The course is designed to fulfill the needs of those students who are entering into the field of Criminal Justice or in-service officers. The class will focus on the skills needed to write a report that is complete, clear, accurate, and convincing. The actual writing of reports will be a major component of the course.
For each unit of credit, a minimum of three hours per week with one of the hours for class and two hours for studying/preparation outside of class is expected.
The mission of the Humanities and Social Sciences is to foster an appreciation of the role that the humanities and social sciences has played in the evolution of civilized society and to explore the ways that an understanding of theory and practice in philosophy, the social and behavioral sciences, the fine arts, and written and oral expression will enable students to participate thoughtfully in a global society.
Outcome #1: Read with comprehension, be critical of what they read, and apply knowledge gained from their reading to broader issues of the day.
Outcome #2: Communicate ideas clearly and proficiently in writing, appropriately adjusting content and arrangement for varying audiences, purposes, and situations.
Outcome #5: Demonstrate the ability to think critically by gathering facts, generating insights, analyzing data, and evaluating information.
At the completion of this course, students should demonstrate an understanding of the importance of report writing, and how reports are used within the criminal justice system. They should be able to apply writing skills, note taking, and interviewing techniques needed to write complete, accurate, and objective reports. The student will demonstrate their understanding of the subject by demonstrating at least 70% competency of the topics to be covered, including:
- Identify the uses, purposes, and qualities of good reports.
- Define and discuss the characteristics of a well-written report.
- Discuss the basic steps in report writing.
- Contrast active and passive voice.
- Identify proper word choice in criminal justice reports.
- Identify the proper use of grammar in reports.
- Contrast fragment and run-on sentences.
- Identify the mechanical errors in criminal justice reports.
- Apply English composition skills and general knowledge about the types of criminal justice reports in written work.
The Continuation Page and Follow-Up Report
- The Why and How of Report Writing
- Starting to Write
- The Face Page
- The Narrative
- Habits that Make for Speedy Writing
- Other Types of Writing
- Reading and Correcting Reports
- Simplified Study of Grammar
- Avoiding Errors in Sentence Structure
- Making Punctuation Work
- Breaking the Spelling Jinx
- Using or Abusing Words
- Abbreviating and Capitalizing
- Innovations and Predictions in Criminal Justice
- Lecture/discussion
- In-class assignments/exercises
- Peer review
- Practical exercise materials
- Report forms
- Mock crime/incident scenarios
Methods of assessing SCCC and course outcomes include daily work, chapter writing assignments, and tests.
Outcome 1
Outcome 2
Outcome 5
- Will be assessed by class participation, writing assignments, and verbal discussion indicating comprehension of material read.
- Will be assessed by narrative police report writing assignments.
- Will be assessed by writing assignments based on scenario information, multiple choice and true/false exams, and class discussions over subject matter.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Seward County Community College will make reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. If you need support or assistance because of a disability, you may be eligible for academic accommodations. Students should identify themselves to the Mental Health Counselor at 620-417-1106 or go to the Student Success Center in the Hobble Academic building, room A149.