Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals

Larry S. Miller is Distinguished Professor and Chair of Criminal Justice and Criminology at East Tennessee State University (ETSU). He received his Bachelor of Science from ETSU, a Master of Science from Eastern Kentucky University, and his Ph.D. in Health & Safety with collaterals in Forensic Anthropology and Criminology from The University of Tennessee. Miller, who has worked as a police officer, criminal investigator, and crime laboratory director, teaches in the area of law enforcement and is the author of several books on topics including criminal investigation, criminal justice report writing, police photography, and more. John T. Whitehead is a Professor and former Chair in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at East Tennessee State University. He completed his M.A. at the University of Notre Dame and earned his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from SUNY-Albany. He teaches courses in corrections, criminal justice ethics, and the death penalty.

Section One: The Nature of Report Writing 1. The Why and How of Report Writing 2. Starting to Write 3. The Face Page 4. The Narrative — The Continuation Page and Follow-Up Report 5. Habits that Make for Speedy Writing 6. Other Types of Writing 7. Reading and Correcting Reports Section Two: The Mechanics of Report Writing 8. Simplified Study of Grammar 9. Avoiding Errors in Sentence Structure 10. Making Punctuation Work 11. Breaking the Spelling Jinx 12. Using or Abusing Words 13. Abbreviating and Capitalizing Section Three: The Modernization of Report Writing 14. Innovations and Predictions in Criminal Justice