Essay Title - Discourse in Law Enforcement Information

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Abstract

In the profession of law enforcement there are many different things in communication and the written part of the profession. The discourse of the field is expansive and in depth.

The history of law enforcement is dated back centuries ago. There was an intricate timeline of events leading to the modern policing that is used today. Some of the tactics and ideas used in the early stages of law enforcement are still used today.

The resources that are used in law enforcement have many different components. There are different resources used to get the most accurate information in the shortest amount of time. To law enforcement, the sources of information are very important.

The communication in any profession will be very important. However, in law enforcement it is the backbone of the work. Everyone in the field must communicate; it saves lives. The essential ways and procedures of communication are learned by everyone in the field to ensure safety and efficient work completion.

To tie in with communication is the way things are presented in the written part of the profession. There are many different style manuals used in professions, however they are used for a reason. They are used for purpose of communicating clearly to the readers and to ensure accurate interpretation. When all is synergized together, the work of a law enforcement officer is made easier.

Discourse

There has always been a unique jargon or “sound” of police. Many people, when talking to a cop, will notice the unique accent in the way cops talk. Cops talk like cops for many reasons. Law enforcement, just as much as any profession, has its own “sound.” The different words and codes used by cops are mainly subtle and simple, yet complex to the untrained person.

Examples

There are endless examples of the specific cop talk used. Most of the cop talk is not exactly what word they are using, rather, it is about how they use the words. For example, cops are happy and excited about responding to robberies in process or a bad car accident. These severe events are fill cops with adrenaline and get cops’ hearts beating. With that being said, cops will refer to these events as “good.” A severe accident is bad, most cops would agree, however cops like responding to the “good” calls. Furthermore, a cop would most likely come to the office and say “did I miss anything good?” To a cop, good is bad.

A good example of the discourse cops use is the radio conversations. There are strict words, codes, abbreviations and phrases that cops use. There are rules to using a radio. A radio conversation with a cop and the dispatcher is different than a phone call to a friend. Cops have a list of abbreviations that is translated in this table Fig 1.1:

Acronyms used in Law Enforcement

DCI

Department of Criminal Investigations (Drug Task Force)

DNR

Department of Natural Resources

DOA

DWAI

Dead On Arrival
Driving While Ability Impaired

DWI

Driving While Intoxicated

EOD

Explosive Ordinance Disposal (bomb squad)

ETA

Estimated Time until Arrival

ETOH

Drunk or Alcohol on Board

Fire Department

FIRD

Federal Incident Response Plan

FOID

Firearm Owner Identification (Card)

FTA

Failure To Appear (for court appearance)

GSW

Gun Shot Wound

KVO

Keep Vein open (relates to IV flow rate)

Landing Zone (Helicopters - LifeFlight)

MDT

Mobile Data Terminal

Medical Examiner

MVA

Motor Vehicle Accident

NCIC

National Crime Information Center database

TIPS

Traffic Information Planning System

NTA

Notice To Appear (in court for traffic ticket)

OLN

Operators License Number

Police Department

PIO

Public Information Officer

POV

Privately Owned Vehicle

RIT

Rapid Intervention Team

RYDC

Regional Youth Detention Center

Side A

Front of building

Side B

Left side of building

Side C

Rear of building

Side D

Right side of building

SIP

Simultaneous Incident Plan

Sheriff's Office

Fig 1.1 Examples of acronyms used by law enforcement officials.

The main reason this is used in the law enforcement world is mainly because it is simple and clear. In everyday life people hear cops using these codes and shortcuts of the English language. This adds to the discourse and the “sound” of a cop.

Codes

The first thing that may come to mind when thinking about the police discourse may be the ten codes. These are a list of codes all beginning with “10.” Cops use these codes on the radio with dispatchers and other police. The most familiar ten code is 10-4. This means you acknowledge the message directed to you. This is a full list of ten codes:

Fig 1.2 Ten codes used by law enforcement officials

This discourse and language used by cops continues to get more involved and complex.

Phrases

Not only is there different codes or acronyms used by cops, there is also different ways to say things people say everyday. There is a different meaning and assumptions made with these phrases. Linda Cooper gives a few examples in her article “Police Jargon: how to talk like a cop.” April 1996.

“The following is a list of the most common word differences:

You Say...

Cops Say...

Person------------------------------------Party

Car----------------------------------------Vehicle

Fight-------------------------------------- Disturbance

Go to-------------------------------------Respond to

I'm on the way---------------------------I'm en route

Kids--------------------------------------- Juveniles

Ticket-------------------------------------Summons

Yes-------------------------------- --------Affirmative, Affirm, or That's affirmative

No----------------------------------------- Negative or That's negative

Got out of the car------------------------Exited the vehicle

To "hog tie" someone-------------------Place them in 4-point restraints

(Proper terms)

Suitcase them (common terms)

Get together with a co-worker---------Get a meet

"Who reported the crime?"-------------"Who's my RP?"

Tow truck------------------------------- -Hook

Wait---------------------------------------Stand by

Copy---------------------------------------I understand. Or, handle; respond to, as in, "Copy a call."

Accident----------------------------------Paul Ida (with injuries) Paul David (no injuries), or a "T.A."”

Cooper displays different examples of the most common meaning differences. Cops use these phrases everyday. The “sound” of a cop is extended when these differences are imbedded into the language of the cop. Cops use these terms at home and outside of the workforce making the discourse of a cop more of a lifestyle.

Radio Communication

As stated previously, radio communication has many rules and is very different from any telephone call with friends. Cooper does a good job of briefly explaining and describing the etiquette of radio communication. It is a clear translation of society’s slang.

Cooper explains the FCC has rules that must be followed by officers using the radio. The biggest characteristic of the radio conversation is the required breaks. A person on the radio must break every 15 seconds to ensure the contact is still connected and understands the transmitted message. Cooper provides an example of a radio conversation:

“Dispatcher: Adam Twelve code five. Adam Twelve: Twelve, code five, go ahead. Dispatcher: I'm showing a warrant on your party, Doe, John Q., date of birth three five of sixty, showing physical as white male, six foot, two-eighty, blond and blue, break-- Adam Twelve: Go ahead. Dispatcher: Out of Denver. Failure to appear on domestic violence/assault. Thousand dollar bond, break-- Adam Twelve: Go ahead. Dispatcher: Also a second warrant out of Northglenn, same charge, fifteen hundred dollar bond. Adam Twelve: Copy. Confirm them both.”

This example shows the breaks and the overall simplicity of the conversation. It is noticed that the words were chosen wisely, making the time spent transmitting the message minimal and clear. There are not any filler words or unclear adjectives used. The discourse has shaped the radio conversation along with conversation cops have. The discourse is important to anyone in law enforcement including dispatchers.

Reasons for codes and phrases

The reasons for law enforcement officers to have such a specific and complex discourse within their working community are very clear. A police officer is clear and concise with what they are saying. For example; a police officer is arresting someone and the subject decides to take off on foot. The police officer, doing his duty, will chase the subject. The police officer is going to communicate with the station exactly what he or she is doing so they can render help. The officer is going to use a very specific ten code to indicate that he is in a foot chase. The officer is going to be breathing hard and running while communicating this. If the officer is going to try and use words and put it in Lehman’s terms, it would be very difficult to clearly transmit the message.

The codes and words used in law enforcement have clear definitions. There are no gray areas or miscommunication in the interpretation of the message. The discourse is extensive in the law enforcement field because there is a word or code for just about every situation. There is a lot more to a police language than a fancy-worded occupation such as a nurse or banker. There are clear definitions and meanings to what is said.

In the courthouse the law enforcement discourse is used. Lawyers and judges will have a different language or discourse; however, they will still understand and utilize the law enforcement discourse as well. During a case there are clear questions and answers. Lawyers need to translate the police reports and descriptions to jurors and judges. All of these different things involving the court system have influenced the extensive police discourse.

Overall, there is an extensive difference in everyday language and the language of a cop. The discourse used in law enforcement is simple yet clear. There is an incorporation of codes and acronyms. Even in the rules followed during a radio transmission and the phrases or different meanings of the same words, the discourse of a cop is extensive. The discourse of the cop is a whole different language.

History

As early as society can be recorded there have been law enforcement bodies with intent to maintain peace and order. Along with maintaining peace and order, other areas of focus included keeping current leaders in power and maintaining a status quo. The history begins back in the biblical times.

The outright first persons ever to be classified as law enforcement were soldiers of the military. Egypt was the first country to have military personnel tasked to maintain peace and order. (Annely, Kristy. History or law enforcement, 8/15/2008. http://ezinearticles.com/?History-Of-Law-Enforcement&id=269224. p1.)

For example, a pharaoh ruled the land and soldiers chased the Israelites across the Red Sea. (Annely, 1) The military personnel being used as law enforcement took on a trend. Hierarchies like Babylonian, the Syrian, and the Palestinian societies, among others all used this primitive style of law enforcement (Annely, 1).

The strongest and most prominent of all law enforcement using the military organization was the Roman Empire. They utilized a brutal form of law enforcement to maintain peace and order. It worked. The Romans took full advantage of intimidation. They struck fear into potential criminals, hoping that if a criminal sees the brutal beating and slow death the soldiers inflicted upon an amateur criminal, it will deter future beatings. The Romans never did have organized law enforcement until the 5^th century when the chiefs and heads of state were tasked to police the people under their care (Annely, 2).

As time progressed and the military being over used, London decided to hire paid enforcers back in 1663 to protect the people (Annely, 2). The trend picked up and spread over the next few years. The United Kingdom started hiring people to patrol in June of 1800 (Annely, 2). Glasgow and Scotland were able to establish “The City of Glasgow Police.” This is what America currently uses as the difference in Jurisdiction of city, State, and national agencies. Law enforcement at that time was developing and moving toward specific areas of each law enforcement outfit.

With the formation of “City Police” came the strategy of preventive policing in 1829. (Annely, 2). This was made possible by the Metropolitan Police Act passed by the Parliament. This started the philosophy of the fundamental policing used in today’s modern policing. Outside of the United Kingdom, the Gibraltar Police was the first police. Toronto followed suit in Canada after Spain formed Mosses d’Esuadraa in Catalonia in 1721 (Annely, 2). The first full-time police department in the United States was Boston Police Department in 1839. After the Preventative Policing picked up in the U.S. it was consistently added and used all over the nation.

Process of Policing

Following the forming of departments in 1839, establishing police made a transition into policing policies and an evolution of how policing is done. The first system with in police agencies was the “Dossier System” (Carter, David; L., A Brief History of Law Enforcement Intelligence: Past Practices and Recommendations for Change 2006.www.cops.usdoj.gov/mime/open.pdf?Item=1394. p1-45)

Essentially, intelligence files were nothing more than dossiers, “files with a collection of diverse raw information about people who were thought to be criminals, thought to be involved with criminals, or persons who were thought to be a threat to the safety and order with a community” (Carter, 22). These were obvious files kept on people to “babysit” the potential hazards, thus being consistent with preventative policing. A few examples of people that were included in these files were people such as Machine Gun Kelly, Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde, and the Barker Gang.

During the depression of the 1930’s the focus of law enforcement was minimal. Quite frankly, there was a focus more on the society and economy not criminality. In the later part of the decade the focus was shifted to the rise of “The Red Scare.” In other words it was the communists becoming more prominent (Carter, 22). When this scare hit all the law enforcement could really do was rely on the dossier that has been developed.

With the focus changing to a broad sense of security encompassing the nation all together gave light to a U.S. Representative Martin Dies who is the first chairman of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Dies was a supporter of the Klu Klux Klan, but his intensity of outsiders and intruders lead concern about Communism in the United States. He stressed the idea of labeling people as Communists, forcing them to lose there jobs and functional displacement in society (Carter, 22). This was a strict, harsh form of keeping out Communism, however, it worked for a while. People started to feel more secure and Communism was held at bay for the time being.

It was in the 1940’s because of World War II that the “Red Scare” re-emerged with even greater concern. What followed was Senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin who was using this national concern for his election. He preached against the American Communist Party and called for effective expulsion from the government, entertainment industry, and education of anyone deemed Communist (Carter, 23). He was reinforcing the works and ideas of Dies. The war on Communism was resonated well and transformed the dossiers to “Red Files” stemming from the color of Communism.

The dossier was an accepted tool for law enforcement because it worked. This was all fine until the 1960’s. The Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement brought concern to the dossier. People protested the dossier was “un-American” (Carter, 24). The baby boomers were now into their teens and were very vocal about this. Many people assumed the reason for the outrage is because of these teens falling into stereotypes of drug users and troublemakers getting arrested and reprimanded all the time, and this was their way of getting back at law enforcement and the government.

The overlap of these social movements rapidly changed values of people and pushed society to accept and reject different moral issues. It was simply social evolution. This made the work of law enforcement different and along with that changes were needed. The first step of change made was law enforcement agencies developed dossiers on the protesters “just in case” while they still could (Carter, 24). These files were not really held to specific crimes, moreover it was fundamental information should it ever be needed. Many people believed and agreed with law enforcement was using the dossiers with good intent to keep the community safe, however, the support did not justify unconstitutional practices. This made the law enforcement agencies lose the dossier.

The activist nature of the U.S. Supreme Court during the area of Chief Justice Earl Warren expressed the nature of the dossier to be not favored. The court decided against the dossier essentially “handcuffing the police” (Carter, 24). The basis of the decision included the interpretations of the Constitution, specifically, Title 42 of the U.S. Code, Section 1983, Civil Action for Deprivation of Civil Rights. :

“Anyone who, under color of state or local law, causes a person to be deprived of rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or federal law may be civilly liable.”

(Carter, 25)

This focused on the misuse of power by the police. Overall, this made the change inevitable. People sued police departments for damages and the police departments paid. The records were purged and the citizens were granted access to their records. This is still obeyed today as it is available for a person to get their public record.

The major focus of law enforcement moved to the Soviet Union to prevent the perceived threat of Soviet world domination (Carter, 26). Local law enforcement was limited and did not get a lot of attention. The nation was more concerned with global threats. To satisfy the need of national security the Hoover Commission recommended developing better working relationships between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the rest of the Intelligence Community (IC) in 1948 (Carter, 26). This formed the sharing of information and merely working together as law enforcement agencies to protect the citizens. The government looked at the efficiency and effectiveness of the intelligence operations and all the law enforcement agencies to gauge progress.

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In 1971 the “Schlesinger Report” showed failures in coordinating the IC and agencies to work well together. A number of intelligence abuses surfaced indicating that both the CIA and the FBI had conducted intelligence operations that violated American Citizens’ civil rights. The CIA and the FBI were both charged with abusing powers (Carter, 27).

The abuses and the publics frustration over the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, led to a shift in focus of the committees’ inquiries toward what is now referred to as the era of public investigations (Carter, 27). The irony in all of this is that citizens were fighting and arguing against the law enforcement of the nation. What this led to was the fact that the government moved away from assessing the efficiency of intelligence operation and focused on the actual operations of law enforcement.

In 1975, the Rockefeller Commission recommended guidelines and rules for the agencies. With it implemented, a year later Representative Otis Pike also made further recommendations to limit, even further, the FBI’s jurisdiction of national security and agencies primarily responsible for law enforcement (Carter, 28).

With time a lot of the problems and concerns society faced within the government subsided with the help of the rising concern of organized crime and domestic terrorist threats. In the 1970’s more recommendations were made to improve the state and local law enforcement to address these problems. The President’s Commission on law enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended that every major city police department have an intelligence unit that would focus solely on gathering and processing information on organized criminal cartels (Carter, 30). This required adequate staffing and evaluating them to ensure their effectiveness. This put more trust into the citizens and helped law enforcement with support.

The National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals (NAC) was created. “For the first time national criminal justice standards and goals for crime reduction and prevention at the state and local levels were prepared.” (Carter, 30) the NAC developed a list of functions and operations:

Establishing Intelligence Functions

• Each state should develop centralized law enforcement intelligence function with the participation of each police agency within the state.39

• States should consider establishing regional intelligence networks across contiguous states to enhance criminal information-sharing processes.40

• Every local law enforcement agency should establish its own intelligence function in accordance with its respective state's intelligence function.41

Intelligence Function Operations

• Each state and local intelligence function should provide support to federal agencies.

• Operational policies and procedures should be developed for each local, state, and regional intelligence function to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.42

• Each agency should have a designated official who reports directly to the chief and oversees all intelligence operations.” (Carter, 31)

These functions and operations were made to strengthen law enforcement.

By the 1980’s Criminal enterprises had grown dramatically and encompassed a diverse array of illegal activities, from drug trafficking to counterfeiting consumer commodities. The law enforcement agencies were overwhelmed. The lack of expertise and experience left law enforcement struggling. It was as if the organized criminal groups were communicating better than law enforcement agencies. The government recognized this and required change within law enforcement. All law enforcement was focusing and utilizing intelligence as best they can. They used intelligence as a safety net and last resort. The only downfall with this style was some executives in law enforcement agencies did not believe in the intelligence, however, it was more that the intelligence was very busy and based a lot of decisions and information out of a reactive reply and some times were dead wrong. This obviously created frustration; however, they were still utilized to an extreme. Law enforcement focused on intelligence.

All agencies involved in law enforcement synergized together to put up a fight with organized crime. Due to more modern events such as terrorism, specifically the day of 9/11/01 law enforcement have formed the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) (Carter, 35). This really made it known and practiced to “reach out to knowledgeable officious in state and local agencies throughout the United States” (Carter, 35). This process leads to what law enforcement on the local and federal level is today.

Significant People

There were many people that contributed to the complex system of law enforcement now seen today. One of the earlier person involved led to the concern of Communism. The significance behind this person is how he gave light to what is still used today as the overall goal of national security is still being pursued.

The U.S. Representative Martin Dies becoming the first chairman of the House Committee on Un-American activities is a significant part of today's law enforcement. His focus on Communism and the strict ways of exterminating Communists significantly held the Communist scare to a simple scare. Even today the U.S. government has rejected Communism from reigning. This man started what is still used now.

One person that gave significant support of Dies is Senator Joseph McCarthy. The reason he is significant in law enforcement is that he reinforced what Dies wanted and did. He enforced the same concept of Dies and the same concept of what is used today.

McCarthy had a little different intentions and reasons for why he rejected and stood against Communism, however the goal was met. He was manipulating and taking as stand against Communism because he knew that is what the people wanted and it helped his campaign to agree with the people. When elected he followed through and developed a little passion for the general safety of the citizens, specifically regarding Communism.

One of the biggest downfalls of law enforcement was caused in part by Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953-1969). He had the overall say in the decision of the use of the dossier. Essentially “handcuffing” the police and causing police to struggle.

There is an underlying positive that comes out of the work of Warren which is law enforcement did not need nor want to have all their work and time spent complied into one thing, rather a variety of different strategies. It could be said he opened the idea to society and the government of forming different agencies and departments who focused on different aspects of criminology. For example, in today’s law enforcement world there are departments specifically focused on drug enforcement, even departments specific to DUI enforcement. With the widespread divisions of law enforcement is due in part to Warren in that he forced the change and did not allow law enforcement to stick to one form of intelligence and one system.

A person that is significant to the development of law enforcement is President John F. Kennedy. His significance is not what he did in office other than the fact that he was assassinated. May it be odd; however, his death caused the rise of the needed idea that the FBI and Secret Service work together to protect. Law enforcement today has always been working together and this was all derived from the allegiance of these big organizations in the government. The teamwork and trust within each group or organization all comes from the initial conjoining that happened in response to President John F. Kennedy’s tragic death.

One of the biggest things for law enforcement was the Roman Empire. The Romans developed a successful plan and tactic of “law enforcement” at their time. The significance behind what the Romans did was merely the intimidation of law. The basis of law enforcement today is the negative repercussion that follows a bad decision which leads people to deter from willingly committing crimes. To give credit to the king or kings of the Roman Empire for developing this style of law enforcement for it worked.

Significant Events

A lot of events have led to the development of the law enforcement that is used today. It is difficult to say which one is most significant or least significant, for all events listed in the history of law enforcement have a crucial role in the evolutionary process. However, the event that started it all was back in the 1600’s

In the 1600’s law enforcement became a trend that took off successfully. Country after country developed paid enforcers that proved to be successful. If London and the other first countries had not started law enforcement as it is known today, it would have eventually been formed. That will not take away the impressive development so early in the primitive world. Because society then formed the law enforcement groups, the groups have had more time to develop and evolve. With the time of evolution, it is assumed the complexity of law enforcement is a good thing for the overall goals.

One event that stands out is when the dossier system was established in the 1920’s. This system gave law enforcement the upper edge and a sense of security was placed in the citizens of America. Up until this system was banned, law enforcement did well.

The significant event that follows the beginning of dossier was the fall of the dossier. In the early 1970s when this system could no longer be used, it set up law enforcement to be sued several times over. There was a big focus on police misusing their powers. It seemed as if law enforcement shifted from protecting the people to protecting themselves.

This event created a low point for all law enforcement. There was a lot of rebuilding and molding with other law enforcement agencies. Overall, this helped the synergizing of all the elite branches and formed the strongest law enforcement agencies we have today. There was a lot of good that came out of this event.

The event of the 1970’s where the NAC was formed is progress in law enforcement. The simple act of forming and writing down established rules and operations set up law enforcement to be organized. A lot of time and dedication went into the process of this step forward.

The most recent event in the world that had a significant influence on law enforcement is the attacks of 9/11/01. What followed the attacks on the Twin Towers was the teaming up and support of the citizens to provide more security on a global scale. This event ensured the idea of working together and utilizing every aspect of law enforcement the U.S. has.

This event not only gave support to people in law enforcement, however, it brought the country together as a whole. People seemed to take a different light on things and help people out more. Though most of the intense passion has faded, people still remember and still support law enforcement.

Overall, the attack not only made people of this country closer together but also the government required more attention of terrorism on the state and local level.

Overall, there has been a great deal of events and people involved in the development of law enforcement today. From people in the biblical times using soldiers of war to ensure safety and maintain order, to the organization formed today to reach every aspect of crime have significantly changed society and the goals of law enforcement.

Not only is it obvious the change in police procedure, moreover, it is the change in society that law enforcement has to respond to. Law enforcement is the ecology of the well being of the United States.

Law enforcement is required to be in constant flux to have the greatest edge on crime, along with the fact of learning from mistakes. People and events have taught the government and law enforcement agencies a lot of different things that can be utilized or changed to make it better. People are learning, society is learning and all is changing. The only difference is the timing.

Resources used in Law Enforcement

Mailing Lists

A police officer is constantly getting information and keeping up with the modern procedures. Police officers need to educate themselves constantly for crime is always changing. In the earlier years crime consisted of purse snatching and armed robberies. In the modern world there are more technological crimes such as identity theft and fraud. This necessity is satisfied via many different resources police officers use.

A very common source of information is mailing lists. In the more modern technical society signing up for weekly newsletters or events calendars is very simple to do. In law enforcement one of the most common mailing lists to be apart of is hosted via the website www.policelink.com.

The advantage with using the mailing lists is the fast, efficient source of information that does not require any seeking out other than the initial entry of your address. The mailing lists can be modified to specific areas of interest. They can also include all areas. Most mailing lists will have topics including but not limited to: most wanted, drugs, dispatch, 911, firearms, equipment, K9, policies, analysis, and game warden information. With all of this information being updated and sent weekly, it helps keep police officers informed to the current week.

Websites

There have been many police record websites that one can look up different records. One source is http://www.govtregistry.com. There are websites very similar regarding sexual offenders or child molesters. These sites list all offenders in any state and will be retrieved upon calling in a license or name search. These sites keep police officers up to date on offenders and criminals.

With the modern age of technology and the wide range of information available on the internet, law enforcement officers and agencies need to use the internet. The need of being careful is imperative; however, choosing legit websites will provide officers with the latest news and information.

There are a lot of forums for police officers to use and discuss issues or events. There are numerous news feeds that come in via the internet. When new tactics or training is developed a lot of these updates are shared through visual examples such as videos that are transmitted via the internet. Some of the most informative websites for policing is www.officer.com; copseek.com; and PoliceOne.com.

There are laws and policies that do not change much; if they do it is very rare. These include the 609 statutes, the information regarding the amendments and the bill of rights. There are government websites that has a copy of the information which is printable to be placed in a back pocket of an officer. The statutes are listed at https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=609. (Copyright 2007 by the Office of Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota). These statutes pertain to the state of Minnesota only. Statues will vary depending on the state.

There are a lot of variable issues discussed in forums on the internet. Certain web pages host discussions that only police officers that register with the site are allowed to discuss modern day topics and tactics. This is a good resource for information being the diversity in opinions and logic. The inputs made by officers may not necessarily be correct so there is a need to be careful in what you believe. One must consider the source.

News

In the Department of Homeland Security Border Protection office in Grand Forks, North Dakota the employees always have a feed of CNN news running at all times. When asked why, it was explained the constant source of information regarding breaking news and immediate coverage of world events.

The news is an excellent source of law enforcement updates. Most of the news stories involve law enforcement. People learn as the police officers do. The news is influenced by outside variables and may have a different side of the story than what actually happened. Again, consider the source.

With news there are television shows that provide information to police. America’s Most Wanted is a program that lists and describes the most wanted criminals in the United States. The help it provides to the police officers is the fact of the citizens being more aware, and the police will be reminded and refreshed on the criminals descriptions.

Publications

A good source for research and what findings show in studies are publications. Many criminologists will post and publish research findings about the criminal world. A resource website is http://home.xnet.com/~lelp/. This website provides publications of comprehensive coverage in states court activity.

Most publications are statistic based. Publications are listed and do change, however there will be other findings published to compensate for the change. There are publications that update regularly and are sent out consistently. There are websites and mailing list to join to keep up with the latest information.

Overall, there are many resources police officers use to keep up with the times of information. With crime being in constant flux in the world, there is a lot of effort needed to keep the officer educated. As explained, there are always new strategies and tactics learned and used in law enforcement. Police officers have the opportunity to talk about issues with other in the same field.

When all of these resources are synergized into the contribution of the law enforcement officer, it will help keep the crime rates down. Police officers are getting closer and closer each day to reaching their goals with the help of the consistent, updated information.

Communication

Uniform Crime Reports

In the world of Law Enforcement there are many documents and records used to effectively communicate within the community. On of the most important and widely used record is the Uniform Crime Report (UCR). The UCR is a collection data files created by officers on reports of crime. The UCR are a federal operation and is separated into groups of counties covering all of the United States. The main crimes that are written up and used with the UCR are ones such as part I offenses such as murder, rape, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and larceny Other offences that are covered in the UCR are Part II offences such as gambling, sexual offences, and drug/alcohol abuse. (FBI, 2004, 1).

The information in the UCR is used for statistical graphs and tables showing other agencies where they stand in contrast to everyone else, or if what improvements, if any, have been made. The UCR is more than just police reports and statistics; it covers four categories of crimes. The UCR sections all arrests, juvenile arrests, adult arrests, and crime reports (no arrest made). With analysis of this data departments will change or alter their practices and focus points on where to improve. The UCR is very important because it is the government’s way of communicating with individual counties of law enforcement.

Police reports are composed by officers daily. With every arrest or traffic stop there is a report made indicating what yielded from the stop or arrest. These reports are evidence in court for the officer’s and departments support. These reports are also used for officers to communicate with each other on what the tactics used were and why officers do what they chose to do. Police reports will even help communicate with management and show how the officer is handling stops, to be analyzed and used in quarterly reviews.

Warrents

A warrant is a form of written communication with the police, judge and criminal. A warrant is the state giving permission to officers to enter a house or building with out consent of the criminal. Warrants are necessary for a search conducted without consent of the owner.

To obtain a warrant, police officers must first write up an affidavit indicating reasons and probable cause leading to a motive and reason to enter. This statement is written under oath. This affidavit is then presented to the judge and there, the judge will make the decision to grant the warrant or not (Dodson, 2007, 2).

Radio

Radio communication is the most immediate form of communication for a police officer. Most of the radio communication is an officer to a dispatcher or dispatcher to an officer. The radio is useful for announcements such as a missing person or a call for backup because this type of radio call will transmit to everyone on that frequency. The radio can be used several ways to communicate.

When using the radio, there needs to be a strict guideline to what is said. The ten codes and certain abbreviations are used to ensure clarity and uniform. All officers must know these ten codes along with the phonetic alphabet. The phonetic alphabet is used to clearly transmit individual letters such as reporting a license plate.

Reviews

With any business personal performance reviews are a great way to communicate. Managers and supervisors have the opportunity to evaluate performance and to clearly show weaknesses in the work. Reviews will also show strong points that need to be continued. For a supervisor or manager to tell an employee about poor performance may be uncomfortable and reviews are professional and exact.

Reviews are composed a certain number of times a year depending on the department. This gives the managers time to analyze all performance for the past certain amount of time to get an overall analysis of the performance. This is good to do for there will not be many things missed or forgotten about in performance like chances are they would, if reviews were conducted daily.

Ideal Profile

The ideal profile of a good communicator in the law enforcement profession has to be clear. The ideal profile must be concise, exact and consistent with report writing. The ideal profile person must be knowledgeable of the ten codes and other abbreviations used to ensure they are not transmitting the wrong message. These are all characteristics or a good communicator within the department.

The most important thing in dealing with the public, weather it be criminals or victims, is the clarity. Not everyone knows all the laws of the community and will have questions. The ideal communicator has to know how to answer the questions asked and clearly communicate the directions or orders.

An I deal communicator should be someone with great language skills. This includes bilingual people as well. If an officer has to deal with a person not of their language it will be very difficult. The ideal communicator may not need to know all languages; however, they should have access or knowledge on how to over come the language barrier if it comes about.

Style Manual Comparisons

Writing manuals are designed to describe a set of conventions that govern the written presentation of research (Gibaldi, 1999). There are different styles that pertain to different professions and interests. In the following the Modern Language Association (MLA) and American Psychological Association (APA) style manuals will be compared. There are some minor differences in all manuals; however, the main differences in manuals will be pointed out.

Format

One of the first things that will be noticed in the two different formats is MLA uses one inch margins all around the document. In APA format there will be one and a quarter inch margin around the document. Something as simple as a quarter inch is noticeable in a document.

In the actual text everything, including box quotes, is double spaced. This is true for both style manuals. This format has been made to easier read the document. Following this is the fact that both style manuals require simple, neat fonts. This will keep the document easy to read and not require added concentration or strain to read the document.

There are a few differences in the format, however, there are similarities. The overall structure of work is basic. The formatting is pretty standard.

In text Quotations

Both manuals use the same way in citing in text. When approaching a quotation, one will add the quote into the paper followed by the author’s last name, a comma then the date. The citation will be in parenthesis (Gibaldi, 1999).

If there happens to be more than one author, one must list all names and separate them with commas. The date is still added. In the event of using a business or organization, treat the organization as the author and list the name, a comma then the date. Both formats use this style of citing quotes.

Block Quotations

In any paper or document if there is a quote that is four typed lines or more one must use a block quotation. In MLA style of formatting, the correct way to add a block quote is to not use quotation marks. The quotation is indented on every line one inch, or ten spaces. The other thing that is different is the period falls after the quotation and before the source citing. This is done so the reader knows when the actual block quote is complete.

The APA format for using a block quote is similar, however they have many differences. The main similarity is the citation comes after the final punctuation. There are differences in the formats. The indentation is not the same as the MLA formatting. When using a block quote in APA it will be indented only one half inch. In APA, the rule is if the work being used is over forty words, not four typed lines as in MLA.

Another difference that shows most obvious is the fact that APA requires single spacing on block quotes in research papers. The work cited can be bolded and the font should be two sizes smaller than the rest of the document (Scribe, 2006).

Work Cited

In most style manuals the biggest differences is the references and how to cite them. Most of the manuals will go into detail on how to clearly cite work to avoid plagiarism.

First looking at the MLA formatting of a single author, it is simply the author’s last name first, then the first name with a comma splitting the names. After the names, will be a comma and the underlined title of the book or magazine used. To follow that will be the edition used if necessary, then the pages used. The date will be the last thing cited other than a period. An example of a MLA citation follows:

“Walker, Janice L. and Todd Taylor.”Basic CGOS Style.” Columbia Guide to Online Style. New York: Columbia UP, 1998. 3 Nov.” (Gibaldi, 1999).

This example shows the end result after following the instructions listed above.

For the APA style of citing a single author of a book or magazine there is a bit of a difference. This format also uses the author’s last name first; after the surname is a comma followed by the first name of the author in the APA style of citing. The first difference is that the date will go next in parenthesis in APA style unlike MLA. The title of the book or magazine used is then written out with the title in quotations and the first letter of the major words are capitalized. The last thing in an APA citation, other than the period, is the pages used. An example of an APA style citation follows:

Gibaldi, Joseph, (1999).ed. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.5th ed. New York: MLA

This example represents the APA citation style.

There are many variables in citations. There maybe documents with no authors or many authors. When addressing many authors the correct way to cite the multiple authors for MLA is to treat each author as if it were a single author citation by last name then the first and abbreviate the middle name. For the multiple authors simple separate them with a semicolon.

In the APA style of citing multiple authors one would do the same as single author but to separate the authors with a semicolon. The last author listed will be separated by the word “and” instead of a comma (Scribe, 2006).

In the modern day of technology the internet is used to retrieve information. For both style manuals citing an internet source is to simply add the URL used at the end of the citation. In APA this will be added before the date. For both manuals the information used for the single author citation will still be added (Gibaldi, 1999).

Overall, there are styles used for all different professions and interests. The use of these manuals will keep things organized and easy to read. The reference of documents is easily obtained when the correct format is used. The specific rules to citing makes it easier to look back on the authors findings by referencing the organized work cited page of references. When all rules are followed in respect to formatting and citing the flow of the paper is consistent and more pleasant to read and easier to understand. This is one reason why professions will require the work format to be consistent.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many different aspects to law enforcement. The discourse used showed to be very important and necessary. Everyone in the profession of law enforcement should have a fundamental understanding of the discourse used.

To truly understand one’s profession, one must know the timeline and understand where and how the profession formed. There are different people and events that played a big role in forming professions today.

The resources are essential to professions. It was learned that the many different sources used will ensure good accurate information. Not only should information be obtained, it should be updated and made accurate frequently.

It was learned the overall communication of the field is essential and life saving. When a team works together people are safer and smarter because of the experience. The communication is used everyday with people of the community and people of the government. Everyone uses it and everyone needs it.

The different style manuals create a clear, organized, consistent way of presenting the written side of the profession. The differences are adjusted to professions. Overall, the law enforcement field is specific in communication and the way it is presented.

Resources

Annely, Kristy., History or law enforcement, 8/15/2008. http://ezinearticles.com/?HistoryOf-Law-Enforcement&id=269224. p1-3.

Carter, David; L., A Brief History of Law Enforcement Intelligence: Past Practices and Recommendations for Change 2006.www.cops.usdoj.gov/mime/open.pdf?Item=1394. p1-45

Cooper, Lynda, S., “Police Jargon: How to talk like a cop.”1996 retrieved from http://www.hodrw.com/cop1.htm

Dellinger, Brett, Critical Discourse Analysis 1995, retrieved from http://users.utu.fi/bredelli/cda.html

Dodson Daniel, Flex Your Rights Forum. http://www.flexyourrights.org/frequently_asked_questions. 2007.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Uniform Crime Reports County Data. Retrieved September 2004, from the University of Virginia, Geospatial and Statistical Data Center: http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/crime/. 2004.

Gibaldi, Joseph, (1999).ed. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.5th ed. New York: MLA.

Government Registry, http://www.govtregistry.com.

Law Enforcement Legal Publications. http://home.xnet.com/~lelp/. 2002.

Scribe, Able Dr. (2006) APA Research Style Crib Sheet. http://www.docstyles.com.