Components of Police Report

There are several components of a typical police report that need to be completed when filled in. First you will need to summarize and make sure to communicate in a clear and succinct manner. Second you will need to describe the scene and the state the alleged crime in occurring in. Also who was involved in the crime, as long as when and where did the crime take place with specific details. While filling out a police report, make sure you use simple language, because it might seem strange but if you state information using big words there are going to be people who will not understand what you are saying. Make sure you include all statements from any victims or witnesses, and have to be word for word from what they said. They will need to state the statement just to verify what we have them saying is accurate and they can’t change their story when it comes time to a trial or any other time. When gathering this information make sure you obtain all information regarding to witnesses or victims, regarding address, phone numbers, drivers license numbers, etc so we are able to contact them for any reason. Police Report for Scenario First I would summarize what happened, as well as describing the scene. I will entail that it happened in the parking lot of the shopping center. While my partner and I are on surveillance at a local office supply store we received a tip that a store might have been robbed after closing. Next we received a sketch of two Asian men who might have been involved in the other robberies in the surrounding counties. After receiving the sketch the dispatcher notifies us of a lady supposedly hearing a gunshot, so we head on over. When we arrive the lady informs us that she heard a gunshot and it was supposedly an Asian man who carried the gun. With having the sketch of an Asian man with some robberies we immediately took action with the one we saw coming out of the building. While taking action the Asian female is yelling at my partner and I concerned about her husband. We order to back to her car and she doesn’t obey our orders and becomes hysterical so we are required to restrain her and that requires the man to place in handcuffs. In contrast with my summarized report I will be including the female who heard the gunshots and saw the Asian man with the gun in his back pocket. I will also have to include any witnesses who saw the gunshot take place or the ituation outside in the parking lot. I will have to make sure to get statements from all the victims, which are the male and female Asian as well as the witnesses and have them sign it. I will need to make sure all information if accurate with each person in order to proceed with the report and turn it in. Sufficient Cause Yes, my partner and I had sufficient cause to be on a stake out at the office supply, because there was a call into for a robbery during the afterhours. When a call is called in to certain police officers than they have the right to go and check out what happened there and see if they can find anything out at the sight. They can stay there for a while to make sure no one is hiding from the police, so they can have a possible chance to catch the person. Violation of Rights In my opinion we did not violate the man’s civil rights. When a police officer has a sketch of a suspect for a robbery and they see someone coming out of the building where a call was made then they have the right to pursue in finding out if he was the suspect. A police officer wouldn’t be violating your rights just by asking you to get down on the ground with your hands on your head. How would the officers know for sure who the suspect would be, even if five Asian men came out of the building? They actually wouldn’t so they would be asking all of them to get down on the ground with their hands behind their heads. The police officers were only doing their job, by using the tip with sketch from the dispatcher as well as the call from the woman who heard the call. If the man’s rights were violated then I would take action with the police officers by writing them up if this was the first time offense or suspend them for second offense. As the chief I would know that my police officers wouldn’t just go up to any Asian man and suspect them of any actions without having probable cause to think they are the suspect. Collect Damages The wife shouldn’t be able to collect any damages, because she didn’t have to get out of her car and start yelling at the police officers and become hysterical. When she started yelling at us we ordered her back to her car and she wouldn’t listen, which then enables the police to take action, because she can become a threat to us. Anyone who is imposed as a threat to a police officer, we are allowed to restrain in order to get them under control. Racial Profiling I don’t believe we engaged in any racial profiling with this man. We received a sketch regarding an Asian man who is suspected to be involved in robbing some office stores. It could be considered racial profiling if we were suspecting him as a suspect and we had a tip with a Caucasian or African American male. I just don’t see how racial profiling could be involved with the scenario since we were taking action with an Asian man and that the same race we received the sketch with. Citizen Review Board I would not support the creation of such board, since we have nothing for the citizens to review about our department. We took actions regarding the tip and sketch we received as well as the call from the lady who heard a gunshot and saw an Asian man carrying one in his back pocket. Now, if we have no control over this board then go ahead and do it, but just to let you know we have nothing to hide and we do our jobs to the books. The type of civilian review board (CRB) that I would use has complaints investigated and reported to its board members within 60 days of having received a signed complaint. Within 120 days of having received the complaint, a hearing is held (usually before three board members), a decision on the complaint is rendered, sanctions are determined, and both the complainant and respondent are informed as to the disposition of the complaint. Due to special circumstances, the entire process can be permitted to extend to 180 days. The CRB will investigate and hear all complaints that concern the use of force, including shootings; deaths in custody; harassment; abuse of authority; and improper searches or detention. The CRB has the authority to broaden its reach to decide other types of complaints as well. For discourtesy complaints (including offensive language, derogatory remarks, and slurs) and procedural complaints (when the citizen cannot understand why the officer took a particular action), it is recommended that mediation be used. Such complaints are notoriously hard to prove and have an effect of resulting in a backlog of more serious complaints. And I would actually be reaching out to the community during the entire process, since I will need heir comments or complaints. In my opinion the advantage of this system would be that we could actually learn from what the citizens have to say. Not every comment is necessarily going to be a bad comment, it could be one that will catch our attention and open our eyes. Now the disadvantage of this system is that people could take advantage of it and comment on everything possible and make us seem like we aren’t doing our jobs the right way. There are some citizens who like to make others look bad and this could happen in our situation. References http://www.ehow.com/how_4441251_write-police-report.html