CHAPTER 3: INCIDENT REPORT

The purpose of the incident report is to document the details of the inccurrence while they are
fresh to the minds of those who witnessed the event. This information may be useful in the
future when dealing with liability issues stemming from an incident. Accordingly, the flash
report must be filled out as soon as possible following the incident. In this way, the details of
the report are as much as possible accurate, and complete, as well. Most incident reports that
are prepared and subsequently submitted to higher police office involve crimes or accidents
with victims who suffered injuries or died. In the event that an incident involves a crime
against person, the victim must be contacted for a second time to check, whether the
information provided has changed, including continuous medication and psychological
counseling.

General Objectives

Sometimes, incident reports on national security, peace and order, and law enforcement reach
the National Headquarters (NHO) in a very-delaved basis. With the amenities of modern
technology, late reports should be the least problems of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
In such instances, the media are the first to report these incidents to the public ahead of the
PNP, and its subordinated units in informing higher authorities.
The situation affects the effective management of the country's police force in its everyday
operation. Furthermore, it has negatively In fluenced the public perception on the
organization's ability to carry out its mandated functions, and it has eroded the police
organization and law enforcement agency's image.

Rationale of the Incident Report

Contributory to these lapses, which are needed to be corrected, are the following:

1. The intermediate police office or law enforcement agency fails to closely monitor the
activities of lower-level offices. As a matter of policy, significant incidents should be reported
to the highest office of the police organization or law enforcement agency in the shortest
possible time.
2. Intermediate police offices or law enforcement agency passive in monitoring significant
events or incidents, just waiting for the report from lower units, without them exerting efforts
to obtain the same upon their own instance. Lower units on the other hand, do not appreciate
the importance of prompt and timely information regarding significant incidents.
3. Incomplete information on significant events or incidents.
Sometimes, the intermediate police office or law enforcement agency cannot render reports to
a higher office due to vague, insufficient and sketchy information on an incident despite a
considerable lapse of time.
Such predicament is a vicious situation repeated from the intermediate police or law
enforcement office to higher police or law enforcement office, thus, it is a major cause for
delayed reports.

Purpose of the Report

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) No. 99-10-01, National Headquarters, Philippine

National Police (NHQ, PNP), dated October 4, 1999, prescribes standardized procedures in the
proper preparation and submission of significant incident reports through the fastest means of
transmission or communication facilities available, and it details ways of expediting the
preparation of such reports to make it more convenient to manage the organization's daily
operation in furtherance of the country's police mandated functions.

Definition of Terms

For purposes of this directive, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
Flash Report. It is a brief dispatch giving preliminary information on an incident or event and
informing in advance a higher office or another unit of the occurrence of a significant incident
within area of responsibilities or AOR of the reporting unit, or rendered by a unit that has no
jurisdiction over the incident but was the first one who came to know the incident.
Intermediate Office. That is other than the National Headquarters, Philippine National Police
(NHQ, PNP), it may either be a national regional, provincial and city or municipal level office
or unit that has lower units over which it exercises administrative and operational supervision.
Significant Incidents or Events. They are any of the incidents or events which are considered as
important to be monitored by the Philippine National Police (PNP) for purposes of effectively
managing the operational mission of the organization.

Concept of Implementation

To minimize instances of late and incomplete reports, these guidelines shall be implemented:
1. In preparing narrative reports, all units and offices shall comp! with certain criteria in
writing and filing significant incident reports to higher police office, such as: clarity, accuracy,
brevity, specificit) timeliness, completeness, security, and impartiality.

2. Flash report shall be used for purposes of informing a higher office in advance the re-
occurrence of a significant incident. A flash report is not necessarily a written narrative.
However, within three hours from the time of rendering such advance information, the
narrative report shall be submitted.
3. Whether flash report or written report on significant events; lower units that have the
facilities shall furnish the report by fax directly to the Central Operations Center, Directorate
for Operations (COC, DO). It shall be sent simultaneously with the report to the next higher
office of the reporting unit.
4. For significant incidents that need to be reported to higher offices ASAP, the use of
authorized narrative reporting formats is enjoined. Except for the flash report where radio
messages may be useful, radiographic format should not be used in writing a narrative report
on significant events.
5. Just as the National Headquarters, Philippine National Police (NHQ, PNP), through the
Central Operations Center, Directorate for Operations (COC, DO) shall monitor all significant
incidents, the intermediate police office shall likewise periodically and religiously monitor
significant incidents within their area of responsibility. Other sources of information on
significant incidents, particularly the media, shall also be constantly monitored.
6. When significant incidents have been monitored by the Central Operations Center,
Directorate for Operations (COC, DO), and other supervising units shall solicit the appropriate
report of the incident from a lower unit, if the latter fails to submit the same within the
timeframe required.

List of Significant Incidents

Directorate for Operations (DO) memorandum dated January 19, 1996, which was approved by
The Chief Directorial Staff (TCDS) on January 24, 1996, shall serve as a basis in determining
and classifying incidents whether these are significant or not. The following are considered as
significant events or incidents.
1. Incidents involving prominent personalities, such as:
a. Religious leaders, i.e., priests, imams or pastors;
b. National and local government officials, including barangay officials;
c. Foreign nationals, as follows: diplomats, ambassadors, consul, attaches, tourists, and
balikbayans; and
d. Other personalities whose involvement in incidents may result to controversies or publicity.
2. Incidents involving national security, such as:
a. Attacks on towns, barangays or other populated area;
b. Attacks or raids on military or police installations;
c. Raids or ambuscades of military troops or police;
d. Liquidations of government officials, military or police personnel;
c. Encounters with dissident terrorists, syndicates or organized crime groups;
f. Terrorist incidents, such as hijacking, hostage-taking, and othe crisis management situations;
g. Bombings or explosions; and
h. Mass actions.
3. Jail breaks, escape of prisoners or detainees, or jail/prison riots.

4. Arson cases or structural fires with estimated damages of

P50,000.00 or more.
5. Heinous crimes involving prominent people, the arrest or neutralization of wanted
personalities, the rescue of kidnapping or abduction victims, or the recovery of sizeable
amounts of contrabands.
6. Robbery hold-up perpetrated by syndicated crime groups.
7. Election-related violations of laws.
8. Disaster or calamity incidents or relief and rescue operations.
9. Surrender of enemy personalities, notorious or wanted individuals, or recovery of sizeable
number of loose or unlicensed
firearms.
10. Land, water or air mishaps.
Incidents that are not included in the list shall be left upon the discretion of the head of the
police or unit concerned to classify whether significant or not.
Field units must submit the report to a higher office and to the national headquarters within one
hour from the occurrence of the foregoing events or incidents, or from the time that the police
and law enforcement agency had come to know of the said incidents or events for information
of higher authorities.
These significant incidents shall be reflected in the Philippine National Police Daily Command
Journal (PNPDCJ), and the Central Operations Center (COC) shall prepare incident reports and
letter to appropriate authorities immediately after receiving proper reports from lower units.

Criteria of Incident Report

To standardize report writing of significant events or incidents, and to ensure that the flash
report is complete and to expedite submission of the same to intermediate or higher police
offices, the following guidelines shall be adopted:
1. Any of the following report formats may be used in writing and submitting the significant
event or incident report, i.e., memorandum report and semi-block letter report.
2. The above formats for flash report are just guides, and are not necessarily the exact ones to
be used. Modifications are encouraged for purposes of attaining the criteria of a good incident
report.
3. In preparing flash reports for significant incidents, filing reports to higher police offices, all
police units and offices shall comply with the following criteria in writing, such as, clarity,
accuracy, brevity, specificity, timeliness, completeness, security, and impartiality.
4. As much as possible, the chief of office or head of the law enforcement agency shall sign the
incident report. The use of substitute signatory is discouraged.

Format of Incident Report

The formats for significant events or incident reports are as follows:

1. The report formats for specific significant incidents shall be used in transmitting information
to higher offices and the national headquarters.
2. The formats are just guide in preparing the flash report. Any of the basic formats may be
used in reporting other event or incident, or i may be modified to suit the peculiarity of a
significant event or incident to be reported, provided that the essential elements of information
are supplied through the use of such modified format.
3. To facilitate the preparation of the significant event or inciden report, the available data on
the significant event or incident may b supplied in the format. Entries may either be typed or
handwritten capital letter to ensure legibility of the same.

4. In preparing the significant event or incident report, completeness may initially be waived. It
is enough that the "who,"
"what," the "when," and the "where" data regarding the incident are
indicated. The "how"
and the "why" of the incident may be provided in
the subsequently submitted narrative report. If the information is already complete, the same
must be included in the report.
5. The type of significant event or incident, the cite number of the report, the source of
information, and the time the information was received by the reporting unit must be clearly
indicated.
6. The significant event or incident report must be signed by the action PNCO and a
responsible supervisor. It must be sent to the next higher office through the fastest means of
communication. In instances where a fax machine is not available, it may be dictated through a
radio or telephone transmission by the sending unit, with the receiving unit filing up the
appropriate entries in a similar format. The names of the action PNCO and the one who
authorized the dispatch of the report shall be indicated in such circumstances.

Writing the Incident Report

A good significant event or incident report gives a thorough account of what happened without
glossing over unsavory information or leaving out important facts. If the report writer wants to
learn how to write an excellent incident report, keep reading. The following are the simple tips
on how to write an effective incident report:
1. Observe the Protocol. The following protocol must be observed in writing an incident report:
a. Use the Proper Form. Each incident has a different form in place of preparing and filing an
incident report. In some cases, the first responder is responsible for filling out the form used by
the police office, and in other cases the police officer will be asked to type or write the report
by hand. Once the form is filled out properly, there is a need to refer it to the concerned law
enforcement authorities.

In Start the Report as Son as Posible. Wite it the same day ar the incident, if possible, because
rife ssible: wonder wil wait a da the Irs, his or her memory Will start to forst responder y.
Therefore. ho Irst responder should write down the stat lite fle or she necds to writember as
soon as the incidont occurs, and do the incident report writing within the first twenty-hours
afterward.
Provide the Basic Facts. The form may have blanks for the first responder to fill out with
information about the incident. If not, start the report with a sentence clearly stating the
following basic information, that is, the time, date and location of the incident, the name and
badge and ID number, names of other officers present, and the names of possible witnesses
available.
2. Describing the Basic Facts. In describing the basic facts of the incidents, the following must
be considered:
a. Write the Narrative. For the meat of the incident report, the first responders must write a
detailed, chronological narrative of exactly What happened upon arrival at the crime scene.
Use the full names of each person who is included in the report, and start a new paragraph to
describe each person's actions separately. Provide the answers to the who, what, when, where,
and why of what happened.
b. Be Complete. Write as much as possible complete facts of incident as they are being
remembered; the more details the better. Do not leave room for people reading the incident
report to interpret something the wrong way. Do not worry about the incident report being too
long or wordy. The important thing is to report a complete picture of what occurred.
c. Be Accurate. The first responder must not write something in the significant event or
incident report that he or she is not sure that it has actually happened. If it is hearsay, just
report it is hearsay and not fact. For example, if a witness says that he saw someone leapt over
a fence and ran away, be sure it is clear that the incident was a witness account, and that it is
not whether it actually happened.
d. Be Clear. Do not use confusing language to describe what occurred. The report should be
clear and concise. Use short, to-the-point, fact-oriented sentences that do not leave room for
interpretation.
An example is to write the suspect's name, walked over to his wile-mentioned the name, and
forcefully grabbed her by the wrist.
e. Be Honest. Even if the first responder is not proud of how he or she handled the situation, it
is imperative that he or she must write an honest account. Writing something untrue may end
up surfacing later, putting the police career in jeopardy and causing problems for the people
involved in the incident. It is a must to preserve the integrity of the police organization he or
she represents by telling the truth.
following are the requirements:
3. Polishing the Report. In polishing the incident report, the
a. Edit and Proofread the Incident Report. Read through it to make sure it is coherent and easy
to understand. Double check all the facts, including spellings of names, dates, times, addresses,
license plate numbers, and so on. Make sure the first responder did not leave out any
information that should have been included. Look for obvious gaps in the narrative that you
might need to fill in.
b. Submit the Incident Report. Find out the name of the person to whom or the intermediate
police office where the incident report shall be submitted. When possible, personally submit
significant event or incident report. In situations where it is mailed or e-mailed, make a follow-
up call within a seven-day period to ensure that the significant event or incident report was
received.
Elements of Incident Report

The following are other guidelines or the things to include in the significant event or incident
report. The information needed for a report will be based on the type of event or incident, and
how the information is presented in making the report, as follows:
1. Nature of the Incident. Describe the nature of the incident. If there is a discrepancy between
the nature of the incident and what it was found on arrival, be sure to document the
discrepancy. Provide details for someone who was not there to develop a mental picture of The
incident. information covered in other parts does not have to be repeated in the narrative unless
it makes the reports not or casier to
2. Personal Observations. What did the first responder observe?
Observations, like six-up. take place throughout the incident, so do not limit to the things
observed strictly upon arrival. What did the first responder see before arrival, e.g., smoke from
the fire or someone seen fleeing from the scene as he or she approached? Did the first
responder see anything later in the incident that might be significant?
3. Actions Initiated. What did the first responder do to control the scene and mitigate the
problem and what were the results of his or her actions? Be specific, particularly where
questions might arise later, such as in court. "Treated the patient" is not specific. Who treated
the patient? What did the treatment consist of? What equipment was used?
Remember the old adage, "If it is not documented, it did not happen."
Unusual Circumstances. Note anything out of the ordinary where evidence suggests this event
may not have been accidental. Did the first responder notice some signs of forced entry? Is
there some connection between the incident and one responded to earlier? In high-profile
incidents, particularly where there is loss of life or extensive losses to property or the
environment, even little details can be important.
5. Property Damage. Describe what was damaged, as well as the type and extent of damage,
for example, heavy fire damage in the garage and heavy smoke damage throughout the house.
The first responder does not need to identify specific contents damaged unless there are
unusual circumstances, for example, it appears someone forced the safe open and removed the
contents prior to the fire.
6. Identify the Cause. Identify the cause if possible, and provide specific observations that led
to the conclusion. If appropriate, particularly when the cause is undetermined, identify causes
that have been ruled out based on personal observations. If the first responder does not yet
know the cause because the incident has been turned over to someone else for investigation,
document that.
7. Taking of statements. If the first responder took statements from victims, witness, family,
employers etc, document those statements, along with names and phone numbers of
individuals providing those statements. Then compare these statements to determine the
consistency of the individual person’s account of the facts and circumstances relative with the
incident being reported.
8. Advice. Warnings or Information Provided. Document any advice, warnings, or other
pertinent information provided to victims, occupants, building owners, and so on. Sometimes,
as is the case with emergency medical service (EMS) calls, it is important to have specific
forms for this, like against medical advice form. Often, however, the first responder needs to
include such warnings as part of the narrative.
9. Final Disposition. How did the first responder leave the situation? In whose care did he or
she leave the patient or property? Did he or she refer the case to another person or to someone
in another agency? If so, get a name or badge number and telephone number.
What notifications were made? Did the first responder turn anything on or off before he or she
left, for example, alarm system, electricity, etc.

Attributes of Incident Report

The following are the attributes of the incident report:

1. Accurate and Specific. The first responders do not have much room for error in the field.
Many inaccuracies are due to simple spelling errors and typos. Spell-check the incident report,
and double check dates, times, names, phone numbers, etc. Proof read the incident report
carefully, and have others proofread it as appropriate. Be specific with sex, age, shapes,
complexion, height, built, etc.
2. Factual and Truthful. A well-written incident report is also factual. There is a difference, by
the way, between accurate and factual.
Accurate is free from mistakes and errors or able to produce results that are correct while a
factual report is something real that can be either proved or disproved. Statement of fact versus
an inference or opinion must be well distinguished in the preparation of an incident report.
3. Objective and Impartial. Objective reports are fair and impartial, not influenced by emotion,
opinion or prejudice of the person making the incident report. One key to being objective is to
avoid words which connotations change the tone of the significant event or incident report. An
objective report includes both sides of the story, and does not favor one side or another not
supported by facts.
4. Complete and Conclusive. A well-written significant event or incident report is complete. It
covers the who, what, where, when, why, and how. It includes who discovered the incident,
who reported it, who witnessed it, who is the persons the first responder talked to during the
investigation, who marked and received the evidence, other people who were notified, and so
on as appropriate?
5. Concise and Clear. It may seem contradictory to say that an incident report should be both
complete and concise. However, being concise does not mean leaving out important details.
Rather, it means using words economically and omitting words that do not add value.
The incident report should be free of the excessive wordiness that interferes with readability.
6. Well-Organized and Not
Confusing.
Poorly organized
significant event or incident report can leave readers feeling lost and confused, so it is
important that the reports be well-organized. The best way to organize information depends
somewhat on the type of report and the complexity of the situation. A simple incident report
might work best if organized in chronological order, then separate sections to address cause
and origin analysis.
7. Clear and Easily Understood. A clear significant event or incident report is one that can be
easily understood and that contains no ambiguities. If different people can read the same report
and come up with different interpretations, the report is not clear. Provide specific details.
Vague references do not give readers much information. The more details provided, the clearer
the report to the readers and leave no room for misinterpretation.
8. Grammatically Correct. Many of the errors made in significan event or incident report
writing are errors in grammar, punctuation spelling, and word choice. Errors in grammar and
punctuation can affect both the clarity and accuracy of the report. The repot looks less
professional. Wrong grammar, punctuation, spelling and word chose Can be a source of great
embarrassment in courtroom proceeding. Light on Abbreviations. Some abbreviations are
acceptable in almost any document. It is certainly appropriate to use Mr. Mrs, a no Pr. instead
of spelling the words out. Long and cumbersome expressions are commonly abbreviated in all
but the most formal report writing. Standard abbreviations that facilitate reading are dost
acceptable in all but the most formal reading.

The e-Crime Incident Report

The institutionalization of an e-crime incident report to all pp regional offices, provincial

offices, and city or municipal police stations nationwide is one of the PNP's strategies in
enhancing the integrated database system and upgrading the PNP's investigative equipment to
give timely, fast and reliable information of criminals and therefore enhance solution of
criminal cases. The project which was launched in September 2011, serves as a more efficient
electronic blotter system for recording crime incidents across the country.
It does not only facilitate crime documentation and modernize data storage, but also presents a
quick, fast and reliable transmission of crime information from a city or municipal police
station addressed to the provincial and regional offices and to the National Headquarters.
With the installation of the e-crime incident report designed as a standalone system, all police
stations will now report the actual situation on the ground, which is vital in mapping out
strategies for quick response and crime solution which is expected to be installed in all police
stations and law enforcement agencies nationwide.
The e-crime incident report is a web-based tool that is being developed which provides the
means to access quickly the crime's information encoded and collated into the Crime
Information Reporting System (CIRS) at the NHQ, PNP through the use of information
technology provided by the worldwide web.

Tips in Writing Incident Report

An incident report needs to include all the essential information about had accident or near-
miss. The report-writing process begins with fact Finding and ends with recommendations of
preventing future accidents. The law enforcement officer has no use 'special incident reporting
form, and it might be quite extensive.
An incident report should state all the essential information about the accident or near-miss. It
should contain the following key elements to ensure that all facts and necessary details are
complete and properly documented. An incident report should be: (1) accurate; (2) factual; (3)
complete; (4) graphic; and (5) valid. Moreover, writing incident report involves the following
four basic steps:
Find the facts, to prepare for writing an accident report, you have to gather and record all the
facts;
2. Determine the sequence, based on the facts, you should be able to determine the sequence of
events;
3. Analyze, the incident report should include an in-depth analysis of the causes of the
accident; and
4. Recommend, recommendations for corrective action might include immediate corrective
action as well as long-term corrective actions.
The rule of thumb is that as soon as an incident occurs, an incident report should be completed.
Minor incidents should be reported and taken as equally important as major incidents. These
incidents may get worse and lead to more serious that in the near future may be confronted by
the law enforcement agency.
Finally, Incident reports should be properly kept as they are an important record of every law
enforcement agency. Hence, writing an incident report can be time-consuming and requires
rigorous documentation of the incident. However, understanding the purpose of incident
reporting will help the law enforcement agency determine the root cause of an incident or
occurrence of crime, and set corrective measures to eliminate potential risks.

CHAPTER REVIEW

IDENTIFICATION: Write the answer on the blank or space provided before each number.

FLASH REPORT 1 It is a brief dispatch giving preliminary information on an incident or

event
and informing in advance a higher price or another unit of the occurrence of a significant even
incident within AOR of the reporting unit .
INTERMEDIATE OFFICE 2.Other than the NHQ, PNP, it may either be a national, regional,
provincial city or municipal level office or unit that has lower units over which it exercises
administrated, and operational supervision.
SIGNIFICANT INCIDENTS OR EVENTS 3. It is any of the incidents or events which are
considered as important to be
monitored by the Philippine National Police (PNP) for purposes of effectively managing the
operational mission of the organization.
E CRIME INCIDENT REPORT4.It is a web-based tool that is being developed which provides
means to
detailed, access quickly the crime's information encoded and collated into the CIRS
WRITE THE NARATIVE5.For the meat of the incident report, the first responders must write
a of exactly what happened upon arrival at the crime scene.
INCIDENT REPORT6.Its purpose is to document the details of the occurrence while they are
fresh in the minds of those who witnessed the event.
ACCURATE AND SPECIFIC7all of the facts including spelling of names, dates,
times .address, license plate numbers, and so on.all of the facts, including spelling of names,
dates, times,
INNACURACIES 8.Many are due to simple spelling errors and typos spelling errors and
typos. Spell-check
the incident report, and double-check dates, times, names, phone numbers, etc.
OBJECTIVE AND IMPARTIAL 9.This is fair and impartial, and not influenced by emotion,
opinion or prejudice of the person making the incident report.
GRAMMAR 10.Errors in and punctuation can affect both the clarity and accuracy of the
report.
ENUMERATION:
Give at least five (5) significant incidents.
11. Robbery hold-up perpetrated by syndicated crime groups.
12. Election-related violations of laws.
13. Disaster or calamity incidents or relief and rescue operations.
14. Surrender of enemy personalities, notorious or wanted individuals, or recovery of sizeable
number of loose or unlicensed firearms.
15. Land, water or air mishaps.
ESSAY:
16-20. Explain briefly the purpose of submitting an incident report.

The objective of the incident report is to compile a record of the specifics of the occurrence
at a time when individuals who were present at the time of the occurrence still have clear
recollections of it. It's possible that in the future, while dealing with liability issues that
come from an occurrence, you'll find this knowledge valuable. As a consequence of this,
the flash report needs to be filled out as quickly as humanly possible after the incident.
Because of this, the report's particulars are, to the greatest extent possible, accurate, and
comprehensive all at the same time. The majority of the incident reports that are written up
and then sent off to higher levels of police office include violent crimes or accidents that
resulted in victims who were injured or lost their lives. In the event that a crime was
committed against a person, the victim needs to be contacted once more to determine
whether or not any of the information that was previously provided has changed. This
includes whether or not the victim is still receiving ongoing psychological counseling and
medication.