IP 41 Law and Justice 1 Course Development

Unit 4: Police Reports

Unit Details

  • Course Weight: 5%
  • Hours of Instruction: 8 +/-
  • Course Assessment Questions: 5
  • Standard: The Learner will be able to use procedures use to create police reports (RBT: C3)

Indicators

  1. Demonstrate the ability to communicate clearly and professionally.
  2. Utilize field note-taking and report-writing skills to complete police reports.
    Demonstrate the ability to write comprehensive and accurate police reports answering the basic questions of who, what, where, when, how, and why.
  3. Demonstrate professionalism in communicating with others.
  4. Apply active listening skills to obtain and clarify information.
  5. Write a clear and concise narrative report describing a criminal incident.
  6. Create a written report from information collected at mock crime scene.

My Lesson

  • Feel free to use my plans as a guide. My course is based on 52 minute class periods. My students in the first year course are 9th or 10th graders. These materials may need updating. Be sure to check web links.
  • For the first year – I focus mostly on the narratives. Report forms differ by department, and are easy to learn later. A good narrative is what puts the bad guys in jail.

Daily Outline

  • 1 – Readings on police reports
  • 2 – Notes on police reports
  • 3 – Media: Writing Your Report (31 minutes), Narrative practice as group
  • 4 – Narratives with scenario
  • 5 – Peer evaluation, revision
  • 6 – Mock crime scene
  • 7 – Peer evaluation and revision, final submission.

My Dropbox

All the files I used in the this unit can be viewed and downloaded. To print, be sure to download first.

For Police Reports Unit Click Here

Additional Resources

CTE Online

Offers free online content for teachers. Registration required.

TEA CTE

Texas Education Agency has online teacher materials for Texas courses. Click Here

LE I:

  • Unit 8: Interview and Interrogation – Verbal Communication
  • Unit 13: Technical Report Writing

Others – all free

  • Dr. Jean Reynolds Blog – Online class on report writing. I recently found this and may redo my unit with it!. Click Here
  • West Valley College iTunes U Course – various video scenarios for police reports. Click Here