com 212 formal lit review v. 2

Running head: POLICE COMMUNICATIONS

Geneva Mae Lewis

COM 212

Professor Seibert-Kiser

July 5, 2015

A Literature Review of Police Communications Training

With Implications for Enhanced Police-Citizen Encounters

POLICE COMMUNICATION: CHALLENGES AND DIRECTIVES

Abstract

This literature review explores police communication training and the implications of specialized

training for the law enforcement community. The question posed by this literature review is

whether formal police communication instruction should be considered an integral part of

training for law enforcement particularly in the era of community policing which emphasizes

police-citizen communication. Examination follows of relevant subtopics that affect

contemporary policing communication. These topics include interfacing with vulnerable

populations, including mentally ill citizens and children. As policing continues to adapt and grow

in the 21st century, communications training will need to evolve and adapt to an increasingly

complex world. The review concludes with ideas underscoring evolving research and

subspecialties of communication field directives in the arena of police communication.

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Introduction

It is a misconception to believe that the key tools of law enforcement are arsenals of

weapons wielded by physically intimidating police officers. In fact, one of the key weapons in

policing is communication skill, which is highly adaptive to situation, individuals involved, and

desired outcome. Virtually every police encounter, whether a traffic stop, detention and arrest,

court testimony or suspect interrogation, involve nuanced communication skills with suspects,

witnesses, victims, fellow officers, lawyers, judges, and court personnel (Barker, et al., 2008)

The question arises if these skills are best learned and enhanced “on the job” which has been the

historical approach in policing, or if a more focused effort should begin even in the police

academy setting, with continuous and adaptable skills training in police departments and

sheriff’s offices which rely on the academic discipline of communication study (Cheatham &

Erikson, 1976).

A police trainee attends an Academy to meet regional or state Peace Officer Standards

and Training (POST) requirements. In the current regular basic course training specifications in

California, for example, there are 42 course topics in the curriculum and only one, community

policing, addresses some aspects of communications training (State of California Government,

Commission on Peace Officers Training and Standards, 2015). Traditionally, when police

officers begin their careers, they are mentored by a field-training officer (FTO) and accompany

their FTO on the job until they are deemed sufficiently experienced to operate on their own.

Communication with suspects, witnesses, victims, and court personnel are often “learned by

doing,” by building upon an officer’s inherent skill set and by learning in the field and from

fellow officers (Chappell, 2007).

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In addition, community policing is a currently expanding its status in police departments

across the nation, a new paradigm which emphasizes community relationships with police and a

more interactive approach to crime issues starting at the neighborhood level, relying heavily on

officer-community interactions.

In this literature review we will discuss the benefits of communication training in the law

enforcement field, which builds upon the officer’s natural communication skills of listening,

evaluating, speaking, and synthesizing information with the benefit of communications theory.

Teaching communication skills though role-play and simulated scenarios is addressed. Special

populations requiring specific communication skills are also discussed, concluded by possible

avenues of police officer communications enhancement, combining theory and active learning.

Summary of Literature

Community Policing and Civilian Interaction

America is presently in an era of community policing. “By 2000, over 90 percent of our

nation’s police agencies reported that they engaged in community policing…” (Chappell, 2007,

p. 498). Community policing puts the interactive relationship of officers and their community at

a premium and relies heavily on communication. Instead of “laying down the law,” community

policing expects officers to interface with their community, gauging their needs and priorities

through a holistic lens. Instead of the traditional separation between communities and their police

force, this modality puts relationships at a premium, with the twin goals of preventing crime and

solving recurring problems, rather than simply responding to crises (Chappell, 2007). While the

goals of community policing are laudable, the reality is sometimes different, evidenced even in

Academy training. The Academy process, which often resembles “military boot camp” may

require as few as one course in community policing to an advanced curriculum (Chappell, 2007).

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While community policing is a buzzword, its educational components and implementation

remain uneven to the police recruit. When Academy graduates move on to law enforcement

agencies, the dominant paradigm for officer training is the San Jose Field Training Officer

Program (FTO), which focuses more on law enforcement than communication. Chappell

suggested that FTO programs incorporate community policing techniques to further build upon

Academy training in the discipline. “Human skills and communications skills are necessary

components of community policing, and they could be expanded to include measures of

diversity” (Chappell, 2007, p. 500).

If the goal of community policing is to enhance communication and collaboration

between police and the communities they serve by building relationships, the basis of those

relationships is trust. Police-civilian interaction was studied in an intergroup context by Barker et

al. (2008). The authors linked the concepts of attitudinal reactions to police with predictive

outcomes with law enforcement. Data sets were gathered which compared attitudes of survey

respondents to police with outcomes of law enforcement encounters. It was discovered that trust

and positive feelings towards police officers lead to compliance with officer requests and

willingness to participate in investigations and/or questioning. In contrast, communication

strategies of officers who exhibited rudeness, unfriendliness, and arrogance created negative

feelings toward police. However, the researchers (Barker, et al. 2008) noted that communication

strategies of police officers are necessarily diverse and include techniques such as code

switching (exhibiting variations in linguistic styles):

Officers are required to adjust their communication practices to both suspected or convicted felons, other members of the public who hold a negative view of them, and those who appear to exhibit anxiety and uncertainty when interacting with them. Therefore, many officers have developed a type of code-switching which allows them to exhibit empathetic (accommodative) behavior under some circumstances and controlling,

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authoritative (nonaccommodative) behavior…people do not expect police officers to be friendly all of the time or to behave in the same way to everyone (p. 96).

The authors suggest that accommodative communication strategies were needed for officers in

their interactions with citizens, particularly in instances where subjects were noncriminal and

non-belligerent. The authors conclude that such communication strategies undertaken by police

departments and officers have the likelihood of increasing trust and therefore compliance. In an

era of increasing citizen scrutiny and the rise of community policing, giving officers the tools to

communicate effectively are paramount.

Training: Role Playing/Simulation Exercises: Definitions and Limits

Research that began three decades ago examined the best practices of communication

training within police forces. Cheatham & Erickson (1976) noted the deficit in communication

training, stating that “most law enforcement agencies are highly trained in police methods,

ethics, laws, and conduct, but few receive instruction in understanding communication in human

relationships” (Cheatham and Erikson, 1976, p. 166). They go on to state that the consensus of

research reveled that eighty percent of a police officer’s encounters with citizens require

interpersonal communication skills in addition to knowledge of law and police tactics. Cheatham

and Erikson propose that not only do police officers require enhanced communications training,

but also that the training should be tailored to a practical, hands-on learning style rather than rote

lecture or book learning to fully engage participants. They proposed simulation exercises and

role-playing as the ideal modality of officer communication training, which could be

implemented by employing “well conceived, realistic simulation experiences and games”

(Cheatham and Erickson, 1976). Interviewing, courtroom testimony, and public speaking were

also suggested realms of focus in training exercises for police officers.

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With strong support for communication training, the question arises as to who is best

suited to train. As policing becomes more of a discipline and an arena of research into best

practices, agencies seek experts outside of the policing realm for their expertise. The issue of

academics successfully crossing the “Blue Wall,” which so often separates civilians from police

officer is a very real question addressed by Woods (2000), a communications expert within a

university setting. Woods discussed the experience of conducting communication training for a

police department and the techniques used to establish rapport with officers as well as the

process of tailoring the class curriculum to their strengths. Woods was hired to assist in training

when a major police department was transitioning to community policing. Woods determined the

officer’s strengths in a needs-based assessment created and administered before the training

exercise. Based on the data gathered, the course was tailored to the officer’s priorities in

interpersonal communication: listening, body language, questioning, informing, and describing.

Woods used law enforcement scenarios to make the training exercises relevant to the class. The

report concluded by underscoring the efforts needed to continue to enhance and create ongoing

education related to the enhanced interpersonal communication demands in community policing.

More recently, role-playing and simulation training has not been accepted prima facie as

the assumptive ideal in training. Stokoe (2013) examined the differences in role-play simulations

and real-world interactions in police communication. Stokoe compared the police interviews of

suspects in two contexts: actual suspect interviews and training or “role play” interviews by

police officers. The researcher questioned whether the presumption of efficacy of role-play for

training purposes is, in fact, borne out by comparing the two modes of operation in a verbal

communication context. Stokoe gathered actual taped police statements to suspects recorded

before interrogation and simulation interviews also recorded for training purposes under the

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same conditions. The researcher compared the verbal communication of the officers towards the

suspects in both modes. What the study indicated was that significant differences existed

between training and role-play interviews versus actual police/suspect interviews. In conclusion,

Stokoe suggested a new protocol for role-play training, which was outlined and described. The

goal of this new protocol was stated: to more accurately simulate the real world in role-play

communications training. The author developed a unique training approach called “conversation

analytic role play method,” (CARM), “which uses actual interactions as a basis for training

communication skills…” (Stokoe, 2013, p. 184) and utilizes previously recorded real-world

conversations for training. The author concluded that this branch of research offered an

opportunity to further enhance training methods, the impact of role-playing, and the complex

variables that promote particular behavior within conversational protocols that are dependent

upon the setting as well as the parties involved.

Police Interactions with Populations: The Mentally Ill and Children: Best Communication

Practices

As Culbertson stated presciently, “Law enforcement has become something of a public

relations jungle in recent years” (Culbertson, 2000, p. 13). Culbertson explores the evolution of

both paramilitary policing and community policing, both with distinct goals. Culbertson (2000)

reported in the study that “local citizens valued community relations and service activity…”

(Culbertson, 2000, p. 13), with the caveat that the primary directive was for police to protect the

population and apprehend lawbreakers.

Our society values communication with police, but we also want them to tackle difficult

situations that most of us would be afraid to face. The reality is that the criminal justice system

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and policing are complex and challenging arenas in which to work. All that is difficult and

unpleasant can seem to be represented, but best practices and research in communications has led

to improved techniques and outcomes particularly related to vulnerable populations. One of the

realities of 21st century policing is that jails have become de facto mental hospitals in an era of

reduced social services and community-based mental health services. The era of

institutionalization is over, and police are in the front lines of mental health issues. Police

communication with mentally ill populations requires a complex set of skills and experience.

Recent data indicates there are four times more people (283,000) with serious mental

illness in jails or prison than state mental hospitals (Heinecke, 2005). Forward-thinking police

departments have instituted Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT), “composed of specially trained

officers who respond to mentally ill people in crisis” (Heinecke, 118). The goal of such CIT

training is to ensure officer and citizen safety, and focuses on nonverbal and verbal

communication skills to employ with mentally ill citizens. Training in this context focuses on

non-verbal aspects: approaching an individual in such a way that service revolvers and Tasers are

not prominent; maintaining personal space needs which are often intensified with the mentally

ill, and speaking in a calm, quiet voice once the officer can be reasonably certain his safety

perimeter is secure. If the individual exhibits overt hostility, officers give short and clear

instructions, repeated every 15 seconds. Once an individual complies, “venting” is encouraged

along with supportive empathy statements. Houston, Texas, which has implemented key CIT

tactics for dealing with the mentally ill population involved in potential criminal activity, has

also streamlined processes for mental health evaluations rather than arrest, booking, and

detention in jail for many individuals.

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Another vulnerable population in our society is children. Porter (2009) suggests that

police receive special training to communicate effectively with children who have witnessed

crime or have been traumatized, by understanding childhood developmental stages as well as

receiving education regarding implications of communication in the aftermath of trauma. Police

officer skill in effective communication with vulnerable populations can be critical not only in

obtaining evidence and witness statements against perpetrators, it can also lead to better

outcomes for the child’s well-being when a competent and caring adult supports him or her

during a difficult process.

Conclusion

This review examined the issue of police communications training in context of

community policing (Chappell, 2007) and civilian response to policing (Barker, et. al., 2008).

Role-playing and simulated exercises were defined (Cheatham & Erickson, 1976) and enhanced

policing role-play communication training (Woods, 2000) were explored in relation to recent

research which continues to refine best approaches to experiential training (Stokoe, 2013).

Finally, special populations that police interact with, both the mentally ill (Heinecke, 2005) and

children (Porter, 2009) were discussed. Unique approaches in police officer communications

training with these special populations has resulted in better outcomes. As communications

theory and community policing continue to become linked, there exists the possibility of

enhanced communication, best practices communications policies and trainings, and a continued

evolution in the interaction of communication study and policing. An intriguing area of future

communication research related to law enforcement will be in the evaluation and dissemination

of communication with the use of police body cameras. It can be predicted that there will be an

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explosion in raw data availability related to police-civilian encounters as many nationwide law

enforcement agencies begin using body cameras on officers with video recording devices. While

it has has been indicated that use of such equipment can inherently change the nature of officer-

civilian encounters (Muller, 2015), it will also prove to be invaluable in evaluating and

enhancing communication techniques as policing evolves in the 21st century.

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Reference Page

Barker, V., Giles, H., Hajek, C., Ota, H., Noels, K., Lim, T., Somera, L. (2008). Police-civilian

interaction, accommodation, and trust in an intergroup context: International data.

Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 1(2), 93-112. DOI:

10.1080/17513050801891986.

State of California Government, Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (2015).

Regular basic course training specifications. Report from Ca.gov website. Retrieved

from https://www.post.ca.gov/regular-basic-course-training-specifications.aspx

Chappell, A. (2007). Community policing: Is field training the missing link? Policing.

30 (3), 498-517. DOI: 10.1108/13639510710778868.

Cheatham, T., Erickson, K. (1976). Police communication instruction pedagogical strategies. The

Speech Teacher. 2(42), 165-168. http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rced20/current

Culbertson, H. (2001). A key step in police-community relations: Identify the divisive issues.

Public Relations Quarterly, 45 (1), 13-17.

http://www.highbeam.com/publications/public-relations-quarterly-p138888

Heinecke, J. Talking to “invisible” people. (2005). Law Enforcement Technology, 32 (9).

116,118-120, 122—124,126. http://www.officer.com/magazine/let/issue/2015/jun

Muller, J. (2015, May 11). To police the police, body cameras are a must. The Los Angeles

Times. Retrieved from www.latimes

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http://www.officer.com/magazine/let/issue/2015/jun

http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rced20/current


Porter, J. R. (2009) A training workshop for police officers who interview child witnesses:

Information concerning child development and the adverse impact of exposure to

intimate partner abuse ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing. 3374586.

Stokoe,E. (2013). The (In)Authenticity of simulated talk: Comparing role- played and actual

interaction and the implications for communication training. Research on Language and

Social Interaction, 46(2), 165-185. DOI:10.1080/08351813.2013.780341.

Woods, M. (2000) Interpersonal communication for police officers: using needs assessment to

prepare for skeptical trainees. Business Communication Quarterly. 63(4), 40-48.

http://bcq.sagepub.com/content/by/year

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POLICE COMMUNICATION: CHALLENGES AND DIRECTIVES 14

com 212 formal lit review v. 2

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