what is the purpose of a police report?

Question

what if you disagree with a police report on your record? can you fight it or have it removed?

Answer 1

To accurately record the events of a reported crime in order to later use them during a trial (if such a trial ever occurs), or as evidence any other crimes (i.e. 2nd offense, related offense, habitual criminals, etc.)

Answer 2

There are several purposes.
1) We document what transpired according to the information and evidence we could gather to prove or disprove if a crime was committed i.e. was it a murder or suicide, etc.
2) We document facts so that if a person is charged, their guilt or innocence can be proven in a court of law.
3) We document the facts, physical evidence, witness statements in traffic collisions. For example, we get 3 or 4 witness statements because we carry then with us in our cars or motorcycles. You on your own would be very lucky to get a phone number from most people, let alone all of their contact information and a witness statement written when their memory is freshest as to what transpired prior to our arrival.
4) We can aid in the civil (read lawsuit or insurance) recovery of damages suffered by a party in property or bodily damage.
I think a lot of the insurance companies enjoy the fact that we do the leg work on traffic accidents, so they have less work to do. It used to irritate me when there was an extremely minor accident and the insurance company demands they come and report it at our station. If the damage is under $1,000.00 or whatever your state limit is, the report goes nowhere. In the state where I worked, the report will not be accepted by the state because it is a non-reportable accident by virtue of being low damage amounts involved.
So there are a myriad of reasons why the police make reports, soem of them very valid, some perhaps not.
As one of the other persons alluded to, police reports aid in the evaluation of crime trends for crime analysis and better distribution of police resources. Example, they notice all women sexually assaulted are between 18-30 then extra patrol by officers and education efforts at crime prevention should be merited. The reports show the trends in crime. The FBI has huge amounts of data collected under the UCR Uniform Crime Reporting Index. Want data on something, check with the Dept. of Justice, they have stats that you would not believe.

Answer 3

I'm not really sure what you're getting at here. A police report is the police documentation of an event or crime. I guess it's purpose is to serve as evidence and documentation in case it is ever needed by another party.

Answer 4

Unless there is a conviction, police reports mean nothing, other than to collect information in order to obtain a possible conviction, after an investigation is completed. You must also go to trial and have the choice of trial by jury.

Answer 5

It keeps the national crime databases updated on the types of crimes being reported in differnent regions of the country, provides crime rates for cities and sections of town, and gives victims the proper paperwork to submit of insurance claims.

Officers use their reports to testify from in court, to submit probable cause evidence to the judge at the 1st apprearance court, and to make money by selling copies of reports to the public and media.

Answer 6

It's a legal document used in the prosecution of the defendant.
Or is a reference for insurance agencies in auto accidents

Answer 7

To have permanent records of different incidents that happen.