Reinaldo Irizarry, Sr.

“Sample narrative of an “Armed Robbery” incident Report"



Posted: Monday, May 30, 2011

by Reinaldo Irizarry, Sr.

When a crime has been committed there should always be the following elements and the "RULE" of the five "W's" and the one "H", of the crime for Police Officers or Criminal Investigators to work with.

They are as follows:

  1. The Law that was broken or violated.
  2. The person committing the violation, the offender.
  3. The victim.
  4. The location and time of the offense.
  5. Who is it about, (Victim)?
  6. What happened, (The story)?
  7. When did it take place, (Date / Time)?
  8. Where did it take place, (Location / Address)?
  9. Why did it happen, (Reason)?
  10. How did it happen, (Actions)?
In any investigation there should always be the “RULE” of the (Five-“w”, and the one “H” in order to arrive at a good outcome. (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How). They do not necessary have to be in that order. Regardless of the incident, when these elements come together, a crime has been committed.

The below Sample narrative covers all four elements, therefore should be accepted by local, state, and federal Prosecutors to go forth with a case.

(When); On May 29, 2011, at 6”00 PM, (What); I was dispatched to an Armed Robbery, (Where);at 10001 SW Stanley Road  (Who);  On my arrival I met a young women named Rita Smith who told me,  (What);she had just been robbed by a young white male in his early twenties.  (How); she said that he pointed a white revolver at her and asked for her jewelry. (Why);He took from her a gold watch, and gold chain worth a total of Five hundred dollars, ($500.00).

I asked her for a description, she told me, that he was about Five feet – Eight inches tall.  He had a neat trimmed mustache and a small scar on his left cheek. He was wearing a dark blue shirt, and light fade blue jeans. She also told me that it had occurred approximately ten minutes before my arrival. I immediately notified the dispatcher to put out a (BOLO) be on the lookout for the offender to all units in the area. I asked her for any witnesses, and she said none.

I completed my initial report and notified Robbery Unit#25, Detective Jones of the incident and forwarded a copy of the report for further follow up.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by FERDIE from Philippines 38 days 7 hours ago.
The example above was basic yet informative and clear which is very useful to all beginners like me in doing such reports like this. With this simple details we could already make complete and precise report which is acceptable to the recipient.Thanks for posting it sir...
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