Turn Your Field Notes into a Court-Ready Report

Why report writing eats your billable hours

A ten-hour surveillance day routinely turns into two to four more hours at the desk: retyping notes, matching photos to times, formatting descriptions and checking terminology. That time is rarely billable at your full rate, and it's where mistakes creep in.

How it works

1. Log observations in the field by typing, dictating or tapping quick actions. Each entry is time-stamped, GPS-tagged and fingerprinted.
2. Add photos, video and interview recordings to the case as you go.
3. Choose the date range, first or third person, and fill in the QCA items (video obtained, identity confirmed, travel).
4. PIwitness checks for missing items (no photos, no subject description, missing court case number) before it writes.
5. PIwitness Intelligence writes the report from your entries only. Review it, edit any line, or rewrite a paragraph.
6. Export to PDF or Word with your letterhead, photo log and time and expense sheet.

Written the way the industry writes

• Subject descriptions in order: race, sex, age, height, weight, hair, facial hair, marks, complexion, build, clothing
• Vehicles in order: color, year, make, model, plate, location, damage
• First-sighting identification language
• Physical movements described, not summarized ("bending at the waist", not "gardening")
• 12-hour times (9:14 A.M.) and capitalized Subject, Investigator and Client
• No opinions on claim validity and no recommendations to deny or settle
• Varied no-activity phrasing instead of the same sentence repeated

It never invents facts

Every sentence in the report has to trace back to a field note or a case detail you entered. If a detail isn't in your notes, it isn't in the report; missing header information shows as a bracketed placeholder for you to fill. That rule exists because the people who built PIwitness have testified to what's in their reports.

Report layouts for every case type

Surveillance, workers' comp and domestic cases get a chronological narrative. SIU and general investigations get captioned sections by activity (interview, records check, scene). Process service gets an attempts log and service outcome, background checks findings by record source, skip traces locate efforts by source, accident investigations scene, vehicles and witnesses, asset recoveries a custody log, and executive protection details a movement log with a section for each incident.

Frequently asked questions