Learning Team Police Report
CJA/304 WEEK 2 LEARNING TEAM ASSIGNMENT
May 28, 2012
Dr. Pamela Knothe

Learning Team Police Report
When writing reports and documents, it is important that information is detailed and precise. Working in the criminal justice system is one field that holds the highest demand for competency and accuracy. Appearing in front of a judge and jury when prosecuting an individual suspected of a crime requires facts and perfection. Reports begin when an officer apprehends a person of interest and hands the reports to the prosecuting attorney, who will present the information before the judge and jury. This holds each division of the criminal justice system responsible for their actions if not completed correctly. An officer is responsible for providing well-written reports to his or her supervisor. It is not only a matter of making sure it is a detailed report to avoid confusing the reader but also the officer also has to double check the report for spelling, grammar, and sentence structure. “Effective communications, in contrast, is like using a map. You know there is a certain route that will take you where you want to go, but you also know that dead ends and wrong turns may delay your getting to your destination” (Wallace & Roberson, 2009, p. 2). Whenever a poorly written police report reaches the supervisor, there are several potential reactions he or she may have. One possibility is that the supervisor will return it to the officer and request that he or she makes the necessary corrections. The supervisor must remain professional when he or she highlights why the officer should re-write the report. The supervisor can explain to the officer the possible consequences if that report was read by other professionals. If that were the first time the officer submitted a poorly written report, the supervisor may choose to give the officer a verbal warning. The officer would have to go through the discomfiture of the supervisor accepting the grammatical or spelling errors on the report. However, if the officer recurs in writing reports with errors, the supervisor could make the decision to give the officer a written warning and request him or her to take a workshop on the topic. Furthermore, it is possible that the supervisor may not pay close attention to the flawed report with the many responsibilities and with a tight work schedule. According to Miller and Whitehead (2011), “report writing is not something to be done grudgingly and carelessly. “It can be critical to success or failure in the criminal justice system” (pp. ix, x). If the supervisor mistakenly signed off the report, the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the judge could encounter serious and unnecessary issues in court. The issuing Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, employed by the government maintains a primary responsibility of obtaining and prosecuting cases against those accused of committing crimes. Every case begins with the initial police report. A well-written effective police report contains factual information that is accurate, objective, complete, and concise as well as grammatically and mechanically correct (Bennett & Hess, 2007). Issuing Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys will refuse a case for insufficient evidence or a technical rule violation. Occasionally the case is returned to the arresting officer for further information before filing (Miller & Whitehead, 2011). Any inconsistencies in a report will give a defense lawyer an opportunity to make an officer look reckless or possibly even deceptive (Flaherty & Harrison, 1994). Occasionally cases result in dismissal because the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney is cannot discover an angle to overcome these discrepancies and variations delivered within a badly written report. For example, the choice of words used when writing a report for a sexual assault can indeed portray a negative image, and possibly could signify the difference of a sexual offender placed in confinement or set free with the ability to offend again. According to Dissell (2010), experts claim that when describing rape, some words to avoid would include: give, engage, and perform. These words suggest that the sex was consensual rather than forced. Badly written reports can taint jury member’s perceptions of the credibility of victims. For law officers to make an attempt to resolve or improve these occurrences from happening there should exist additional training on the effectiveness of report writing on an annual basis for officers to participate in. If a defense attorney writes a poorly written statement it can cause confusion, and it can even cause people to not understand what they are trying to explain. This can be very damaging to their client in whom they are trying to protect. Attorneys must have the ability to communicate the law in a way that the client can understand. This will help the client know what his or her rights are and what possible consequences there may be. Defense attorneys, must be particularly knowledgeable and adept at explaining the information because individuals facing criminal charges may be nervous, anxious, and unable to comprehend the gravity of the situation. When individuals are facing criminal charges he or she is unfamiliar with the criminal justice system. A defense attorney assists the clients so they cam make informed and reasoned decisions about how he or she would like to proceed (Carol, 2012). Your lawyer will have the task of presenting your claim to the court and defending your position with the power of his or her words. To do this effectively, he or she will need to have excellent communication skills. A successful lawyer will have the “gift of gab” and be able to speak clearly and persuasively in front of a judge and court. They should also be able to communicate well with you in telephone calls and via e-mail. If your lawyer does not seem to have good communication skills this can be an early warning that they will not be able to defend your case well (The Characteristics of a Good Lawyer). Basically defense attorneys are there to represent the defendant and if he or she cannot communicate clearly with his or her client or with the members of the courtroom things can go wrong. This could cause an innocent person could go to prison. Speaking slowly and clearly may change that effectively. When making manuscripts they need to make sure everything is typed clearly and have no errors. They also need to abstain from using words that could have more than one meaning.
Judges in the criminal justice system are individuals placed into their positions either through voting in the local courts and either through voting or appointment in state supreme courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. These individuals rule on cases, hand down sentences, and make decisions on evidence and if it can be admissible by the court in different cases. Judges deciding if evidence can be used in cases is where the importance of effective written communication comes into play or if a case can even continue to proceed based on evidence given.
When a defense attorney or a prosecuting attorney submits evidence to be used in a case, the judge has the responsibility to review the evidence and to make the decision whether or not the evidence can be used in the court proceedings. The information submitted can either turn a case for the plaintiff or for the defendant. This is why it is extremely important to ensure that written communication is completed properly and without errors. Word usage, spelling, and other written communication principles are extremely important. When errors are made in reports submitted to the court by police departments, there a few results that can ensue following the submittal of a poorly written report. First, mistakes in a report can result in the judge siding with the defendant. Even though the judge may have a personal opinion on the case, he or she must examine the evidence placed before him or her. According to Firebelle Productions (2006), “A poorly written report can cause you to lose a case in court, perhaps resulting in a criminal being set free to kill, rape, steal, or commit arson again.” The judge understands this, but he or she is required to decide beyond a reasonable doubt based on the evidence provided that the individual is guilty.
The second result of a poorly written report submitted as evidence to a judge is the loss of credibility of the individual who wrote the report. According to Firebelle Productions (2006), “Poorly written reports hurt your credibility by making you appear less competent and professional.” Because judges do decide many cases, especially at the Supreme Court level, credibility is essential in the courtroom. If a judge is given a poorly written report, he or she may not believe that the individual who wrote the report’s witness testimony to be credible. Criminal justice professionals are expected to be some of the most credible individuals within the criminal justice system. In the judges’ opinions poorly written reports are a sign of an unprofessional individual, so how can that individual be credible as a physical witness if he or she cannot write a proper report.
Judges play an essential role in the criminal justice system. These criminal justice system professionals read numerous police reports daily. Therefore, these professionals understand the difference between a well written report and a poorly written report. This is why it is so important to ensure that poorly written reports are fixed prior to being read by the judge. It would also be a shame if an individual’s credibility was lost or a guilty individual was set free because of poorly written report.
The jury is one area of the criminal justice system that many rely on to come to a decision in a trial. A jury is made of up to 12 impartial individuals, depending on the type of trial is presented. Although each trial is different, jury members rely on the information to be accurate and true. He or she just wants the facts to assist in determining whether the person who is standing trial is innocent or guilty. If the information is inaccurate or does not make sense, the jury could lose confidence in the he or she that is presenting the facts or evidence. Once either party provides the wrong information the jury may not believe the party for the rest of the trial, doubting the information. When this happens it could cause a mistrial, a guilty person to go free, or an innocent person to go to jail. It is vital to have information correct and accurate when presenting it to the jury (Miller & Whitehead, 2011).
We rely on our criminal justice system to perform their duties in a professional manner. If the reports are not correct, this could cause many issues within the criminal justice system. Information false or missing could cause each division of the criminal justice system to perform their duties correctly. This could result in an individual to is guilty, to be set free or a person who is innocent to go to prison for a lifetime.

Reference
Bennett, W. W., & Hess, K. M. (2007). Criminal Investigation (8th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.wadsworthmedia.com/marketing/sample_chapters/0495093408_ch03.pdf
Dissell, R. (2010). Words used in sexual assault police reports can help or hurt cases. Retrieved from http://blog.cleveland.com/metro//print.html
Firebelle Productions (2006). Writing Effective Incident Reports. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from: http://www.firebelleproductions.com/newsletters/ReportWriting.pdf
Flaherty, M. P. & Harrison, K. A. (1994, August 30). Police credibility on trial in D.C. courts. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/library/dc/dcpolice/94series/trainingday3.htm
Miller, L. S., & Whitehead, J. T. (2011). Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professional (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Pearson Education.
Wallace, H., & Roberson, C. (2009). Chapter 1 The Need for Effective Communication. In H. Wallace, & C. Roberson, Written and Interpersonal Communications: Methods for Law Enforcement (4th ed., pp. 1-12). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.