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Professional Report Writing for Law Enforcement Officers

Practice Writing a Report: Scenario 1

Use this scenario to practice writing a criminal justice report. This is a Type 4 scenario (the officer initiates the action). After you finish your report, you can compare your version to a finished professional report by clicking the link.

At approximately 12:42 this afternoon, you were driving to Cathy’s Cafe to eat lunch. You passed a wooded lot at the intersection of Post Street and Pine Avenue. You saw smoke rising from the interior of the wooded area. You stopped to investigate.

Suddenly two boys walked out from between the trees. They saw your patrol car and started running south along Pine Avenue.

You called the fire department, reported the fire, and gave the location. Then you followed the boys, who were running towards the E-Z Shoppe at the southwest corner of Pine Avenue and Carter Street. You pulled into the E-Z Shoppe lot, parked your car, and exited. The boys saw you and froze.

You questioned the boys, whose names are Jimmy Tonger (DOB 9/4/01, 1311 Conley Road) and Sam Stone (DOB 2/2/01, 1335 Conley Road). Neither boy was carrying anything. Tonger told you he and Stone had a secret club that met in the wooded lot, and they didn’t start the fire. Stone said they had a stash of “dirty magazines” that they kept in a cardboard box in the wooded lot, and they were going home to report the fire.

You used your department cell phone to take a picture of each boy. You called headquarters and spoke to Detective Camille Santos. You gave her the boys’ names and addresses for further investigation. You drove back to the wooded lot, parked your patrol car, and talked to firefighter Janice Wilkes, who told you the fire had already been extinguished.

You returned to the station house, downloaded the pictures you had taken, and turned them over to Detective Santos.

(Reminder: Of course you suspect the boys of starting the fire. But it’s not appropriate to report hunches, suspicions, or any other thoughts in a police report. Record only what you heard, saw, and did.)

From Jean Reynolds: Because of time constraints, I can no longer comment on Scenario 1 reports posted on the comments page.To check your report, go t o this link and compare your report to the version posted there. You can also read sample reports that other users have posted – a great learning opportunity!

39 thoughts on “ Practice Writing a Report: Scenario 1 ”

  1. Francis DobbinJune 7, 2016 at 3:30 pm Super site. As an English teacher, this is helping me help others
  1. Jean Post author June 7, 2016 at 6:20 pm Thanks so much, Francis! You might also want to visit http://www.WritewithJean.com. Everything there is free, and it’s aimed for a broader audience.
  1. jdancerJune 8, 2016 at 4:55 pm Good writing! One change is needed. Don’t use quotation marks unless you’re quoting EXACTLY what was said. Jimmy didn’t say “he and Stone were at a secret club.” Jimmy’s exactly words were, “Stone and I were at a secret club.” “Relied” is the wrong word in the third paragraph: Did you mean relayed? In the last sentence, add -ed to “turn.”
  1. User25639April 13, 2020 at 10:29 pm You would also need reasonable suspicion to initiate a stop and frisk. Terry V Ohio
  1. Jean Post author April 15, 2020 at 9:43 pm My understanding is that “reasonable suspicion” and “probable cause” are two different things. The Supreme Court has ruled that “reasonable suspicion” is a step below probable cause.
    You need to check with administrators at your agency to see what level of evidence is needed for a stop and frisk. Some experts I’ve checked say that reasonable suspicion justifies stopping a person and questioning them. For example, they might be walking alone on a quiet street in the middle of the night. You could ask for their name and why they’re there. But a judge might rule that there was no justification for frisking them.
    Be sure you know your agency’s policies and follow them carefully.
  1. Jean Post author January 7, 2017 at 7:45 am Excellent report overall – you have a problem with wordiness, however.
    Someone has mistakenly taught you that you need extra words and nonsense in a police report. You don’t. Get straight to the point. Police officers have other things to do with their time.
    Several times you wrote “male boys.” Boys are always male!
    In paragraph 3 you could write, “When they saw me” instead of “When the two male boys saw my patrol vehicle.”
    Don’t write “what appeared to be.” It doesn’t add anything useful. Stick to what you saw: two boys, smoke. And you don’t need to write “my fully marked patrol vehicle.”
    Be careful also with usage. For example, you omitted the -ed ending on “noticed.”
  1. Jean Post author August 15, 2017 at 7:38 pm Good report! Be careful with passed (an action) and past (time that has come and gone). Don’t capitalize south when you mean a direction. Omit “body” after “Jimmy Tonger and Sam Stone.”
  1. jdancerSeptember 12, 2017 at 11:03 am Your writing is fine! I hope you do well on the next test. I wouldn’t use quotation marks for the name of a business (Cathy’s Cafe). You wrote “there” instead of “the.” Your report has some unnecessary words – a common problem with police reports. For example, you don’t need “then” and “back” with “I returned.” I’ve posted my own version of the police report that you can read online and compare with yours.
  1. JosieSeptember 13, 2017 at 6:49 am Thank you for you suggestions 🙂 i will have a read!
  1. Jean Post author October 9, 2017 at 11:34 am Well done, Trey!