do you have to write up everything?

[*tanner*]

Are reports necessary for everything in a case? Like interviews, for sure, seem important to cover. But how about mundane things?

Example- if you were working a case, a 5 minute phone call that didn't really seem that useful? Is it your discretion what to write up or not?

Thanks!

[steelcityk9cop]

We have to do paper on everything we do.... from phone calls to car stops. We have to types of reports: incident reports for crimes and what we call "6 liners" for the little things. Our old records management program only allowed 6 lines of comments before you had to make an incident so the term stuck......and you did whatever you could cram as much as you could in those 6 lines.

[Oldbillplod]

Most of our mundane paperwork is *** covering stuff, you know if you don't write it down in six months time it will return and bite you in the ***.

[mcsap]

Write it down, write it down or write it down.

Sometimes the most mundane appearing things can end up being part of a major investigation. The problem is that you don't know in advance which will and which won't.

If for any reason we dont take a report, we at least make an entry on our daily log ( also microfilmed) so we have some record of a call.

[*tanner*]

Thanks for the replies! We are part of a civil advocacy group that assists in CHINS cases, so we have to do logs and notes sheets. But filling out reports for little things can be tedious and seem like a waste of time. We were having a hard time justifying a report on them, but I like your idea about "6-liners."

If we can't even muster up enough to type up "6-lines," that is pretty sad.

[retdetsgt]

Frankly, nothing pissed me off more than when investigating a felony, I find out that I just redid what a uniform officer did and didn't write it up. For example, I got a search warrant and searched an apt. for a weapon used in an assault, only to find out that that the officer had already searched the apt on a consent that night, but didn't mention it. :mad:

Also, you may go to court months, possibly years later on a case. There is no way you can remember every detail of what you saw and did unless you have it detailed in a report.

I can't emphasize how important report writing ability is to the legal system. You are judged by people you never see by the quality of your report.

[Bearcat06]

My first County Prosecutor use to harp on us....."If you didn't put it in your report, it didn't freaking happen!"
You have to be able to record everything no matter how small it is because it maybe useful later on.
Good example......a young girl was murder in an adjoining county about 3 years ago. One of the main leads came from a young Deputy noteing in his daily patrol log that he ran the plates of a in one of the river turn-arounds that was parked and unattended. Not much of a big deal in rural NW Missouri but it turned out the suspect was away from the vehicle cleaning blood off in a stream....The log put him there and help convict him.

[SeVere]

My first County Prosecutor use to harp on us....."If you didn't put it in your report, it didn't freaking happen!"

And in some court systems throughout the country, even if you put it in your report, its not believed that it happened. The police have as much credibility to some judges and juries as 3X Felons.

You can't win sometimes either way.