Almost all law enforcement personnel are called upon to perform the task of report writing in one form or another several times a day. How well or how poorly a report was written can make all the difference in a criminal investigation. Report writing skills can also be the deciding factor in situations which may place the member or the member’s agency in areas of criminal and civil liability. Despite this, report writing is often overlooked as a vital skill for law enforcement personnel.
Captain Babcock uses his experiences from over 34 years in law enforcement and over two decades assigned to investigative elements to emphasize the importance of skilled report writing and to point out common areas to improve report writing skills and more effectively document the actions taken in a criminal investigation.
| Captain Everett Babcock
Captain Everett C. Babcock is in his 32nd year as a law enforcement officer. His career started in 1988 for a small agency in Sayre Oklahoma where he worked as both an officer and an investigator before taking a position in 1992 as an Investigator for the District Attorney’s Office in Oklahoma’s 2nd Judicial District, where he was assigned to the District 2 Drug Task Force which investigated major narcotic offenses throughout western Oklahoma.
In 1995 Captain Babcock moved to Kansas City, Missouri where he took a job with the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. Captain Babcock served as a patrol officer and field training officer before transferring to investigations in 1998 where he was assigned as a detective and unit training officer. In 2013 Captain Babcock was promoted to sergeant. After serving a short time back in patrol, he returned to investigations, assigned to homicide, the generalist squad and the assault squad. In 2018 Captain Babcock was promoted again to his current rank of Captain. After serving about a year-and-a-half back in patrol, Captain Babcock once again returned to investigations where he is currently assigned to the Property Crimes Division.
The majority of Captain Babcock’s time assigned to investigations as both a detective and a sergeant was spent assigned to the homicide unit. Captain Babcock also spent three years as the supervisor of the department’s Police Shooting Team. Captain Babcock’s homicide cases have been showcased on the television shows America’s Most Wanted, The First 48, American Gangster and Fatal Attraction.
Captain Babcock holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration Law Enforcement (Summa Cum Laude) from Park University and he is finishing up his Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Missouri. Captain Babcock is a certified Basic Instructor and Defensive Tactics Instructor through the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, and holds a Generalist Instructor License from the State of Missouri Department of Public Safety. Captain Babcock is a member of the International Homicide Investigators Association, the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association the International Law Enforcement Trainers Association and the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #102.
Captain Babcock has been teaching law enforcement since 2012, and he has taught several classes for the Kansas City Missouri Police Department, including building and teaching their bi-annual Detective Academy. Captain Babcock also teaches at the Missouri Highway Patrol’s Detective Academy and he is a guest instructor at the University of Central Missouri’s Central Police Academy. Since 2017, Captain Babcock has been teaching for the Dolan Consulting Group, teaching hundreds of officers in classes all over the United States in the topics of New Detective Training, Homicide Investigation and Interrogations.
Consent Questions
Download Course Handout
Investigative Report Writing | Hour 1
Investigative Report Writing | Hour 2
