rant - why keep records

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Please Note:  Disclaimer:  This is a work of fiction only.  I am not an attorney.  This is not legal advice.  This is not medical advice.  This is not any kind of advice.  If you want legal advice, you should get your own attorney.  This is speculative fiction only.
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When you say, "I saw Jack pet his dog." or "Jack told me, 'I enjoy petting my dog.'"  This is called "direct testimony" because you are saying something that you, yourself, observed or heard.  This is allowed in court.

When you say, "Jill said she saw Jack pet his dog." or "Jill told me, 'Jack said he enjoys petting his dog.'"  This is called "hearsay" because you did not see or hear Jack do these things.  Hearsay is not allowed in court.

But there are exceptions.  

One of these exceptions is called the "business records exception".  If a business does something regularly in the course of doing business, then that (piece of paper) will be allowed as evidence without the need of someone testifying about its authenticity.  This is best explained with an example:  If a business always stamps "received on [date]" on each piece of paper that comes into the office, then that information can come into court without testimony – and this might be very important:  If a business says, "we did not get such-and-such until March 3 even though you said you mailed it February 25:  and here is the proof."  

This is further important because it is likely that the receptionist who date-stamps the piece of paper likely has no memory of that particular item – which means there is no direct testimony available about when that paper was actually received.

I don't know if this Activity Diary would be considered a business record.  What I do know is that it will not be if items are not recorded.  Then it has no chance of being considered as evidence.

I also know that people forget.  Maybe your memory is great, now, but things change.  And having your knowledge in your head does not help anyone else in the community.

Let's take an example.  A child scared and almost bitten by a pink dog.  Police are called.  Owner of the pink dog says this was a one-time mistake and that the dog has never gotten loose before.  (a) Outcome A:  Child's parents know no different and dog is released to owner with warning.  

(b) Outcome B:  Now let's look at a different outcome.  Now let's look at when people reported on this Activity Diary when they saw, over the past six months, those three or four times they saw a pink dog running without a leash across their yard with no owner in sight.  Three different residents, three different times – each of these times not very significant standing alone – but when they are added together:  Then that child's father can tell the police that the dog owner is lying - this is Not the first time - here is a printout of other times - and the owner clearly has not taken proper precautions to secure the dog.  The police officer can then issue a citation to the dog owner – and maybe if the previous events are bad enough, take the dog until the owner demonstrates that the owner has a secure pen for the dog.

A record of "historical" events might become very important.  What I do know is that it will not become important if it is not recorded and accessible to others.

Thank you.