PoliceLink

While cruising the site and the many threads herein I have observed that there are many LEO's and prospective LEO's that leave a great deal to be desired in their written communication. Based solely upon what they have written here I find it hard to believe that they are part of a LE organization. Their reports would appear to be I sawed a drunk, I arrested same, I took the drunk to jail. I realize some of us are more relaxed here on the internet and our reports are of the highest caliber. But some of what I see here really makes me wonder how some departments survive. I'm not slamming the individuals but the departments hiring them and the academies passing them through. What's happening to this profession?

the profession is not backed by the public and sometime not even backed by the ones in charge of it.  no faith in law enforcement by alot of people anymore.  alot of officers get tired of putting hours and even days or months into a case just to go up to the DA's office and have half of their charges dropped before they even go into court.  and not to mention the pay.  dont see too many LEO's driving around in Porsche's or Lamborghini's these days. 

Will Smith did drive a Porsche in Bad Boys.  wait, i saw that on tv.   that is real isnt it?

My favorite report of all time, that I had to review and sign while working as the desk officer, was for a Grand Larceny Auto (GLA), and the details box read: "Car there at 1800 hours. Car gone at 2200 hours." That's it, nothing more. Now I'm all for short and to the point, but this particular report took it to a whole new level of extreme. Needless to say, the report had to be re-written and re-submitted later in the tour.

I agree with Nikk. I was unable to attend college because of financial issues and missing out on college was always one of my biggest regrets. However, seeing some of the posts made here by college people now makes me wonder if I really missed anything. There was no greater teacher in the world than a NUN WITH A RULER! Just my humble opinion.

I think part of it is based on this country's education system. More and more you here about grade schools dropping grammer and spelling from their curriculum ... or refusing to place any emphasis on it. Why? Because of computers. The argument being that most word processing programs have spell check and many do grammer checks as well. Its a major failing in education, and it becomes especially noticeable in places like this.

Law enforcement specifically, it seems like the quality of candidate has gone down hill. Whether its growing up in this education system that doesn't seem interested in educating, growing up in this society of degrading morals and values and family structure, or simply everything combined in this generation of young person,  the people that we see showing up for the testing process leaves a lot to be desired. Following that, the political atmosphere that prevails seems to always want to bow to the pressure, skip over the MOST QUALIFIED candidate, and fill the positions needed with candidates that fit the profile that society appears to want (whether it be a specific gender or race).

Just my 2 cents

mpd_943 says ...

I know college educated people that don't have the ability to pour piss out of a boot, with instructions printed on the side. I am in complete agreement with Nikk, some of the post I read look like they were posted in a chat room. I know that when I teach accident reporting in the police academy I tell each recruit to read the report before turning it in. If it does not make sense to the officer writing it how am I suppose to figure out what happened reading it? I am all for relaxed, but proof read your post.

Very true. College smarts doesn't remotely equal common sense. I know some very smart people I wouldn't ever want backing me up on calls.

KETOLACA says ...

It has been a very long time since I posted in a thread, but I could not resist adding a comment here.

I could not agree more, Nikk.  Appropriate use of grammar, spelling, and overall communication - which includes appearance, speech and writing ability, are the way we present ourselves to the public.  On a personal note, I have never lost a case, ever.  In fact, most of my defendants plead guilty and I have seldom had to testify. I will admit, some of that can be attributed to luck or circumstance, but  I will also attribute this to adequate report writing.  A defense attorney seldom meets the arresting Officer before trial, but that attorney will review your reports with a fine-toothed comb.  By encouraging their clients to plead guilty and avoid a trial, they encourage me to continue my practice of meticulous report writing practices.  Also, by maintaining a professional demeanor on traffic stops, and fully explaining my reasons for the stop and the resulting penalties, I seldom have disputes in traffic court either, and have never lost a case there.

People may be disappointed by the outcome of their encounters with me while I am on duty, however they can never claim I was not equipped to adequately present a strong case and an explanation of their violations in court.  I always remember to add details in my report that lend credence to the entire situation; such as, "The subject was polite and courteous while explaining she was late for a soccer match, admitting that she was traveling 65mph in a posted 45mph zone". Statements like those are hard to dispute and help to paint a picture that the Officer was truly receptive to the subject and completely attentive during the entire traffic stop. 

Regardless, Nikk brings up an excellent point, and it is very disheartening to see Officers who are unable to write or speak effectively.  Personally, I feel the backlog of court cases in this country would be greatly reduced if more Officers possessed the ability to write meticulous reports.

 

Respectfully,

Craig

Craig is exactly right on this issue.  A poorly written report almost guarentees a defense challenge.  Additionally, sometimes I have to dismiss or not charge certain offenses if the facts, as contained in the reports, do not substantiate the charge.  For example, I had a case where the officer wanted me to charge a hit and run, in addition to all the usual DUI charges.  There was nothing in the report to indicate that the defendant hit another car.  Thus, although the cop had heard that the drunk hit a car on his way out of the parking lot, I couldn't charge it.  Good report writting is critical in domestic assault cases.  Since the Crawford decision, it is harder and harder to get a victim's statements to the cop into evidence, when the victim decides not to cooperate.  One tool is to bring them in as an excited utterance.  A report  like this is very helpful- "I arrived on the scene and saw Ms. X running out of the house.  I noted that she was bleeding and crying hysterically.  Ms. X ran up to me and immediately said, "My husband just punched me in the face".  That is the sort of statement that a Judge will allow as an excitted utterence.   Often what I see is this- "I arrived on the scene and saw Ms. X coming out of the house.  She said her husband punched her."  That statement is not getting into evidence.  Your prosecutors should be holding training sessions with you to find ways to help you do a better job and create "defense proof" cases.  They should also be listening to  suggestions from you as to how you would like to see your cases handled.  I understand that too many cops and prosecutors don't have good working relationships.  Since arriving at PL, I have been advocating for better communication- and putting much of the blame for poor communication and working relationships  that in the laps of the prosecutors.  We all need to find a way to work better as a team to achieve the goal we share- serving and protecting the public by putting the criminals in jail. 

NYPD_Blue says ...

My favorite report of all time, that I had to review and sign while working as the desk officer, was for a Grand Larceny Auto (GLA), and the details box read: "Car there at 1800 hours. Car gone at 2200 hours." That's it, nothing more. Now I'm all for short and to the point, but this particular report took it to a whole new level of extreme. Needless to say, the report had to be re-written and re-submitted later in the tour.

As a rookie and on my first homicide, I did something similar to bust balls. We had "blue cards" for minor stuff but wrote Incident reports, etc. for major stuff. I was friend's with the desk lieutenant so I turned in a phony "blue card" that simply stated "Domestic ---settled". Thought he was going to have a stroke right there. It was funny to me, but I am a sick individual! Thanks for bringing back that memory!

Absolutely. On our last list, we were still digging at the bottom of the list and couldn't find anyone to hire. It seems more and more a trend.

RetiredCop says ...

As a rookie and on my first homicide, I did something similar to bust balls. We had "blue cards" for minor stuff but wrote Incident reports, etc. for major stuff. I was friend's with the desk lieutenant so I turned in a phony "blue card" that simply stated "Domestic ---settled". Thought he was going to have a stroke right there. It was funny to me, but I am a sick individual! Thanks for bringing back that memory!

That is truly priceless!

nikkochey says ...

While cruising the site and the many threads herein I have observed that there are many LEO's and prospective LEO's that leave a great deal to be desired in their written communication. Based solely upon what they have written here I find it hard to believe that they are part of a LE organization. Their reports would appear to be I sawed a drunk, I arrested same, I took the drunk to jail. I realize some of us are more relaxed here on the internet and our reports are of the highest caliber. But some of what I see here really makes me wonder how some departments survive. I'm not slamming the individuals but the departments hiring them and the academies passing them through. What's happening to this profession?

Sorry Nikk, I'm trying to work on it.

But seriously, the problem I find is with the first line supervisors. Supervisors not doing their jobs. Whether it be out of lack of experience and training, lack of motivation which usually applies to the one who didn't really want to be a leader, he just wanted more money and less casework. It's just like the decline of education across the country. More partying and less seriousness. People not challenging themselves and/or striving to be better.

nikkochey says ...

what KSP said:

But seriously, the problem I find is with the first line supervisors. Supervisors not doing their jobs. Whether it be out of lack of experience and training, lack of motivation which usually applies to the one who didn't really want to be a leader, he just wanted more money and less casework. It's just like the decline of education across the country. More partying and less seriousness. People not challenging themselves and/or striving to be better.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

You know it is fast creeping into the First Line Supervisors. I see it as a lack of training, experience, motivation and the leadership above them. Youngsters thinking everything should be handed to them ie: Sgt in  2-3 years leading to the inexperience, lack of motivation because it is handed to them, lack of training because the leaders above them are of the same mind set in many instances or they simply do not care and are on the (ROAD Program). That and many supervisors forget how far a pat on the back goes.

You know when I became a first line supervisor both in the military and police work, my work load actually increased.

 

Even worse when the LT's are passing their responsibility off to the SGT's the SGT's passing their responsibility to the road units who already have the most calls and case work, and God forbid your activity is low at the end of the month.

jakesdad says ...

Wow, you guys are reading my mind.  As a Dick (read Detective ot what ever the hell you want to read) I read every report.  The reports that are approved are so juvenile,  It's like they are texting them. 

 

I blame the ill equipped Sgts that don't hold them to task.   But the Sgts, see chicken scratch on the computer and approve the stupidity.

If they ever look at them at all anymore. And people wonder why their cases get thrown out of court all the time. I have reviewed other peoples cases and thought they were written by high school, crime and punishment students.