Police Report

REPORT
An account of any occurrence prepared after
thorough investigation. It is also an account
or statement describing in detail an event,
situation, or the like, usually as the result of
observation or inquiry.

A specific form of writing that is organized

around concisely identifying and examining
issues, events, or findings that have
happened in a physical sense, such as
events that have occurred within an
organization, or findings from a research
investigation.
POLICE REPORT
A document that details all the facts,
circumstances, and timeline of events
surrounding an incident.

Police Reports vary from agency to agency,

including the protocol that’s to be followed
when completing one; however, the
general information and function is
relatively the same. The report is written
by the responding officer and is turned into
the department for review and filing.
USES OF POLICE REPORTS
• IDENTIFICATION OF CRIMINALS
Assist with the identification, apprehension and
prosecution of criminal.
• INVESTIGATIVE RECORD
` Aid prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other
law enforcement agencies.
• COURT PREPARATION
Assist officers prior to or during court
appearances.
 5

USES OF POLICE REPORTS

• CIVIL LIABILITY ASSESSMENT
Essential for risk managers, insurance
companies, and civil litigation attorneys.
• STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Assist police and civilian administrators as well
as the campus community.
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN 6

EFFECTIVE POLICE REPORT

• FACTUAL
• ACCURATE
• CLEAR
• CONCISE
• COMPLETE
• TIMELY
STEPS IN POLICE REPORT WRITING
PRE- WRITING
Any activity that a writer engages in prior to actual writing to
draft. In a writing class, activities under this category include
brainstorming or generating ideas. In public safety report writing, this is
represented by the acronym G.R.O.

GATHERING OF FACTS
Before writing your report, you need to be sure that you have the
facts. Various ways to gather facts include field interview of victim and
witness at the scene of incident, background investigation of suspects
and surveillance operation.
 8

STEPS IN POLICE REPORT WRITING

RECORDING AND ORGANIZING
For police report writing, you can refer to pages of your own designed
templates for offenses against person, offenses against properties, vehicular
accidents, and complaints or incidents, which may be useful in writing spot
report or other official reports following memorandum format.

WRITING AND EVALUATING

Briefly though, with the filled-out templates, the writing stage will no
longer be as laborious or painstaking as when there is no organized baseline
data gathered in the pre-writing stage. Evaluating is the stage in the writing
process where you take closer look at the written work both in content and form.
FIELD NOTES
An officer’s field notes are the original source documents
used to write a police report. For this reason, if field
notes are incomplete, poorly organized, or illegible, they
will be of little use to the officer in writing the resulting
police report. Field notes should always be taken at the
scene, especially when interviewing suspect, victims or
witnesses, and whenever the officer wishes to
remember specific details at a later time.
 BASIC INFORMATION ADDITIONAL 10
INFORMATION
VICTIMS AND WITNESSES BASIC
Full nameINFORMATION ADDITIONAL
Best place/time to contact the
Age INFORMATION
person
Race
VICTIMS AND Sex
Date of birth
WITNESSES Tel. numbers
OCCURRENCE Email address
SUSPECT
SUSPECT
INCIDENT SPECIFIC Race Unusual or memorable
Sex gestures
Age Speech
Build accent/tone/pitch/disorder
Height Jewelry (rings, necklace,
Weight earrings)
Eye color Body piercings
Hair color/style Right or left handed
Facial hair Which hand held the weapon
Clothing style/color/type Gang affiliation
Other physical attributes
 11
BASIC INFORMATION ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
OCCURRENCE Type of crime location All persons involved
Date/time of incident (informants, reporting party,
Was physical evidence handled by victim, witnesses, victim, suspects,
suspect or officer medical personnel,
Disposition and chain of custody for all members of the media)
evidence
Suspect direction of travel
Case number

INCIDENT Scene description and photographs

SPECIFIC Point of entry
Point of exit
Description of property damage
Nature and location of evidence collected
Suspect and victim injuries
Anything else not already mentioned that
the officer believes is relevant to the case
 12

NOTE TAKING AND CONDUCTING

FIELD INTERVIEW
• SEPARATE THE INVOLVED PARTIES
Separating the involved parties focuses their attention on
speaking to the officer rather than each other.
• ESTABLISH RAPPORT
Be courteous, considerate, and patient.
• LISTEN ATTENTIVELY
ask the person what happened and allow them to talk
about it freely. Let them explain it in terms that they understand.
 13

NOTE TAKING AND CONDUCTING

FIELD INTERVIEW
• TAKE NOTES/ASK QUESTIONS
Ask the person to repeat their account of what
happened, but stop the person and ask questions for
clarification, where necessary.
• VERIFY INFORMATION
Be sure to confirm direct quotes, time
relationships, weapons information and physical
descriptions of suspects.
 14

IMPORTANT FIELD INTERVIEW

SKILLS
One of the most important skills that officers are required to
have while conducting field interview and taking field notes is
determining in difference between opinions, facts, and conclusions in
a statement given by a suspect or witnesses. Another important skill
is being able to determine what information is relevant to the case or
incident.
Opinions are statements that can be open to interpretation, or
expresses a belief not supported by the facts of a case, while a fact is
a statement that can be verified or proven to the facts of the case.
 15

QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY AN
EFFECTIVE REPORT
An effective police report should always answer the
questions WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, HOW.
If any of the 6 questions cannot be answered by
the officer’s report, the report should contain as much
information as possible, as the information can prove to
be vital to investigators, attorneys, and other users of
the report.
 16
SUPPORTING FACTS/INFORMATION

WHAT Was the crime committed

Are the elements of the crime
Were the actions of the suspect before
and after the crime
Actually happened
Are the evidence obtained
Weapons were used
Action did the officers take
Other agencies were notified
WHEN Was the crime committed
Was the crime discovered
Did the involved parties arrived at the
scene
Was the victim last seen
Was the suspect last seen
Did the officers arrive
Did the suspect decide to commit the
crime
 17
SUPPORTING FACTS/INFORMATION

WHERE Was the crime committed

Was the crime discovered
Was the entry made
Was the exit
Was the weapon used to commit the
crime obtained
Was the victim found
Was the suspect last seen during
the crime
Were the witnesses during the crime
Does the suspect currently live
Was the evidence restored
WHO Are the involved parties
Was the complainant
Discovered the crime
Had a motive to commit a crime
Searched for, identified and
gathered evidence
Also with whom, did the victim
associate
 18

SUPPORTING FACTS/INFORMATION
WHY Was the crime committed
Was a certain weapon/tool used
Was the crime reported
Was the crime reported late
Were the witness reluctant to
give information
Is the suspect lying
HOW Was the crime committed (force,
threats, violence)
Did the suspect leave the scene
Was the crime discovered
Was the entry made (smashing,
breaking, key)
Was the weapon/tool used
Was the arrest made
Much damage was done
 19

FUNDAMENTAL REPORT CONTENT

• INITIAL INFORMATION
This should establish how the officer became
involved with the specific incident and additional
background information.
• IDENTIFICATION OF THE CRIME OR INCIDENT
Always include the facts that are necessary to
show that the specific crime or incident has taken
place.
 20

FUNDAMENTAL REPORT CONTENT

• IDENTIFICATION OF THE INVOLVED PARTIES

Regardless of the type of report, the report should
always identify the reporting persons, victims,
witnesses and suspects, if known.
• VICTIM/WITNESS/SUSPECT STATEMENTS
Summary statements of all involved parties should
be taken, and direct quotes used where necessary.
 21

FUNDAMENTAL REPORT CONTENT

• CRIME SCENE SPECIFICS/DESCRIPTION
Crime scene specifics are necessary to accurately recreate
the scene and events of the crime. Include photographs and
locations of physical evidence prior to collection.
• PROPERTY INFORMATION
Property information should include color, make, model,
serial number, approximate value, and full descriptions where
possible. Details pertaining to stolen or recovered property, as
well as property booked for safekeeping, and property booked as
evidence should always be included in the report, and entered
into CLETS, were applicable.
 22

FUNDAMENTAL REPORT CONTENT

• OFFICER ACTIONS/OBSERVATION
Include descriptions and observations of all actions
related to the incident. If multiple officers responded to a
crime or incident, each officer involved should include a
supplement that details their own actions at the incident or
crime, and the supplement should be submitted for inclusion
with the master report.
 23

SECURITY CLASSIFICATIONS
OF DOCUMENTS
 TOP SECRET
Information and material (matter)
the unauthorized disclosure of which
would cause exceptionally grave damage
to the nation, politically, economically or
from security aspect. This category is
reserved for the nations closest secrets
and is to be used with great service.
i.e.,
1.
Bay of Pigs: Military Evaluation of the Central Intelligence
Agency Para-Military Plan, Cuba.

2.
Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction: Senate Report 109-33
1
 24

SECURITY CLASSIFICATIONS
OF DOCUMENTS
SECRET MATTER
Information and
material (matter) the
unauthorized disclosure of
which would endanger
national security, cause
serious injury to the
interest or prestige of the
nation or of any
governmental activity
 25

SECURITY CLASSIFICATIONS OF
DOCUMENTS
CONFIDENTIAL MATTER
Information and material
(matter) the unauthorized
disclosure of which, while not
endangering the national
security, would be prejudicial to
the interest or prestige of the
nation or any governmental
activity or would cause
administrative embarrassment or
unwarranted injury to an
individual
 26

SECURITY CLASSIFICATIONS
OF DOCUMENTS
RESTRICTED
Information and
material (matter) the
unauthorized disclosure of
which requires special
protection other than that
determined to be TOP
SECRET, SECRET, or
CONFIDENTIAL.
 27

MARGIN RULES
TOP (1st Page) – ¾ inch or 5 roller spaces from the
edge of your paper
TOP (2nd Page) – 1 ¼ inches or 7 roller spaces from
the top edge of your paper
LEFT MARGIN – 1 ¼ inches or 15 bar spaces
RIGHT MARGIN – ¾ inch or 7 bar spaces
BOTTOM - 1 ¼ inches or 7 roller spaces
28
 29

PROOFREADING
It may seem time-consuming, tedious, and
difficult, but when writing a report where
accuracy, clarity, and completeness are
important, proofreading is critical. It is a
difficult skill to master, yet one that cannot
be overlooked.
 30

PROOFREADING MECHANICS
A report’s effectiveness and an officer’s credibility can be
damaged by a report with too many mechanical error.
One of the most effective methods for proofreading the
content and mechanics of a 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.
 31

OFFICIALLY ADOPTED
CORRESPONDENCE
 32

OPERATIONAL REPORTS
Used in the Philippine National Police, these are
normally done in course of performing duties
involving public safety and maintenance of
peace and order. It is written in narrative form
and are important documents in the
administration of justice as they are used in the
prosecution of cases before the court of justice.
 33

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
Written for intra-agency use as a basis for
administrative decisions. It can also be used to
answer public queries or to obtain cooperation
and support in agency programs and policies.
Aside from accomplishments reports, after-
seminar training reports also belong to this
category.
 OFFICE
34

MEMORANDUM
 Requiring compliance by, or information of a
majority of all officers and members of the police
organization. It may also be limited application,
such as those directed to, or requiring
performance of an action by an individual or
group of individuals within a particular police
unit, directorate, service, region, province,
station or section.
MEMORANDUM
Subordinate officials may use this form,
only on matters advisory or informative in
nature. Routine MEMORANDUM is
presently resorting to a bottom line
technique to enable the police executives
to know right away what had been done
about the problem at hand.
 36

KINDS OF
MEMORANDUM
 37

A. From a chief of office to

his subordinates, the tone
is impersonal, i.e., “For
guidance and strict
compliance.” we often used
the word “MEMORANDUM
TO” as addressee in this
kind of memorandum.
B. From a writer sending
memorandum to somebody
of equal rank, the tone is
casually personal, i.e., “the
undersigned noticed
changes in . . “ we again
used the “MEMORANDUM
TO” as our addressee.
C. A subordinate police officer
writing a memorandum to a
higher police officer uses a
more formal tone, i.e., “For
info and request
acknowledge.” in this kind of
memorandum, we used the
“MEMORANDUM FOR” as or
addressee.
 PARTS OF
MEMORANDUM
THE HEADING
 A. LETTERHEAD
Republic of the Philippines
Printed letterhead stationery is Department of the Interior and Local
normally used for the first page. If not Government

available, a typed letterhead may be Philippine Public Safety College

used. Each office has its own NATIONAL FORENSIC SCIENCE TRAINING
letterhead. In offices where more than INSTITUTE

one kind of letterhead is used, the Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City

nature of the letter will determine Tel. No. 8812722 (loc 122)
which letterhead is proper. The top
edge of the letterhead is normally
placed ¾ inch or on the fifth line below
the top edge of the paper.
B. FILE
REFERENCE OR
OFFICE SYMBOL
Each part of reference has NFSTI-Admin
a meaning. File references
are also used as identifying
information on the second
and subsequent pages.
C. ADDRESSEE MEMORANDUM:

FOR : The Director,

It should be written in HSS
block style with open
punctuation and normally
placed two (2) spaces
after the file reference.
D. ADDRESSOR
FROM : The Director,
The title of the addressor IAS
(sender) is entered after
“FROM”. Authorized
abbreviations are used.
E. CHANNELS THRU : TDCO
Correspondence can be routed TCDS
THRU channels, through a lower
Chief or Supervisor expected to
exercise control, taken action or
to be concerned and normally
placed 2 spaces after the
addressee.
F. ATTENTION
ADDRESS MEMORANDUM
Correspondence may be TO :
Regional Director, PRO
CALABARZON
addressed to the attention of
Camp Vicente Lim, Canlubang,
an individual or head of a Laguna
subdivision of an agency, or an Attn: PCAPT JUAN B DELA CRUZ
office, either by reference to
the name of the subdivision or
by the use of an office symbol.
G. SUBJECT SUBJECT : Request for Optional
Retirement of
The subject line should
PCAPT JUAN B DELA CRUZ
contain not exceeding ten (10)
words. It starts two (2) spaces
below the addressor. Title
capitalization rules may be
used.
H. DATE
This refers to the date of signature and DATE : APRIL 27,
it is placed at the left portion of the
page on the last line below the subject.
2024
The day and year are numerals and the
month may be spelled out or
abbreviated. If the month is
abbreviated the year may be
shortened too.
 Republic of the Philippines
NATIONAL POLICE COMMISSION
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE
TANAUAN CITY POLICE STATION
Tel. No. 8812722 (loc 122)

TCPS-Admin

MEMORANDUM
FOR : Officer in Charge, TCPS
THRU : TDCA
FROM : Finance Section
SUBJECT : Rice Subsidy Allowance for all Personnel
DATE : April 27, 2024