The Need for Report Writing Training for Law Enforcement Professionals
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Date
2020
Authors
Pham, Davis
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT)
Abstract
Description
Report writing is a crucial and necessary duty in the law enforcement profession. Police officers respond to calls of service on a continuous basis and take actions according to established laws and departmental policies. Those enforcement actions must be recorded clearly and accurately. However, police officers and their agencies often fall short of this requirement. Licensed Texas Peace Officers graduating from law enforcement academy are only required to have 16 hours of report writing training according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE). More law enforcement training related to report writing is needed. Law enforcement officers and the agencies they work for have seen an increase in civil litigations due to improper documentation in a police report. Also, poorly written police reports could be used by defense attorneys to make a case that the arresting officer had insufficient probable cause to arrest and charge the client, leading to an acquittal. Some of the benefits of additional report writing training is less civil lawsuit against the officers and their agencies, increase conviction rates, and providing statistical information used to combat crime issues to name a few. Therefore, law enforcement agencies should implement more report writing training.
Keywords
Police--Records and Correspondence, Police Reports, Report Writing