pocket notebook training guide - whatdotheyknow
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Pocket Note Books
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The Pocket Note Book
The Purpose
• A place to record all
evidence/information/intelligence
relating to offences and other events or
incidents
• Therefore an important document that
must be used correctly
• Normally written, although they may be
in sketch form
The pocket notebook is used to record all
evidence/Information/intelligence relating to offences and other events or
incidents.
It is therefore an important document that must be used correctly.
Each police force will have its own policy detailing local procedures for
completing pocket notebooks and other documents at the scene of
incidents or during investigations.
Pocket notebook entries will normally be written although they may be
in sketch form, such as a floor plan to locate where property was found
during a search.
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The Pocket Notebook
When and How
• An official document and must be
carried at all times when on duty.
• The book is issued by a supervisor and
a record is kept of all books issued.
• It is official police property and should
be stored centrally after completion.
Until required for further use.
The majority of police officers are issued with a pocket notebook
which is an official document and must be carried at all times when
on duty in uniform or in plain cloths.
The book is issued by a supervisor and a record is kept of all books
issued.
It is police property and should be stored centrally after completion
until it is required for reference or for use when giving evidence.
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Pocket Note Book
When and How
• Entries should form a comprehensive
record of an event
• Entries will be used as the basis of
reports or statements
• You may use the notebook to refresh
your memory when giving evidence!
Pocket notebook entries should form a comprehensive record of an
event to ensure that you can refer to the maximum amount of information
when giving evidence in court or looking back at incidents/events that you
have dealt with.
Entries will be used as the basis of reports or statements; both these
documents are merely extracts of the facts from the notes and should not
contain any substantive material that was not recorded at the time.
You may use the notebook to refresh your memory when giving
evidence if the court gives permission, providing the court is
satisfied that the entries were made at the time of the offence or
incident or as soon as practicable afterwards.
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Pocket Notebook
When and How
• Accurate notes should be made at the
scene of the incident
• Examined by your supervisors and by
lawyers or court officials when you are
giving evidence during a court case.
• You must ensure that all entries are
legible.
There are events for which specific official documents are provided for
completion at the scene or during your investigation. These include road
traffic accident cards, crime reports, process cards and fixed penalty
notices. On these occasions the pocket notebook is usually used only to
make an entry referring to your attendance at the incident and the
completion of the other documents, although there are variations in force
policies. These forms will be explained later on in the course depending
on your role.
Accurate notes should be made at the scene of the incident and at
other stages of the investigation to enable the information to be used at a
later date. The notes should not be limited to those matters that you are
able to give in evidence, but should include all material that may have
some bearing on the incident and the investigation. An example of this
would be the exact words used by a victim or witness which you may not
be allowed to give in evidence but may be significant at a later stage in
the investigation. The importance of this will become clearer when you
have studied the rules governing hearsay evidence.
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Pocket Notebook
• Pocket notebooks are subject to the scrutiny of the court
• Rules for its completion have been established
• These should become second nature to you
• Helps promote your reliability as a witness and the reputation of the service as a whole
The pocket notebook is subject to the scrutiny of the court and in order to
support its integrity a number of rules for its completion have been
established. These should become second nature to you and, if
followed carefully, will help to promote your reliability as a witness and
the reputation of the service as a whole. Failure to comply with these
rules may lead the court to question the accuracy of your evidence and
your honesty as a witness. This in turn may result in the exclusion of your
evidence and ultimately in the dismissal of the case.
For example, a record must be made of the description of any suspect as
first given to you by a witness. This requirement is made by the Codes of
Practice to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). The
Codes provide instructions to the police in dealing with many incidents
and occasions such as searching and interviewing suspects. You will
cover PACE and the Codes during your training
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Pocket Notebook
POCKET NOTE BOOK
RULES
As mentioned previously, in order to support the reliability and accuracy of
entries in the pocket notebook a number of rules have been established.
These are intended to ensure that entries are made at the time of the
event they refer to and are not the subject of unauthorised or dishonest
alteration. If the rules are followed, the entries and consequentially the
evidence that they support should withstand scrutiny.
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Pocket Notebook
Rules
• Entries should be made in black ink.
• The day, date and year should be recorded and underlined at the beginning of entries for that day.
• All DAYS, DATES TIMES, PLACES AND ADDRESSES should be in block capitals.
• Entries should be made only on the lines of the pages of the book and all lines and pages should be used.
• Each entry should include time and location.
• All time to be recorded using 24hr clock
Entries should be made in black ink.
The day, date and year should be recorded and underlined at the
beginning of entries for that day.
All surnames and place names should be in block capitals.
Entries should be made only on the lines of the pages of the book and all
lines and pages should be used.
Each entry should include time and location.
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Pocket Notebook
What should be recorded
• Names, addresses dates of birth and occupation of victims, offenders, witnesses and informants, full descriptive details of vehicles, property or documents involved
• Names must be written in BLOCK CAPITALS (surnames must be larger than others)
• Cancel errors by drawing a line through it to leave the original visible and initial
Additional information about the offender may be relevant depending on
the incident.
Where the incident involves vehicles, property or documents, full
descriptive details should be recorded including unique identifiers, e.g.
registration marks, serial numbers etc.
Entries should be made at the time of the event which is being recorded
or, where circumstances prevent this, as soon as possible after the event.
Where there is a delay the specific reasons should be included, for
example the conduct of the suspect or other persons involved in the
incident.
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Pocket Notebook
• People (10-point description)
• Vehicles (colour, make, type registration
number)
• Entries should be made at the time of
the event which is being recorded or,
where circumstances prevent this, as
soon as possible after the event
The trainer should explain how people and vehicles should be described
in pocket notebooks. The 10 point description is contained in the student
file guide as follows:
1. colour
2. sex
3. age
4. height - use between heights or ‘about 5’8’ rather than a precise
height
5. build
6. hairstyle and colour
7. complexion
8. distinguishing features, eg tattoos, scars, beard, etc and include if
they wore spectacles
9. clothing (from top to bottom)
10. carrying anything.
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Pocket Notebook
• A mount of time under observation
• D istance from incident/person(s)
• V isibility
• O bscured view?
• K nown or seen before? If so…
• A ny reason to remember?
• T ime elapsed since incident
• E rrors or material discrepancies
material discrepancies
The trainer should summarise the stated case of R v Turnbull [1976] before
explaining the mnemonic.
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Pocket Notebook
Rules
• Record information or a person’s
account of an incident
Q: “tell me what happened?”
A: “I was walking along the High Street
when ...”
• Then followed by a section of narrative
which accurately explains the event
It is often necessary to record information or a person’s account of an
incident immediately into the notebook and, as a result, the entry may not
necessarily make sense to a reader. Such an entry should be made in
direct speech wherever possible, for example:
Q: “Can you explain what happened?”
A: “Yes, I was walking along the High Street when ...”
It should then be followed by a section of narrative which accurately
explains the event.
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Pocket Notebook
Rules
• Any comments made by a person suspected of committing an offence whether these comments are in response to your questions or not.
• If the suspected person refuses to read or sign the note
A note should be made of any comments made by a person suspected
of committing an offence whether these comments are in response
to your questions or not. The person should be invited to read the note
and write an endorsement to the effect that ‘I certify that this is a true and
accurate record of the conversation that took place’. This should be
signed by the suspect and the officer as the conversation may be
construed to be an interview. If the suspect does not consider it to be
correct, he or she should be invited to indicate which details are
considered to be inaccurate and to sign a record of those details.
If the suspected person refuses to read or sign the note, this should be
noted and signed by the officer. The senior officer present should read
the note over to the suspect and ask whether he would like to sign it as
correct, or indicate the aspects he considers to be inaccurate, then
endorse the pocket notebook as to what has taken place.
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Pocket Notebook
Rules
• If whole or part pages are accidentally left blank
• Joint notes
• No pocket available
Blank
Where whole or part pages are accidentally left blank a diagonal line
should be drawn across the blank area and ‘omitted in error’ written
across the page if a mistake is made, cross it out with a single line so that
the word or words remain legible. Initial the deletion and follow it with the
replacement word or words.
Joint notes
Where a number of officers have witnessed the same incident, or have
been present at an interview, they may confer when preparing notes.
Such notes must, however, include only genuine recollections of the
officers concerned. Where joint notes have been made it is necessary
that the officers endorse their own pocket notebooks to the effect that this
has happened and include the times between which the note-writing took
place, the location and who was present.
No pocket notebook available
When you are off duty and not in possession of your pocket notebook or
when, for any other reason, it is not available to you and there is the need
to make notes, you may use any available piece of paper for the purpose.
The general rules for note taking should be followed wherever possible
and the note should be formally preserved as an ‘exhibit’ and attached to
any subsequent report or statement. It may be used as a reference when
giving evidence and should therefore be available for inspection at court.
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ELBOWS
• No Erasure
• No Leaves torn out
• No Blank spaces
• No Over writing
• No Writing between the lines
• Statements to be in ‘direct speech’
The Report Book Rules can be summarised by the mnemonic
‘ELBOWS’
NO ERASURES
Erasures
NO LEAVES TORN OUT
Leaves torn out
NO BLANK SPACES
Blank spaces
NO OVERWRITING
Overwriting
NOWRITING BETWEEN THE LINES Writing between
lines
And
STATEMENTS IN DIRECT SPEECH Statements in
“direct speech”