Reference no: EM133873515

Assignment: Community Relations & Critical Issues

Not what you were expecting as a title, good, I'd hope not. So, why is it there? To illustrate a point about profanity. Read the section in your textbook dealing with profanity "Language". (word doc provided below) In that section it outlines the Three Interactive Contextual Dimensions in which officers might use profanity. Consider, does profanity ever have a place in policing? Your response will likely be based your perception of the use of profanity, which may be based on how you were raised. Let me give you a personal example.

The author of this course was raised in a household where profanity was strictly forbidden; as a result he cursed very rarely. When he became a police officers that tendency to never use profanity continued. However, he learned very quickly that some times it was useful. For example, yelling at a suspect holding a gun, "drop the gun!" conveys a different meaning than "drop the fucking gun!" While this may not always be the case, there seemed certain times and more often for some groups of people that profanity conveyed an important message. In fact, cursing to gain compliance seemed to be important the more sloppy the public's articulation (see section on Articulation in the textbook). As a result the I occasionally found profanity to gain voluntary compliance and at other times refraining from profanity because it would have resulted in increased hostility, less compliance, and complaints to the department.

Skim over this article written by the course author on this topic: Does the Use of Physical Force During Contact with the Police Affect One's Perception of Procedural Justice. Pay particular attention to the sections dealing with yelling and profanity (read the section beginning with the last paragraph on page 93 & continuing to page 95).

Make your initial post by responding to these questions:

A. Do you believe that there are times when profanity can be a positive communication? Explain why or why not (you don't have to agree with me).

B. Explain when profanity should not be used and identify some of the negative repercussions when it is used improperly.

C. Respond to this conversation exchange where the sergeant is counseling an officer on using profanity with the public. What is each person expressing? Get the instant assignment help.

a. Sergeant: "I want you to treat the public like you would your own mother"
b. Officer: "You've never met my mother"

D. What were the findings in the study linked above? Does profanity impact use of force, how and why? What about yelling?

E. Summarize what you have learned with your conclusion on profanity in policing (e.g., should it be used or not, when and why, etc.)