MISSOURI
Law Enforcement Today
by Jean Reynolds
Sometimes the best weapon against crime is a good police report. In St. Louis, a four-year-old police report may help keep a priest accused of sexual abuse from returning to active ministry.
Father Kevin Hederman was suspended from the priesthood in 2009, when he was sued for allegedly abusing a St. Louis teenager. It now seems that the Vatican has cleared Father Hederman of the charges.
SNAP—Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests—is worried about the Vatican’s decision, and it is asking the archbishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of St. Louis not to overturn Father Hederman’s suspension.
This is a sad case—but it is also a useful reminder of the importance of good police reporting. The police report is objective and thorough. It includes several word-for-word statements from Father Hederman himself that raise warning flags about his sexual impulses.
If you’re looking for a model of an effective report, read this one, which is available online. Still, I can’t resist making one comment about a pet peeve of mine: The persistent misuse of “advise” in this report. In the sentence below (quoted from Father Hederman’s police report), notice that “advise” is used in two ways: to tell (incorrect) and to counsel (correct). (When you mean “tell,” say so!)
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