Policy
Handwritten offense/incident reports must be written in ink and legible for entry by support staff into CAPRS. Illegible reports will be returned to the officer to be rewritten or entered directly into CAPRS.
All arrest reports and statements shall be completed immediately following processing of the suspect. All other reports and statements must be completed and submitted to the officer’s supervisor during the shift, and all reports shall be submitted before the end of the shift. Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that their subordinates submit all reports within defined time frames.
Definitions
Refer to the Commonly Used Terms page for general definitions.
- Reports and Statements: Police Report: A report or statement in a report that sets forth the officer's account of an incident and is entered into the MPD's Records Management System.
Public Safety Statement: A mandatory statement from the Involved Officers which provides information necessary to ensure public safety. This may include questions about the direction in which the Involved Officer fired their firearm, injured people, location of dangerous weapons or information on any suspects still at large and any other information necessary to facilitate the commencement of the investigation.
Voluntary Statement: A statement given by Involved or Witness Officers to Investigations Bureau Investigators which is voluntary and outlines details associated with the Critical Incident. Voluntary statements from officers are essential for bringing criminal charges against suspects, defending officers, and maintaining community trust by providing the Chief of Police with sufficient information to appropriately address community concerns. Voluntary statements will be taken in question and answer (Q&A) format.