Effective Communication | [Your Name]CJA 304January 12, 2015 |

Communication is a process of exchanging thoughts, feelings and ideas using a common system of words, signs, behavior or symbols. It is a two way process where all parties must be able to comprehend what message is being sent otherwise the communication has become ineffective. Communication in a criminal justice organization is very important because without efficient communication many areas would fail to work properly. Those who work in the criminal justice field are faced with daily challenges. Effective communication is one of the biggest obstacles. The two areas of communication that law enforcement personnel must consider when trying to be successful in communicating are verbal communication and non-verbal communication. Verbal communication is an act of conveying messages or ideas through the use of words coming from your mouth. Communicating in this manner can be done face to face or over a phone. At all levels of the criminal justice pyramid verbal communication is very important. For example, if a police officer comes into work and does not greet his coworkers respectfully it can throw off everyone else’s effort to work as a team. An officer communicates with many people from their superiors in the station, prosecutors in the courthouse to suspects in the street. A police officer has to be able to efficiently communicate with everyone but there may be barriers use as language or education. Using certain words and redundancy may help someone receive the correct message and bypass a misunderstanding. Nonverbal communication involves body language and written communication. Body language like eye contact, body posture, facial expressions and hand and finger gestures can help criminal justice personnel when speaking to persons of interest in a case. There are many forms of written communication like emails, memos and reports. Police reports are an important type of communication because prosecutors use them when issuing criminal complaints and building cases. The police report and what the investigative team writes down, no matter how insignificant they deemed it, is used throughout the court process. Listening and hearing are sometimes confused as the same thing. In reality they are different. Listening involves concentrating on what is being said and also on what is not being said. To listen correctly one must listen to the words and comprehend the message that is being sent. Hearing is the first step in the communication process but only occurs when the ears physically pick up sound waves. This step doesn’t not guarantee that someone is listening. To be an effective listener one must be able to follow details and fight distractions. For example, a police officer is faced with distraction every day when patrolling the streets. Although he may be distracted by what is happening around him while taking a complaint he has learned how to focus and actively listen to what is being said to him. Criminal justice organizations have formal and informal channels of communication. This is the process or the way which information moves from the sender to the receiver. Formal channels usually follow the chain of command providing a specific order in law enforcement agencies. Formal channels help ensure all officers receive the same information. This can be seen when an All-Points Bulletin ( A.P.B.) is issued. It usually comes from a higher level and is leaked down the law enforcement agency so that everyone is on the same page. Informal channels also known as “the grapevine” are unofficial routes of information in a law enforcement agency. An example of informal channels being used is when time is of the essence. When the formal channel is used it is required that the information go up the chain of command and come back down to the intended recipient. When informal channels are used an officer can cut across lines of authority and responsibility to pass the information onto their peers. There are five barriers; emotional, physical, semantic, ineffective listening, and listening speed, all which influence effective communication within a criminal justice organization. There are many actions that lead to ineffective communication. Emotional barriers can make it difficult for the sender or receiver because people often use their personal experiences when communicating with others. Past experiences such as being embarrassed or a fear of rejection can keep some people from communicating freely. Low self-esteem and psychological problems can also be emotional barriers. Physical barriers can delay information from being received correctly or even at all. Issues such as distance and language are types of physical barriers. For example, a person speaking who is deaf may ask for help from an officer and the officer may not know sign language. The police officer would then have to find an interpreter to facilitate the communication. A semantic barrier is when two or more people disagree on the meaning of certain terms. If the receiver offers no feedback, the message can translate differently than the sender intended them. Ineffective listening means the receiver did not understand what the sender is trying to communicating. Most people are actually poor listeners and do not realize. The listener may find the subject to be boring, too difficult to understand, or they may be focused on other problems in their lives. When the listener cannot ward off the distractions and focus on listening it can become harmful for the criminal justice system and those involved. Important facts may be missed or introduced too late if everyone involved in an investigation is not listening correctly. This can lead to an innocent person false being arrested or convicted. There are several strategies that may be implemented to overcome communication barriers in criminal justice organization. Knowing what the barriers of communication is a great start to avoid miscommunication. When using written word criminal justice personnel should keep their paperwork organized by case. They should keep their notepads with notes on a case separate from their personal paperwork. When using spoken words all criminal justice personnel should always be respectful no matter who they are speaking to. This means that no profanity should be used and their tone of voice should be free of sarcasm. Another way to overcome communication barriers is to actively listen to what is being said. One should also ask questions without fear when clarification is needed in a conversation. If someone who is working in a criminal justice organization learns to use these techniques communication barriers should not become an issue in completing their job efficiently.

References
Wallace. H., & Roberson, C. (2009). Written & interpersonal communication: Methods for law enforcement (4th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Miller. L. S., & Whitehead. J. T. (2011). Report writing for criminal justice professionals (4th ed). Burlington, MA: Anderson Publishing.