A police report is a written statement by an officer explaining the incident that occurred. By definition, these records are considered “hearsay,” which is inadmissible in criminal and civil courts.
Evidence rules vary state by state, but there are several exceptions that allow police records to be used as evidence in court. Below are a couple examples of when police records may be permitted in a criminal case…
Refreshing memory
Examples of this are when a witness may need to listen to a written document to spark their memory of what occurred. This is also the case when a police officer may need to reread his statement to recollect details of the incident. This is considered “refreshing their memory” or refreshed collection.
Business records
Records that are created in the normal course of business are generally admissible in court. These often include records made by police officers which are considered government agents.
There can be other reasons police reports are used in court, but these are the two most common.
Police reports can be obtained by the accused person, even if they have not yet been charged with the crime. The criminal defendant, or their defense attorney, need to get in touch with the police department in the jurisdiction in which the incident occurred.