Written Feedbacks on Police Blotters

Abstract

Writing a report requires not only writing skills but also the capacity to perceive, analyze, process information, and use language. The study aimed to look into the written feedback on police blotters in the police stations of Dipolog City and Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines. The descriptive-survey method of research was utilized in the study, wherein it required a thorough, comprehensive, and careful analysis in looking into the written feedbacks on police blotters in the Police Stations of Dapitan and Dipolog Cities. The frequency count, percentage distribution, and t-test were the statistical methods employed for the investigation. The study revealed that the profile of the global errors identified in the police blotter extracts in both Dipolog and Dapitan Cities, in terms of morphological errors ranged from 0.00% to over hundred percent and less error was detected in terms of syntax, particularly on fragments. Run-on phrases and word ordering were where most of the mistakes were identified for both police stations. Additionally, the most frequent local errors involved word choice, word usage accuracy, and the appropriate use of prepositions, while the most frequent mechanical errors involved capitalization. With this, it is concluded that the police officers assigned to the blotter section need to develop their writing skills by focusing on errors which are more dominant and be conscious to even the smallest grammatical details to generate accurate police blotters that serve their intended purpose. This suggests that police officers working in the blotter section should participate in seminars or training to hone their technical writing skills; higher education institutions should also offer extension services to the police stations like tutorials, mentoring, and coaching to help the police officers sharpen their grammar; and apply standard rules in writing, especially the conventions for capitalization to afford mastery of writing skills.