Being literate is the essential towards policing and writing reports but having a legible writing is as important as the writing itself. If an officer can’t record down the information in a way that is legible for the next person to view, it can greatly affect the outcome of the case. A police report reflects what happened at the time of the incident and if this is showing proof and is acting as a base to the case it must be legible by everyone. For example if the officer writes a sentence and only he can understand it, it becomes unreliable and the attorney of the defending party will use this to his advantage arguing how can he prove it really says what is written down. The same comes to being grammatically proficient. Writing the events of the incident in a chronological order reflects a solid report, this shows the officer remembers with presicion what happened at the moment of the incident and it provides a much easier understanding for the next person receiving the report.
An officer being concise is another ability he or she must have when writing to reflect a solid police report. An officer must assume not all the audience is highly educated. Writing a police report with complex words will only make a certain percent of people reading the report to be able to understand it. When the police report is used before a jury, is when being concise is important. The officer wants to ensure everyone understands what happened at the time of the