons)

A. Selection and Use of Words

1. Vocabulary – the word of language or the supply of words which we know and which we
use, whether speaking or writing.
2. Diction – the correct choice of words, selecting the exact, precise, objectives words to
convey a meaning.
3. Words – the only tools of communication and the first integral part which make up the
whole narration of facts.
4. Antonyms – words with opposite meanings.
5. Synonyms – words with similar meanings but of different sounds and spelling.
6. Homonyms – words with similar sounds but with different meanings and spelling.

B. Sentence Construction
Sentences should be short, simple and direct because the longer the sentence is, the
more difficult is for the reader to follow it, and that leads confusion to your report,
whereas, short sentences lend emphasis, clarity an communication, which is what this text is
 31

all about, and as example, this entire paragraph is one sentence with no periods, and at this
point, you should feel as though you are smothering in words and wish there would be a
period so you could take a breath.

On the other hand, short sentences are easy to read. They allow for much needed
breathing spaces. Short sentences also provide a refreshing directness seldom found in
longer sentences.

Notice Against

“The suspect accused the “The suspect accused the arresting

arresting officer of kicking him while officer of kicking him while he was
the former was being forced into the forced into the police van. When the
police van and when the suspect was suspect was thrown to the ground,
thrown to the ground, the arresting the arresting officer hit him again in
officer hit the suspect again in his his face with his pistol.”
face with his pistol.”

1. Correctness in a Sentence – Crimes are investigated after it is committed, and reports

should be written after the investigation, therefore, a report should be written in PAST
TENSE
2. Three Essentials Elements of a Narrative
a. Setting – When? Where?
b. Characters – Who? – victims, suspects, witnesses
c. Action – What? Why? How?

Two Components of a Sentence

1. Subject – wherein you must name what you are talking about.
2. Predicate – wherein you must tell about the subject.
Four General Kinds of Sentences

1. Declarative Sentence – declares or states a fact. It ends with a period.

2. Interrogative Sentence – asks a question and ends with a question mark.
3. Imperative Sentence – expresses request or command and ends with a period.
4. Exclamatory Sentence – exclaims a strong feeling or emotion and usually ends
with a exclamation mark.
Police Sentence – a grammatically narration of facts with the usual subject, predicate and
verb. It is distinctive because of the use of police words, phrases, clauses and other
terminologies without however, being too technical, legal and vulgar.

Topic Sentence – is the first sentence immediately at the beginning of the next or ensuing
or following paragraph.

C. Paragraph Construction

A paragraph is a sentence group of properly related sentences expressing a single idea.

 32

In most cases, the writer must distinguish one paragraph from another by leaving a
blank line between them, giving the written page the appearance of having breathing spaces
between paragraphs. Normally, this is done by numbering each paragraph consecutively.

 Introductory Paragraph
In Investigative report writing, it is the first paragraph or opening paragraph. The objective
is to readily point out to the reader the statement or objective of the report, or the subject of the
report, or what the case is all about.

Characteristics of a Paragraph

1. Write short paragraphs.

2. Give your reader a rest.
3. Recapture your reader’s attention.

D. Spelling – is the act of forming words by letters. If you are a poor report writer and a lousy
speller, do not aim to be an investigator. You will just torture your reader. A good investigator
must also be a good report writer.

E. Division of Words – technically, the improper division of words is not an error in spelling.
Nevertheless, a mistake committed makes the reader of the report confused, with the
impression that the word has been misspelled.

F. Capitalization – some writers have the tendency to over capitalize, especially when the
objective is to emphasize. This is most common in police report writing.

G. Abbreviations – brevity is one of the principles in good report writing so 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 widely accepted, whether locally or internationally.

H. Punctuations – are the customary little marks that determine whether the sentence is clear or
has a doubtful meaning.

Lesson 4


The General Types of Police Reports
Essential Narrative and 5 W’s and 1 H
Criteria in Making an Investigation Report

. TWO GENERAL TYPES OF POLICE REPORTS

A. Basic or Informal Police Report

– this type of report deals with the ordinary miscellaneous, usual, day to day
memorandum, letter or form accomplished by any member of a unit or section, precinct,
bureau or division within a department, in accordance with the prescribed regulation.
 33

Contents of a Basic or Informal Police Report

1. The heading or the letterhead of the organization, office or section where the writer is
assigned;
2. The date of preparation or submission;
3. The person or office to whom it is addressed or submitted;
4. The text proper; and
5. The name of the writer or source of the report.

B. Investigative or Formal Police Report

– this pertains to the exact narration of facts, without any addition or subtraction,
which were discovered during the course of investigation.

CLASSIFICATION OF INVESTIGATION REPORTS

A. Initial or Advance Report – this is a written narration of facts concerning a new case assigned
to an officer. It is written and submitted immediately upon the termination of the initial
investigation. This report is 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.

Initial Reports may either be in the form of a:

a. Spot Report – is that one done after an important incident took place in a certain
area at a given time. Verbal or written, it must be acted upon within 24 hours. The
idea is to inform an immediate chief (as SOP, considering that whatever happens in
said area is a command responsibility), or that one from a higher headquarters or
office, regarding the details relative to a particular occurrence. When written, a spot
report may use the PNP message form, especially if the reporting officer is far from
the receiver. If the reporter is within a particular installation only, the report may sue
the Subject- to Letter form.

b. Special Report – this is done either because one feels he has some reporting to do, or
he is obliged to report, based on a directive, or an instruction from the higher
headquarters office. In other words, a higher echelon requires a subordinate one to
report on a particular incident, project program activities, an estimate of a situation,
or any other similar activity.
Formalizing a special report from a lower unit to a higher headquarters has been done
by men in uniform. It follows a subject to letter:

c. Beat Inspection Report – in the station level, this report is one of the widely
practiced written communications. It is routinary as it is submitted daily by any duty
inspector. This differs from the after patrol report in terms of movements. Those on
beat inspections do their routine check on foot; those on patrol check their assigned
sectors by using official vehicles, mobiles. As to form, the beat inspection report uses
a subject – to letter form with same spacing and margin.

d. After Patrol or Mobile Patrol Report – uses a form communication. The team leader
just fills in the blank. Because there are three shifts within 24 hours, three after
patrol reports are submitted daily by three team leaders – each one presumed to
observed an 8 hour tour of duty with his members. Each mobile has a certain sector to
 34

so there is no deviation. From the report, the chief will know if there ever was a
deviation from the one’s area of responsibility. The team leader who is signatory is
not an officer.

e. Situational Report – it is done on the need basis. The commander or the chief has to
know the actual situation of a particular incident which can be of public interest. He
has to know from his subordinate unit/s just what is happening even before media
reports. If possible, he should be informed even before the public is informed. This
maybe done every hour, every six hours, every eight hours, depending on the
situation. During the space time, a situational is not necessary.

B. Progress or Follow-up Report – this is a written narration of facts which were discovered by the
police officer on case in the course of his follow-up investigation. For every development in the
case as a result of the follow-up investigation, a progress report must be immediately
submitted. It is through this kind of report that a superior officer can determine if the detective
or investigator is working on his case and therefore, serve as a gauge or yardstick for the
investigator’s efficiency. A progress report can simply be an accomplishment report which may
be analytical in approach and comparatively longer. This may be accompanied by a
memorandum or a letter of transmittal having these important highlights: why the report is
being made; purpose and scope of the report; and sources of information.

C. Final or Closing Report – this is a complete narration of facts based on a exhaustive

investigation of the case by the officer who initially started the investigation of the case. Final
report is also the result of summation, evaluation, analysis of all facts and circumstances
surrounding the case, trying all loose ends pertinent thereto so as to form a clear and composite
picture of the crime committed to the mind of the reader, for prosecutorial and judicial action.

CRITERIA IN MAKING AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

In making an investigative report, it should be grammatically correct, abbreviations must be

used appropriately and correctly and avoid slang and unnecessary terms.

Parts of an Investigative Report

1. Administrative Data
a. Date – the date on which the investigator’s dictation or draft of the report was given to
the typist will be the date of the report.
b. File Number – this is a matter of local custom. Standard decimal classification file
numbers can be used.
c. Subject – if the subject is known, his full name and address should be reflected on the
report. He may subsequently be referred to in the same report as the SUBJECT or by his
last name in capital letters. If the subject is unidentified, a short description of crime
should be given using a fictitious name JOHN DOE.
 35

d. Classification – the specific nature of the case should be given. This may be done by
citing the name of the crime and the section of the penal code under which it is
punished.

e. Complaint – the name of the complainant and the manner in which the complaint was
received will be given. The complaint may have been received directly or from another
office.
f. Reporting Investigator – the name of the investigator assigned to the case will be given.
Assisting investigators will be listed in the details of the report. This is of particular
importance to the prosecutor preparing for trial.
g. Office of Origin – the office, squad, or precinct in which the compliant was received or
which has jurisdiction over the area where the offense requiring investigation tool place
is considered the Office of Origin.
h. Status – this entry should reflect the status of the case within the office or squad
submitting the report. The status is either “pending” or “closed”.
h.1. Pending – this term when used by the Office of Origin, indicates that the
investigation is continuing. In effect, it often means that the case is not closed yet.

h.2. Closed – a case can be closed by the Office of Origin. Ordinarily, it is closed for one
of the following reasons; the subject died; the investigation is completed; or further
investigation is considered to be unwarranted for some reason such as the failure to
establish a corpus delicti.

h.3. Auxiliary Completion –this designation status is used by an auxiliary office or squad
on completing its assigned portion of the investigation

i. Distribution – the disposition of the original and all copies of the report should be clearly
stated.

2. Synopsis – each report should bear on its cover sheet a synopsis or brief description of the
action of the perpetrators as established by the body of the report and the summary of the
major investigative steps thus far accomplished. This is done in a single paragraph using the
narrative style. If the perpetrator is known, his name should be used and his present status
described.

Example: “Investigation revealed that on November 10, 2012. John Jones entered the home
of Thomas Brown at No. 45 Magsaysay Avenue, Baguio City, and stole the camera and watch.
On November 21, 2012, Jones was arrested at Lakandula Street, Baguio City. (Indicate the
value of items stolen.)”

The purpose of the synopsis is to provide a brief, informative summary of the nature and
important events in the case. This procedure is the immense value to receiving authorities
and is of assistance in filing the case and facilitating subsequent reference.

3. Details of the Report – the “details” section of the report has for its objective a narrative
account of the investigation. It should be arranged logically with an eye to reader
comprehension. Each paragraph should normally contain a separate investigative step.
Paragraphs and pages should be numbered. All pertinent details uncovered by the phase of
the investigation being reported should be related. The investigator should refer
parenthetically to all exhibits which support the details.
 36

4. Conclusions and Recommendations (Optional) – the investigator’s opinion, conclusions, and

recommendations as to the status of the case and the disposition of physical evidence should
be expressed under his heading.

5. Undeveloped Leads – these are “uncontacted” possible source of information which appears
necessary in bringing the investigation to a logical conclusion. The investigator should try to
make each lead specific, stating exactly what information is to be expected from the lead.

6. In closures – these are supplementary documents which may be consist of photographs and
sketches of crime scenes, identification photographs, Photostats of checks.

Style or Manner of Writing – clear, simple language should be employed. The use of
confusing pronouns should be avoided. The “past tense” should be used.

Types of Report Writers:

1. Those who write without thinking;

2. Those who write and think at the same time; and
3. Those who think first and write afterwards.

Essentials of Narrative and 5 W’s and 1 H

Among the techniques in composition, narration (long

or short; preferably short but complete) is effective in police
report. This is because narration concerns with events, with
action, and with life in action. An action takes place in time.
There is a chronological movement from a beginning to an
end.
This means that the report begins when something
happened; it ends when something has finished happening.

Three Essentials of a Narrative

1. Setting – in writing an investigative report, the setting is the introductory paragraph. It must
first be presented to the reader, which includes the time, the date, the place and the
nature of the crime.
When? (Time and date of crime occurrence)
Where? (The crime scene)
What? (The nature of the crime)
 37

2. Character – the second essential in the narrative involves the people in the crime such as
the victim, the suspect and the witness.

Complainant – the person who institutes action; call the police; makes complaint; first
person contacted by the police.

Victim – the person who is injured or killed as by acts of another person or by misfortune or
calamity or place in case of a building, ex. Attack or suffering loss.

Subject – is actually the wanted person.

Suspect – the person involved to major degree and wanted for questioning or in some cases,
apprehended.

Witness – the person who has seen or knows something about the case being investigated or
one which can furnish evidence or proof.

Person Involved –talks about either the subject or suspect but is still involved in the matter
and interested of the police.

Note: in all instances, give known details as to the name, age, birthdate, birthplace and
complete physical description and include information as to whether or not the person is
armed or considered dangerous, etc.

3. Action - Why? (motive of the crime)

How? (modus operandi or the manner of occurrence)
Use of Past Tense
At the time a police officer is writing the report, the writing will always be about
things that happened in the past. Therefore, the past tense will always be used to describe
events.
The use of present tense is not only unclear, it is also factually wrong. The officer not
currently performing the activity being described; rather it has been done in the past, it is
over.

Observe:
“As the Narcotics Agent enters the room, he smells something familiar.”
Against:
“As the Narcotics Agent entered the bedroom, he smelled something familiar.

5 W’s and 1 H

Who – this pertains to some information regarding the victim, suspect, witness, owner, and
property.
 38

1. Complete and correct name. Wrong names result in failure to locate a witness or
apprehend a suspect. The spelling should be correct; name including the middle
initial or name should be exact.
2. Exact home address (be it a residence or a hotel) and telephone numbers.
3. Relative questions under WHO may include the following:
a. Who was present at the crime scene; witness, suspects, victims, etc.
b. Who was apprehended?
c. Who discovered the evidence?
What – this question considers the following factors:

1. Type of property attacked, e.g., building, residence, alley, vacant lot, etc.
2. Type of property stolen, lost or found. What items related to the crime were found at
the scene? There should be an accurate description of all such property stolen, lost or
found. An accurate description of all such property should be entered in the notes.
3. Offense committed. e.g., robbery, theft, etc.
4. What type of evidence was found?
Where – this question is concerned with the geographical location of the crime scene,
property or evidence.

1. Where was the offense committed?

2. Where was the property found?
3. Where was the evidence found?
When – this question includes the date and time when the offense was committed; property
found; suspect apprehended.

1. When did the police officer arrive?

2. When was the crime discovered?
3. When was the suspect apprehended?
How – this question refers to the general manner in which the crime was committed.

1. How was the crime reported?

2. How were certain tools used?
3. How was the crime committed and discovered?
Why – under this heading is listed the object of desire which was motivated the offense.

1. In the crime against persons, the object of the attack might be revenge, ransom or
rape.
2. In crimes for gain, the reason may be acquire money or property.
Generally, the WHO, WHEN, and WHERE will appear at the beginning of the report. The
reader needs to know the person involved, the time the incident happened and the location at
which it took place.

WHAT HAPPENED is usually unfolded throughout the report. The HOW is closely related to
WHAT. The WHY may belong or after the WHAT, depending on the situation.
39