# Police procedure - casebook **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-procedure-casebook/374010 "2006-09-25T02:41:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-procedure-casebook/374010/1 "2006-09-25T02:41:12Z")
I’m working on a short story that will have sections written from several different perspectives. Since it deals with a murder, I will need one section to provide the reader with a certain amount of crime-scene information. I thought one good way to get this across would be to “quote” an excerpt from the police department’s case book. The problem is that I would like this to be a least _somewhat_ realistic, but I have no idea how a "typical"casebook is put together. I mean, are there agreed upon standards, or does each police department pretty much do it their own way? Is it filled with handwritten notes scribbed on coffee-stained napkins? Or are there daily logsheets? What kind of terminology is typically used? Are things written in formal language or terse, jargon-filled entries? I’m talking about a fairly low-tech investigation, BTW, not CSI. Can anyone point me to a good online source for this kind of information? ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-procedure-casebook/374010/2 "2006-09-25T19:43:13Z")
Bumping this thread. Anybody? ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-procedure-casebook/374010/3 "2006-09-25T19:45:28Z")
You might want to repost in General Questions. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-procedure-casebook/374010/4 "2006-09-25T19:47:49Z")
I don’t know about online, but there are books that could help you out. Might try looking at the library or the bookstore. For example, there’s [Police Procedural](http://www.amazon.com/Police-Procedural-Writers-Guide-Howdunit/dp/0898795966/sr=8-1/qid=1159213586/ref=sr_1_1/102-6172831-6961766?ie=UTF8&s=books), which you can get used for 5 bucks. You really mght also try poking around in the Law/Police section of your local bookstore - just to see if there’s any law enforcement books that could give you some ideas/references. Hope that helps somewhat. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-procedure-casebook/374010/5 "2006-09-25T23:09:49Z")
Never seen a “casebook” at work. Don’t think they exist. They got this new thing, it’s called a computer… At work I have a little notebook, in it I put the subjects name, DOB, address, etc. Anything else goes in the computer in the narrative portion of the report. Other updates get put in as a suplement to the original report. Notebooks are a pain in the ass because they are discoverable in court but they are not kept as part of the report in records. If you pull out a notebook in court the defense hasn’t looked at it all hell will break loose. No one I know keeps apersonal notebook.