1. CRIMINAL JUSTICE REPORT WRITING THE HOW AND WHY Part 8 Quoting Exact Words in a Police Report

2. CRIMINAL JUSTICE REPORT WRITING THE HOW AND WHY Part 8 Quoting Exact Words in a Police Report 3. Criminal justice reports often record word-for- word what a witness or suspect said. Getting these statements right is an important skilland one thats easy to learn. 4. Here are some important guidelines: Use exact words even if youll have to write down some objectionable language (obscenities, sexism, slang, bad grammar) Use the correct punctuation Avoid unnecessary repetition 5. Getting the words exactly right matters because a suspects or witnesss words can help build the case for a conviction investigators can study a suspects speech patterns and word choices for clues, especially if a suspect has distinctive verbal habits 6. Getting the punctuation right matters because your report will look professional youll avoid confusion about who said what 7. In American punctuation, commas and periods always go inside (before) quotation marks: I never laid a hand on my daughter, Roker told me. CORRECT I never laid a hand on my daughter, Roker told me. INCORRECT 8. Here are two more examples: Hassan told me, I can prove I was at work that evening. CORRECT Hassan told me, I can prove I was at work that evening. INCORRECT 9. Remember: In the U.S., commas and periods always go inside (before) quotation marks. There are no exceptions. Canada and the United Kingdom use a different system. When youre on American soil, use American punctuation. 10. When youre not writing a persons exact words, omit the quotation marks. Donna Johnson said that Ted Carver had been stalking her daughter. CORRECT (not Donnas exact words) Donna Johnson said, Ted Carver has been stalking my daughter. CORRECT (Donnas exact words) 11. Avoid unnecessary repetition when youre recording a persons exact words. Heres an example of unnecessary repetition: I asked Guttmann what happened. He said he and Knapp had argued about some tools that Knapp had borrowed. I asked Gutmann what happened next. He said Knapp punched him in the face. I asked Gutmann what he did in response. He said he hit Knapp on the side of the head. I asked Guttmann if he called the police. He said yes, he called 911. 12. Heres the conversation again, without the repetition: I asked Guttmann what happened. He said he and Knapp had argued about some tools that Knapp had borrowed. Knapp punched him in the face, and Gutmann hit Knapp on the side of the head. Guttmann called 911. 13. Remembering and accurately recording a persons exact words is an important law enforcement skill. You can increase your ability to recall exactly what people say. Everyday life offers many opportunities to improve your capacity for concentration and recall: conversations, meetings, and TV and radio broadcasts are good examples. 14. To Learn More: Criminal Justice Report Writing is available in softcover ($17.95) from www.Amazon.com and in a variety of ebook and Apple formats (Kindle, Nook, SONY etc.) for $11.99 from www.Smashwords.com. Read a free sample online! 15. Find FREE report writing resources online at www.YourPoliceWrite.com