LEGAL FORMS

Technical English 1
University of the Cordilleras
College of Criminal Justice Education
 Legal Forms
- are prototypes of any documents or forms used in legal transactions or
judicial proceedings. These contain important matters conveyed in
technical terminologies and presented in a suitable and systematic order
in accordance with the circumstances of any case.
 Record
– any information being kept by an organization for future reference.

This could be:

•TEXT
•DATA
•IMAGE
•VOICE
 REPORT WRITING
(In relation to investigation report)
- a report is an objective statement of the findings of the investigator.
- This is an official record of the information that is relevant to an investigation.
POINTS TO CONSIDER IN WRITING A REPORT

• Using the best language

• Avoiding errors of forms
• Avoiding errors of substance
 USING THE BEST LANGUAGE
•Characteristics:
1. Concise
2. Clear
3. Organized
4. Thorough
5. Accurate
6. Adequate
 STRATEGIES IN WRITING A GOOD REPORT

1. Check and re check first whether notes on gathered facts are already
complete and organized.
 STRATEGIES IN WRITING A GOOD REPORT

2. If notes on gathered facts are insufficient, go back into the

process of gathering more facts related to the situation.
 STRATEGIES IN WRITING A GOOD REPORT

3. Make an outline of the report basing from the completely

gathered facts.
 STRATEGIES IN WRITING A GOOD REPORT

4. Use the chronological order of writing in presenting facts and

ideas in the report.
 STRATEGIES IN WRITING A GOOD REPORT

5. The report should basically answer the complete 5 W’s and 1

H.
 STRATEGIES IN WRITING A GOOD REPORT

6. Prepare a report that could either be simple, brief, complex, or

in memorandum form, depending on its required format.
 QUALITIES OF A GOOD REPORT
1. Clarity – refers to the clearness of thoughts, style or expression of the
writer.
 QUALITIES OF A GOOD REPORT

2. Accuracy – is the conformity to the facts and representation of

truth with precision and exactness.
 QUALITIES OF A GOOD REPORT

3. Accuracy – truly reflect and represent the facts.

 QUALITIES OF A GOOD REPORT

4. Brevity – omits materials or information that is useless and

irrelevant to the whole report.
 QUALITIES OF A GOOD REPORT

5. Completeness – the report should contain and be answerable

by the 5W’s and 1H.
 QUALITIES OF A GOOD REPORT

6. Fairness – always base the reports on facts, and if there are

theories these should be verified first and be consistent with
facts.
 QUALITIES OF A GOOD REPORT

7. Specificity – a good writer must be precise and specific in

writing his or her report and should avoid ideas that could
mislead the readers.
 QUALITIES OF A GOOD REPORT
8. Form and style – must have proper adherence to grammar and
mechanics and a good report should follow the style and
arrangement of standard report writing.
 5 W’s and 1 H
- The WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY AND HOW are the most
important questions that an investigator must consider in writing his
reports, because these questions cover the essentials of police report
writing.
 5 W’s and 1 H
• Police Reports
In police reports, the _______, ________, __________, generally appear at
the beginning of the paragraph.
 WHO, WHEN AND WHERE
• In police reports, the WHO, WHEN and WHERE generally appear at the
beginning of the paragraph.
• It is vital that the reader should know the persons involved in the
incident, the specific time and date it happened, and the place and the
located where it happened.
 WHAT AND HOW
• The WHAT AND HOW generally answers all the questions throughout
the whole report.
 WHY
• Depending on the situation of the report, the WHY may appear either
before or after the what.
 WHO?
• Who is the culprit?
• Who are the victims?
• Who is the aggravated party?
• Who is the leader of the suspected group?
• Who are the witnesses?
• Who are the complainants?
• Who discovered the crime?
• Who are the accomplice of the crime?
• Who worked on the case?
• Who responded on the alarm?
• Who searched and gathered the evidence?
• Who reported the crime?
• Who cordoned the area?
 WHAT
• What law is violated?
• What did the suspect do to the victims?
• What was the reaction of the victim’s family?
• What did the police do to do the victim?
• What was the response of the victim?
• What was stolen, lost or found?
• What was committed?
• What evidence are recovered from the crime scene?
• What kind of weapon were used in the crime?
• What did the police officer do after being notified about the crime/incident?
• What agencies are notified about the crime?
 WHERE?
• Where was the crime committed?
• Where did the crime take place?
• Where was the victim found?
• Where was the suspect during the crime?
• Where is the suspect now?
• Where are the entry and the exit points of the crime scene?
• Where can the witnesses be found?
• Where is the location of the explosives?
• Where was the body found?
• Where did the marked money go?
• Where did you see the subject?
 WHEN?
• When was the exact time that the crime was committed?
• When did the crime happen?
• When was the body of the victim recovered?
• When was the suspect arrested?
 WHY?
• Why did the suspect attack the victim?
• Why did the suspect commit the crime at such particular time, date and place?
• Why are there no witnesses to the crime?
• Why are you filing a complaint?
 HOW?
• How was the offense or crime committed?
• How did the police officers respond?
• How did the investigator handle the case?
• How did they discover the evidence?
• How was it reported?
• How did the police enforcers arrest the suspect?
• How much was the damage to the property?
• How much money was stolen?
• How many people was involved in the commission of the crime?
• How was entry gained in the property?
 POLICE BLOTTER
• Defined as a logbook that contains the daily registry of all crime
incidents, reports, official summaries of arrest, and other significant events
reported in a police station.
• Also defined as a daily record of events within the territories of a police
unit; it contains daily material concerning events for legal and statistical
purposes.
 What are the contents of a blotter?
1. Who
2. What
3. Why
4. When
5. Where
6. How
7. Disposition of the case
 Procedures in making a blotter
1. All entries in the police blotter shall be handwritten in a clear, concise,
and simple manner but must answer as far as practicable the 5 W’s and 1
H.
 Procedures in making a blotter

2. Only facts, not opinion, are entered in the blotter.

 Procedures in making a blotter

3. No erasures shall be made on entries.

 Procedures in making a blotter

4. Use a blue or black ball pen

 Procedures in making a blotter

5. Misinterpretation of the blotter or any attempt to suppress

any information is punishable criminally and administratively.
 Procedures in making a blotter

6. All entries must be legibly written in longhand and

consecutively numbered.
 Procedures in making a blotter
7. Every page of the blotter shall be consecutively or chronologically
filled in.
 Procedures in making a blotter

8. Any development of a case reflected in the blotter should be a

new entry at a time and day it was reported.