THE ASPECTS OF POLICE OFFICER’S COMMUNICATION CULTURE (BASED ON TV SHOW „THE COPS“)

Abstract

People use communication to exchange the information, to socialize, to share their views, impressions, etc. One of the instances is the communication of police officers with the society under various circumstances. In this case both proper speaking and professional etiquettes are important. One of the core elements determining success of communication is saying hellos and goodbyes properly. These are normally used to start and end the conversation. The study is aimed at finding out if police officers meet the requirements set for them by the etiquette, if they communicate in a polite and formal manner, if they follow at least minimum communication respect regardless of the social status of their collocutors, and if they observe the communication culture. Forms of saying hello and goodbye normally depend on the person’s age, closeness of communication, position occupied, etc. Police officers must obvious communicate in a polite and formal manner just as required by different official documents regulating their duties. The pilot study and the review of some series of TV show ‘The Cops’ led to the conclusion that in most of the cases police officers followed the established rules of speaking and conduct, said hello by using official forms such as ‘Good afternoon’ and ‘Good evening’, and only in some cases police officers did not use greeting at all or used familiar forms thereof. Specificity of reportages and situations involved determined that forms of saying goodbye remained unaddressed in this particular study.