Passive voice often causes problems in criminal justice reports. (Here’s a typical passive voice sentence: The vehicle was searched.) It’s easy to see how passive voice can cause problems, especially in an investigation or court hearing: The sentence doesn’t tell who performed the search.
In general, you should avoid using passive voice in your reports. Be careful, however, not to be fooled into “correcting” sentences that were right in the first place. Make sure a sentence is really passive before you change it.
Here are two examples of what I’m talking about:
The suspects were questioned. PASSIVE VOICE
While we were questioning the subjects, Officer Brown arrived at the scene. ACTIVE VOICE
“We were questioning” is active voice (OK to use) because you know that we were doing it.
Now let’s look at a series of sentences. Can you see which are passive and which are active? Scroll down for the answers.
Jones was seen running away from the convenience store.
Jones was carrying a six-pack of beer and a bottle of white wine.
Three sobriety tests were administered.
Patterson was looking in his wallet for his driver’s license.
Both witnesses were questioned.
Finch was having difficulty answering the questions.
Here are the sentences again, with the passive sentences labeled:
Jones was seen running away from the convenience store. PASSIVE (Who saw him?)
Jones was carrying a six-pack of beer and a bottle of white wine. √
Three sobriety tests were administered. PASSIVE (Who administered them?)
Patterson was looking in his wallet for his driver’s license. √
Both witnesses were questioned. PASSIVE (Who questioned them?)
Finch was having difficulty answering the questions. √
Reminder: Passive voice is acceptable only when you don’t know who performed an action. Otherwise, use active voice.
The two passive voice sentences below are acceptable because the officer writing the report doesn’t know who broke into the store and who took the money and liquor:
The store was broken into at around midnight. [PASSIVE – OK]
Fifty dollars and five bottles of liquor were taken. [PASSIVE – OK]
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