Review: The Law Enforcement Trainer
 July/August 1999

Many law enforcement agencies have made community policing an essential part of their overall crime prevention strategy. This is a book that can help provide practical communication skills for those involved in police-community relations. This is not a book designed to entertain you, but is organized and written so that it can probably be used as a college level course on communication skills for community policing.

The text has eight detailed chapters that cover all aspects of the communication process. The first three chapters discuss basic communication principles, improving interpersonal communication and how to plan and lead small group meetings. For those who have little experience in public speaking, Chapter 4 deals with how to prepare and deliver a talk. The remaining chapters cover how to prepare and lead a community meeting, creative problem solving methods, how to get people to support your solutions and how to use the media to help support and publicize your community policing programs.

This short review cannot do justice to how much valuable and practical information this book contains. Any police department that presently has a community oriented policing program, or is thinking of starting one should get a copy of this book. The simple fact is, public relations is all about communication, and this book provides the information you need to have a successful program.

 

Review: Police Professional Update
October 1999

What a speaker says and what a listener hears aren't always the same, and this miscommunication can be compounded when the speaker is a law enforcement officer, said COP Talk: Essential Communication Skills for Community Policing.

Messages are communicated in 2 parts: (1) the content of the message and (2) the relationship between the speaker and the listener. How a speaker translates his thoughts into words is based on his purpose for speaking and is influenced by many factors, including his knowledge of language, education, social level, ethnic background, religious/moral beliefs, physical and emotional state, and attitude. How a listener decodes what he's just heard is affected by the same factors.

In addition, the message can be affected by 3 types of "noise": physical (that blocks sounds from the ear), physiological (physical conditions that distract the listener), or psychological (mental activity that distracts the listener). "Speaking with an officer causes physiological noise for some people. They cannot hear your message because you are a cop," wrote authors Virginia Kidd, Ph.D., a professor of communication studies at California State University, Sacramento, and Capt. Rick Braziel, commander of the Metro Division of the Sacramento Police Department.

Kidd and Braziel warn officers to be aware that all communication occurs in code. Words have a dictionary meaning that can be enhanced or skewed by the listener's "emotional baggage." In addition, there are many nonverbal codes‹including physical appearance, body stance and posture, facial expression, tone of voice, eye contact, touch, personal space, territoriality, surroundings and nearby objects, and time‹that affect how a listener interprets the words he has just heard.

The authors conclude, "Understanding the elements of the process and knowing how it works allows you to have a sense of where communication breaks down, what can improve communication, how to frame messages so your receivers are more likely to put together your puzzle pieces as you intend, and how you can successfully reassemble theirs."

COP Talk: Essential Communication Skills for Community Policing also covers interpersonal communications, the work group meeting, public speaking, community meetings, problem-solving techniques, turning ideas into action, and how to communicate with the media. The 232-page paperback may be purchased for $22.95 from Acada Books [888-242-6657].

Go on home now.

 

Review: Crime Control Digest
 26 February 1999

Many officers involved in community policing struggle with their new roles in the community. The field of communication studies teaches practical skills that could help police, but there traditionally has not been interaction between the two fields. COP Talk: Essential Communication Skills for Community Policing, available from Acada Books in March, provides officers with tools to improve their communication skills with community members, fellow officers, government agencies and the media.

Dr. Virginia Kidd, a professor at California State University at Sacramento, and Capt. Rick Braziel of the Sacramento Police Department, blend communication principles with practical skill-building tools to address the needs of police-community interactions. Each chapter explores communication issues at a variety of police-community, offering officers tips on giving talks, conducting meetings, problem solving, building relationships, involving the community and getting positive publicity.

COP Talk: Essential Communication Skills for Community Policing can be ordered by calling Acada Books at (415) 883-3530 or writing Acada Publishing Service, P.O. Box 2510, Novato, CA 94948.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go on home now.

February 2000