How to Write a Criminal Justice Incident Report

One of the most crucial aspects of any criminal investigation is the incident report written by officers at the scene of a crime. The report will contain vital information that other police officers and detectives will use to try to track down a criminal or stolen property. Since an incident report is such an important tool in solving criminal investigations, it is imperative that each report be written thoroughly and correctly.

• 1

  Write a chronological description of the events that transpired at the scene of the crime or incident. Include information pertaining to the circumstances surrounding the incident as well as what type of incident occurred. The type of incident is referring to the type of crime, such as a homicide or a theft.

• 2

  Check one of the boxes on the incident report labeled "completed" or "attempted," depending on whether or not the crime was successful. A similar set of boxes appear on the incident report focused on forced entry. Indicate whether or not the crime was a forced entry into a vehicle or property.

• 3

  Record the premise type. The premise will be the location where the crime occurred. Be specific when recording this information, for example if the crime occurred in grocery store parking lot write that down.

• 4

  Record the date the incident happened. Record the address of the crime scene as well.

• 5

  Write down personal information about the victim. Include information about race, age, gender, and relationship to the subject if any. Also include a full description of the victim, along with contact information.

• 6

  Write a detailed description of any suspects seen by the victim or witnesses. Take down as much information about the height, weight, race, age, eye color and hair color as possible.

• 7

  Proofread your report checking for spelling and grammatical errors. Type up the report and turn it into your superior officer.