Barriers to Effective Communication Paper

Communication is process that is used by humans to get the things they need and want in life. It is conducted in many forms and ways. Listening and hearing through communication is important to make sure instructions are understood and can be carried out effectively. In criminal justice there are formal and informal channels of communication and need to be conducted in a professional manner, in order to make factual and accurate reports to help in investigations. Barriers can hinder effective communication, rather it is emotional or physical. In this paper
I will discuss all of these types of communications and the issues that may arise with them.
Communication is a process that happens every day throughout life and involves several steps. It is a valued part of daily activities. People spend 70 percent of their time communicating. Every person can benefit from mastering this process through better understanding of others ideas and opinions.
Having the ability to allow communication to flow is positive as it opens the door for personal and business relationships.
Communication requires more than one other person. There are several different ways to communicate. Verbal is the most used form, people talk to each other to relay messages, instructions, learn, teach and to make conversation with one another. Nonverbal is the form of communication that happens through sign language, email, text, fax and letters. It can be the most difficult form due to the delay receiving feedback. Nonverbal communication can also be difficult to relay, as it may require one to take more notice of the tone used, the letter style, proper language and punctuation for the receiver to fully understand the information being transmitted. Real world example: Social networking such as face book is a form of non verbal communication. If someone post a statues about a topic that may have happened to them, another person could think that they are talking about them, causing them to stress about how they got this particular piece of information, when truly it has nothing to do with the other person.

In the process of verbal communication people listen and hear what others are saying to them. The sound waves that are transmitted to the brain through the ears is the process of hearing.
To listen is the active process of communication. The listener evaluates the information it receives through thinking and processing the information. “A person’s thought speed is much faster than his or her speaking speed, the lag between the two processes can result in daydreaming. The listener must concentrate to overcome this hazard in an attempt to become an active listener” (J.D, 2009).
Real world example: I received a ticket and had to go to court once
I was there I heard the judge talking to defendants before me and
I caught myself daydreaming about my outcome. I really wasn’t listening to all of the details of the others cases, but it soon realized that my case was nothing like the others.

In criminal justice communication is critical rather it is written or oral. The police have a mission to apprehend law violators but must follow through to conviction which requires good and accurate communication. The suspect is booked, a follow up investigation, arrest information is submitted to local, state and national databases. The final process is testifying in court about the arrest. “Members of the police departments must also be able to communicate internally regarding procedures and policies that affect their operation. Likewise, the ability of law enforcement officers to communicate externally to groups or individuals within the community is crucial” (J.D, 2009). The channels of communications are formal and informal. The formal channel naturally rigid and is described as the chain of commands that police officers use providing and maintaining order. Information is clear and provides great details in the report to minimize confusion. Informal channels is considered as gossip throughout the department.” Informal channels of communication provide an alternative method of receiving information” (J.D, 2009).
Real world example: Informal channel A detective needs to get information from a suspect, so he makes up a story of something someone else told him in order to get the suspect to tell information on another person.

“Barriers are influencing factors which impede or breakdown the continuous communications loop. They block, distort, or alter the information” (J.D, 2009). There are four types of barriers are emotional, physical, semantic and ineffective barriers. Emotional barriers can prevent a person from sending a messing thinking that they may be made fun of. They allow their feelings to get in the way. Physical barriers are malfunctions in equipment such as fax machines, computers that don’t properly or a phone that doesn’t have signal to send a message.
Semantics is the misuse of words. Redundancy prevents the failure of communication and can lead to a person tuning out important information that is transmitted.
Ineffective listening is the failure to hear or receive what the other person is transmitting, which is done mostly through habit.
Real world example: A crime is in progress, a police officer that is a block away from the scene, when his radio doesn’t work and he never receives the call.

Effective listening requires training. It is conducive to concentration. Topics that uninteresting or messages that are not delivered properly can allow room for a person to be an ineffective listener. Feedback plays are large role in successful communication. People spend about 70 percent of their time communicating with others. When there are barriers messages can be unclear, allowing for error. Professionals rely on good communication as it can make their careers or break it. When messages are transmitted non verbally the sender should be cautious of their tone and that the message is clear and understandable. In law enforcement it is even more important for communication to be good for the sake of the courts, rights of defendants and investigation of the case. Barriers that prevent the communication can be overcome with effort and attention of small issues such as miss usage of words, keep machines running properly and requesting feedback from correspondences. Verbal communication can be more effective as people see the other person’s expressions and have the ability to provide instant feedback.

J.D, H. W. (2009). Written and Interpersonal Communication Methods for Law Enforcement Fourth Edition. Pearson Education.