Academy RMS Instructor Guide

What the tool does

Academy RMS guides students through incident information, field notes, involved people, offenses, normalized vehicle and property records, evidence and chain of custody, scene processing, a photo log, a rough-sketch workspace, original or supplemental narratives, and a final validation check.

The system is useful in report writing, criminal investigation, crime-scene processing, patrol procedures, criminal law, and other scenario-based courses.

Quick start for instructors

Prepare an assignment

1. Create or select a fictional scenario. Video, audio, photographs, dispatch notes, witness statements, and evidence information may be provided separately in the school’s LMS or shared course folder.
2. Identify which RMS modules students must complete. Not every scenario needs property, vehicles, evidence, or scene-processing entries.
3. Tell students whether the assignment is an original report or a supplemental report. For an original report, provide the scenario title and assignment sequence; Academy RMS creates a new case number. For a supplemental report, provide the existing case number students must enter.
4. Tell students which course references control offense selection and Missouri statute citations.
5. Configure the LMS assignment or shared folder to accept PDF files. If revisions are allowed, permit replacement files or resubmissions.

What students should do

1. Open the link and choose Start new report.
2. Enter student and assignment information and answer Is this a supplemental report? Choose No to create a new case number, or choose Yes and enter the existing case number.
3. Complete only the applicable report modules and use the instructional hints as needed. Every person, vehicle, property item, evidence item, custody event, and note must be added with its Add button. In Scene Processing, students mark the scene processed or not processed, may attach up to eight JPG, PNG, or WebP images, complete the log under each image, and upload or draw a rough scene sketch.
4. Run Validation to identify missing information. Validation is advisory: students may select Download / print fillable PDF at any stage, including before all validation items are resolved.
5. Save the downloaded PDF in OneDrive, Google Drive, Files, or another location the student can reach from a different device.
6. Open the saved PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader or another form-capable PDF viewer to make later corrections, save a new copy, and resubmit it through the instructor’s designated system.

Using the expanded RMS modules

People and demographics

Each person record separates last, first, and middle name, nickname, role, date of birth, calculated age, sex, NIBRS race and ethnicity, address, phone, email, driver-license number and state, fictional Social Security number, height, weight, hair color, and eye color. Require fictional values only; students must never enter real personal identifiers into the training tool.

Vehicles and property

Vehicle year, make, model, body style, color, VIN, plate, plate state, plate expiration year, registered owner, and incident role are entered separately. Property records separate category, description, make, model, serial number, owner, quantity, condition, status, dollar value, return recipient/date, and return-photo status. The tool links to RSMo §490.717 as a teaching reference; agency, prosecutor, and court policy control any real release.

Missouri statutes and offense degree

Students select Open official Missouri RSMo search to open the Missouri Revisor website in a new window. They locate the correct current statute, then return to Academy RMS and enter the official offense title, section number, and applicable degree/classification before selecting Add offense to report. Academy RMS does not infer a degree because many statutes contain multiple penalties depending on the facts.

Evidence and chain of custody

Students first create an evidence item with a unique item number, identifiers, collection details, collector, date/time, packaging, and condition. They then add one custody event for each placement or transfer—for example, collected and sealed, placed in an evidence locker, removed from the locker, submitted to a laboratory, or received from a laboratory.

Rough scene sketch

Students may draw with a mouse, touch screen, or stylus, or upload a photograph/scan of a paper sketch. The sketch metadata prompts for title, measurement method, scale, orientation, and legend/reference points. The saved image is included in the fillable PDF. Sketch metadata remains editable in the PDF; the diagram image itself is fixed.

Download the Crowder rough-sketch grid. The Scene Processing module also links to the instructor-supplied external blank grid, editable photo log, and crime-scene entry log.

Integrated photo log

Each uploaded photograph has its own photo number, direction/view, and description. The professional PDF places those editable log fields on the same page as the corresponding image, two photo records per page.

Original and supplemental reports

An original report documents the initial incident or investigation and receives a new Academy RMS case number. A supplemental report documents later activity, additional evidence or interviews, follow-up, or another instructor-directed addition. It keeps the existing case number so the records remain associated. The selected classification appears in the report workspace, above the narrative, and in the professional fillable PDF.

Case-number format

For an original report, Academy RMS creates the number from the current year, current month, instructor-supplied assignment sequence, and the student’s last name. For a supplemental report, the student enters and retains the case number from the original report.

Example: Assignment 14 completed by Jordan Smith in September 2026 becomes 2026-09-0014-SMITH.

Use a different sequence for each assignment in a course. If multiple courses share the system, instructors may reserve number ranges or rely on the course, scenario title, and automatically recorded report date to distinguish submissions.

Corrections and resubmissions

For a correction exercise, return the graded PDF or rubric and allow another submission or replacement file. The student opens the saved PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader or another form-capable viewer, corrects the applicable fields, explains material changes in the supplemental narrative, saves a new copy, and resubmits it.

Privacy, access, and limitations

• The public web address can be opened by anyone who receives it. It is not a password-protected student records system.
• The webpage does not transmit or retain report content in a database.
• The student controls the downloaded PDF and any attached images. Your institution’s normal LMS, cloud-storage, retention, accessibility, and student-record policies still apply.
• Use only staged or fictional crime-scene images. Do not attach photographs from real cases, identifiable people, private residences, medical settings, or protected records.
• The tool is an educational simulation—not a connection to a law-enforcement agency, dispatch center, state repository, or production RMS.
• Course materials and instructor directions control legal citations, offense elements, grading, and required fields.

Common troubleshooting

A student closed the page and lost the report

The webpage cannot restore work that was not downloaded. If the student has a saved fillable PDF, corrections can continue in that file; otherwise, the webpage report must be started again.

The PDF opens but fields cannot be changed

Download the file rather than using only a browser preview, then open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader or another form-capable PDF viewer. Some phone and browser preview apps provide limited form editing.

The PDF button does not download

Allow downloads for the Academy RMS page and try again. On a managed school device, the browser or device policy may control the download location.

A phone opens the PDF in a preview

Use Share or Download to save the file in Files, OneDrive, or Google Drive. For extensive corrections, Adobe Acrobat Reader on a Chromebook or computer may be easier to use.

A scene image will not attach

Use a JPG, PNG, or WebP file smaller than 12 MB. The tool accepts up to eight images per report and compresses them before placing them in the PDF.

A drawn sketch is missing from the PDF

After drawing, select Save drawing to report. Confirm that a saved preview appears below the canvas, then download a new fillable PDF before leaving the page.

The newest page design does not appear

Refresh the page. On a computer, use Ctrl + Shift + R to bypass an older cached copy.

Copy-ready LMS assignment language