Police is an organization of people with the authority and responsibility to protect public safety, uphold the law, and serve the community. Police are often called upon to keep order at events, such as concerts and protests. The word is also used as a verb, to describe a police officer or group of officers. Several factors determine how a country’s police operate, including types of crime that are most common, how criminals commit those crimes, and the political culture of the society, which includes its view of police accountability (e.g., whether the state maintains a centrally controlled police force or allows local governments to control police operations).
Writes incident reports in order to document the activities of the Department; assists citizens with their problems and advises on crime prevention; attends neighborhood association meetings and other groups; conducts patrols on foot or in a vehicle during shift; and answers calls for assistance; identifies suspects; makes arrests; investigates incidents.
A good police report can be a key factor in solving a case. For this reason, it is important that all officers understand the basic format of a police report. Its most important element is to identify the who, what, when, where and why of a situation. Officers who do not have direct experience at the scene of an incident must rely on witness and suspect statements to fill in gaps in their observations. Those comments must be written clearly so that laypeople, lawyers, and social workers can understand them.
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