Blog: 29.01.26

How to Build Reports That Fit the Reader

We often belittle reports. Who wants to spend their time reading, or even worse, writing, a long report? Honestly, most of us don’t, and that’s ok. However, in the world of intelligence and investigations, they aren’t only important, they are the end product. There is simply no other way to convey the data, information, findings and recommendations that we come up with as part of our investigative work. Simply put, reports are how investigations get shared, passed on, and acted upon.

But not everyone who reads them needs the same thing.

A field officer might want every individual datapoint to find data for exploitation, field work or to gain insight into the person of interest.
A supervisor might want three bullet points and a timeline of key events.

And a partner agency? They may only need what’s relevant to their part of the case, with some details kept confidential.

That’s why modern investigative teams are shifting away from one-size-fits-all reports.
Instead, they’re building one flexible report that can be shaped to the reader without rewriting a thing.

Luckily, this isn’t nearly as hard as it used to be thanks to AI and large language models (LLMs) in particular.

Before writing anything, ask one question:

Who is this report for and what do they need to do with it?

Different audiences consume information differently:

Operators / field teams need specificity, details, and traceable artifacts
Supervisors / leadership need clarity, decisions, risk, and next steps
External partners need relevance, context, and controlled disclosure
Legal / prosecutors need structure, evidence trail, and defensibility

A good way to write reports faster (and better) is to stop thinking in “one document” terms. Instead, create a single report foundation with sections that can be included or excluded depending on the audience.

Think of it like modular reporting. Always include the BLUF:

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front):

What happened?
Why does it matter?
What’s the recommended action?

Then add:

Status (open/closed, active/passive)
Confidence level
Key risks or next milestones

You won’t need to rewrite these sections each time you tailor the report. They stay consistent across every version.

If you do this well, the reader can get what they need in seconds, and still have the option to drill down into the details when necessary.

Then come the sections that change depending on the audience:

Full target profiles (aliases, identifiers, images)
Full event sequences or high-level milestones
Network and connection analysis
Screenshots and supporting attachments

Build it in modular pieces as you go, then select what to include based on the audience.

In Falkor, reports are generated directly from the case, using the analyst notes you add throughout the investigation.
You choose what to include:

Case info like case type, lead unit, or priority
Target profiles, timelines, and connections
Screenshots, findings, and analyst notes
A concise summary with leads and recommended next steps

You can even use our built-in AI module to automate summaries, writing and more for individual sections of your investigation or comprehensively.

Real-world example: two audiences, two needs

Let’s say you’re wrapping up a fraud case.

The supervisor wants:

A clear summary of what happened
The timeline of key events
Final conclusions and status

But the field team working a related case wants:

The full path of financial transactions
All related profiles and aliases
Screenshots from the encrypted messaging app
The document trail linking entities

You already have all of this. Just make sure it’s clearly labeled so you can pull it into your report when needed.

Use cases for modular reports

This approach is especially valuable for:

Task forces sharing findings with multiple units
Supervisors who need high-level overviews
Prosecutors needing traceable evidence
Compliance teams reviewing internal incidents
Cross-border partners who only need what’s relevant to them

Final word

Good reporting doesn’t mean starting from scratch every time.
It means building reports that work for different readers — clearly, quickly, and without extra steps.

Falkor gives you one place to do it all.

👉 Want to see how it works in a real case? [Book a quick walkthrough]