CH 24

Common types of police reports:

- Arrest - Incident - Offense - Crash - Supplement

Problems with Sentence Construction

People often speak in incomplete sentences. If the listener does not understand what is said, he or she can ask the speaker to clarify. However, this is often not possible with written communications. Therefore, written communications must state complete thoughts to ensure that the reader understands the author's meaning. When someone writes the same way he talks, two serious errors may occur: sentence fragments and run-on sentences.

Adverb

a word or combination of words typically serving as a modifier of a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a preposition, a phrase, a clause, or a sentence, and expressing some relation of manner or quality, place, time, degree, number, cause, opposition, affirmation, or denial. Adverbs answer such questions as: • When? ("Please reply at once"); • How long? ("This investigation is taking forever"); • Where? ("The victim died there"); • In what direction? ("Pull the trigger backward"); • How? ("The detectives moved expeditiously on the project"); and • To what degree? ("The book was very popular").

Preposition

a word that combines with a noun, pronoun, or noun equivalent (as a phrase or clause) to form a phrase that usually acts as an adverb, adjective, or noun. "She expected resistance on his part." "He sat down beside her."

Noun

a word that is the name of something (as a person, animal, place, object, quality, concept or action). "The officer received an assignment."

Pronoun

a word that is used as a substitute for a noun or noun equivalent. "Who is she?"

Adjective

a word that typically describes or modifies the meaning of a noun. Adjectives serve to point out a quality of a thing named ("a brave officer," "a new car"), to indicate its quantity or extent ("some reports"), or to specify a thing as distinct from something else ("this suspect," "those witnesses").

Categorical

arrangement of information by category (e.g., witnesses, suspects, crime elements)

Chronological

arrangement of information in order of occurrence

Verb

express an act, occurrence, or mode of being. "The suspect ran from the officer." "The witness panicked once on the stand."

The Placement of Modifiers:

• A modifier is a word or set of words that qualifies or limits another word or set of words. • A misplaced modifier is one that attaches itself to the wrong word or words in the sentence. • Because a misplaced modifier presents the reader with an unintended meaning, or forces him to try to figure out the meaning of the sentence, misinterpretation by the reader often results. • Place every modifier as close as possible to the word it modifies. o WRONG: We saw many swimming pools flying over California. o RIGHT: While flying over California, we saw many swimming pools.

Sentence Fragments:

• A sentence fragment is a group of words that is only a piece, or "fragment," of a complete sentence. This may make it difficult for the reader to understand its meaning. • Example: The mirror in the hall closet.

Characteristics of a Sentence:

• A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. • A sentence typically contains both a subject and a predicate, begins with a capital letter, and ends with a punctuation mark. • A sentence should be short, simple, and concise. • A sentence should be unmistakably clear to the reader.

Three basic kinds of information necessary in police reports:

• Identification of the involved persons, vehicles, etc. • Narrative description of the offense or incident • Elements of the offense or probable cause

Run-on Sentences:

• Like sentence fragments, run-on sentences cause confusion for the reader and can lead to incorrect conclusions about the intent of the writing. • Two or more sentences written as one results in a run-on sentence. • Closely related sentences are often mistakenly combined into one. • Example: The officer chased the suspect, and he had a gun.

Quotation marks:

• Quotation marks help enclose direct quotations, but not indirect quotations. • When quoting someone's exact words, you must use quotation marks. o Example: Carl yawned and said, "Let's go." • If not quoting verbatim, do not use quotation marks. o Example: Carl yawned and said that we should go.

Passive voice:

• When the verb is in the active voice, the subject performs the action. When the verb is in the passive voice, the subject receives the action. • Generally, use the active voice - the sentence is clearer and stronger. If the actor is not known, however, the passive voice may be necessary. o Passive: The bystander was hit by a stray bullet. o Active: A stray bullet hit a bystander.

Double negatives:

• When two negative words are used in the same clause, the result is a double negative. • The following negative terms should be used one at a time, not in pairs: no, not, never, none, no one, nobody, nothing, nowhere, and neither. o WRONG: Nobody saw nothing. / There is not no time left. o RIGHT: Nobody saw anything. / There is no time left. • The following words are negative in meaning and should not be used in the same clause with any of the negative words above: barely, scarcely, and hardly. o WRONG: I can't hardly see the road in this fog. o RIGHT: I can hardly see the road in this fog.

Importance of Complete Sentences in Written Communication:

• Your written communication will be one of the factors used to evaluate your competence as a peace officer. • Your written communication may be seen by a diverse audience (your agency, the criminal justice system, the public, etc.). • Your written communication may serve as a source document for judicial and administrative proceedings.