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 By
Lt. Tim Selvia
Fort Wayne Police Department
Kroger Central Division Loss Prevention
One of the most prevalent issues that I personally have encountered (in both Law
Enforcement and Loss Prevention) is accurate documentation of incidents. In Law
Enforcement, I continually see instances of Officers failing in this regard,
often to the detriment of a good arrest. It can range from not documenting in a
written report details that may seem trivial at the end of an 8 hour night
shift, to completely failing to write any report at all. This sometimes is a
result of getting busy and neglecting to write the report; and sometimes is
willful and deliberate.
The same can be said for Loss Prevention. I have reviewed numerous reports that
mirror the struggles that I have just mentioned. The excuses will range from
being busy to not taking the time to investigate and document an incident
because other things are more important now. (I.e. needing to get that next $20
app!) The frustration for everyone comes when there are numerous incidents with
the same suspects, involving numerous locations (and often multiple retailers)
and it is time to file those charges. The investigator goes to the victims, and
reports are sporadic at best. The prevailing attitude is something like “We have
filed a case. It’s up to you to solve it. I’m off to the next one.” These
instances further the divide between Law Enforcement, Prosecutors, and Retailers
on expectations.
I have a unique position at the moment. I am a shift commander for the Uniform
Patrol Division with my agency. I also work off duty in Loss Prevention with one
of the largest retailers in the United States. Currently, I work fraud and
Felony cases involving the company. I have 23 years in Law Enforcement, and just
shy of 8 years in Loss Prevention. Our Department hosts a networking/case
sharing ORC meeting monthly. I will also work these types of cases when
presented with the opportunity. I get the luxury of walking in both sets of
shoes.
The issue that is the biggest stumbling block to these investigations is the
documentation. As mentioned before, it is found in both disciplines. What makes
a good, prosecutable case is good documentation; not just documentation.
It had been said over and again that you may only have your report to remind you
of what had happened years later. I have had pre-trial conferences myself that
if it weren’t for a thorough report, I would have no idea what I was there for!
And in the court of law, if you didn’t document something at the time, it didn’t
happen. Trying to testify in court to what seemed like a trivial matter six
months ago, suddenly seems very important on the witness stand now! And when you
try to add that little detail that is damning to the defendant on the witness
stand, and didn’t have it in your report, you are not going to enjoy the
defenses’ rebuttal. I speak from experience on this! If you didn’t document it,
it didn’t happen!
When one sits down to write a report about an incident, the fact that someone’s
liberty may be taken away because of this case should not be taken lightly. This
is a very serious matter, and the documentation should reflect that. Two or
three lines describing a theft in your store is not going to pass muster; just
as a paragraph is not going to reflect a domestic violence arrest. The arrest
itself warrants more respect to the courts and our employer than a shoddily put
together paragraph of how “two unknown suspects took some videos.”
The most lacking is the documented incident with no detention. If a report is
written at all, it usually just states the bare minimum (see the last sentence
above), not giving any detail. Video evidence may or may not have been archived.
A police report may have been filed, but usually that is the end of any
investigating.
Working with the District LP Manager and the Specialists in our district, we
have put an emphasis on the report writing and documentation. Most major cases
we have solved together have started with “Unknown” suspects. However, the
documentation is written much to the same standard that would be acceptable had
an apprehension been made. Specific acts and times are thoroughly documented, as
well as descriptions that will allow identification later. We have had literally
hundreds of cases solved after the fact, and currently have a 100% conviction
rate. The prosecutor’s office has complimented the reports that they receive
from our company’s Loss Prevention associates. My role is to assemble their
reports and file the felonies. Our team has been very successful and
consistently leads our region/division in apprehensions and dollar recoveries.
Unfortunately, not all LP/AP departments elsewhere have these standards. As an
investigator filing felony charges in their cases, I have seen everything from
not naming known suspects, not copying any video; to not having documented
incidents months earlier...and this is after arrests in their cases have been
made. This does not include the dreaded two line report.
The question would be to the supervisors; Directors, VP’s,
Area/Regional/District Managers. Are the reports your people are generating up
to par? Is the documentation for a shoplifting case that puts a person in jail
the same as the documentation in a report covering, say, a customer accident or
a bad stop? I would say from experience that the report we are writing to “cover
our rears” will far out document the “typical” stop.
If these reports are not similar, then some work in this area needs considered.
We need to encourage our operators to take their time to document thoroughly.
Law Enforcement can do better. Loss Prevention can do better. We all can do
better. |
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