Ask the officer Ask the officer (January 05, 2005)

Menlo Park police officer Glenn J. Raggio answers questions about the police and law enforcement. Call 330-6396, or e-mail: asktheofficer@menlopark.org. Q. I spoke with an officer who said much of police officers' time is spent writing reports. I forget the number of hours he mentioned, but I recall thinking the public would be interested in knowing how much time officers dedicate to writing reports. A. I don't think many people realize how much of our time is spent writing. The year has not quite ended as of this writing, and our 27 patrol officers have already taken well over 4,100 reports. That's a lot of time behind the keyboard! Writing is a large part of what we do. Officers must write clear, accurate and detailed incident reports. All it takes is one experience on the witness stand where you are asked to recite your report for a jury or judge to realize just how important writing is to your career.

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