Rough Sketch
Definition
On-scene freehand drawing with measurements, not drawn to scale. Made in the duty diary in pen, never erased.
- Format
- On-scene freehand drawing with measurements
- Scale
- Not drawn to scale
- Medium
- Duty diary, in pen
- Alteration rule
- Never erased
Common questions
Why must a rough sketch never be erased, even if a measurement is wrong?+
The sketch is contemporaneous evidence of what the officer recorded at the scene; an erasure raises tampering questions in court, so a correction is instead made by striking through the error and initialling it, preserving the original entry.
How does a rough sketch relate to the finished scale diagram used in reports?+
The rough sketch is the raw field record with measurements taken on scene, which a draftsperson later uses to produce an accurate, scaled diagram for the case file; the rough sketch itself remains the primary contemporaneous document.
Why is the rough sketch recorded in pen in the duty diary rather than loose paper?+
Keeping it in the bound, sequentially paginated duty diary in pen creates a tamper-evident, dated record that is harder to alter or lose than a loose sheet, supporting its evidentiary reliability.
Related terms
- Finished Sketch
- Off-scene drawing made later, to scale, with legend and compass. The courtroom version.
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