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Mike Wilson Response

Competent communication is essential in criminal justice because knowing how to communicate effectively is crucial in the field. Whether you are a police officer, parole officer, prosecutor, etc., you will use communication skills daily, and not being competent, especially during a crisis, could lead to severe consequences, such as criminal charges being dropped, someone getting injured or killed, or even a victim being re-traumatized. According to Hine and Bragias, “One key element to the successful outcome of major crises is the effective communication by police to their fellow officers, command, and other emergency personnel to contain and control the situation” (Hine & Bragias, 2020, Abstract section).

While working as a police officer in Oregon, I experienced an incident where competent communication was not used. A supervisor asked me to work overtime at a football game, and I agreed; however, at the last minute, he told me he wanted me to work patrol instead. I found out three recruit officers and a supervisor were at the football game. Once I started my shift, I discovered no police officers were covering the city for four hours. This caused 18 calls for service to be pending, and I was working alone with no backup. I was pretty upset with the poor decisions that were made by my department's leadership. I was dispatched immediately to an attempt to locate a stolen vehicle and found it occupied. Luckily, the State Police was in the area and covered me. Once I finished the arrest, I started handling the pending calls for service. I noticed there was an assault reported by a female who came in at 10 am that morning, and it was probably around 8 pm when I contacted her. Another officer held the call specifically for when I came in to work instead of handling it. I called the victim and scheduled a time to interview her the next day. I also apologized for the late response, which she did not deserve. I had numerous other calls for service, and I apologized to those victims as well. What occurred was not acceptable. The calls for service should have been handled promptly and without delay, which caused poor service from the police department to the victims. We failed our citizens. 

Another example of when competent communication was not used was when I was assigned to investigate a private indecency case. My supervisor told me to handle it because he said I was good at handling investigations, and everyone else was too busy, including himself. When I looked at the dispatch notes, it showed multiple officers had spoken with the victim, but the case kept getting put into pending status. I thought it was odd the supervisor had spoken to the victim on a previous day and had all the details but still assigned it to me. When I interviewed the victim, she told me she had already provided her statement to multiple officers and began crying. She told me she did not understand why she had to keep telling the police what had happened repeatedly and why nothing was being done. I felt terrible for the pain I caused the woman. I took care of her case as fast as I could and was able to track down the suspect and arrest him. The miscommunication from the officers and lack of doing their jobs caused her to have a poor experience with law enforcement, to the point she was re-traumatized. These incidents should never happen, but sometimes they occur in law enforcement. We, as public safety professionals, must do better.

This reminds me of Colossians 3:17 (NKJV), which says, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him”(Nelson, 2018, p. 1055). When we do our jobs as police officers, we must do everything with 100% effort for the Lord. We should not be lazy or communicate poorly, as this does not honor God. 

Jamie Allen Response

Effective and competent communication plays a crucial role in the criminal justice field by enhancing the system's efficiency and ensuring the accuracy of information. In my opinion, listening is the cornerstone of effective communication. As stated in the book of James 1:19, "Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]" This highlights the importance of being attentive and considerate in our interactions. While communication encompasses various aspects, active listening creates a respectful and professional atmosphere, fostering mutual understanding, trust, and stronger relationships.

During briefings, critical information is shared with the staff to ensure the safety and security of the facility and its personnel. Effective communication during these briefings includes important details such as previous incidents, current staffing levels, and the presence of medium and high-risk inmates. Paying close attention and actively listening during these briefings is vital because missing any of this information could potentially put lives in danger. Listening is an essential skill during these briefings and requires full concentration and attention to detail.

I once conducted a briefing to provide detailed information about a high-risk inmate, including specific details on his background, behavior, and the necessity of closely monitoring his movements. It was crucial to communicate where he should be placed during transitions and movements within the facility. Unfortunately, the crucial information that was shared was not received effectively, and as a result, the inmate managed to escape from the facility, leading to a daunting mass search operation.

In the aftermath, it became evident that during shift changes, the vital process of updating the unit log book with all pertinent information from the briefing sessions was not consistently followed. As a result of this oversight, it was found that the written communication related to the high-risk inmate was not documented according to the established policy. This failure to properly document crucial information played a significant role in the inmate's escape from what was supposed to be a secure and controlled facility.

Effective and competent communication is important because it can summarize information to ensure mutual understanding, help prevent misunderstandings, resolve conflicts, and identify problems.

Mike Wilson Response

Competent communication is essential in criminal justice because knowing how to communicate effectively is crucial in the field. Whether you are a police officer, parole officer, prosecutor, etc., you will use communication skills daily, and not being competent, especially during a crisis, could lead to severe consequences, such as criminal charges being dropped, someone getting injured or killed, or even a victim being re-traumatized. According to Hine and Bragias, “One key element to the successful outcome of major crises is the effective communication by police to their fellow officers, command, and other emergency personnel to contain and control the situation” (Hine & Bragias, 2020, Abstract section).

While working as a police officer in Oregon, I experienced an incident where competent communication was not used. A supervisor asked me to work overtime at a football game, and I agreed; however, at the last minute, he told me he wanted me to work patrol instead. I found out three recruit officers and a supervisor were at the football game. Once I started my shift, I discovered no police officers were covering the city for four hours. This caused 18 calls for service to be pending, and I was working alone with no backup. I was pretty upset with the poor decisions that were made by my department's leadership. I was dispatched immediately to an attempt to locate a stolen vehicle and found it occupied. Luckily, the State Police was in the area and covered me. Once I finished the arrest, I started handling the pending calls for service. I noticed there was an assault reported by a female who came in at 10 am that morning, and it was probably around 8 pm when I contacted her. Another officer held the call specifically for when I came in to work instead of handling it. I called the victim and scheduled a time to interview her the next day. I also apologized for the late response, which she did not deserve. I had numerous other calls for service, and I apologized to those victims as well. What occurred was not acceptable. The calls for service should have been handled promptly and without delay, which caused poor service from the police department to the victims. We failed our citizens. 

Another example of when competent communication was not used was when I was assigned to investigate a private indecency case. My supervisor told me to handle it because he said I was good at handling investigations, and everyone else was too busy, including himself. When I looked at the dispatch notes, it showed multiple officers had spoken with the victim, but the case kept getting put into pending status. I thought it was odd the supervisor had spoken to the victim on a previous day and had all the details but still assigned it to me. When I interviewed the victim, she told me she had already provided her statement to multiple officers and began crying. She told me she did not understand why she had to keep telling the police what had happened repeatedly and why nothing was being done. I felt terrible for the pain I caused the woman. I took care of her case as fast as I could and was able to track down the suspect and arrest him. The miscommunication from the officers and lack of doing their jobs caused her to have a poor experience with law enforcement, to the point she was re-traumatized. These incidents should never happen, but sometimes they occur in law enforcement. We, as public safety professionals, must do better.

This reminds me of Colossians 3:17 (NKJV), which says, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him”(Nelson, 2018, p. 1055). When we do our jobs as police officers, we must do everything with 100% effort for the Lord. We should not be lazy or communicate poorly, as this does not honor God.