77potentially existing, conflict. Through domestic disturbances, communication with
victims and offenders, interviewing witnesses, answering citizen questions, making
arrests, and giving citations, to name a few, communication with the public and,
thus, occasional conflict, is inevitable and potentially harmful in consequence. The
police officer, beyond nearly any other profession, must be capable and effective in
communicative abilities and processes of resolving conflict. As a result, training and
education in matters of conflict resolution and skill in interpersonal communication
play fundamental roles in police interactions.
These issues stress the necessity of proper police training and education in effec-
tive communication and conflict resolution. In addition, the employment of officers
who are capable of assessing the situation, finding the most appropriate tactic, and
actually using that technique to benefit the encounter becomes important. This
section discusses some of the issues with regard to police officers and conflict res-
olution skills. Commonly used tactics as well as tactics which are not commonly
practiced by police officers, yet would arguably be more effective in some situations,
are addressed.
l\\'o officers were dispatched to (a) halfway house where resident Henry had been
causing a disturbance. The staff wanted him expelled. The first officer to arrive gave
him an intense lecture. Henry, feeling unjustly chastised, walked off and went outside.
The officer grabbed him by the back of the shirt and told him he was not finished
talking to him. Henry pushed the officer and the officer pushed back. A backup officer
arrived at the scene and stepped in between the two men just before the situation got
out of control. Through the use of verbal skills he calmed Henry and helped his fellow
officer regain composure. He then persuaded the staff members into allowing Henry to
remain at the center. Henry agreed to modify his behavior. The result? Because of good
communication skills on the second officer's parr, everyone was appeased (Woodhull,
IWViLiterature Review
Police officers estimate that 75—90% of their time is spent in some form of commu-
nication (Woodhull, 1993). Training in communication skills, however, has failed
to reflect this fact. An estimation of training time allocated to learning communi-
cation skills is less than 10%. One officer noted, in addressing the significance of
communication in his work, that communication is the basis for all police work and
is necessary for the effective enforcement of laws (Woodhull, 1993). Thus, police-
officers are aware of the large portion of time that is spent in communicating with
the public. Further, they recognize the importance of being adequately trained in
that area. Administrators and educators also agree that police officers need to be
trained in interpersonal communication (Woodhull, 1993).
The necessity of communicative abilities, and failure of existing training pro-
grams to acknowledge the importance of communication and conflict skills, is