A crime report is a document which contains an officer’s written account of a specific incident or criminal activity. It should begin with a description of the subject, include detailed observations made by the officer, list the steps taken to investigate the subject, include conversations with complainants or witnesses and conclude with conclusions and recommendations. It is also advisable to include copies of all pertinent statements, reports, forms, diagrams or photographs with the report. All reports should be clearly written and concise, and police jargon or excessive verbiage should be avoided.
The Russellville Police Department is committed to maintaining the highest quality reporting standards. To that end, officers are trained on reporting procedures and are encouraged to use plain language when writing reports. In addition, superior officers review all reports for completeness and accuracy.
New York State law enforcement agencies report criminal activities to the FBI using a program called Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR). UCR tallies certain offenses and arrests that are reported by law enforcement agencies, regardless of their legal definition or classification.
The Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) collects these reports and publishes them each month as part of the statewide crime analysis available on eJusticeNY. DCJS is working with agencies to improve the timeliness of reporting, since timely submissions have become a requirement for receiving federal anti-crime grant funds administered by the agency. Currently, several federal grants, including the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants, base their allocations on crime data submitted via UCR.
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