FI Cards
The Field Interview Card is an 3"x 5" index card that allows the first responder to gather important, pertinent, information without having to think about it. The information necessary is organized for you in the order needed to transfer to your report and to other responding parties.
Each field required to write a thorough police report or incident report is labeled on your 3"X5" Field Interview card so that you don't have to think about the information that you need, its already outlined for you right on the front of the Field Interview Card.
When you arrive on scene and you need crucial information right away, the last thing you need to be tasked with is trying to remember what information you will need right away. Not only to write your report later, but to offer to your partner, a cooperating agency, medical personnel, detectives, management and even media. In this case and in most cases, all you will have available is what you have in your pockets. In this case, you will want your 3"X5" Field Interview index cards.
Think about arriving on a chaotic scene: a fatal accident, an aggravated assault, an armed robbery, a home invasion, or a homicide and you have to gather information quickly and accurately. Names, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers. And that's just for the victims and witnesses. You also need crucial suspect information: skin color, height, weight, clothing, hair color, eye color, language spoken... All this information has been listed for you in organized boxes on the 3"X5" Field Onterview Cards, listed by importance, so that you have the important information that you need when you have to write your report, pass the information along to detectives or put out a suspect description in the media.
