Nonverbal Communication In Law Enforcement

Nonverbal communication is particularly important, and potentially life saving, to police officers. The unique challenge faced by law enforcement is how to identify and engage suspects as individuals in heterogeneous society. Theories of nonverbal communication Otu (2015) mentions, reveal that an observer can infer character traits such as trustworthiness and honesty through a speaker’s nonverbal actions, which is important to law enforcement. There are also studies that link nonverbal behavior cues to aggressive acts. Otu (2015) defines predictors of aggressive behavior as increases in tone of voice with negative verbal attack, narrowing of the eyelids, lowered brows, lips pressed together, and so on. The intended meaning from the sender often
Those in law enforcement must be cautious with proximity. “Although close proximity to the criminal, coupled with a relaxed appearance will establish dominance and authority, officers should be conscience to avoid rushing into the “killing zone,” which is within a ten-foot radius of the suspected offender” (Otu, 2015, p. 8). If cues are interpreted correctly, nonverbal communication can uncover traits such as trustworthiness, honesty, fear, and anger in suspects, according to the study by Otu (2015). “This finding also supports conclusions in the literature that say an officer’s ability to decode nonverbal behavior from suspects and establish the appearance of being firm, authoritative, and in control of all situations can deter suspects or criminals from trying to hurt or kill the officer” (Pinizzotto and Davis, 1999). Misinterpreting nonverbal communication can easily turn a situation south for an officer. Consequently, law enforcement is one example of a profession that strongly relies on one’s ability to detect and comprehend nonverbal communication while being conscious of one’s own nonverbal cues at the same
Ask Father almost feel too foreign. The exaggerated nonverbal behaviors makes it seem more distant to me. The scholarly portrayal of nonverbal communication I can relate to better as it makes sense to me how important nonverbal communication is to the meaning of what one says. I have a friend in particular who is very sarcastic. Without understanding his nonverbal cues, it would make understanding his jokes much more difficult. I have heard about a few of the findings, like that taller people tend to get promoted more. I found myself more familiar with the scholarly finds so it resonated with me