Report Writing §     9 ·   WHO: Who called the police? Whom did you speak to? Who said what? Who did what? Who committed the crime/witnesses? ·   WHAT: What happened (incident, accident, crime) ? What role did each person play? What action did the police take? What crime (if any) was committed? ·   WHY: Why did the police take the action they did? Why did people take particular actions they did? Why did the incident / crime occur? ·   HOW: How did the incident/crime occur? Writing Principles                                   Slide 8 ·  Accurate ·  Brief ·  Complete ·  Clear ·  Objective ·  Well formatted [    Police officers are faced with a variety of events and incidents. The contents of a report must reflect the specific event or incident. There should be no confusion or doubt on the part of the reader about the contents of the report. If the information in the report is not clear, it is of little use. There are six principles associated with a good report. A good report must be accurate, brief, complete, clear, objective and well formatted. [    Principles of a police report: st UN Peacekeeping PDT Standards, Specialized Training Material for Police 1 edition 2009

10  § Report Writing 1. Accurate Use clear, specific and precise language. Make sure the facts are clear to you before you describe them in a report. Do not confuse facts with hearsay or opinions. 2. Brief A report must be short and concise, but long enough to cover all the essentials. Avoid irrelevant information. Add details only when it is necessary. A brief and well­written report is more effective than a long extended report. 3. Complete Partial facts can create a wrong picture. A good report should include all the relevant facts in order to lead to a logical conclusion. 4. Clear Make it simple and avoid ambiguity in the report in order to convey the intended message. All reports should be worded carefully so that the information is clear to the reader. Facts should be presented in a chronological order. 5. Objective Keep the report objective and unbiased by stating the facts as they are without adding personal opinions. Report all facts, even if they are advantageous to the defendant. 6. Well formatted The format of a report is relatively simple. Begin with the personal data, then the report data and finally the conclusion. The information in the report has to be in a chronological order so that they reflect the sequence of the events/incidents. Basic Writing Rules                                   Slide 9 Basic rules in regard to: ·   Abbreviations ·   Format ·   Dates and Times ·   Names and Places ·   Numbers ·   Spelling st UN Peacekeeping PDT Standards, Specialized Training Material for Police 1 edition 2009

Report Writing §      11 [     Basic writing rules in regards to the bullet points listed on the slide are: 1. Abbreviations: Abbreviations or acronyms must be spelled out the first time they are used in a document. E.g. Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). 2. Format: Reports may carry a header and footer with a UN Classification. Maps or diagrams used to illustrate a particular point are to be included in the report, if technical means for the layout and the communication of the report are available. 3. Dates and Times: Dates should always be complete beginning with the day followed by the month and end with year, e.g. 26 April 2008, (month should be written in words to avoid misunderstanding). For time, use the 24 hrs clock system e.g. 07:45 hrs / 23:40 hrs. 4. Names and Places: When using a person’s title, such as Mr. or Ms. Inspector Kasumo, the title and names must be capitalised. The same applies for the names of organizations, for example, the Elassasonian Liberation Front (ELF). The names of places and regions should be typed in capital letters, e.g. BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, TUSLA, LIBERIA, MONROVIA, etc. 5. Numbers: The numbers from one to nine are usually spelled out in full, e.g. seven. Those above 10 are usually expressed as figures, e.g. 42. Avoid having a number which is expressed as a figure as the first word in a sentence. Example: Twelve soldiers were observed. 6. Spelling: Be aware of the fact that UN uses International English "The Concise Oxford     English     Dictionary”,     eleventh       edition      accessible     at: http://157.150.189.51/translation/editorial/ed­guidelines/style/spelling.htm. st UN Peacekeeping PDT Standards, Specialized Training Material for Police 1 edition 2009

12  § Report Writing Summary of Key Messages                                    Slide 10 Main elements of a report: Personal data and Report Data (5 Ws and How) UN reports (examples): Patrol Report, Situation Report, Incident Report, Flash Report Writing principles: Accurate, brief, complete, clear, objective, well formatted F Note to Instructor: If time allows divide class in groups and hand out the exercises in the Optional Learning Activity. See the last pages of the module. st UN Peacekeeping PDT Standards, Specialized Training Material for Police 1 edition 2009

Report Writing §      13 Learning Outcome Assessment It is up to the learning institution to decide whether the learning assessment questions are used informally in a group question and answer session, or if they are provided to the participants as a written quiz. In either case, it is recommended that the correct answers are provided at the end of the assessment in order to ensure participants are clear on the key messages. At the end of the entire unit and/or the conclusion of the STMs instructors may want to choose some of the following questions for review. Questions 1. What are the main elements of a report? 2. What are the four examples of UN reports? 3. What are the writing principles? F Expected Outcome 1. The main elements of a report are: Personal data (personal information on all persons involved) ·  Name of police officer and CP number ·  Surname / Last Name / Family Name (also Maiden Name) ·  First Name / Christian Name / Forename / Given Name ·  Date and Place of Birth (DOB) ·  Status: single–married–divorced–widowed–separated ·  Nationality / Ethnicity / Country / Citizenship ·  ID Card (Type and Number) ·  Residence / Address / Mailing Address ·  Grid reference ·  Telephone / Mobile Phone ·  Occupation / Profession / Job / Rank ·  Father’s name (Surname and first name) ·  Mother’s name ·  Address (Street, Village, Town, Country) st UN Peacekeeping PDT Standards, Specialized Training Material for Police 1 edition 2009

14  § Report Writing Report data The report data is the summary of all important facts and details. The 5Ws (where, why, when, what, who) and the how should be used as guiding questions which should be answered in a report. 2. The four examples of UN reports are: ·  Patrol Report ·  Situation Report ·  Incident Report ·  Flash Report 3. The writing principles are: ·  Accurate ·  Brief ·  Complete ·  Clear ·  Objective ·  Well formatted st UN Peacekeeping PDT Standards, Specialized Training Material for Police 1 edition 2009

Report Writing §      15 Optional Learning Activity: Correcting Reports The purpose of this group discussion activity is for the participants to identify errors in three reports and correct them. The three exercises are: Armed robbery of UN Police, Situation Report and Refugee Camp. Optional Learning Activity Time Required: 10 minutes         for activity introduction and instructions 15 minutes         for work small groups discussions: exercise 1 15 minutes         for work small groups discussions: exercise 2 15 minutes         for work small groups discussions: exercise 3* 20 minutes         debrief in the large group* Total time: 75 minutes            *total time dependent number of groups F Activity Guidelines: 1. For Exercise 1, participants are asked to compare the two reports and list the differences. 2. For Exercise 2, participants are asked to write a proper report including all missing pieces of information on this incident. 3. For Exercise 3, participants are asked to list the missing pieces of information from this report. ¥ Exercise 1: Armed robbery of UN Police officers Report 1: On the 26/04/08 in Koloni, Carana, two UN Police were coming from their workstation to their residence. As they approached their house, two armed men in green attires stopped them and ordered them to give them all the money they had in their pocket. The UN Police did as they were ordered but seemingly the money was not good enough for the armed men who punched and kicked the UN Police, stripped them naked and took away all their uniform and identification documents. st UN Peacekeeping PDT Standards, Specialized Training Material for Police 1 edition 2009

16  § Report Writing Report 2: Armed robbery of UN Police officers At 23:30 hrs Saturday 26 April 2008, in KOLONI district CARANA, UN Police SCHMIDT (CP 8888) and BROWN (CP 9999) were traveling to their home address from KOLONI East police station. When they were approximately 200 meters south of the residence they were approached by two males. The first was described as being between 20 and 25 years of age, 175 centimeters tall, of medium build with dark short curly hair and a moustache. He was wearing dark clothing. The second male was of a similar age and height, but was of stocky build and had a shaven head. The second male was wearing green camouflaged trousers and a black t­shirt. Both males were carrying large bush knives. When the two males approached the UN Police, they demanded money and menaced the UN Police with the knives. Both UN Police handed over the money they had in their possession (SCHMIDT $145.00 and BROWN $35.00). The two offenders then demanded the UN Police to kneel on the ground, which they did. Both UN Police were then assaulted by the offenders, who repeatedly punched and kicked them. Both victims were lying on the ground after suffering injuries from the attack. UN Police SCHMIDT received facial lacerations and a broken left forearm. UN Police BROWN also received facial lacerations and a broken nose. Both offenders have then forced the victims to remove all their clothing and left the scene with the victims’ money and clothing. The two UN Police victims have made it to their residence and contacted UN Police headquarters and an ambulance was dispatched. Both victims were taken to CARANA Hospital and treated for their injuries. Both UN Police were later discharged from Hospital and are recovering at their residence. The victims have been visited by the UN Police Commissioner who is satisfied with their recovery. UN Police National Investigations have conducted an exhaustive enquiry, but as yet the offenders remain at large. Investigations are ongoing. ¥Exercise 2: Incidents Disturbance 1500HRS UN Police attend a location at Ere where CDF and civilians were gathering at a house where a suspected Militia man was staying. The situation was calmed / resolved with removal of the man one Paul OGUVA”. F Expected Outcome: ·   Correct title for report ·   Correct date ·   Location/Grid Reference st UN Peacekeeping PDT Standards, Specialized Training Material for Police 1 edition 2009

Report Writing §      17 ·  Attending UN Police names/numbers ·  Incident description (use the guiding questions 5 Ws and How) ·  First use of abbreviation in a report (spell out in full) ·  Capital letters for names and places ·  Details of persons gathering at house ·  Details of militia person (s) ·  Names of occupants of house ·  Action taken to calm situation ·  Details of the offence OGUVA has committed ·  Follow up action ¥Exercise 3: Disturbance at Refugee Camp 7:15 hrs 05/02/00, UN Police attend at IDP camp where a returnee was accused of Militia affiliation and others were about to harm him. He was removed from the refugee camp and the situation was resolved.” F Expected Outcome: ·  Attending UN Police names/numbers ·  Location/Grid Reference ·  Incident description (use the guiding questions 5 Ws and How) ·  First use of abbreviation in a report (spell out in full) ·  Identify whether this is a refugee or IDP camp ·  Name of camp ·  Name of returnee ·  Details of others relating to harm ·  Where was returnee taken and was there follow up action ·  Further action taken to resolve situation ·  Follow up action st UN Peacekeeping PDT Standards, Specialized Training Material for Police 1 edition 2009