Criminal Justice 6: Objectivity

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REPORT WRITING THE HOW AND WHY Part 6 Objectivity

Objective vs. Subjective  subjective refers to your opinion  objective refers to impartial factsSubjectivity (opinions, conclusions) is not appropriate in a criminal justice report

What makes a report objective? It includes factual information only It records what you saw or heard, and nothing else It excludes your thoughts, opinions, hunches, guesses, a nd suspicions

Why is objectivity important? It demonstrates your professionalism It increases your credibility in a court hearing It facilitates investigations and prosecutions It eliminates the need to defend your thinking processes

What does objectivity look like? subjective objective sloppy faded shirt, torn sleeve, brown stains defiant stared straight ahead, didn’t answer questions afraid lips trembled, hands shook drunk failed two sobriety tests reckless 45 mph in a 20 mph zone, drove through a stop sign crazy zigzagged along the sidewalk, talked to herself

Avoid subjective statements. Instead, quoteexactly what suspects and witnesses say: not threatened but “I’ll kill her if she comes back here” not confused but “I don’t know why he did that to me” not disrespectful but “You ain’t my father, and I ain’t listening to you”

Avoid conclusions. Record only what yousawandheard: not suspicious but “walked rapidly and looked behind him six times in less than a minute” not dangerous but “clenched his fists and shouted” not filthy but “roaches, urine, and dishes with moldy food”

Subjectivity comes from your commitment tointegrity, not verbal gimmicks: I is just as objective as this officer Lucia Caruso is just as objective as Victim 1 Sam Wiley is just as objective as the abovenamed suspect

To Learn More:The Criminal Justice Report Writing Guide for Officers is available in softcover ($19.95) from www.Amazon.com and in a variety of ebook and Apple formats (Kindle, Nook, SONY etc.) for $11.99 from www.Smashwords.com. Read a free sample online!

Criminal Justice 6: Objectivity

by Jean Reynolds

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