How to Write a Bank Robbery Incident Report

Writing an informed bank robbery report helps the police.

Witnessing a bank robbery can be terrifying, but writing a report about what happened can help law enforcement catch robbers and put them behind bars. Writing a bank robbery incident report takes time and effort, but law enforcement benefits from such reports tremendously. All details of the robbery must be included in a bank robbery incident report. Anything misrepresented or left out reduces law enforcement's chance of catching the robbers.

Things You'll Need

• Word processor or paper tablet

Instructions

1. Accurately describe bank robbers and their actions. Provide accurate descriptions of how the robbers looked, moved and spoke. Also, include descriptions of their actions when robbing the bank.

2. Write down all the facts. Do not include what you thought the robbers might do; only what they actually did.

3. Remain objective. Do not let your emotions come between writing a well-described report and a report littered with biased opinions

4. Write down everything that happened. Try not to leave unanswered questions.

5. Write concisely and in a well-organized fashion. Concise and organized reports help law enforcement by summarizing what happened in a logical order. This allows law enforcement to get on the robbers' trail more quickly, rather than having to wade through an unorganized and lengthy report.

6. Ensure that your report is grammatically correct. Mistakes in grammar can lead to misunderstood facts.

7. Include the actions of everyone else around you. Writing down who was at the scene, who took what actions and so forth, will allow law enforcement to question more people, which leads to a higher chance of capturing the robbers.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not mislead law enforcement; doing so is against the law and punishable by jail time.

References

• Firebelle Productions: Writing Effective Incident Reports