CRIM 205 Police Communication, Report Writing, and Courtroom Testimony
In this applied writing course, students learn how to choose the ideal modality for message delivery considering the purpose, location, and audience, and how to effectively present technical information orally and in writing. Students will practice writing reports in a style and format that best communicates the actions and behavior of others and allows the reader to determine the facts of a specific case. They prepare multiple incident-based reports, interview summaries, memos, executive summaries and management correspondence to a professional standard. Students also become familiar with courtroom personnel, procedures, and protocols; rules of evidence, discovery, and admissibility; how to present legal testimony and evidence; and basic techniques for handling hostile attorneys.
Note: Formerly known as LAWE 205. Must be a School of Criminology and Criminal Justice student, or instructor permission.
Prerequisites
Special information
2 Undergraduate credits
Effective May 3, 2023 to present
Learning outcomes
General
- Write an acceptable incident report, including the basics for an acceptable preliminary investigation for specific crimes.
- Demonstrate the appropriate use of paraphrasing and summarizing.
- Demonstrate an effective operational and administrative report review process
- Write an acceptable arrest report to include the basic details meeting successful review and charging considerations.
- Write a comprehensive memorandum meeting general professional standards and expectations.
- Write an administrative executive summary on a designated project, meeting general professional standards and expectations.
- Write an acceptable victim interview summary, including the proper usage of paraphrasing.
- Review and utilize currently used methods of acceptable report narrative standards.
- Demonstrate an acceptable level of the use of criminal justice vocabulary, grammar usage and punctuation in addition to the use of chronological order.
- Illustrate an acceptable use of criminal justice jargon, language and word usage.
- Demonstrate the appropriate use of gathering information, including names (full information), suspect identification and the proper chain of custody.
Fall 2024
| Section | Title | Instructor | books | eservices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Police Communication, Report Writing, and Courtroom Testimony | MacLean, Chuck | Books for CRIM-205-01 Fall 2024 | Course details for CRIM-205-01 Fall 2024 |