1. Report Writing for Security Officers

2. Important Notice
This training material has been prepared by the State Police Private Detective Unit pursuant to the Security Officer Registration Act, N.J.S.A. 45:19A-1 and N.J.A.C. 13:55A-1.1

3. Objectives Learn how to write a professional report
Refresh recollection of writing basic writing skills
Provide management & prosecutors with needed information

4. Purpose of a Report
Permanently record information for management & stockholders
Communicate information to others about what occurred
Refresh officer’s recollection if required to testify in court

5. Types of Reports Administrative -- routine company procedures
Operational -- security duties

6. Who Reads the Reports? Supervisors & management Company attorney
Police & prosecutors if criminal charges filed
Defense attorneys

7. Case of the missing pet
Correct the report

8. Field Notes Good reports begin with good note taking - field notes
Written impressions & facts
Serves as factual foundation for written report

9. Asking Questions Avoid asking leading questions, such as
Did you see the red car go through the stop sign at 4 p.m.?
Instead, ask:
Please tell me what you saw at 4 p.m.

10. To Quote or Not To Quote
Only put statements in quotation marks if a direct quote by a person, or
Show that person said a certain word

11. To Quote Or Not To Quote Example showing person said a certain word:
Jerry Small said George Snail was “pissed off.”
Example of indirect quote:
Jerry Small said that George Snail was upset.

12. Building Blocks of Report Writing
Can serve as a working outline when obtaining the facts
Note: not all building blocks will be relevant in every case

13. Identify All Relevant Parties: Who
Is the victim?
Is the suspect?
Are the witnesses?
Made statements or gave information?
Were also involved in the incident or investigation?

14. Specify Events & Evidence: What
Occurred? Damage to property: Theft of Property? Injury to persons?
Action did security officer take?
Evidence was found at scene?
Statements were made?

15. Specify Time When Each Event Occurred: When
Did it happen?
Was it discovered?
Did security officer arrive at scene?
Was victim last seen?
Was subject observed at scene?
When did victim arrive at scene?

16. Identify Location of Each Event: Where
Did it happen?
Was it discovered?
Where was victim last seen?
Was subject last seen?
Was evidence obtained?

17. Specify Methods Used in Committing the Acts or Offense: How
Did incident occur?
Was offense committed?
Did victim get to scene?
Did officer obtain evidence?
Did officer detain or apprehend subject?

18. Specify Motives of Parties: Why
Did incident occur? Did suspect use particular tools or weapons?
Did suspect injure victim?
Was a witness at scene?
Was witness eager or hesitant to give information?

19. Before Writing Report, Consider:
Who am I writing for?
What is my purpose?
What action do I want the reader to take?
What is in it for the reader?

20. Report Format What information did I receive?
What I did with the information?
What I did with the new information?
What I did regarding this matter?

21. Write in Past Tense
Problem: Peter Jones tells me he sees a man smashing the car window
Solution: Peter Jones told me he saw a man smashing the car window

22. Write In First Person I checked the parking lot for the lost ring
Don’t write in third person, such as:
This officer checked the parking lot
The undersigned officer ...

23. Write in Chronological Order
At about 3:10 p.m. on June 27, 2006, I received a telephone call from Peter Jones, a company employee, to go to parking lot B to investigate a possible break-in of a car. Jones said that he saw that the passenger window of a white Ford sedan in row B-2 had been smashed and it appeared that the car’s interior had been ransacked.

24. Don’t Include Your Questions
Problem: I asked Mary Smith what happened. Smith said some one stole her purse from her desk when she was out of the office
Solution: Mary Smith reported that some one stole her purse from her desk when she was out of the office

25. Exception to the Rule
When I asked Roger Brown if he stole Mary Smith’s purse, he smiled and said, “No comment.”

26. Basic Rules of Report Writing
Write in plain English
Avoid using police jargon or legalese
Write in short, concise sentences
Write in short paragraphs

27. Basic Rules of Report Writing
Do not write using abbreviations except for commonly recognized abbreviations
Describe in detail the facts; avoid unsupported conclusions

28. After the First Draft Print a hard copy Edit, edit & edit
Focus on sentence construction
Some common problems:

29. Missing Times and Dates
On Nov., I saw ...
When did this occur?

30. Unsupported Conclusions
On Nov. 10, 2006, at 3 p.m. I saw a man tampering with the lock of a parked car
How does the officer know the man was tampering with the lock?
Officer should describe what the officer saw

31. Avoid Legalese ”Specialized Language of the legal profession”
Sally Smart said she was assaulted by Ralph Holder.
Problem: “assaulted” is a legal term. What does it mean?
Solution: Sally Smart said she was punched in the face by Ralph Holder.

32. Watch Those Missing Commas
The securing officer reported that the suspect who assaulted a woman in the parking lot was a 6-foot tall, white male with a beard weighing approximate 225 pounds
Did the man’s beard weigh 225 pounds?

33. Watch for Dangling Modifiers
The security officer called out for the man to stop two or three times
Did the officer call out two or three times or did the officer tell the man to stop two or three times?

34. Eliminate Redundancies
The car was blue in color
Redundant: blue is a color
Instead write:
The blue car

35. Exception to the Rule: The gold colored bracelet
To write the gold bracelet would mean that the bracelet was made of gold

36. Watch for Pronoun Problems
A pronoun is a word substituted for a noun
A personal pronoun refers to specific persons or things: my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, its
Plural personal pronouns: our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs

37. Pronoun and Antecedent(a word or phrase replaced by another) Must Agree
Problem: Everyone performs at their level
[Pronoun is singular; antecedent is plural] Re-write:
Solution: Everyone performs at his or her level

38. Use Compound Words for Emphasis
Problem: Myself and Security Officer Jones were directed to stop the suspect
Re-Write:
Security Officer Jones and I were directed to stop the suspect
I, myself, will stop the suspect

39. The Final Edit
Now check spelling
Don’t rely on computer spell check

40. Reports Send Two Messages
First message about subject of report
Second message about the security officer and officer’s professionalism or lack of it
Before signing report, check it again

41. Report Checklist Is this information important?
Is there too much detail or is more detail needed?
Are the sentences too vague?
Is this information relevant?