Legal Definitions - blotter

The term "blotter" has two primary meanings in a legal or administrative context:

• Police Blotter / Incident Log: This refers to a chronological record maintained by law enforcement agencies. It serves as a preliminary log where details of arrests, reported incidents, calls for service, and other significant police activities are recorded as they occur. It provides a real-time, running account of daily events.
• Waste Book (Preliminary Record): In a more general administrative or accounting sense, a "blotter" can refer to a preliminary book of original entry. It is used to quickly record raw, unclassified details of transactions or events in chronological order before they are formally categorized, processed, or transferred to more structured records or ledgers.

Here are some examples illustrating these meanings:

• Example 1 (Police Blotter - Arrest):

  A local police department logs the details of a DUI arrest, including the suspect's name, the specific charges, and the exact time of the arrest, onto their daily blotter. This entry is made immediately after the arrest takes place.

  This illustrates the "police blotter" meaning, where an arrest record is created as a preliminary, chronological entry of a significant law enforcement action. It serves as an immediate, public record of the event.

• Example 2 (Police Blotter - Incident):

  After responding to a report of a stolen vehicle, officers record the initial details of the theft, the time the call was received, and the reporting party's contact information on the police blotter. This happens even before a formal investigation is fully underway or a detailed case file is opened.

  This demonstrates the blotter's broader use for recording initial incident reports and calls for service, not just arrests. It functions as a real-time, preliminary log of police activity, capturing information as it comes in.

• Example 3 (Waste Book - Law Firm Accounting):

  A small law firm uses a "blotter" (or a similar preliminary journal) to quickly jot down every incoming payment from clients, outgoing court filing fees, or other minor expenses throughout the day. These entries are made chronologically as they happen, before the firm's bookkeeper formally categorizes them and posts them to specific client accounts or general ledger entries in their accounting software.

  This exemplifies the "waste book" meaning, where a blotter serves as a rough, chronological record of financial transactions or administrative events before they undergo formal classification and entry into a more structured system.