NCJ Number
128058
Date Published
1991
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This analysis of verbal exchanges between citizens and the police concludes that the negative attitudes held by the public toward the police are partly the outcome of police officer behavior, including their use of language, and that the police themselves have the power to change these public attitudes.
Abstract
Talking to the public is the main task of the police, but research suggests that officers sometimes communicate in a way that hinders their effectiveness. Profanity and obscenity are used as a form of aggression, as a means of gaining acceptance with other police officers, and for catharsis. In specific situations, profanity and obscenity may be used to gain someone's attention, establish social distance, label and degrade a person, or dominate and control a person. The effects of using profanity and obscenity depend on where and how they are used and whether the person addressed understands the intent. Such language may result in aggressive retaliatory responses with potentially disastrous consequences for the officer, the citizen, or both. 74 references and 5 study questions