Something I love about detective work is the detective supplemental report. That’s the report that builds on the initial patrol officer’s primary report. It’s essentially how the case gets closed. A lot rides on that initial report...

Beat cops are very busy. 911 calls are relentless on many shifts until the wee hours. Cops write reports. That’s a big part of what we do. Writing a good initial report stems from handling the case well & handling the case well stems from knowing what a good report needs...

Most calls are not crime. They’re ‘near crime’ in that if the cops don’t show up someone is gonna get a fork in their forehead or something. There’s no ‘crime’ to ‘solve’. It’s conflict resolution. But then there are the crimes. And a good report rests on good questions...

Just a few extra questions, & good observations & curiosity generate the seed material for a good report. It creates solvability factors that detectives need/love for follow up. But lots of crimes have no solvability factors. But some do. Important to know which is which...

Forensics like prints (the beat cop pulls prints on entering auto crimes and most burglaries) and discussion over how the victim thinks might be involved set the stage. But the beat cop needs to engage in collaborative justice where she & the victim are a team. For real...

Once the beat cop clears the call & there’s time to write, she writes the initial report. That report is critical. It expands the collaborative justice team to now include the detective assigned to the case. Reports don’t need to be long; They need to be good...

So then a doofus like me reads the report & tries to see if there is anything there. Any path for the team to ‘solve’ the puzzle. Any case of entering auto with no forensics or camera & no witnesses or traceable stolen items is not solvable. And a good report shows that as well..

I get the case & look at records for background, then call the victim & go over what happened. I go to the scene. I have the luxury of time kinda. And I deepen the sense of collaborative justice by explaining what we are trying to do & how. That begins my detective supplemental..

It’s a diary of my involvement. And just as with CIA, if it ain’t written down it didn’t happen. So I write. Ask questions. Write notes. Expand the team’s knowledge. This can happen fast. Luck is huge but so is curiosity & a sense that there is no better time than now to work it.

Within a few days or less, I might have enough to get a warrant. Or go ask suspects questions. There I’m straight forward. No tricks. I tell them what’s going on & do they have a side to tell. That all goes in the supplemental...

I can clear a case when I’ve exhausted all leads if there were any. Or when I’ve taken out a warrant. Or made the arrest myself. To note, these are all felony cases. We don’t work misdemeanors. And these felony cases require good reports to solve and good reports to stick...

It’s a nice feeling to take an initial something and help shape it into a concrete positive for my neighbors. Getting notified of an arrest for one of my warrants is a good thing for team collaborative justice. That’s my team. Our team. And how we do that job is important...

It’s not a feel good philosophy, this collaborative justice team approach. It’s the most effective positive way to work the case. Everyone, even the suspects, are involved to a degree. No tricks. Just good questions, luck, and, finally, good reports. I love my job.