Real-Life Communication
Police officers have to write reports for police records and reports
for the public, called media releases. If you become a police officer, you
will also be tested on your communication skills in order to be eligible to
join the force.
"There are lots of writing, reading and reasoning skills
on the test," says police officer Cassondra Rowntree.
You're a patrol
officer working the night shift. At 1 a.m., you're called to a reported break-in
in progress at a department store.
You pull up and find that the sliding
glass doors of the store are shattered. Before you can enter the store, a
man bolts through the doors with a portable stereo and a bundle of clothing
in his arms. He takes off running in the other direction.
You shout,
"Stop, police." He looks over his shoulder and keeps on going. You take off
after him and your partner jumps back in the cruiser and drives after him.
A block away, the guy turns into a blind alley. Your partner blocks the alley
with his patrol car. The two of you enter the alley and find your suspect
crouched behind a garbage container.
Inside the garbage container,
you find a stereo, a bomber jacket, jeans and sweatshirts with the tags still
on them. You also find 10 watches and a dozen gold chains in the pocket of
the bomber jacket. These are later identified as missing from a smashed display
case in the store.
The suspect's name is Brennan John Smith. The 23-year-old
local man will be in court the next morning charged with breaking and entering
and theft.
When you get back to the station, your duty officer asks
you to write up a media release about the break-in. With your knowledge of
the case, write up the release.
You have to avoid saying that the man
you caught committed the crime. You're not a judge in a court of law, so you
can't find him guilty.