Should you use the first-person pronouns “I” and “me” in a police report? For many years the answer was no. Third person (he, she) was required by most police agencies. You couldn’t say “I talked to the driver.” You had to say, “This officer talked to the driver.”
In recent years, however, many agencies have told their officers that’s it’s okay to use “I” and “me.” Is that a favorable trend – or a practice that should be deplored?
The answer is that the change is a good thing. The old-fashioned rule that officers should never use “I” and “me” was…quite simply…a mistake. It was based on magical thinking, not fact – inappropriate in a law enforcement agency.
Here’s what I mean. Criminal justice professionals used to believe (wrongly) that “I” and “me” were subjective words. Officers who wrote “I heard a scream” might be lying. But if they wrote, “A scream was heard by this officer,” they were certain to be telling the truth.
That is absolute nonsense. Honesty and objectivity are character traits, not verbal tricks. You can’t turn a dishonest person into an honest one just by banishing the words “I” and “me” from their vocabulary.
And here’s something else to think about. If you were testifying in court, you would use the words “I” and “me” repeatedly to describe what you saw, heard, and did. “I” and “me” are perfectly good words.
There’s one more point: The verbal gymnastics needed to avoid saying “I” and “me” waste time and lead to tangled sentences. Try spending a day without saying “I” and “me” and you’ll see exactly what I mean. “This person would like a cup of coffee, please.” “No, coffee is taken black by the person who ordered it.” Good grief!
Police reports should be written in third person. The reason for this is when someone else is reading the report or multiple reports you will have to refer back to who I was in each report. It is a lot easier to remember when a name is used in its place. This is something like reading off a plate number ABCD123 when it is easier to remember Alpha, Bravo, Charlie Delta, 1,2,3.
I’ve never heard of anyone having a problem keeping track of who “I” was when reading police reports. This is new to me.
I often read multiple emails at one sitting. In each one, “I” may be a different person. I have no problem keeping them straight.
When I write emails myself, I always use “I.” It would seem strange to write, “Jean wants to know if she can schedule the meeting for three o’clock on Wednesday.” My preference is “I’d like to schedule the meeting for three o’clock on Wednesday.”
I disagree with Officer Luiz. It has been proven time and again that reading reports in first person, passive tense is much easier and reader retention is significantly better. Third person is regarded as distancing language and the author when using third person psychologically removes him/herself from the event being reported and details and vividness suffer. Additionally, empirical research substantially supports that when an incident/event is reported in first person, it aids in enhancing the author’s memories and recall and will much better recall the reported event when and if it becomes necessary to testify. Supportive empirical, peer-viewed literature is abundant in this regard!
I think you’re right – and you made some excellent points that I hadn’t thought of – the distancing and memory issues, for example. Thanks!
I made a mistake in stating “first person, passive tense.” It should be “first person, active voice.” Sorry for any confusion.
It drives me absolutely nuts to see an officer use “This Officer and their name” in narratives. Writing in third person is antiquated and certainly outdated. I learned years ago write in first person! As the DA Investigator said in makes reports flow better and they can be read easier.
If your agency requires third person, they are 30-40 years behind.
I absolutely agree! So well said. Thanks for posting this! Jean Reynolds