Communication and Report Writing for Police
The writing and communication skills every police officer needs, for future officers in a criminal justice program: why communication sits at the center of police work and how it builds public trust, field notes and the duty to document, including the Brady and Giglio rules, how perception, stress and memory shape observations and how to record the source of every fact, writing incident reports with a summary, chronological narrative, grounds for every decision and the elements of the offense, plain language, readability, accuracy and objectivity, describing people, vehicles, property and scenes with measured sketches, interviewing victims, witnesses and complainants with the PEACE model, the cognitive interview and trauma-informed practice, taking written and recorded statements, including sworn statements and Miranda warnings, radio discipline, plain language and the phonetic alphabet, working with the communications center and 911 records, active listening, clear directions and communicating across language, disability and crisis, discovery, speedy-trial limits, and testifying and being cross-examined on your notes, and a capstone report package from call to court built around a break-in in the fictional city of Port Ardent.
LES-104 Year 1 3 credits 12 lessons · 4 h 43 min ▶ Video lessons coming soon
Offered by HSM University · Engineering Core
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Explain why communication is central to police work, identify the many readers of a police record and connect communication to procedural justice and public trust.
- Keep contemporaneous notes that follow standard notebook rules, record the five Ws and H and every key action with its time, and make corrections and late entries properly.
- Explain how perception, stress and memory affect observations, avoid contaminating memory, record the source of every fact and use reference points for estimates.
- Write a clear, complete incident report with a summary, chronological narrative, investigation and outcome, setting out the grounds for decisions and the elements of the offense.
- Write in plain language, measure readability, and keep reports accurate, precise and objective by avoiding jargon, loaded words, conclusions presented as facts and selective reporting.
- Describe people, vehicles, property and scenes accurately and fairly in standard order, compare a person with a broadcast description, and support scene descriptions with measured sketches and photographs.
- Interview victims, witnesses and complainants using the PEACE model, the cognitive interview and open questions, apply trauma-informed practice and work effectively with interpreters.
- Take written and recorded statements in the witness's own words, explain the rules on sworn statements and Miranda warnings, and compare a witness's accounts for consistency.
- Use the police radio with discipline and plain language, apply the phonetic alphabet, broadcast descriptions effectively and work with the communications center, treating all radio traffic as evidence.
- Communicate verbally with active listening, appropriate tone and clear single directions, and adapt communication for people in crisis, with disabilities, with limited English and in difficult conversations.
- Explain discovery and the Brady and Giglio rules, speedy-trial limits, how to prepare to testify, use notes to refresh memory and answer cross-examination honestly and effectively.
- Assemble and review a complete, consistent report package from call to court, including an honest synopsis, and evaluate it against a rubric.
Course content
12 lessons · 4 h 43 min total · final exam
- 1 Communication in police work: why words matter 23 min · quiz
- 2 Officer notes: the duty to take notes and what to record 24 min · quiz
- 3 Observation and memory: getting the facts right 26 min · quiz
- 4 Writing incident reports: structure and narrative 24 min · quiz
- 5 Plain language, accuracy and objectivity 23 min · quiz
- 6 Describing people, vehicles, property and scenes 23 min · quiz
- 7 Interviewing basics: victims, witnesses and complainants 25 min · quiz
- 8 Taking written and recorded statements 24 min · quiz
- 9 Radio communication and working with the communications center 23 min · quiz
- 10 Verbal communication: listening, tone and communicating across barriers 24 min · quiz
- 11 Reports, disclosure and testifying in court 22 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: a complete report package from call to court 22 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Description
The writing and communication skills every police officer needs, for future officers in a criminal justice program: why communication sits at the center of police work and how it builds public trust, field notes and the duty to document, including the Brady and Giglio rules, how perception, stress and memory shape observations and how to record the source of every fact, writing incident reports with a summary, chronological narrative, grounds for every decision and the elements of the offense, plain language, readability, accuracy and objectivity, describing people, vehicles, property and scenes with measured sketches, interviewing victims, witnesses and complainants with the PEACE model, the cognitive interview and trauma-informed practice, taking written and recorded statements, including sworn statements and Miranda warnings, radio discipline, plain language and the phonetic alphabet, working with the communications center and 911 records, active listening, clear directions and communicating across language, disability and crisis, discovery, speedy-trial limits, and testifying and being cross-examined on your notes, and a capstone report package from call to court built around a break-in in the fictional city of Port Ardent.
Part of the Engineering stream, typically taken in year 1.