A field notebook should not include which item?

• A. Witness Statements
• B. Date
• C. Time
• D. Brief Descriptions

Answer: (A)

A field notebook is a contemporaneous log of what you observe and do at the scene. It should capture factual details like date, time, location, a chronological account of events, people present, and your observations and actions (such as securing the scene, notifications made, equipment used, and steps taken). The focus is on your firsthand, objective record written as events unfold, so the notebook remains a reliable, unaltered account of how things unfolded.

Witness statements are formal accounts provided by others after the fact. They are produced through interviews and can be edited or clarified during later investigation. Including those statements in the field notebook would mix separate, later-added material with your real-time observations, potentially compromising the notebook’s integrity as a contemporaneous log. They belong in separate documents and in the final report, referenced as needed, rather than in the field notebook.