Paper pushing

The Ledger

Every now and then, even members of law enforcement skip meals at work, nevermind doughnut and coffee breaks. Busy days often mean more calls for help, and more calls often mean more reports. The arrest or incident report is the crucial basis for any investigation, but how much time officers have to do them is often dictated by the whims of the lawbreakers who keep them busy.

After reports are remotely submitted Lakeland Police Department supervisors Sgt. Bob Rist and Sgt. Marshall Lord, both sitting, man the desks as the reports come in for approval while Lt. Sam Taylor peeks over their shoulders Wednesday January 30, 2008 in Lakeland, Florida.

“If I go to your house and stay two hours, and I have 15 calls in a 12-hour day, that’s a lot of running around,” said Sheriff’s deputy Roxanne O’Rourke, who works from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“That’s no stopping, no eating. My desk is my car,” she said.

Most officers now write reports on the road, but it’s still a time-consuming process, she said. Reports include pages of forms that outline the who, what, when, and where of an incident. Officers must also include a narrative, which is the story of what occurred, explained Sgt. Marshall Lord of the Lakeland Police Department.

“It’s not like a bedtime story you would read,” O’Rourke said. “But as far as law enforcement is concerned it’s a good read.”

“It has to be an accurate representation of what that officer’s investigation revealed because it is utilized by more than just us.”

That’s one of the reasons a report is so valuable, she said.

After an officer finishes a report, it might go to a detective assigned to follow up on the case, it could go to the State Attorney’s Office or if it involves children, it could go to the Department of Children and Families. The reports are requested by insurance companies, for personal records, for civil cases and often prove useful as background for ongoing investigations. For Lakeland police, the report also serves as a filter: is the incident described in the report even a crime?

Months later, if the case goes to court, the report serves as a memory jog for the officer who wrote it.

“You could do a perfect arrest, but if you don’t have a good report, and that’s all the jury or judge is going to see, then you’re probably not going to get a conviction,” said Sgt. Billie Shanley of LPD. “If you don’t document it in a report, it didn’t happen.”

“We go to a lot of scenes and get a lot of calls. We can’t remember everything that happened,” Lord said. “It’s important for future reference.”

Lakeland police officers and deputies often file their reports on the road, using laptops in their patrol cars that are connected to a server. Their supervisors open the reports at other locations and read them over before giving their approval.

“That’s the safety net there,” said Shanley, who teaches classes on report-writing and supervises a number of officers. “We weren’t there. We don’t know what happened. We’re the second set of eyes.”

If Shanley feels like there were holes in the story or questions left unanswered, she’ll send the report back to the officer. Lord said he also looks to make sure that the events described match the alleged crime. Supervisors may even check spelling.

“You don’t want that stuff going to the State Attorney’s office with a misspelling,” O’Rourke said.

The process of report-writing has become more efficient over the years.

Lord remembers when LPD began using computers in the mid-80s. State-of-the-art for their time, the computers were nevertheless slow, heavy and clumsy contraptions, he said.

Each only had room for one large reports or three small ones. The battery never stayed charged for long.

Officers would type up their reports quickly, shut down their computers and bring them back to the department, where they would print the reports.

Now reports can be sent and accessed immediately, from anywhere, he said. On average, Lakeland officers now file 68 reports per day, said Sgt. Terri Smith.

Still, writing reports can be time-consuming and each officer must balance the task with his or her regular patrol duties. It’s an important responsibility, Shanley said.

“You could work here for years and not meet people,” she said. “People know you by the reports you write.”