Report face sheets play a very important role in the investigation process as they provide documentation of all the persons and property pertinent to the investigation. In relation to people, the report face contains various categories of people. One category is the suspect or possible suspects; these are the people whom facts and or evidence point to their having committed or played a part in the crime (Biggs, 2012). Another category is the victims, which category contains the list of people who were injured or complainants of crime. This category may contain primary as well as secondary victims. Another category is possible leads, which comprise of people that may assist in the investigation but have not been identified as suspects, witnesses, or victims. The final category is witnesses, the people who have witnessed a crime or an aspect of it.
A person is listed as a suspect when there is ample evidence, both physical and factual, that a person might have committed the crime. Of great importance is that the suspect must have the means and opportunity, and also motive (Biggs, 2012). Though the three are imperative, sometimes it may be appropriate to list a person as a suspect even if two or one of the three is met. On the other hand, it is inappropriate to list a person as a suspect when there is no evidence to tie a person to the crime. It is also inappropriate if the perceived suspect has a defense, especially a water-tight alibi defense.
A witness is generally a person who can assist in proving a particular fact in relation to a crime. A witness may be an eye witness, expert witness, or a character witness. An eye witness is a person who saw the crime being planned or committed. An expert witness on the other hand proves a science related fact such as blood spatter, ballistics among others. A character witness testifies as to the character of the suspect. A person qualifies as ‘other’ when their usefulness is not specifically determined or when they simply add to what a material witness or key witness has stated.
References
Biggs, M. (2012). Just the Facts: Investigative Report Writing (4th Edition). New Jersey: Prentice
Hall. Print
