Jussie Smollet is an actor who’s been charged with making himself the victim of a fake crime in order to gain publicity.
Some of the reports in his case have been made public. You can read them here:
The reports are professional, detailed, and well written…but wordy. For example, sentences often begin with “R/D asked” and “R/D learned.” Perhaps the officer has been told not to use the word “I” because it might compromise the report.
If you think about it, though – wouldn’t you use “I” in court? I and me are fine professional words.
Efficiency is another issue. Officers often need to decide how much detail is needed in a report. For example, I would omit the sentence in red:
After a quick search of TCF Bank, R/D learned that TCF Bank was closed for Washington’s Birthday. X and X stated they would go with R/D and Det. Theis to the TCF Bank on 19-Feb-2019 when the bank reopened.
Busy officers can streamline reports by omitting repetitious questions (in red below).
R/D asked and where and when they received and spent the $100 bill tendered to MI SMOLLETT, which was provided to them to buy the rope, masks and hat for this incident. X stated he was pretty sure he received the $100 bill from SMOLLETT on 25-JAN-2019. X stated he was not sure when and where the bill was used. R/D asked how payment was made for the rope, masks and hat and if any receipts were kept for these items. X stated he used loose cash to purchase at the items and kept no receipts.
You can include the rope, masks, hat and receipts in the witness’s answer. Here’s my version:
X stated he was pretty sure he received the $100 bill to buy the rope, masks and hat from SMOLLETT on 25-JAN-2019 . He was not sure when and where he spent the bill. He used loose cash and kept no receipts. 