This deals with the ordinary, miscellaneous, usual, memorandum letter, or form accomplished by any member of a unit, section, bureau, or division within a department in accordance with prescribed regulation. Usually, this report contains the following:
The heading or letterhead of the unit where the writer is assigned;
The person or office to whom it is addressed or submitted;
The text proper; and,
The name of the writer or source of the report
This covers an exhaustive and exact narration of facts. These are classified as:
Initial or Advanced Report An advanced account regarding a new case assigned to an investigator. It is written and submitted without delay after having conducted the initial investigation of the case.
Progress or Follow-up Report Contains the results of the follow-up investigation of a recent case. It is accomplished whenever any development relevant to the case is discovered. It serves as a gauge or yardstick for the detective's efficiency.
Final or Closing Report It is a comprehensive narration of facts and details based on a thorough inquiry of the case by the detective who started the investigation covering all the facts and circumstances surrounding the case. It forms a clear picture of the crime committed in the minds of the readers for prosecutorial and judicial actions. The final or closing report is undertaken whenever the case is solved and considered as closed, signifying that the offender has been arrested, the evidence against him is complete to warrant prosecution, and witnesses are located to testify for the trial.
Spot Report or Special Report Written immediately after an incident took place in a certain area. It must be done or acted upon within 24 hours.
Beat Inspection/After Patrol Report Written communication used at the station level.
Situation Report Done on a needs basis. The commander has to know the actual situation of a particular incident which can be public interest.
Accurate A report should only conform to the facts and be free from errors. Being accurate is being exact. All facts must be objectively verified. The identification of facts is imperative to establish the corpus delicti or the body of the crime in the report. You must restrict your report to the facts of the incident as you saw them or as victims and witnesses perceived and reported to you. You must accurately report the conditions of the scene as you have found them.
Brief The report should be concise in its expression. That is, saying much in as few words as possible. Conciseness relates to the elimination of unnecessary words. Some ways to do this when writing are using the active voice, avoiding wordiness, eliminating unnecessary prepositional phrases, and using ordinary and commonly understood words. Most sentences in police reports are 12 to 15 words only.
Clear The format and language used in the report must be as simple and as direct as possible.
Factual All details and information are based on the five human senses. The simplest words constructed in declarative and short sentences using the third person are all that is necessary.
Complete The report must contain all the facts and essential information revealed during the investigation.
Fair and Objective The report must show all the angles and sides of the event. Emotion, opinion and personal prejudice should always be avoided.
Each PNP operating unit shall maintain an official blotter where all types of operational and undercover dispatches shall be recorded containing the 5W's and 1H of an information.
A police blotter refers to the record of daily events occurring within the area of responsibility/territory/jurisdiction of a given police command or unit. It contains material facts and details concerning the event for legal purposes. It is an informational record book that is useful for investigation, evidentiary or referral purposes.
Police blotter entries should contain the following:
The 5 W's and 1 H along with the disposition of the case
All material details pertaining to the event and the status of the case
The following transactions or incidents are entered in the police blotter:
Violations of ordinances and laws reported and/or discovered
All calls in which any member of the PNP is dispatched or takes official action
All fire alarms, reports and information received by the stations
Movement of detention prisoners with corresponding notations on the authority for such movement
Vehicular and other types of incidents which require police action
All injuries, bodies discovered, and suicides
Damage to property
All cases to which a member of the PNP is involved
All arrests and returns made
Miscellaneous cases
All entries in the police blotter shall be handwritten in a clear, concise and simple manner.
Only facts, not opinions, are entered into the blotter.
No erasures shall be made in the entries. Corrections are made by drawing one horizontal line over such word or phrases and the actual entry initiated by the police officer making the correction.
A pen with black or blue ink is used in making entries.
Falsification in the blotter or any attempt to suppress any information therein is criminally and administratively punishable.
The entries must be legibly written in long hand and consecutively numbered.
Every page of the blotter shall be uninterruptedly and chronologically filled-up. No line or space shall be left blank between two entries.
Any development of the case to be reflected in the blotter should be a new entry at the time and day it was reported. A reference to the previous entry number of the case shall be made.
In every shift, the Duty Sergeant, under the supervision of the Duty Officer, or Complaint Desk Officer shall make the actual entries in the blotter and, at the end of their tour, they shall sign the blotter.