Look at your peer's personal example of poor communication. Then, post a one two hundred reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. In your replies, explain how the situation would have ended with a different result if competent communication had been used. Support your answer by providing specific examples as well as at least 1 citation from the required presentations in this module/week and 1 biblical citation.

 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/criminal-justice-research/id522147129

#10 Biblical Perspectives

 

-------(1) Competent communications are a major factor in law enforcement. Report writing is a major factor in any or all court cases. The problem that stood in the past was that report brevity was preferred instead of getting in too much detail. The style that was taught was who, what, when, where and how. A basic format was taught and used for every report taken, for example; “On the date, time and place listed, the unknown suspect, broke into and entered the victims home through the rear door”. This style was used for every report. All the information for who, when, and where were listed in information blocks. The main problem with this style is that the information is so simple and lacks details and the officer will have trouble being able to account the situation in full, due to time that has past and the amount of work load that has occurred in between. In the video of “The Importance of Writing Skills in the Criminal Justice Context”, the two officers came up in the ranks with the same situation. These officers stated that they were writing single page reports and their report writing training was at a minimal when first starting out in their careers. I was a deputy sheriff in the 1990’s and the same situation happened to me. My supervisor checked my reports daily to make sure they were written in this style. When I became a supervisor, I taught the same. The problem was evident when I had to testify before the Grand Jury. Due to the amount of time that passed and the brevity of the report, I had no great details to provide. I knew that there was a problem, but as a patrol deputy I was dealing with the now, and past circumstances took a back seat. The best example that describes great writing detail is from the book of Jeremiah; 'Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.” Jeremiah 36:2

 

------(2) Communication is a vital part in the field of criminal justice. It’s the foundation of everything you do in that field. Communication keeps everyone who’s involved in the loop of things. From a biblical standpoint, honesty and integrity is the two key sources. It’s rules and regulations that must be followed for things to go smoothly, just like the Bible has the 10 commandments in which we must follow. On the police report writing side, it’s critical that you have clear, concise and accurate information with proper grammar. Having an accurate detailed report helps the whole chain involved starting with the officer who originally started the report all the way up to the prosecutor. If you leave information out of the report or not truthful, it could hurt the prosecutor’s case dramatically or even ruin your career as a police officer. In that line of work, the worst thing you can do is be known for having a half-written police report. If you can give a detailed report giving information on who, what, when, where and how, that could potentially set your career off to a great start.