Police go back to classroom for lesson on communication skills

LIMA — Some of the city’s police officers were in the classroom Monday learning new ways to deal with the public in a more gentle tone that should help make their jobs easier.

Many of the people police deal with have just been a victim of a crime or may be arrested. Learning a new way to communicate with them in a kinder tone will help in the overall communication process, said Sgt. Paula Strickler of the Lima Police Department.

“If they’re upset and we walk up and say, ‘What do you need? What’s your problem?’ it may anger them more but if we approach it with, ‘I’m here to help,’ it may calm them down,” Strickler said.

The new approach, which actually is not that new because the department has been training new officers with the technique for the past six years, is just another tool to help police officers do their jobs better, she said.

“It’s how we present ourselves to them that will make the difference,” Strickler said.

A kinder form of communication not only can set a good tone with someone from the start but it can avoid problems such as making a criminal who is about to be arrested even angrier and perhaps combative with an officer, Strickler said.

The change in tone could, perhaps, prevent an officer from getting hurt trying to make the arrest or hurting the person during an arrest, she said.

There are 19 officers, mostly veterans, in the department receiving the two-day training this week.

Raleigh, N.C., Police Chief Harry Dolan is helping with the training. Dolan has helped teach community-oriented policing skills in the past.