Seminar Title
Online-Report Writing for Detectives and Criminal Investigators
Dates of Events
01/04/2024 through 01/04/2024
Last Updated: 12/08/2023
Instructor(s): Robert G. Lowery, Jr.
Course Registration Fee: $150
Instructor Bio
Robert G. Lowery, Jr.
Robert Lowery was the 5th police official to be appointed as Commander of the elite 35-year Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad, a multi-jurisdictional violent crime task force concerned with the high profile murder investigations in Missouri and Illinois. Serving 2.5 million citizens across 12 counties. Formed partnerships with Federal Law Enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United State Marshal Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Secret Service and Internal Revenue to maximize resources available for in-progress homicide cases. Robert created the Technical Operations Group, a specially trained team designed to provide electronic support in tracking and locating suspects. Robert created the Family Liaison Program which provided specially trained investigators to work with families of victims of homicide cases, investigated violent crimes with 500 Law Enforcement Investigators from over 100 local, county, state, federal agencies and managed high-level murder cases in collaboration with numerous officers and agencies.
Robert is a member of the International Homicide Investigators Association, Quantico, Virginia, United State Department of Justice, Federal Agency Task Force on Missing and Exploited Children, Washington DC, International Coroners and Medical Examiners Association and Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Academy Association.
Robert Lowery was the 5th police official to be appointed as Commander of the elite 35-year Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad, a multi-jurisdictional violent crime task force concerned with the high profile murder investigations in Missouri and Illinois. Serving 2.5 million citizens across 12 counties. Formed partnerships with Federal Law Enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United State Marshal Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Secret Service and Internal Revenue to maximize resources available for in-progress homicide cases. Robert created the Technical Operations Group, a specially trained team designed to provide electronic support in tracking and locating suspects. Robert created the Family Liaison Program which provided specially trained investigators to work with families of victims of homicide cases, investigated violent crimes with 500 Law Enforcement Investigators from over 100 local, county, state, federal agencies and managed high-level murder cases in collaboration with numerous officers and agencies.
Robert is a member of the International Homicide Investigators Association, Quantico, Virginia, United State Department of Justice, Federal Agency Task Force on Missing and Exploited Children, Washington DC, International Coroners and Medical Examiners Association and Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Academy Association.
Course Objectives
Course Overview:
Report Writing for Detectives and Criminal Investigators
The success or failure of your investigation and prosecution is directly related to your “REPORT”
“From the Crime Scene to the Courtroom”
Date: January 4, 2024
Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm EST
On average detectives spend more time writing police reports and documenting incidents than any other task assigned. It is clearly one of the most important skills a detective must possess – it is the essence of what they do each day. The inability to write good reports will often be a major failing no matter how good their skills may be in other areas. Because of the nature of the work the reports written are required to be the most detailed and comprehensive documents prepared by anyone in the agency. From the very start, detectives must accurately and clearly articulate the elements of the crime, the crime scene, the statements of the victims, witnesses and suspects, leads and information coming into the investigation, the discovery of evidence, its relevance, the proper handling and chain-of-custody of items seized, how suspects were identified and, if an arrest is made, the specific details of the probable cause and arrest.
The report is an historical record that documents all aspects of the incident and investigation that becomes a critical decision-making tool for prosecutors when deciding whether to proceed with criminal prosecutions and when appropriate prepare for trials. Agency supervisors and command staff personnel often use reports to evaluate personnel, or to identify crime trends, agency response to incidents, personnel deployments, policy needs, and even identify future training needs of the agency. Agency attorneys may use reports when evaluating potential legal liabilities or to defend officer actions in the event of a lawsuit.
This two-hour webinar is designed for detectives and criminal investigators to develop proficiencies using an easy to follow four step method – from comprehensive and thorough information gathering, to organizing, the writing stage, and finalizing the document through evaluation and revision.
A section of this training is also dedicated to properly organizing and documenting major incidents. Agency leadership often rely on detectives to record, document and memorialize the response and investigation into major incidents that strike communities, such as mass shootings, officers killed or severely injured, bombings, homicides, felonious assaults, child abductions, hostage situations, and suspected terrorist events. Good report writers have the unique ability to transform chaos into understanding.
Schedule of Topics
Introduction and Preliminary Matters
The Four Primary Uses of Police Reports
The Four Basic Steps for Writing Police Reports
The Comprehensive Information Gathering Step
The Organizational Step
The Commence Writing Step
The Evaluation and Revision Step
Sequencing the Report
Formatting – Tips for Making the Report Easy to Read and Understandable
Properly Identifying Persons
Items - Evidence
Vehicles
The Use of Proper Grammar and Punctuation
The Issue of Brevity and Conciseness vs. Comprehensive and Thoroughness
Exculpatory Information – Evidence
Response to Major Incidents
The success or failure of your investigation and prosecution is directly related to your “REPORT”
“From the Crime Scene to the Courtroom”
Date: January 4, 2024
Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm EST
On average detectives spend more time writing police reports and documenting incidents than any other task assigned. It is clearly one of the most important skills a detective must possess – it is the essence of what they do each day. The inability to write good reports will often be a major failing no matter how good their skills may be in other areas. Because of the nature of the work the reports written are required to be the most detailed and comprehensive documents prepared by anyone in the agency. From the very start, detectives must accurately and clearly articulate the elements of the crime, the crime scene, the statements of the victims, witnesses and suspects, leads and information coming into the investigation, the discovery of evidence, its relevance, the proper handling and chain-of-custody of items seized, how suspects were identified and, if an arrest is made, the specific details of the probable cause and arrest.
The report is an historical record that documents all aspects of the incident and investigation that becomes a critical decision-making tool for prosecutors when deciding whether to proceed with criminal prosecutions and when appropriate prepare for trials. Agency supervisors and command staff personnel often use reports to evaluate personnel, or to identify crime trends, agency response to incidents, personnel deployments, policy needs, and even identify future training needs of the agency. Agency attorneys may use reports when evaluating potential legal liabilities or to defend officer actions in the event of a lawsuit.
This two-hour webinar is designed for detectives and criminal investigators to develop proficiencies using an easy to follow four step method – from comprehensive and thorough information gathering, to organizing, the writing stage, and finalizing the document through evaluation and revision.
A section of this training is also dedicated to properly organizing and documenting major incidents. Agency leadership often rely on detectives to record, document and memorialize the response and investigation into major incidents that strike communities, such as mass shootings, officers killed or severely injured, bombings, homicides, felonious assaults, child abductions, hostage situations, and suspected terrorist events. Good report writers have the unique ability to transform chaos into understanding.
Schedule of Topics
Introduction and Preliminary Matters
The Four Primary Uses of Police Reports
The Four Basic Steps for Writing Police Reports
The Comprehensive Information Gathering Step
The Organizational Step
The Commence Writing Step
The Evaluation and Revision Step
Sequencing the Report
Formatting – Tips for Making the Report Easy to Read and Understandable
Properly Identifying Persons
Items - Evidence
Vehicles
The Use of Proper Grammar and Punctuation
The Issue of Brevity and Conciseness vs. Comprehensive and Thoroughness
Exculpatory Information – Evidence
Response to Major Incidents
