Effective Communication In The Criminal Justice System

Effective communication is very important in all lines of work and especially criminal justice. Communicating effectively is often something that is taken for granted by many, until they are faced with the confusion of undetailed reports and misunderstandings. As stated by Joel Cox and Mike Milnor (2014), an inability to communicate effectively in police work is often an area of great concern. The documentation of members in the criminal justice world is of great importance, such as incident reports, police reports and even homicide cases. Often, the initial documents provided become a part of the larger case reports and may even end up in the hands of prosecuting attorneys. If these reports are not clear and concise there can be confusion and misunderstandings on the

As stated in Proverbs 16:23, “the mind of the wise makes their speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to their lips” (New Revised Standard Version). Not only is effective communication necessary in criminal justice, but in other aspects of employment as well.

As a Deputy Hearing Officer, I often see how a lack of communication can result in the termination of an individual’s employment. Further, insufficient documentation or unclear documentation frequently sways the determinations I rendered for eligibility for Unemployment Benefits. Recently, I had a hearing with a claimant and an employer where the lack of communication resulted in not only the claimant’s termination of employment, but my determination against the employer. In the hearing the claimant had reported that they had requested to be off for 3 consecutive days. The claimant alleges that they had requested the time off from their team leader who stated they would document the request. Unfortunately, for the claimant when the team leader submitted the request for time off they did not document the dates correctly. Instead of listing the days off as consecutive business days, they listed the time off as