NCJ Number
116890
Date Published
1984
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Through the use of samples, this chapter guides police officers in a step-by-step process of writing reports for domestic assault incidents.
Abstract
The report should be comprehensive and easy to follow, and it should provide a detailed description of the severity of the problem, both currently and historically. One purpose of the report is to motivate the prosecutor to work the case. One means of doing this is to provide descriptive detail about the assault and resulting injuries. The report should indicate any threats, signs of trauma or extreme fear in the victim, weapons or assault instruments used, evidence of property damage, the involvement of children and other parties, and signs of child abuse. The report should also document the marital or relational status of the offender and victim as well as the frequency and severity of past assaults by the suspect. The sample incident reports presented in this chapter demonstrate how police reports are valuable in documenting the severity of some domestic assaults, the difficulties that can arise with report writing, ways for responding officers to generate an interest in inspectors and prosecutors to work the case, and the dilemmas victims face when attempting to deal with the violence.