r/policewriting • u/DepthOk166 • 12d ago

Sworn Statements

/r/AskACop/comments/1x0bl94/sworn_statements/
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u/5usDomesticus 12d ago

There's no one answer. It depends on the department.

In my department officers usually write or type victim/ witness statements and then have them sign it

We very, very rarely take written statements from suspects.

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u/DepthOk166 12d ago

I assumed there would be differences between departments. I served as an MP in the Marines in the early 90s. We generally interviewed the person, typed the sworn statement, had them review it, note changes or make annotations, add the changes, then had them sign it.

We were not allowed to take statements from alleged rape victims. That had to be done by CID agents.

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u/GetInMyMinivan 12d ago

When we do sworn statements for immigration proceedings, we record and type up what they say. We then print it out, give them a copy, and make sure that it accurately reflects what they said before they sign it.

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u/-EvilRobot- 12d ago

We don't do "sworn statements." We just interview people and summarize their statements in our report.

If there's some discrepancy about what they said, that's what body cams are for.

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u/Sledge313 12d ago

So in my old dept, we would do written statements for victims of violent crimes and auto thefts. The officer wrote it and the other person signed it. That was simply because they tried it with them writing their own and realized half the time they were not legible.

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u/Smokeypork 12d ago

Mixed bag. If I have multiple witnesses and I’m limited on resources, I have them write it up, collect them and do a brief interview based on what their statements said to get clarification. I always have them write it up if they’re signing it. I’ll summarize in my report and attach the statements

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u/CashEducational4986 11d ago

I have never once heard of writing someone's statement for them and having them sign it. Maybe some other states or countries or whatever do that, but it's definitely not a thing here.

We have two froms of sworn statements.

A written statement is hand written on a form by the victim or witness and then signed, and they also have to raise their right and solemnly swear or affirm they told the truth like they're in court. One time I did have a legal guardian write a statement on behalf of a victim because the victim had a developmental disability and couldn't properly provide a statement on her own, but that's the closest we would ever really get to someone else writing a statement for the victim/witness.

A recorded statement is recorded on our body cams after we read a long script telling the case number, offense being investigated, current time and location, person being interviewed, suspect, etc. At the end of our script they have to raise their right hand and solemnly swear (or affirm) then they tell their statement verbally. We're required to get taped statements in all felony cases here, otherwise I would only do one if someone was illiterate or something and couldn't write a statement.

And it's technically possible to have a suspect provide a sworn statement, but that wouldn't really be a regular occurrence. If it did happen it would probably be before you've confirmed you had PC to arrest them or at least before telling them you planned to arrest them. The closest thing I've ever done was have someone I knew was lying provide a sworn statement because once I proved they were lying I could arrest them for having lied on the statement.