Field notes are very important for law enforcement. Indeed, they serve as a basis for further investigation. With the information recorded in the field notes, a police officer can use them as an investigative lead. Good field notes help law enforcement write a comprehensive report with crucial information. Every time a police officer is called to testify in court, he or she can refer to the field notes to refresh their memory of the incidents. During a trial, field notes written by the police officer can also be used as evidence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay When taking field notes, it is important to include the interviewee's personal details. These include their name, address and contact information. A description of the person's appearance should also be included in the notes. In order to differentiate between different crimes, a brief description of the crime should also be included. All of this information is essential since it helps the officer remember what the interviewee said when writing a report. The officer writing the notes should use abbreviations that he or she can easily identify. The place and time where and when the offense took place should also be noted. In order to effectively capture statements made at the scene, the officer must directly quote the person who made the statement. Sketches should also be included in the field notes. The sketches later help identify either a suspect or even the weapon used to commit a crime. Good field notes should not include personal opinions regarding the suspect. The notes should also not include a conclusion about the incident. When writing the note, only relevant information about the incident should be noted. Other information collected at the scene that is not important to the case should not be written down. A Staged Crime Scene When called to a crime scene, the investigator must be able to look for signs indicating whether or not the scene was staged. Indeed, some suspects commit a crime and then stage it to give the impression that the victim committed the crime themselves. A police officer staged a scene to make it appear as if his wife had accidentally killed herself while cleaning her gun. The officer claimed he was cleaning his gun before leaving for a while and when he returned he found his wife dead and the gun next to her body. The officer also claimed the gun was not loaded, but cartridges were found in the magazine as well as a live round in the chamber. In an attempt to mislead investigators, the weapon was found next to the victim's body. as well as the materials used to clean the gun. Break-Free CLP cleaning solvent was also found on the charger and a container containing the solvent was also present at the scene. The gun found at the scene also contained cleaning solvent residue. A blood transfer stain, similar to the victim's DNA, was also found on the aerosol can of the cleaning solvent. This was all to prove that the victim was cleaning the gun when he accidentally shot himself. The suspect, however, failed to mislead investigators into believing that the woman committed suicide. This was after test results proved that Break-Free CLP cleaning solvent had been used on the gun.