When an officer first arrives at a crime scene “he should have his notepad in hand,” said Professor Schwartz. It is important to try and get every detail down in your notes because anything can help solve the crime. Notes should have the “who, what, where, when, how, why” and also include things like the weather and the lighting conditions. It may seem like it wouldn’t matter but, say it’s a rainy day and tire tracks are found, the tracks may be lost if tracks were not documented that is lost evidence. It is also suggested not to use words such as “a, and, and the” also to not include unnecessary words. Notes should not be on the wordy side or include opinions or …show more content…
Two of three of my professor here at Western Illinois have told me report writing is one of the most important things to learn at my time here. My favorite professor Glen Schwartz is currently on his second decade of working for the Illinois State Police, he has a lot of insight on the easiest way through report writing. Similarly, rookie cops must learn from the cops that have been there longer. Rookies learn from their field officers the exact way to write the report, how to use the equipment like the laptops that come inside the patrol. Often when it is not a “busy” day an officer could use that laptop to write his