chutchinson

One of the most important skills that officers can posses is the ability to communicate. This goes beyond language ability and moves into what to say and how. Unfortunately too often this essential skill is forgotten and left out of training programs. Additionally many officers don’t want to take the time to learn it because it’s not as “cool” as combatives programs. However, any agency that wants to see the number of complaints against officers and fights that their personnel get into decrease, they should implement a tactical communication. In reality this type of training should be required before anyone can put on our uniform. The more time that is spent on communication training, the less likelihood that officers will need to resort to force. I am not saying that combatives training should be replaced with communication training. Just that the time spent on communication training should be equal to or greater then combatives (this coming from a combatives instructor).

So why is communication so important and why do we need a special class on it? Well fights usually don’t just start out of the blue. 9 times out of 10 the officer has some sort of interaction with the subject. Some sort of communication.

There are dozens of different communications classes out there. Most have some good parts to them. My personal favourite communication class was “Arresting Communication” by Lt. Jim Glennon. Lt. Glennon teaches a lot of great stuff and manages to put a spin on it that makes you want to learn. He doesn’t just tell you what to say or not say, he tells you why and gives examples from his own career.

Some of you may be more familiar with the “Verbal Judo” class. This class is used by many security professionals, police and corrections officers. I have taken the class and I consider it to be essential training for all officers.

I am not going to write out the program and blatantly plagiarise the good work of Lt. Glennon and Dr. Thompson. I will say one thing though. From my experiences the number one reason that officers have poor communication skills is their ego. They put on their uniform and they think they are the boss of everyone. They have the mentality of “its my way or the highway”. This isn’t limited to officers either. In fact I think that it is human nature. We move into positions of power and attempt to control people. I see doctors, nurses, security guards, corporate CEO’s, lawyers, judges, supervisors and managers all doing the same thing. They move into power and immediately anyone that doesn’t agree with them is wrong and an idiot. This leads to them getting angry when you bring something else up. When we get angry we don’t think rationally. (In a future article I am going to talk about the physiological changes during stress but here is a sneak peek). Instead our heart rates increase, the rational side of our brain shuts down and the midbrain takes over. We are using emotion to fuel our thought process. We say things with the intent of angering and belittling the person we are talking with. Now this is an argument rather then a professional interaction. If this doesn’t lead to a fight it will almost certainly end up in a complaint. People complain because they don’t like the way that they were treated. The officer didn’t have time for them or he was rude. Essentially people want us to see things their way and they are upset or if we are angry we can’t. So how do we accomplish this? We need to empathise with the people we deal with. Don’t assume that we are better because we are in a uniform and they aren’t or we have a higher level or education then the other person. Instead try and see things from their side.

I have heard a lot of officers say that our jobs aren’t “customer service”. This is what I talk about when I refer to the ego thing. Our officers assume that customer service is beneath them. They were given the authority to go out and crack some skulls and you better believe that they are going to…You can bet your ass our job is customer service. A great trainer once told me that our customers are the public we serve and they deserve the very best level of service. The customer sometimes needs to have someone empathise with them. Other times the customer needs to go to go in handcuffs and take a ride to jail. Either way they deserve the best we can give them.

Moving on…I can’t do tactical communication justice. Instead I will provide you with some excellent resources.

To start with watch this amazing video. Yes it’s long, but it’s probably the best 90 minute training class you will ever take. Even better, it’s free!



Next read some of the articles that Dr. Thompson writes for correctionsone.com. Make sure you read the article “7 things never to say to anyone, and why”.

Dr. George Thompson - Verbal Judo tactics & techniques

Also a must read for all officers is Lt. Glennon’s book “Arresting Communication”

Arresting Communication,<p>Essential Skills for Law Enforcement

So watch that video and read some of those articles. I guarantee that you will learn something.

Stay safe,

Chris