SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE

COLLEGE

MODULE 5
Subject:

Technical Writing
(Technical Writing)

AISAT COLLEGE – DASMARIÑAS, INC.

This material has been developed in support to the Senior High School Program
implementation. Materials included in this module are owned by the respective copyright
holders. AISAT College – Dasmariñas, the publisher and author do not represent nor claim
ownership over them.
This material will be reproduced for educational purposes and can be modified for the
purpose of translation into another language provided that the source must be clearly
acknowledged. Derivatives of the work including creating an edited version, enhancement or a
supplementary work are permitted provided all original works are acknowledged and the
copyright is attributed. No work may be derived from this material for commercial purposes and
profit.
 Unit Document Guidelines
Module Social Science with Philippines Constitution
CDI5-TE1TWRP Document Guidelines Units: 80hrs Page |2

INFORMATION SHEET PR 5.1.1

Writing an Effective Police Report

IMPORTANT FIELD INTERVIEW SKILLS

One of the most important skills that officers are required to have while conducting a field
interview and taking field notes is determining the difference between opinions, facts, and conclusions
in a statement given by a suspect or witness. Another important skill is being able to determine what
information is relevant to the case or incident.
Opinions are statements that can be open to interpretation, or expresses a belief not supported
by the facts of a case, while a fact is a statement that can be verified or proven by the facts of the
case. A conclusion is a statement that is based upon the analysis of opinions and conclusions, and a
conclusion should always be accompanied with the supporting facts and opinions.
Generally, relevant facts typically establish the facts of the case or elements of the crime.
Irrelevant facts, on the other hand, usually furnish details that are not elements of the crime, or provide
information that may dilute the facts of the case.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY AN EFFECTIVE REPORT

The facts and questions that an officer includes in his or her field notes should typically provide
the foundation for an effective police report. As discussed earlier, an effective police report should
always answer the questions who, what, where, when, how, and why.
If any of the six questions cannot be answered by the officer’s report, the report should contain
as much information as possible, as the information can prove to be vital to investigators, attorneys, and
other users of the report.
The following table presents examples of the specific facts and information that can be included
in the body of the report to help answer of the six questions. It is not intended to be all inclusive, and
used as a guide. Specific crimes or incidents will require certain information that should be noted by the
investigating officer in the report.

Supporting Facts/Information
 was the crime that was committed?
What  are the elements of the crime?
 were the actions of the suspect before and after the crime?
 actually happened?
 do the witnesses know about it?
 evidence was obtained?
 was done with the evidence?
 weapons were used?
 action did the officers take?
 further action should be taken?
 knowledge, skill or strength was needed to commit the crime?
 other agencies were notified?
 other agencies need to be notified?

SUBJECT TEACHER: APPROVED FOR IMPLEMENTATION:

MODULE 3rd
PreLim
3 Meeting MS. PEARL NOGRA-FABIA MR. WILBERT A. MAÑUSCA
Subject Teacher School Director
 Unit Document Guidelines
Module Social Science with Philippines Constitution
CDI5-TE1TWRP Document Guidelines Units: 80hrs Page |3

INFORMATION SHEET PR 5.1.2

Writing an Effective Police Report

Supporting Facts/Information
 was the crime committed?
When  was the crime discovered?
 were the involved parties notified?
 did the involved parties arrive at the scene?
 was the victim last seen?
 was the suspect last seen?
 did officers arrive?
 was any arrest made?
 did witnesses hear anything unusual?
 did the suspect decide to commit the crime?
 are the involved parties in the incident? (i.e., victim(s),witness(es),
Where suspect(s))
 were the participating officers?
 was the complainant?
 discovered the crime?
 saw or heard anything of importance?
 had a motive for committing the crime?
 committed the crime?
 had the means to commit the crime?
 had access to the crime scene?
 searched for, identified and gathered evidence?

Also with whom…

 did the victim associate?
 did the suspect associate?
 was the victim last seen?
 do the witnesses associate?
 did the suspect commit the crime?

Additional information regarding specific people can include, but not

be limited to:
 phone numbers (home, cellular and work)
 addresses (home, work, and email)
 age and date of birth
 social security number
 occupations
 physical descriptions as required

SUBJECT TEACHER: APPROVED FOR IMPLEMENTATION:

MODULE 3rd
PreLim
3 Meeting MS. PEARL NOGRA-FABIA MR. WILBERT A. MAÑUSCA
Subject Teacher School Director
 Unit Document Guidelines
Module Social Science with Philippines Constitution
CDI5-TE1TWRP Document Guidelines Units: 80hrs Page |4

INFORMATION SHEET PR 5.1.3

Writing an Effective Police Report

Supporting Facts/Information
 was the crime committed? (e.g., force, violence, threats, etc.)
How  did the suspect leave the scene? (e.g., on foot, by car, etc.)
 did the suspect obtain the information necessary to commit the
crime?
 was the crime discovered?
 was entry made? (e.g., smashing, breaking, key, etc.)
 was the weapon/tool for the crime obtained?
 was the weapon/tool used?
 was the arrest made?
 much damage was done?
 was the crime committed?
Why (if known)  was a certain weapon/tool used?
 was the crime reported?
 was the crime reported late?
 were witnesses reluctant to give information?
 is the suspect lying?  did the suspect commit the crime when she/he
did?
 did the suspect commit the crime where she/he did?

FUNDAMENTAL REPORT CONTENT

As previously stated, every crime or incident is different, and as a result, each report will require
different information to complete a total word picture about the incident. However, every report
should have certain content elements, regardless of the crime that was committed.
The following general content elements are fundamental to an effective report, however, it
should be noted that in some crimes or incidents, a specific element may not be applicable.

1. Initial information. This should establish how the officer became involved with the specific
incident and additional background information. The initial information should also describe the
officer’s immediate observations and any actions they took upon arrival at the scene.
2. Identification of the crime or incident. Always include the facts that are necessary to show that
the specific crime or incident has taken place. The report should include the common name of
the crime, the statutory reference number and the required elements necessary for the crime to
be complete.
3. Identification of the involved parties. Regardless of the type of report, the report should always
identify the reporting persons, victims, witnesses and suspects, if known. Always include full

SUBJECT TEACHER: APPROVED FOR IMPLEMENTATION:

MODULE 3rd
PreLim
3 Meeting MS. PEARL NOGRA-FABIA MR. WILBERT A. MAÑUSCA
Subject Teacher School Director
 Unit Document Guidelines
Module Social Science with Philippines Constitution
CDI5-TE1TWRP Document Guidelines Units: 80hrs Page |5

names, address, home, work and cellular telephone numbers. Include alternate contact
information, such as work or school addresses, email addresses, and their role in the incident.

INFORMATION SHEET PR 5.2.1

Writing an Effective Police Report

4. Victim/witness/suspect statements. Summary statements of all involved parties should be

taken and direct quotes used, where necessary. Statements should always include the details of
the events, from their own perspective.
5. Crime scene specifics/description. Crime scene specifics are necessary to accurately re‐ create
the scene and events of the crime. Include photographs, where possible, and include the
locations of physical evidence prior to collection. Photographs should be printed for inclusion
with the report, and booked as property as evidence, where applicable.
6. Property information. Property information should include the color, make, model, serial
number, approximate value, and full descriptions where possible. Details pertaining to stolen or
recovered property, as well as property booked for safekeeping, and property booked as
evidence should always be included in the report, and entered into CLETS, were applicable.
7. Officer actions/observations. Include descriptions and observations of all actions related to the
incident. If multiple officers responded to a crime or incident, each officer involved should
include a supplement that details their own actions at the incident or crime, and the supplement
should be submitted for inclusion with the master report. All reports, whether a master report
or supplemental report, should be written from the perspective of the writing officer, and detail
their own personal actions or observations

RECOMMENDED GRAMMAR FOR REPORTS

An effective report must always exhibit the writer’s command of the English language, and be
relatively free of errors in sentence structure, grammar, and other writing mechanics, and the more
effective the officer’s command of the written language, the greater the clarity of the written report.
Due to the large number of grammatical guidelines in the English language, officers should have
a basic understanding of the basic building blocks of sentence structure when writing reports.

Nouns
Nouns are naming words, and could be used to identify people, places, or things.

Proper nouns
Pronouns are words that substitutes for a noun or proper noun. There are two types of pronouns
primarily used in report writing.
 First person pronouns. First person pronouns are used when referring to the officer writing
the reports. Some examples are I/me/mine/my and we/our/ours/us (when riding with a beat
partner). First person pronouns can also be used within quotes to refer to the person speaking (Wilson

SUBJECT TEACHER: APPROVED FOR IMPLEMENTATION:

MODULE 3rd
PreLim
3 Meeting MS. PEARL NOGRA-FABIA MR. WILBERT A. MAÑUSCA
Subject Teacher School Director
 Unit Document Guidelines
Module Social Science with Philippines Constitution
CDI5-TE1TWRP Document Guidelines Units: 80hrs Page |6

told me, “I ran as fast as I could.”). Officers should always use first person pronouns when referring to
themselves, because by doing so, the reader has a clear understanding of the officers actions.

INFORMATION SHEET PR 5.2.2

Writing an Effective Police Report

 Third person pronouns. Third person pronouns. Third person pronouns refer to the person,
place or thing being written about. Examples are he/his/him, it/its and they/their/them. Third
person pronouns must always agree and clearly refer to the noun or proper noun that is directly
before it.
Tense
Since most investigative reports are written about things that have already happened, the words that
are used should clearly indicate the events occurred in the past. This is expressed through the tense of
the action words (or verbs) in the report. Tense can be either present or past tense.
 Present tense.
 Past tense. Past tense verbs express actions completed in the past For example, the phrase “I
read this manual last week” is written in the past tense
Voice
The term “voice,” when used to describe a type of verb, refers to whether the verb is active or
passive. Reports should be always be written in the active voice, as most readers find sentences written
in the active voice easier to follow and understand.
 Active voice.
A verb is in the active voice when the subject of the sentence is the individual or thing that is
doing or performing the action.
An example would be “I gave the report form to the victim.”
 Passive voice.
A verb is in the passive voice when the subject of the sentence is someone or something other
than the performer of the action in the sentence.
A common indicator of passive voice is the word “by” in the sentence. An example would be
“The victim was given the report form by me.”

WRITING CLEARLY AND LOGICALLY

As previously discussed, effective police reports must be organized, logical, and present all relevant
information simply. An effective report must also be written in plain English in order to be useful and
understandable for the reader.

Paragraphs
Paragraphs are the structural units for grouping information. Regardless of whether a narrative style
format or a category format is used for the investigative report, all paragraphs within the report must be
clear and easy to understand.
When writing an investigative report, the first sentence (lead‐in sentence) of each paragraph should
clearly state the primary topic or subject of the paragraph. The sentences that follow within the

SUBJECT TEACHER: APPROVED FOR IMPLEMENTATION:

MODULE 3rd
PreLim
3 Meeting MS. PEARL NOGRA-FABIA MR. WILBERT A. MAÑUSCA
Subject Teacher School Director
 Unit Document Guidelines
Module Social Science with Philippines Constitution
CDI5-TE1TWRP Document Guidelines Units: 80hrs Page |7

paragraph should present facts, ideas, reasons, or examples that are directly related to the primary
topic.

INFORMATION SHEET PR 5.2.3

Writing an Effective Police Report

The following table presents examples of poorly organized and well organized paragraphs.
Poorly Organized Well Organized
When we arrived, the husband let us into the My partner and I were dispatched to a domestic
house. We were responding to a 7‐1‐1 call. My violence incident after a woman dialed 7‐1‐1. The
partner and I had been dispatched to an incident woman called for help because she was afraid her
of domestic violence. A woman called for help to husband would beat her. When we arrived, the
keep her husband from beating her husband let us into the house.

Marie Parker said her husband refused to answer I took Marie Parker’s statement approximately 45
the door at first when he heard the man on the minutes after the assault took place. Parker said
other side begin to shout. I took her statement she was sitting in the family room when her
approximately 45 minutes after the assault took husband went to see who was at the door. Initially
place. She was sitting in the family room when her her husband refused to answer the door when he
husband went to see who was at the door. heard the man on the other side begin to shout.

Transitions
Transitions are words or phrases that show relationships between thoughts, sentences, or paragraphs.
By selecting appropriate transitional words, officers can help readers move smoothly and logically from
detail to detail and sentence to sentence within the report.
The following table suggests a few of the possible transitional words and phrases officers may use
within their reports.
Type of Transition Words/Phrases Examples
 Immediately Caster said he noticed the door
Time  In the meantime was not completely shut, so he
 At the same time decided to find out why.
 When
 Before Immediately after entering the
 Prior to room, he saw the window was
broken.
Place  Near Caster said he saw broken glass
 Beyond on the floor under the window.
 Next to Near the glass, he saw a large
 Under brick.
 Behind
 Around
 Finally In addition, Caster saw his laptop

SUBJECT TEACHER: APPROVED FOR IMPLEMENTATION:

MODULE 3rd
PreLim
3 Meeting MS. PEARL NOGRA-FABIA MR. WILBERT A. MAÑUSCA
Subject Teacher School Director
 Unit Document Guidelines
Module Social Science with Philippines Constitution
CDI5-TE1TWRP Document Guidelines Units: 80hrs Page |8

Order  In addition computer was not on the desk

 Lastly where he left it the night before.
 First
 Then
 Further
References:
https://talentegg.ca/incubator/2017/02/21/criminology
https://mavias.com/child-maintenance-tiywwx/technical-report-writing-2-for-criminology-90f

SELF-CHECK PR-5.1.1

1. This should establish how the officer became involved with the specific incident and additional
background information.
2. Include descriptions and observations of all actions related to the incident
3. These express an action currently taking place. For example, the phrase “I am reading this
manual” is written in the present tense.
4. Always include the facts that are necessary to show that the specific crime or incident has taken
place.
5. These are necessary to accurately re‐ create the scene and events of the crime. Include
photographs, where possible, and include the locations of physical evidence prior to
collection. Photographs
6. These are naming words, and could be used to identify people, places, or things.
7. Regardless of the type of report, the report should always identify the reporting persons,
victims, witnesses and suspects, if known. Always include full names, address, home, work and
cellular telephone numbers. Include alternate contact information, such as work or school
addresses, email addresses, and their role in the incident.
8. This should include the color, make, model, serial number, approximate value, and full
descriptions where possible.
9. Summary statements of all involved parties should be taken and direct quotes used, where
necessary.
10. Include descriptions and observations of all actions related to the incident. If multiple officers
responded to a crime or incident, each officer involved should include a supplement that details
their own actions at the incident or crime, and the supplement should be submitted for
inclusion with the master report.

SUBJECT TEACHER: APPROVED FOR IMPLEMENTATION:

MODULE 3rd
PreLim
3 Meeting MS. PEARL NOGRA-FABIA MR. WILBERT A. MAÑUSCA
Subject Teacher School Director
 Unit Document Guidelines
Module Social Science with Philippines Constitution
CDI5-TE1TWRP Document Guidelines Units: 80hrs Page |9

SELF-CHECK ANSWER KEY PR-5.1.1

1. Initial information.
2. Officer actions/observations.
3. Present tense verbs
4. Identification of the crime or incident
5. Crime scene specifics
6. Nouns
7. Identification of the involved parties
8. Property information
9. Victim/witness/suspect statements
10. Officer actions/observations.

SUBJECT TEACHER: APPROVED FOR IMPLEMENTATION:

MODULE 3rd
PreLim
3 Meeting MS. PEARL NOGRA-FABIA MR. WILBERT A. MAÑUSCA
Subject Teacher School Director
 Unit Document Guidelines
Module Social Science with Philippines Constitution
CDI5-TE1TWRP Document Guidelines Units: 80hrs P a g e | 10

STUDENT NAME: __________________________________ SECTION: __________________

WRITTEN WORK PR-5.1.1

WRITTEN WORK TITLE: ESSAY

WRITTEN TASK OBJECTIVE: The learners independently demonstrate in understanding the lessons
discuss above.
MATERIALS:
 Pen and Paper
TOOLS & EQUIPMENT:
 None
ESTIMATED COST: None

INSTRUCTION : Read the article given below. After look for a similar article and write a
example Police Report, presenting the different Fundamental Report Content.

FUNDAMENTAL REPORT CONTENT

1. Initial information
2. Identification of the crime or incident
3. Identification of the involved parties.
4. Victim/witness/suspect statements.
5. Crime scene specifics/description
6. Property information.
7. Officer actions/observations.

9 Indigenous Leaders Killed by Philippine Police in ‘Massacre’

Rights groups said the Indigenous people had been “red-tagged” after opposing a local dam project.
It’s the latest in a string of high-profile police incidents.
By: Nick Aspinwall
Nine Tumandok Indigenous people were killed and 10 others were arrested in police operations on
Panay Island on December 31 in what rights groups labeled a “massacre.”
The killings came a week after an off-duty police officer was charged with murder after being caught
on video killing a mother and son during an argument.
Philippine police said the Indigenous leaders had fought back after being served search warrants,
although the human rights group Panay Alliance Karapatan denied this allegation.
The Tumandok leaders had campaigned against the construction of the nearby Jalaur Dam, which
would impact the community’s ancestral lands.
SUBJECT TEACHER: APPROVED FOR IMPLEMENTATION:
MODULE 3rd
PreLim
3 Meeting MS. PEARL NOGRA-FABIA MR. WILBERT A. MAÑUSCA
Subject Teacher School Director
 Unit Document Guidelines
Module Social Science with Philippines Constitution
CDI5-TE1TWRP Document Guidelines Units: 80hrs P a g e | 11

“Those killed were recognized Indigenous community leaders in their respective [communities]. They
were civilians and not armed combatants,” Karapatan said.
“They have consistently opposed militarization and human rights violations in their communities as
they upheld their rights as Indigenous people.”
The Indigenous leaders had previously been “red-tagged,” or labeled as communists without
evidence, by the Philippine military. The military often brands dissenters as members of the
communist New People’s Army, a charge it equates to terrorism and which can amount to a death
sentence.
Philippine police said it had responded to information from local civilians about people with high-
powered firearms. Authorities often falsely charge dissenters with possession of firearms and have
repeatedly been accused of planting firearms at crime scenes.

PRECAUTIONS:
 None
ASSESSMENT METHOD: WRITTEN WORK CRITERIA CHECKLIST

SUBJECT TEACHER: APPROVED FOR IMPLEMENTATION:

MODULE 3rd
PreLim
3 Meeting MS. PEARL NOGRA-FABIA MR. WILBERT A. MAÑUSCA
Subject Teacher School Director
 Unit Document Guidelines
Module Social Science with Philippines Constitution
CDI5-TE1TWRP Document Guidelines Units: 80hrs P a g e | 12

STUDENT NAME: __________________________________ SECTION: __________________

WRITTEN OUTPUT CRITERIA CHECK LIST PR-5.1.1

CRITERIA SCORING
Did I . . .
1 2 3 4 5
1. Observe safety precautions?
2. Use proper syntax?
3. Use for loop statement?
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. .
10. .
TEACHER’S REMARKS:  QUIZ  RECITATION  PROJECT

GRADE:

5 - Excellently Performed
4 - Very Satisfactorily Performed
3 - Satisfactorily Performed
2 - Fairly Performed
1 - Poorly Performed

_______________________________
TEACHER

Date: ______________________

SUBJECT TEACHER: APPROVED FOR IMPLEMENTATION:

MODULE 3rd
PreLim
3 Meeting MS. PEARL NOGRA-FABIA MR. WILBERT A. MAÑUSCA
Subject Teacher School Director