207 – Reports

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POLICY

The report serves as a permanent record of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) and may be required in subsequent legal proceedings.  It is a reflection of the deputy, his supervisor, and the Sheriff’s Office. Reports are critical to accurately document the activities of the Patrol Bureau in order to achieve their mission.  When on duty, all law enforcement related activity performed by a deputy shall be documented by one of the following methods [CALEA Standard 82.2.1]:

  1. a complete Law Enforcement report entered into MFR (to include Field Note Form, if applicable),
  2. Arrest Report
    • If an arrest is made from a Call for Service, the Arrest Report will be completed in addition to the Law Enforcement Report.
    • Harris County Warrants, complete a Supplement Report and Arrest Report to the existing Law Enforcement Report number.
    • Outside agency warrants, complete a Law Enforcement Report and Arrest Report.
  3. a traffic/warning citation,
  4. a crash report,
  5. an appropriate supplemental report,
  6. a completed entry in the Field Interview System of R.M.S., or
  7. a field note/comment entered onto the call slip.

PROCEDURES

A report shall be generated on all offenses against the State of Texas and/or citizens.  An offense/incident report shall be generated when requested by a citizen of Harris County. All offense reports shall be entered into the MFR system. [CALEA Standard 82.2.1 and 82.2.2]

A report shall be generated on all true alarms, uses of force, reported cases of family violence, missing persons, runaways, and any other incidents that need to be documented for investigative and/or civil litigation purposes. [CALEA Standard 82.2.1 and 82.2.2]

Calls With a Mental Health Component

Deputies shall complete an incident report for any incident that has a mental health component. Deputies shall check the CIT checkbox and complete the CIT Data Collection Form that is accessed through the Mobile Field Reporting (MFR) tab. If the person has committed a crime and the person is to be arrested, the title of the report shall be the criminal offense committed. The secondary title should be Mental Health Investigation. The person is listed as the offender.

If the person has not committed a crime and is being handled for mental health purposes only, the title of the report is Mental Health Investigation and the individual is listed as the victim. For such incidents, deputies may supplement an original incident report involving the same individual if the original and subsequent incidents occurred in the same calendar year.

For any incident resulting in a Notification of Emergency Detention form, deputies shall document the name of the medical or behavioral health personnel who took custody of the person exhibiting mental health crisis.

If the individual has a Concealed Handgun License (CHL) or is a licensed commissioned security guard, deputies shall document these facts in the incident report and, if possible, include the CHL number and name of any security company employing the individual.

A report shall be generated any time an arrest is made (see warrant arrest below), including “Class C” misdemeanors. [CALEA Standard 82.2.1 and 82.2.2]

Warrant Arrest

If an arrest is made for a warrant issued from a Harris County Law Enforcement agency (Sheriff’s Office, Constables, Fire Marshal, and District Attorney) and the original report is in the Superion system, the deputy shall supplement the original report.

If an arrest is made for a warrant that was issued from another outside agency i.e. HPD, Pasadena PD, Jersey Village, etc., and that agency does not utilize Superion OR we do not have access to their Superion information, the deputy MAY generate field notes in place of an MFR report.

Dispatch generates an event number for every call for service.

In the event the MFR system is down for an extended period of time, the deputy shall generate a handwritten report on the HCSO Offense Report forms.  Handwritten reports will be detailed and legible.

All offense reports shall be completed prior to the end of the Deputy’s tour of duty.  With prior supervisor approval, entry of an offense report may be delayed up to 48 hours. The name and unit number of the authorizing supervisor shall be included in the offense report. Crash reports will be entered within 48 hours.

PROCEDURES – REPORT WRITING

The deputy shall identify the complainant and/or reporting party, and any witnesses by gathering the following information: [CALEA Standard 82.2.1]

  1. Full name.
  2. Race, sex, age, date of birth.
  3. Home/work addresses and telephone numbers.
  4. Driver’s license number and Social Security Number.
  5. All descriptors.
  6. Email address (if applicable)

The deputy shall identify the suspect(s) by gathering the following information (if known): [CALEA Standard 82.2.1]

  1. Full name and address.
  2. Height, weight, age, date of birth.
  3. Race (black, white, Hispanic, Asian, other).
  4. Skin color (dark, medium, light, Albino).
  5. Gender.                                                                     
  6. Hair (color, length, style).
  7. Clothing description.   
  8. Any identifying marks (tattoos, scars, burns, teeth, etc.).
  9. Vehicle description (if applicable).
  10. Any other information (alias, street names, nicknames, hangouts, associates). 
  11. Telephone numbers, if known.

The deputy shall write a brief synopsis of the incident. The synopsis is distributed on any “Public Release” of a report, so should not contain any identifying information (including names and locations). It should simply be an overview of the event, including the elements of any offense that occurred (i.e. “Complainant advised suspect struck him in the face with his fist, causing pain.”). [CALEA Standard 82.2.1]

The deputy shall write a detailed scene summary describing the location of the offense, type of premises, vehicle information, and location of evidence, condition, how it relates to the offense being investigated, or any other information related to the scene. [CALEA Standard 82.2.1]                      

In the event a vehicle was involved in the offense, the vehicle information shall be listed on the vehicle screen, which shall include the following (if known): [CALEA Standard 82.2.1]

  1. Vehicle color.
  2. Vehicle year.
  3. Vehicle make/model
  4. Vehicle body style (two door, four door, etc.).
  5. License plate number/state.
  6. Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
  7. Value.

The deputy shall list any property that was damaged, stolen, or recovered as evidence on the property screen.  Found property shall also be listed on the property screen.  The deputy shall use the code table to enter the type of property or brand name.  The deputy shall also list the model number and market value of the property involved (if known). [CALEA Standard 82.2.1]

The deputy shall write a detailed narrative. The narrative should describe the facts of the offense in chronological order, and should answer the questions of who, what, when, where, how, and why. [CALEA Standard 82.2.1]

When writing the narrative, the deputy shall identify all persons involved by name. [CALEA Standard 82.2.1]

The deputy shall not use MFR codes such as C01, W01, D01, R01, or S01 when identifying persons involved in the narrative. This is confusing when reading the report, especially when there are more than one witness, suspect, etc. [CALEA Standard 82.2.1]

Deputies shall assign the case to themselves and close the case before forwarding to their supervisor for the following;

  1. Cases where no criminal offense occurred.
  2. Patrol filed charges and no further investigation is required.
  3. Class C citations were issued.

The following codes shall be used when closing a report.

  • CBA – Cleared by Arrest
  • CCFA – Closed Charges Filed Adult
  • CCFJ – Closed Charges Filed Juvenile
  • CLSD – Closed
  • EXCC – Exceptionally Cleared-In Custody other Jurisdiction
  • EXCJ – Exceptionally Cleared-Juvenile/No Custody
  • EXCN – Exceptionally Cleared-Not Applicable
  • EXCP – Exceptionally Cleared-Prosecution Declined
  • EXCV – Exceptionally Cleared-Victim Refused To Co-Operate.

Deputies will not close the following cases. They are to be reviewed by the Investigative Bureau, who will close the cases after their review.

  1. Aggravated Robbery
  2. Robbery
  3. Aggravated Assaults
  4. Child abuse related offenses
  5. Death Investigations (Suicides, DOA’s)
  6. Any scene/report that Homicide responds to
  7. Sex Crimes
  8. Any report with suspect information
  9. Any report with follow up investigative information
  10. Any scene where an Investigator responds.

The Patrol Supervisor shall proofread the report to ensure the reporting deputy has closed the case and entered the proper code, and is free of spelling and grammatical errors before approving the report. [CALEA Standard 82.2.1]

The offense report, with attachments, shall be disseminated to the appropriate Bureau/Division/Section (i.e., Report Section, Detective, Traffic, etc.).  [CALEA Standard 82.2.1, 82.2.4 and 82.3.5]

PROCEDURES – ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATIVE  FORMS

In addition to an MFR report, certain reports require additional information.  Any additional/investigative forms that have NOT been scanned into MFR as an attachment shall be attached to a copy of the Public Release MFR report and submitted to the appropriate Agency/Division/Section.

All original HCSO supporting document(s) shall be shredded in accordance with HCSO Department Policy #601- Reports.  

USE OF FORCE FORM (DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES)

All employees shall be familiar with HCSO Department Policy #501- Use of Force

It is the duty of all employees who have engaged in the use of force, whether the employee is on or off duty at the time, to report the use of force. The supervisor of the employee who was involved in the use of force event shall complete a Use of Force form in the Blue Team system, in addition to the employee completing an MFR report, promptly, completely and accurately prior to the end of the deputy’s tour of duty.  Once the Use of Force form is completed in Blue Team, the supervisor shall forward the form electronically (via Blue Team) as outlined in HCSO Department Policy #501 – Use of Force.

If the involved employee is unable to complete the MFR report, an on duty supervisor shall take responsibility for ensuring both the Use of Force form and MFR report are completed.

Supervisory Personnel

An on duty supervisor shall review the MFR report to ensure accuracy, thoroughness, and completeness. 

If the documentation requires corrections or additions, he/she shall return the documentation to the involved employee.

The supervisor shall ensure corrections are made and the Use of Force is forwarded, via Blue Team, prior to the end of the approving sergeant’s tour of duty.

Utilizing the Blue Team reporting system, the approving sergeant shall forward the approved Use of Force documentation to an on duty Watch Commander (with cc to the District/Division/Section Commander.

In the event an on duty Watch Commander is unavailable, the completed Use of Force form shall be forwarded to the District/Division/Section Commander. 

If the District Commander is unavailable, the Administrative Supervisor shall review the documentation and forward to the Bureau Commander.

In all cases of Use of Force, the District/Division/Section Commander shall receive electronic notification, via the Blue Team reporting system, prior to the end of the approving sergeant’s tour of duty.  

NOTE: Any extension to the above time limits must be approved by the District/Division/Section Commander.

PROCEDURES – FIELD NOTES ENTERED ON CALLSLIPS

Deputy/Supervisor shall enter comments under the Field Note section of MFR, based on the good judgment of the responding deputy, in incidents where no criminal offense has been committed or alleged, and while maintaining the focus of liability to the deputy and the HCSO as a whole. In incidents where multiple pages of field notes are entered by the primary unit, the deputy will abandon such field notes and generate an MFR report.

PROCEDURES – FIELD NOTE FORM AND DWI/DUID WORKSHEET

Per Article 39.14 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and the interpretation of that statute by the Harris County District Attorney, all deputies shall retain ALL field notes and DWI/DUID worksheets taken during an investigation of a criminal offense.  To ensure compliance with the new legal requirement:

All patrol personnel utilizing Field Notes and/or DWI/DUID worksheets, for the purpose of completing an MFR report, shall use the approved Field Note form or approved DWI/DUID worksheet.

If Field Note forms and/or DWI/DUID worksheets are utilized, they shall be scanned into MFR under the appropriate case number.

The original Field Note forms or DWI/DUID worksheets shall be shredded after they have been successfully scanned into MFR.

Revision:

This policy has been revised on the below listed dates:

September 2010               October 22, 2015              August 23, 2019      

April 9, 2013                       January 15, 2016              April 22, 2020                

October 30, 2013              September 20, 2016

January 31, 2014              September 20, 2016

March 13, 2014                 December 15, 2016

November 6, 2014            May 29, 2018

March 12, 2015                 July 17, 2018

August 17, 2015                October 26, 2018

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