How many reports on avg do you write per shift

[studentcj]

I would think that if you work for a big department/city and especially working the night shift that most of your time would be busy writing reports. So I'm curious to know on avg how many reports do you write per shift. Also, do you have to write a report just on calls that are offenses, even when not making an arrest, or do you have to only write reports for when there is an arrest. One thing I've noticed when watching cops(I know it's tv) is that I never see officers writing people's information down or writing things in a notepad, so my assumption is that for most calls, a report is not written. Yet i always hear about all the paperwork that an officer does on a daily basis

[GoDirectly2Jail]

Your first mistake is to base your assumptions from watching a show like "Cops".

In a half hour show, exactly how much air time do you think the producers will devote to the glamourous world of paperwork?

[studentcj]

Your first mistake is to base your assumptions from watching a show like "Cops".

In a half hour show, exactly how much air time do you think the producers will devote to the glamourous world of paperwork?

actually I didn't make a mistake because i clearly stated that I know cops is a tv show, which is why i posed the question, to find out the truth, instead of basing anything off the show. I might have worded the post incorrectly, but what I was trying to say is that I found it odd, that the cops on the show never write any information down, and I wanted to know from real police officers how it actually works in their department

[corporal716]

Do a search, we talked about this a long time ago.

[greg72982]

Actually in general (around here at least) the busiest shift is afternoon...midnight is normally quiet. That would definitely depend on the area though.

[phantasm]

Working midnights, I'd say the most I've written is less than 10, the least is 0.

[GoDirectly2Jail]

actually I didn't make a mistake because i clearly stated that I know cops is a tv show, which is why i posed the question, to find out the truth, instead of basing anything off the show. I might have worded the post incorrectly, but what I was trying to say is that I found it odd, that the cops on the show never write any information down, and I wanted to know from real police officers how it actually works in their department

I wasn't trying to be a prick about it - but you have to figure that Cops films for days with multiple crews just to get enough footage for one episode. What they typically end up showing are just the hot calls: "Right now we're headed to..." etc. I can't remember the last time shey aired anything that was investigatory in nature that would require a lot of writing or note-taking.

To answer your question, the number of reports directly correlates to the level of activity. No calls = no reports. As to how long reports/paperwork take to complete, a good rule of thumb is for every hot call like what Cops shows, figure 2-3 hours of paperwork to go along with it (minimum).

[manahmanah]

Days is by far the busiest shift with the most paperwork.

[deputywave]

I would think that if you work for a big department/city and especially working the night shift that most of your time would be busy writing reports. So I'm curious to know on avg how many reports do you write per shift. Also, do you have to write a report just on calls that are offenses, even when not making an arrest, or do you have to only write reports for when there is an arrest. One thing I've noticed when watching cops(I know it's tv) is that I never see officers writing people's information down or writing things in a notepad, so my assumption is that for most calls, a report is not written. Yet i always hear about all the paperwork that an officer does on a daily basis

Do a ride-along and find out for yourself.