Written and Verbal Communications

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Brief notations concerning specific events and circumstances that are recorded while fresh in the officer's mind and used to prepare a report.: Field Note
*Provides basis for report *Reduces need to re-contact parties involved *Provides greater accuracy relative to time, statements, and events than memory alone: Report Writing
*Notes used in court are subject to scrutiny of the court *If placed in evidence, may not be available until released by court *May produce impeacheable inconsistencies betwen notes and reports *Notes used in court kept for future use: Court
*People involved *Describe from head to toe *Vehicles *Other Property *Date(s) and Time(s) *Exact Location of Occurence *Person(s) Involved: Type of information that should be entered into officer's field notebook.
*Suspect(s) *Victim (s) *Witness(s): Persons
*Race, sex (gender), age, body structure, height *Hair - color, style, curly, straight, etc. *Hat - color, style *Face - complexion *Eyes - color, shape *Nose *Shirt *Pants *Shoes *Other Distinguishing marks: Describe from head to toe
* Describe from top to bottom *Color - top to bottom - Year/Model *Manufacturer *License Plate; Year of expiration,state registered *Value *Distinguishing Mark/Damage *Insured *Financed: Vehicles
*Manufacturer *Model name/number *Serial Number *Cost/Value *Size *Color *Style *Use (if not obvious): Other property - description will differ by the type of property, but should include:
*Case number *Assisting Officer Activity *Location and Chain of Evidence/ Custody *Type of Incident: Other Important Information
Who What Where When Why How: Questions to be answered in field notes to complete a report.
Who? (Persons involved should be identified by role as a suspect, victim, or witness): *Complete name, address, telephone number, work address, and work telephone numbers
*Correct Spelling
*Any aliases used

*Gender(Sex) and Age
*Occupation (if employed)
*Student/School
*Age and date of birth
What?: *Type of offense committed
*Type of property involved
*Means of transportation used, if any, or by foot
*Statements made
*Speech Impediments
*Unusual Words or Phrases
When? (Date and Time): *Offense occurred
*Reported
*Discovered
*Evidence Located
*Witness(es) and Victim(s) contacted
*Arrest(s) made
Where? (Exact Location that Offense occured): *Reference points map used
*Type area-residential, business, open field
*Location of victims, witnesses or suspects in relation to crime.
Why? (Motive or Cause): *Revenge
*Drug Addiction
*Monetary Gain
*Accidental
How? (Occurred): *Property Obtained
*Suspect Approached
*Suspect gained access/entry
*Exit/ leave scene
What are the two systems and mechanics of field note-taking?: *Permanent Field Notes Recorded in Notebook
*Temporary Field Notes
Permanent Field Notes Recorded in Notebook?: *Record officer name and badge number (or ID number on notebook
*Be neat when recording
*Keep pages intact and in proper sequence
*Record day/date in sequence
*Record daily call(s) in sequence
*Record note at scene follow-up in sequence
*Keep permanently
Temporary Field Notes: *Discard Following The Completion of Report
*Be neat
*Record notes in order of events (field vs. follow up)
Advantages of Proper Field Notes: Provides for recall at a later time.
*Enables officer to separate details of the offense
*Not totally dependent on memory
*Provides detail when preparing report and testifying in court.
Rules for completing note-taking: Restrict only to important facts and information.
*Witness, Suspect,Victim
*Property
*Vehicles Used
*Details of how offense occured
Basic models and principles of communications: *A failure to communicate could result in dire consequences
*Communication is the transfer of meaning
*For communciation to be successful, the meaning must not only be sent, but also comprehended.
Models of Communication: *Linear Communication
*Interactive Communication
*Environmental Communication
*Transactional Communication
Linear Communication: *Sender
*Encoding
*Message
*Decoding
*Receiver
Sender: Mental Images - Nonverbal feelings, intentions, or mental pictures
Encoding: Method of communication (nonverbal, verbal, or written)
Message: The actual transmission
Decoding: Action process of changing the message back into feelings, intentions or mental pictures
Receiver: Recipient of Message
Linear communication ______ a complete representation of the type of communication we want, which is the ______ variety.: is not, interpersonal
In order for the _______ to know if the message was received, the ______ must obtain ______.: sender, sender, feedback
Interactive Communication: The receiver using the same methods previously used by the sender achieves feedback.
_______ Communication This model suggests that after a period of time the mental images of both sender and receiver ought to match. If this happens then _________ communcation has occured.: Interactive, successful
________ Communication A person's _________ influences how that person decodes the message that was sent. The term _______ means a person's history or background.: Environmental, Environment, environment
Types of Environments: Rich/Poor
Sick/Health
Old/Young
Concern/Indifference
External Physiological and Psychological Noise: * Noise can be ____________, _________, _____________: External, Physiological, psychological
_________ Noise Physical noises in the environment, e.g., heavy equipment, sirens, people, talking, etc.: External
________ Noise Involves biological factors such as hearing loss, illness ans so on.: Physiological
_________ Noise refers to forces within a communicator that interfere with the ability to express or understand a message accurately.: Psychological
________ Communication _______ individuals sending and receiving information at the same time. One person may be talking, i.e., sending communication, while receiving communications from another party that may be nonverbal.: Transactional, Both
Communication can be both _______ and un__________.: Intentional and Unintentional
It is _________ not to communicate through body language, dress, distance, etc.: impossible
Communication is based on: (%): 7-10% Content
33-40% Tone
60%+ Nonverbal
Barriers to effective communication: Filtering
Selective Perception
Emotions
Words
Information Overload
Nonverbal signs
Time pressures
Filtering: Intentionally manipulating information.
Selective Perception: Selectively seeing and hearing based on one's needs, motivation, xperience, background, and other personal characteristics.
Emotions: How the receiver feels at the time
Words: Words mean different things to different people (age, education, and cultural background)
Nonverbal signs: When nonverbal cues are inconsistent with the oral message, i.e., conflicting signals
Time pressures: Trying to communciate in a short amount of time which results in messages tha are abbreviated and the meaning of the message is not fully sent.
Helping Techniques: Verbal and Non-Verbal Techniques
Verbal Techniques: Active Listening
Clarification
Summarization
Allowing Silence
Stating the Obvious
Personalized Statements
"Mind-Reading" (ie. insight)
Sharing Feelings
Non-Verbal Techniques: Eye Contact
Body Posture
Distance
Touching
Vocalization
Peace Officers as Crisis Interveners: Positioning
Posturing
Observing
Listening
Responding
Responding to Feeling
Responding to Feeling and Meaning
Positioning: *Distancing far enough to be safe, close enough to see and hear
*Facing squarely the person, persons, or situation.
*Looking directly at tpersons and situation: making eye contact
Posturing: *Standing erect to show strength and confidence
*Eliminating distracting behaviors, e.g. biting nails, foot tapping, looking at watch, etc.
*Inclining forward to show that you are focused, interested, and concerned
Observing: Through sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.
Listening: *Suspend judgement temporarily so you can hear what's being said.
*Pick out key words and phrases.
*Determine the intensity considering both volume and emotion. High intensity with an offender is a sign of danger.
Reflect on the mood as positive, negative, or neutral, and whether this mood is normal or abnormal.
Responding: *Responding to Content
*Reflecting on what was seen and heard
*Use respond format: "You're saying_____."
Responding to Feeling: *Reflect on feeling and intensity
*Respond to feeling: "You feel_____."
Responding to Feeling and Meaning: *Reflect on feeling and reson
*Respond to feeling and meaning: "You feel_____ because____."
Asking Questions: *Using the "5W-H" method (where, who, what, when, why, how)
*Thinking about what was said or not said in answering your question
*Responding to the answer by reflecting back content, feeling, and meaning.
PACE: Problem
Audience
Constraints
Ethical Presence
Problem: *Analyze and identify the problem
*Enables the officer to plan an approach
*Problems often change as confrontation progresses
Audience: *Everyone encountered is part o the audience
*How is the audience reacting?
Receptive, Hostile,Critical
*Read audience and adapt tactics approapriately
*If person has a friend in the audience you may try to enlist their help. Ask the friend to help reason with and persuade the person to follow the officer's orders.
Constraints: *Determine if there are nay obstacles to efective communcation and try to eliminate them if possible.
time of day, weather, location, external noise, officer's own mood, person's values and beliefs.
Ethical Presence: *An expression of self control
*Use words to state purpose, not to express personal feelings
*Maintain professional attitude
*Anything perceived as hasty, irrational, or unfair, makes an officer seem unethical
*There can be serious long-term consequences for unethical behavior.
Aggresive Behavior: May become necessary in an arrest situation when use of force becomes necessary.
Passive Behavior: May become necessary to retain one's composure when dealing with verbally hostile individuals.
Assertive Behavior: Exists in the middle of aggresive and passive behavior.
Characteristics of a Sentence: *A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought.
*A sentence is a group of words that contains a subject, a predicate, and, if required by the predicate's verb, a word o words following the verb that complete its meaning.
*The subject of the sentence is the person, place, thing. or idea about which something is said
*The predicate tells something or asks something aobut the subject of the sentence. he simple predicate of a sentenc is the verb.
Importance of Complete Sentences in Written Communication Of The Peace Officer:: *Written communication is an integral part of every day for each peace officer.
*Without clear, complet sentences in reports, peace officers thoughts cannot be understood by any number of people who rely upon the report and/or notes.
*An understandable and well-written report can help make a case.
*Clear notes and reports can help jog a peace offficer's memory when needed.
Two serious errors in written communication: Sentence Fragments and Run-On Sentences
Sentence Fragment: *Pieces of important information are left out.
*Reader is left to figure out who did what, when and where?
Run-On Sentences: *When a period or other end mark is not placed at the end of a sentence.
*Two or more sentences written as one.
*Second sentence begins with a personal pronoun referring to a noun in the first sentence.
Clarity Problems: *Modifiers
*Double Negatives
*Passive Voice
*Quotation Marks
*Slang/Jargon
*Non-Standard Abbreviations
Modifiers: Attach themselves to the wrong word in a sentence.
Reader has to try and figure out the meaning
(Ex. We saw many swimming pools flying over California)
Double Negatives: *When two negative words are used in the same clause.
Passive Voice: Subject receives the action.
Ex. The bystander was hit by a stray bullet.
Active Voice: Subject performs the action.
Ex. A stray bullet hit a bystander.
Quotation Marks: Help the reader by setting off the words of the speaker.
Slang/Jargon and Non-Standard Abbreviations: Meaning can be misunderstood.
Slang: "As I got out of my patrol car, Jones split nothbound on King Street."
Jargon: "Deputy Brown arrested for deuce."
Describing: Being able to describe things, places, and people using vivid language.
Looking for distinguishing marks, colors, size, shape, texture, location and type.
Places - top to bottom, left to right(painting a picture of the place with words)
People - top to bottom, manner of walking, speaking.
Significant Uses of Police Report: Permanent record of facts
Coordination of follow-up
Basis for prosecution and defense
Performance evaluations of officer
Statistical Data
Reference Material
Eight Essential Characteristics of a Police Report: Accuracy
Conciseness
Completeness
Clarity
Legibility
Objectivity
Grammatically Correct
Correct Spelling
Four Common Types of Police Reports: Arrest reports
Incident reports
Offense reports
Supplemental reports
Chronological: Arrangement of information in order of occurence
Categorical: Arrangement of information by category, i.e. witnesses, suspects, crime elements, etc...
Three Basic Elements Necessary In Police Reports: Verification
Identification
Communication
Verification: That an offense or incident has actually occurred, identification of the victim, suspects, witnesses, the place of the crime or incident, and when the crime occured.
Identification: of solvability factors or leads
Communication: of the circumstances of the crime or incident, identification of completed investigative tasks and those tasks yet to be done
Pseudonym for which victims?: Juveniles and Sex offense victims.
Arrest Report: P.C. Affidavit (Facts)
Incident Report: Non-Criminal
Offense Report: Non-Arrest
Supplemental Report: Additional report to any of the other three reports (Arrest, Incident, Offense Reports)

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Number of cards 97