Newswise — FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – When it comes to the content of a police report, University of Arkansas doctoral student Leslie Seawright found there is a “huge disconnect” between what police officers deem important and what attorneys and judges expect. Seawright has studied hundreds of police reports and determined that officers would be well served by better training in writing these pivotal documents.
“What I hope prosecutors, in particular, realize is that they need to be more hands-on and involved in the training of officers. If they would go in and explain how these reports are really used, officers would have a better sense of purpose in writing them and know what details are crucial,” Seawright said.
Seawright’s dissertation director, David A. Jolliffe, says Seawright’s research supports the notion that reading and writing are essential skills embedded in specific social and professional contexts.
“By taking a detailed look at the demands of reading and, particularly, writing on a police officer, Leslie develops a strong argument for the need to see the work of law enforcement as deeply involved with the social practices of reading and writing,” Jolliffe said.
“Officers want to get in their cars and catch the bad guy, which is absolutely respectable,” Seawright said. “But what they don’t realize is that part of catching the bad guy is crafting the police report for the prosecutor’s case.”
During the course of her research, Seawright discovered that criticisms of police reports differ within the justice system. While police officers and their supervisors are most concerned with the appearance of the document and its professionalism, attorneys complain that proper spelling and punctuation do not win cases.
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