6th Edition

Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals

By Larry Miller, John T. Whitehead Copyright 2018
    440 Pages 73 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    440 Pages 73 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The criminal justice process is dependent on accurate documentation. Criminal justice professionals can spend 50–75 percent of their time writing administrative and research reports. The information provided in these reports is crucial to the functioning of our system of justice. Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals, Sixth Edition, provides practical guidance—with specific writing samples and guidelines—for providing strong reports. Most law enforcement, security, corrections, and probation and parole officers have not had adequate training in how to provide well-written, accurate, brief, and complete reports. Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals covers everything officers need to learn—from basic English grammar to the difficult but often-ignored problem of creating documentation that will hold up in court. This new edition includes updates to reference materials and citations, as well as further supporting examples and new procedures in digital and electronic report writing.

    Acknowledgments

    Introduction

    SECTION 1 THE NATURE OF REPORT WRITING

    CHAPTER 1 The Why and How of Report Writing

    Why Do You Write Reports?

    Law Enforcement Reports

    Security Reports

    Corrections Reports

    Probation and Parole Officer Reports

    Forensic and Scientific Reports

    How Do You Write Reports?

    Writing the Log

    Do Not Copy Randomly Chosen Models

    How Do You Get Started?

    What Kind of Notebook Should You Use?

    How Much Should You Record in a Notebook?

    Investigate, Do Not Just Record

    Do Not Use Legalese or Old-fashioned Terminology

    Should You Use Abbreviations?

    Add Sketches, Photographs, and Diagrams

    Evidence for Law Enforcement

    Types of Evidence

    Evidence Collected for Security

    Evidence Collected for Probation and Parole

    Need for Documentation

    What Should Be Documented?

    The ABCs of Report Writing (Whatever Your Field)

    Summary

    Chapter 1—Test

    CHAPTER 2 Starting to Write

    Planning Your Writing

    Completing the Face Page

    Review Your Notes

    Make a "Shopping List"

    Place Information in Groups

    Label the Groups

    Place Groups in Order

    Writing the Report

    Subheadings

    Proofreading and Revisions

    Sample Writing Exercise Using the Shopping List Method

    Creating a Shopping List from Notes

    Grouping the Shopping List

    Labeling the Shopping List

    Placing the Labeled Shopping List in Order

    Final Report

    Basic Recommendations for Writing Reports

    Spelling, Jargon, and Abbreviation

    Verb Tense

    Active versus Passive Voice

    Pronoun Agreement

    Third Person versus First Person

    Gender-Neutral Language

    Superfluous Words or Legalese

    Accurate and Factual Reporting

    Conciseness

    Promptness

    Summary

    Chapter 2—Test

    CHAPTER 3 The Face Page

    UCR Crime Definitions

    Part I Offenses

    Part II Offenses

    Methods of Gathering Information

    Correct Abbreviation and Capitalization

    Dealing with Names

    Writing a Good Synopsis

    Keeping Up with Trends

    Summary

    Chapter 3—Test

    CHAPTER 4 The Narrative—The Continuation Page and Follow-Up Report

    Continuation Page, Follow-Up Report, and Supplementary Report or
    Material

    What is Your Purpose?

    Who are Your Readers?

    Chronological Organization

    Using Military Time

    Headings and Subheadings as a Way of Organizing

    Creating Visual Impact and Ease of Reading

    Avoiding Repetition and Meaningless Material

    Getting Rid of Stereotyped Fillers

    Summary

    Chapter 4—Test

    CHAPTER 5 Habits that Make for Speedy Writing

    Writing about People

    You and Your Fellow Employees

    Describing Other People

    Writing about Property

    Writing about Places

    Specific Parts of a Location

    Describing MOs and Trademarks

    Definitions of MO and Trademark

    Avoid Being called on Your Time Off

    Summary

    Chapter 5—Test

    CHAPTER 6 Other Types of Writing

    Learning from the Short Memo

    Writing a Letter

    Faxes, Emails, and Other Electronic Media

    Recording Minutes of a Meeting

    The Presentence Investigation Report

    Research and Other Reports

    Summary

    Learning from the Short Memo

    Writing the Letter

    Recording the Meeting

    Presentence Investigation Report

    Research and Other Reports

    Chapter 6—Test

    CHAPTER 7 Reading and Correcting Reports

    Common Problem Areas

    Use of Word Processors

    Improving the Agency by Helping the Individual

    Summary

    Chapter 7—Test

    SECTION 2 THE MECHANICS OF REPORT WRITING

    CHAPTER 8 Simplified Study of Grammar

    Identifying Parts of Speech

    Using One Word in Several Ways

    Using Verbs in the Past Tense

    The Sentence

    Direct Objects Versus Indirect Objects: Learning the Patterns

    Identifying Active and Passive Verbs

    Identifying Independent and Dependent Clauses

    Recognizing Prepositional, Participial, and Infinitive Phrases

    Using Phrases as Adverbs, Adjectives, and Nouns

    Prepositional Phrases

    Participial Phrases

    Infinitive Phrases

    Using Prepositions in Your Report

    Prepositions Commonly Used with Certain Verbs

    Prepositions Commonly Used After Certain Expressions

    Summary

    Chapter 8—Test

    CHAPTER 9 Avoiding Errors in Sentence Structure

    The Run-on Sentence—Source of Many Errors

    Block Method of Visualizing Sentence Structure

    Punctuation Problems

    Subject–Verb Agreement

    Noun–Pronoun Agreement

    Dangling Participles

    Sentence Fragments

    Summary

    Chapter 9—Test

    CHAPTER 10 Making Punctuation Work

    The Comma

    The Semicolon

    The Colon

    The Apostrophe

    The Ellipsis

    Parentheses

    Quotation Marks

    The Dash

    Underlines

    Summary

    Chapter 10—Test

    CHAPTER 11 Breaking the Spelling Jinx

    Take Special Care with Names

    Learn Words Commonly used in Report Writing

    Commonly Misspelled Words

    Study Common Problem Areas

    Clearing Up the "-ing" Confusion

    Learning Words with Tricky Letter Combinations

    Forming Plurals

    Dealing with Other Complexities of the English Language

    Strengthen Your Overall Writing Ability

    Developing Proofreading Techniques

    Summary

    Chapter 11—Test

    CHAPTER 12 Using or Abusing Words

    Biases

    Slang and Dialects

    Do not Use Legalese

    Avoid using Words or Phrases that Draw Conclusions

    Improve Your Vocabulary

    Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms

    Jargon

    Avoiding Sexism

    Avoiding Racism

    Considering Ageism

    Semantics

    Nonverbal Communication

    Developing Your Vocabulary

    Summary

    Chapter 12—Test

    CHAPTER 13 Abbreviating and Capitalizing

    Abbreviating to Save Time and Space

    Numbers and Codes used for Abbreviation

    Clarify Abbreviations

    Abbreviations of Latin Terms

    Changing Rules

    Be Consistent

    Postal Abbreviations for States and Territories

    Capitalization

    Do not Overcapitalize

    General Rules for Capitalization

    Capitalizing and Indenting for Brevity and Impact

    Summary

    Chapter 13—Test

    SECTION 3 THE MODERNIZATION OF REPORT WRITING

    CHAPTER 14 Innovations in Criminal Justice Report Writing

    Identifying Criminals

    Identifying Trends

    Improving Ways of Sharing Information

    Innovations

    Translated Forms

    Report Writing Software

    The Crime Lab

    Automatic Fingerprint Identification System

    Use of Computers and Television

    Looking Toward the Future

    Summary and Conclusion

    Summary

    Chapter 14—Test

    Appendix A: Model Reports

    Appendix B: Examples of Agency Instructions for Completing Report Forms

    Appendix C: Selected Readings

    References

    Index

    Biography

    Larry S. Miller is a Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at East Tennessee State University. A former law enforcement officer and crime laboratory director, Miller has authored or co-authored seven textbooks, including Police Photography, Crime Scene Investigation, and Effective Police Supervision. His research interests and journal publications are in the areas of policing and forensic science.

    John T. Whitehead is a Professor and former Chair in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at East Tennessee State University. He completed his M.A. at the University of Notre Dame and earned his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from SUNY-Albany. He teaches courses in corrections, criminal justice ethics, and the death penalty.