Police reports of the computer crime

Police reports of the computer crime

In a complex computer crime case, numerous police reports are written by police personnel. If the case is occasioned by a sudden observation that things are not as they should be, such as a missing file or evidence of entry late at night, a patrol officer will be called in to make an incident report. Subsequently, if the case involves a specialization within the police department, it may be referred to a computer crime section, a major fraud section, or some other unit. At that point, a representative of that section makes a subsequent report. As new evidence is produced, or other people are interviewed, additional reports will ensue. These reports reflect the varying levels of expertise and amount of time taken by their authors. The reports relate to the same factual situation, therefore, counsel should examine them closely to identify any inconsistencies. In order to do this, counsel must obtain all of the police reports as soon as possible.FN54

Counsel should never allow a plea to be entered until all discoverable reports have been received and read. This is most important whenever counsel is considering anything other than a plea of not guilty. Without the reports and the information contained therein, defense counsel does not have a proper basis to decide on the plea to make. Once entered, a plea cannot be withdrawn as a matter of right.FN55