How to Write a Use of Force Report That Stands Up in Court

A use of force report is not a formality. It is the document that will determine whether you keep your SIA licence, whether a civil claim succeeds, and whether a prosecution follows. Written well, it ends complaints before they start. Written badly, it creates more problems than the incident itself.

I spent 14 years in the Metropolitan Police — including time in SCO19 armed response and covert surveillance. I have written hundreds of use of force reports and reviewed hundreds more. Here is what actually matters.

Why Most Use of Force Reports Fail

The most common failure is vagueness. Reports that say "subject became aggressive and force was used to restrain him" tell an investigator nothing. They do not establish necessity, proportionality, or legality. They invite challenge.

The second failure is retrospective writing. A report written two days after the incident from memory is weaker than one written within the hour. Defence barristers know this. Investigators know this. Your report should demonstrate that it was written contemporaneously — and Original Note's server-side timestamps make that provable.

The 5-Part Framework

This is the same framework used by police officers in England and Wales. It structures your statement so that every element required by an investigator is present.

Part 1 — Your initial position. Where were you, what were you doing, what was your role at that moment. This establishes context and puts you at the scene.

Part 2 — What drew your attention. The specific thing you saw, heard, or were told that caused you to become involved. Be precise. "I heard raised voices from the direction of the main entrance" is better than "there was a disturbance".

Part 3 — What you directly observed. Write only what you personally saw with your own eyes. Not what colleagues told you. Not what you assumed. What you directly witnessed. Present tense, first person.

Part 4 — Actions taken and why. Each action individually. What you did, and the reason you believed it was necessary and proportionate at that specific moment. "I applied a rear wrist lock because the subject had raised his right arm and I assessed that a strike was imminent" is far stronger than "I restrained the subject".

Part 5 — The outcome. What happened as a result. Subject removed, police called, medical attention offered and refused, CCTV preserved.

What Investigators and Courts Look For

• Contemporaneity — was it written close to the time of the incident?
• Specificity — are times, locations, and actions precise?
• Proportionality language — does the report explain why each level of force was necessary?
• Consistency — does it match CCTV footage, witness accounts, and the incident log?
• Completeness — are injuries, medical attention, and evidence references included?

The Tool That Locks This In

Paper reports and typed notes fail on contemporaneity — there is no proof of when they were written. Original Note locks every report with a server-side timestamp and HMAC-SHA256 cryptographic hash at the moment of submission. The record cannot be altered without that change being detectable. That is not just good documentation — it is provable documentation.

The AI Quality Check also runs your report against the 5-part framework before you submit, flagging gaps before they become problems.

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