• How Does Law Enforcement Communicate With Each Other

Jim Glennon said it best: “For law enforcement professionals, communication skills are the most important of all skills necessary to succeed in your profession.” Law enforcement officers today are confronted with daily challenges and one of those challenges in effective communication (“Effective Criminal Justice Communication”). Communication is a vital tool for law enforcement to perform their jobs (“How Does Law Enforcement Communicate With Each Other,” 2012). Communication is used to speak with the public, relay information amongst themselves and to other agencies, screen suspects, to talk to dispatch and to request assistance (“How Does Law Enforcement Communicate With Each Other,” 2012).
There is a solution out there ready to help us communicate effectively and proficiently for nearly every circumstance (Reyes, 2009). Clear, simple, and reliable communication is a critical element in the ability of public safety to react to an emergency situation in a timely, safe and effective form and is crucial to the future of the law
An officer’s only sources of communication prior to new technology was the handheld radio (which was the size of a brick), car radio and any pay phone that could be found (“How Does Law Enforcement Communicate With Each Other,” 2012). Today, the most commonly used law enforcement communication tool is a two way radio (“How Does Law Enforcement Communicate With Each Other,” 2012). Law enforcement agencies throughout the United States were prompted, due to the 9/11 attacks, to upgrade their radio communications because of serious inefficiencies. Much like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it was obvious that no one in emergency response could communicate with one another. Noteworthy changes have occurred in numerous places, however there are still upgrades needed in many areas (“How Does Law Enforcement Communicate With Each Other,”