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Stages of Writing
Investigative writing, when methodically done is much like a construction of a
building. You move in sages. You gather all the materials you need, sort them out, cut
them to size, and join them together according to a plan. Before you end, you then give
your building the finishing work it requires.
Two (2) stages of Investigative Writing
First stage is Pre-work. Here, you are at the beginning of your writing assignment
and are looking at the facts and evidence of the case as they are made available to you.
If it is a new case, the facts might come from interviews of the persons involved in the
problem or from related documents that require sorting. These materials would be
absolutely raw. Quite often, the dates when the important events took place are mixed
up. On the other hand, if it is a case that had undergone trial, you might be looking at the
transcript of the testimonies of witnesses and the documentary exhibits presented in the
case.
Pre-work is a process. Whatever your assignment might be, your pre-work would
be inadequate unless you go through at least five levels of efforts:
1. Establishing where the dispute lies in the case;
2. Discovering relevant facts;
3. Knowing the laws or rules that apply to it;
4. Identifying the issue or issues that you would address;
5. Roughing out the arguments that you would use.
The Second Stage is Write-up. Here, having all the ideas you need concerning
your legal writing assignment, your task is to put flesh color, and shape to them. You will
now transform the sketches and outlines you produced during pre-work into a full draft of
the paper required.
Editing and rewriting will complete the write-up stage.
Value of Pre-work
Most haphazardly finished writing can be traces to lack of pre-work or to pre-work
hastily done. The need for pre-work is true for all kinds of presentations that are aimed to
convince others to a certain point of view. A successful salesman needs to have complete
knowledge and mastery of his products, all its good points and bad. With this edge, he
can the develop his sales pitch or the line of arguments he could draw from, polish them
to perfection, and make a sale. In a real sense, investigative writing is a sort of
presentation. It should be a convincing presentation of the case in the limited time that he
is able to hold his reader’s attention. To succeed in this, it needs pre-work.
Lack of time to do pre-work, a frequent excuse, cannot be a valid justification for
dispensing with one. The writer who settles for an opinion, pleading, or position paper not
based on pre-work does not care about the comprehensiveness and convincing quality
of his work. He does not care about its results. This attitude, however, is the reason
behind may failed legal writing and careers. You do not want this.
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TYPES OF REPORT TO BE PREPARED
1. Initial or Preliminary Report – This is done as soon as complaint is received. Reporting
process begins when officer completes preliminary investigation report referred to as
case report.
o Case Report – Refers to the initial detailed listing of the facts of the case.
THE PRELIMINARY REPORT CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING:
• The offense/crime committed
• Current date/time
• Date and time when the crimes were committed
• Identification date pertaining to victim or other reporting party
• Location of offense
• Method of operation
• Identification data pertaining to suspect(s)
• Identification of officer(s)
2. PROGRESS REPORT – This describes the progress of the investigation from time to
time and ensures constant follow up. It contains: identification of evidences noted,
accurate and pertinent other facts
3. FINAL INVESTIGATION REPORT – It is a report rendered when the case is
completed, that is complainant(s), witnesses, sufficiency of evidence and perpetrators
are identified so as to warrant filing of case and/or termination of investigation due to
circumstances listed; This shows the complete, more detailed report, which contains
sufficient evidence noted, identity of perpetrators, which warrant the filing of the case
to court
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Police Blotter
The Police Blotter is a record of daily events occurring within the territories and
jurisdictions of a given police unit or command. It contains material details concerning the
event for legal and statistical purposes. The front cover of the blotter shall contain the
name or designation of the police force and particular police district or station, together
with the designation of the specific police unit or sub-station, the volume or book number,
the series number and the period covered.
• Contents - The entry in the police blotter answers the 5Ws and 1H questions: who –
what - why – where – when – how. In answering the 5W’s and 1H questions, and the
case disposition, all details about the event must be included such as:
a. name of the suspect
b. name/s of the victim
c. eyewitnesses, if any
d. nature of the action or offense
e. possible motive
f. place, date and the time of occurrence
g. significant circumstances that aggravate or mitigate the event
h. identity of the officer
i. to whom the case was assigned
j. officer-on-the case
k. status of the case
Incidents or transactions for police blotter
a. Violation of laws and ordinances reported and recorded;
b. All calls in which any member of the PNP is dispatched or takes official action;
c. All fire alarms, report and information received by the stations;
d. Movements of prisoners with corresponding notations on the authority for such
movements;
e. Cases of missing and found persons, animals and property;
f. Vehicular and other types of accidents which require police action;
g. All personal injuries, bodies found, and suicides;
h. Damage to property;
i. All cases in which a police member is involved;
j. All arrests and returns made; and
k. Miscellaneous cases, general and special orders, violations of rules and
regulations,
l. Any other reportable incident that the substation, station commander, or higher
authority desires to be recorded.
Guidelines for making entries in police blotter
a. All entries in the police blotter shall be handwritten in a clear, concise and simple
manner but must answer as far as practicable, the 5W’s and 1H.
b. Only facts are entered in the blotter.
c. No erasures shall be made on the entries. Corrections are made by drawing a
horizontal line over such words or phrases and the actual entry initiated by the
police officer making the correction.
d. A ball pen or pen with blue, black or blue-black ink is used for making the entries.
e. Misrepresentations in the blotter or any attempt to suppress any information are
punishable criminally and administratively.
f. All entries must be legibly written in longhand and consecutively numbered.
g. Every page of the blotter shall be consecutively or chronologically filled in. No line
or space shall be left blank between any two entries.
h. Any development of the case to be reflected in the blotter should be a new entry
at the time and day it was reported. A reference to the previous entry number of
the case, however should be made.
i. During every shift, the Duty Sergeant, under the supervision of the Duty Officer or
Complaint Desk officer, shall make the actual entries on the blotter and at the end
of their tour of duty, both the Duty Sergeant and Duty Complaint Desk Officer shall
sign the blotter.
• Maintenance of Police Blotters - As per rules and standards, every police station
or sub-station maintains a police blotter. All PNP operating units or divisions in the
Metropolitan Police district, in addition to the stations and sub-stations maintains
a separate blotter.
• Responsibility in supplying Police Blotters - The general headquarters,
Philippine National Police supplies police blotters among all PNP units, stations or
sub-stations which in turn reflect the same on their property books. The PNP unit
commanders are responsible for the proper maintenance, use, safekeeping and
accounting of the police blotters. Pending procurement and issuance of police
blotters by GHQ PNP, police forces continue to use the police blotter accepted
format.
FORM NO.3
SAMPLE OF POLICE BLOTTER
ENTRY NO. DATE TIME EVENTS/INCIDENT DISPOSITION
