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Shadi Elsamra
Megan Keaton
ENC 2135-07
28 July 2015
Genres of Communications in Law Enforcement
The community that I have selected for my research paper is a community of law
enforcement, more specifically, the Florida State University Police Department. First I need to
discuss why law enforcement exists. The different communities of law enforcement everywhere
exist in the first place because the government needed an option to enforce laws in cities and
communities without using the military. Most people became scared when the military was
patrolling the streets, so the government needed an alternative to military while still having a
force to uphold the law. A man in London named Robert Peel came up with the idea for a social
organization that could handle the social disruptions occurring in the city (Monkkonen 549).
When the United States adopted this idea of a policing force, they changed it so that it became
more military in style with a hierarchy of power as well as a better form of communication
between the officers and the community, along with better communication among the officers
themselves (Monkonen 550). As time has gone on, the police have evolved into something of a
force to be reckoned with as what they do in society has become more evident. It is no longer
just dealing with verbal altercations, but now they deal with violence among citizens along with
large protests that are disrupting the regular works of the city (Journal of contemporary history
200). It is said we have not yet learned to control what men believe, but we can control what
men do (Parker 369). This means that since society cant control what people believe, we can
have a force that controls what people do. The purpose of the law enforcement as a whole is to
preserve the peace in society and keep everything going in their day to day. This purpose ranges
from delivering a speeding ticket for someone going too fast and putting others in danger to
arresting a drunk and disorderly citizen who is a danger to anyone in his vicinity.

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When we get more specific into the FSU PD, the ideas and concepts to protect and serve
are the same, the only difference is the area of jurisdiction is less than that of a city police
department or county sheriff office. The FSU PD have the same authority as other departments,
being they can not only deliver citations but also arrest students breaking the law. The people that
are involved in this community are officers who decide that they wish to keep a college campus
safe as well as the students of the campus. The officers encounter a significant amount of stress
while juggling their role of upholding the law, and being the role of a friendly person to the
students on campus (Sewell 516). Students can also have an effect on the day to day of officers.
The role a student plays in the community is to report crimes that the officers may not be able to
find without them. While many think that university police are just knock off cops or hired
security, they are very much a real police force, as they have a chain of command from a chief all
the way down to a dispatcher. The different roles of the members range from a desk worker to
field officers. No matter what the role or position, all people who take jobs in law enforcement
are ultimately trying to keep the area safer. There are some who sit at the station waiting for a
call of emergency to come in, ready to dispatch an officer to settle the problem, whatever it may
be. Then there are the actual field officers who go out and patrol the campus and making sure
that it stays a safe environment for the students of the school. A few of the key terms that are
used in this community include Citations and verbal warnings, various forms of conferencing
such as interviews and interrogations, APBs which stand for all points bulletins, and Memos.
Officers also communicate in non-traditional ways, including text messages and IMs (instant
messages).
One genre used by this community is the genre of citations. A citation is essentially a
ticket issued from an officer to a civilian that informs them not only of the law they broke, but
also comes with a fee that must be paid. The citation, being a written form of negative

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reinforcement, has constraints on it in that the officer cannot catch every little infraction every
person makes. The person who writes this genre happens to be the officer who catches the
civilian or student who is breaking the law, and it is issued in a timely matter as the officer will
write up the infraction and have the citation to the civilian within minutes. The person receiving
the citation would be the ones who reads it, as they were breaking the laws and will see not only
specifics of the law they were breaking but also the fee that is going to come with it. There are
some circumstances where the officer will deem that the offense not worthy of a crime, in which
they will deliver a verbal warning (Russell). The officers ideas behind a verbal warning is that
not every crime is worth delivering a citation too. When I interviewed Deputy Chief Russell of
the FSU PD, he informed me that factors that play into whether someone receives a ticket is
whether the student has been stopped for that offense beforehand, if the law being broken is
constantly being broken in that area, and if there is a high amount of traffic, say when everyone
is leaving campus versus the offense happening at four in the morning. The genre of citations is
essential to the everyday works of the FSU PD, because without them no one would follow the
law. The idea of the citation is a way of keeping people in line because if they break the law and
get caught the fees that come along with the citation are hefty. They encourage the offender not
to break the law again. While verbal warnings do play a role in trying to prevent the law from
being broken again without a fee, they are not essential to this community. These genres are not
directly connected to the others as they are in a field of their own, but they do connect somewhat
with conferencing as the officer does have to interact verbally with an offender before a citation
is given.
The next genre that law enforcement use to successfully keep the area safe is that of
conferencing. There are several different examples of conferencing, and law enforcement officers
use just about every one of them to keep the streets safe. The most obvious example is talking

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among themselves, either in person or through the use of their radios. This allows them to
convey information to each other, whether it be updates of an ongoing investigation or a new
report coming in that needs immediate attention. Also under the category of conferencing are
when the officers meet up in person to discuss strategic plans that they are trying to create.
Strategic planning represents a significant departure from a traditionally reactive orientation
to one that is more proactive in nature (Zhao). What this means is that strategic plans are ways
for officers to have a preset plan for something happening, not just be reactive every time
something happens. Every few years, groups of officers meet together to discuss the way to
develop strategic plans that will allow the department to run properly, and it involves several
meetings and draft for it to become approved (Russell). One of the more important aspects of
conferencing is when the officers are dealing with a victim, witness, or suspect of a crime, and
how they go about it. When the person they are talking to is a victim or witness, they will
conference with them through an interview. Depending on the context, their tone of voice and
attitude towards the person can change drastically. As the Deputy Chief explained to me, if they
are interviewing a victim or a random person who witnessed the crime happen, they are very
sympathetic and talk in a more comforting manner to try and put the person at ease. If the
witness were to be someone who may not be so innocent, i.e. an accomplice who saw his drug
dealing friend get shot, then the interview will be much sterner as they are trying to get
information from the person rather than try and make them feel better about themselves. In the
last case of conferencing, when they are interrogating someone they are trying to sell
incarceration (Russell). When they are interrogating a suspect, they are trying to convince the
suspect that going to jail to be rehabilitated is the best thing for them, and they do this differently
depending on who they are talking to. Some of the suspects are given different interviews, where

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you can be friendly, factual, or very mean. The example the Chief gave me was that in the case
of a murderer being a sociopath, you have to be very factual and prove that you caught them red
handed, where someone who has empathy you can convince that what they did was wrong and
that they need to go to jail to receive the help they need. What the purpose of this genre does is it
really allows clear cut communication between the community amongst themselves as well as
with the civilians they are keeping safe. Without conferencing, nothing would get accomplished
in an orderly manner, as someone who is on the one side of campus may know information an
officer on the other side needs, and they would never know if it werent for conferencing. The
FSU PD, like any other law enforcement, uses conferencing because it has been proven since the
beginning of police forces that it works, and it get information through the members faster than
anything else, even a message posted in the lobby or office. This genre is connected to Memos
because some of the things discussed through conferencing, such as crime rates in certain areas,
may end up being posted as a hard copy as both a reminder and to make sure that everyone in the
department is aware of things discussed. Conferencing can also be related to the informal
communication of officers, as some officers may wish to discuss the topics personally, such as if
personal opinions are thrown around through emails and texts.
A very popular genre that is being used in law enforcement to this day still is an AllPoints Bulletin (APB). An APB is essentially a description of a suspect or vehicle that is wanted
for some crime. An APB uses very descriptive words when it is issued as to make sure that the
officers have a good idea what the suspect or vehicle they are looking for looks like. A good
example is if the person they put an APB out for is white, they would say Caucasian rather than
white on the APB. An APB can be either linguistic or auditory depending on when the officer is
informed of the APB. When the description of a person or suspect first comes out, the dispatcher
or officer will radio everyone that is on shift the details of the person or vehicle they are looking

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for so anyone out in the field may immediately begin their search. It would eventually be printed
on a hard copy and posted in the department so that any officer, not just the ones on shift at the
time, will be aware of the ongoing search. The genre is not written at first, but is an
announcement made from the dispatcher, however it is later put onto a flyer to be seen around
the office. The other officers who were not on duty during the APB being issued are the ones
who will be reading it most of the time. The purpose of the APB is to inform officers of the
description of people who are wanted for breaking the law. The idea of an APB really helps the
officers get their job done around FSU campus, because if they know who they are looking for
and what they look like, it narrows down their search. On a campus of 40000 people, an officer
just reporting an average height college male would make it near impossible to find them without
expending large amounts of resources. Once the report contains physical characteristics such as
skin, hair, and eye color as well as clothing descriptions, the search can be narrowed down. The
FSU PD and law enforcement in general use APBs instead of other genres because it is an
immediate update. Rather than only writing down descriptions and informing everyone at a
weekly department meeting, the descriptions are given out as soon as the crime is reported. This
allows officers to waste no time at all in pursuing a criminal that may have gotten away. An APB
can be related to Memos because instead of posting both around the department, they may make
the APB part of the memo as to save space around the office to post other written updates and to
make sure that every officer will see the APB.
The next genre that is used in the FSU PD is the genre of Memorandums. A
memorandum (memos) is essentially a notice or update of things going on around the department
at the time that the officers should be made aware of. A memo generally uses the jargon of law
enforcement, such as saying citations versus tickets, and is used to communicate messages to the
entire force, rather than people who are just on shift. It is useful because memos can be printed or

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sent out virtually with ease and can contain essential information to some of the officers on
updates of procedures and wanted suspect descriptions. A downside to posting memos or sending
them out is that officers actually have to read them, so someone who may not constantly check
their emails or check around the office for the postings may become unaware of vital information
that is needed. Memos help the community meet the goals of the department because they are a
way that will surely get all the information to every officer. Assuming that every officer is either
going to get a physical copy of the memo posted or check their email, this is easily the best way
to send out important updates. Not every officer can be in the building when there is a meeting
going on, and not every officer will be on shift when an APB is sent out over the radio, so a
memo is the most effective way to keep every officer up to date in with the ongoing
investigations and changes to protocol in the office. This genre is still in use because there
simply is no other way to effectively communicate with every single officer and get them all the
information that they need. They could just email everyone, but between 18 pages of text in an
email or a PDF of a memo, the officers would be much more likely to look at the memo. Memos
are related to conferencing because minutes or transcripts of meetings taken place may be
summarized and placed in the memos, and APBs that have been announced may be put in the
memo if the suspect is still at large.
Another genre that officers use throughout their day to day is unofficial ways of
communication such as text messages or instant messages through social media. Being an
informal way of communication, the officers no longer have to have the impartial authoritative
demeanor that they possess when speaking or writing formally. This genre is useful to the
officers as it can help them really get rid of stress as they can informally talk to each other one on
one and really say what is on their mind, but at the same time it isnt good because if they say
something that could offend someone and the office becomes aware of what was said, it can

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leave a bad reputation for the officer. Officers that talk to each other on a personal, no holds-bar
level are the ones who write and read this, as they do messaging as a way to try and cope with
stress as well as get what is on their mind off of it. This genre can help the community meet its
goals of protection, because even though it may not directly stop a crime or save a life, an officer
that is impaired from high amounts of stress will be unable to properly perform his job, so this
form of relief is essential to making sure they are able to perform their job at optimal efficiency.
This genre is used by the officers because there isnt any other way that they can really
communicate one on one with each other. Even on the radio, if someone is surfing the radio
channels they could hear the conversation meant to be private, and even talking in person can be
difficult without drawing attention from other people. Text messages are one of the best ways to
communicate privately with one other person, and sometimes officers need time to talk one on
one. This genre is connected to conferencing because if anything happens, whether an officer is
talking to a witness, superior, or anyone else, they may become agitated or upset and need to
discuss it with someone privately, and it can be related to memos because if someone is angry,
upset, or annoyed with something that was posted in the memo, maybe new policies that officers
have to undertake, they need a way to talk about it confidentially.
What the genre of citations says about the FSU police department is that they are serious
about their job, which is to guarantee the safety of the community that they protect. Citations
require a very formal demeanor when they are being served to an offender. This shows that the
FSU PD must have a very professional manner in which they do their job, especially when it
comes to handing a ticket to someone who was breaking the law. The effect that this has on the
offender is that if they break the law once again, they will be caught, and someone who is
professional will give a better appearance of authority. When the officers give a verbal warning,
however, that can be an entirely different ball park. When they issue a verbal warning to an

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offender, they may not appear as serious as if they were giving out a ticket which had to be paid,
so in a sense this can possibly make them seem less authoritative. While their figure of authority
may be threatened, they would appear friendlier because they let someone off easy.
When it comes to conferencing with persons of interests or even just other officers, the
tone of voice and language used can range from that of a casual conversation to a full blown
interrogation for information. What it tells you about the community is that even though they are
supposed to be the guardians of the law, they are still human and know how to respond
accordingly. Officers are just like any other person, and they arent afraid to act like it. One
example was that rather than being called officer, the members of the department sometimes like
to be called by the first name when they are in a more casual setting, like the Suwannee dining
hall (Russell). When it comes to interviewing a victim or witness that may have some damage
done to them, they will take on a more sympathetic approach, not blaming them at all for
anything and doing their best to make sure the victim makes it through. When it comes to a
suspect or criminal they are much more likely to be aggressive and blunt, doing their best to
make them feel bad and want to confess to the crime they have committed.
The genre of APBs really helps get send a clear message of professionalism and law
enforcement about the FSU PD. Being the other defining genre for a law enforcement agency,
the first being citations, this is what can truly make them a force to be reckoned with. The ability
to send out an APB is essential, because it means that not only do the FSU PD know of the
criminal activity someone has been conducting, they also know the description of the person and
whatever vehicle they may have been driving. What this tells anyone about the FSU PD is that
they are not some knock off security force. They are the real deal when it comes to law
enforcement, and they are just as likely as TPD or the sheriff office to take someone down or
arrest them.

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What the genre of memos shows is that in addition to keeping the area safe, there are still
desk and office aspects to the work the FSU PD does. While most people like to think that the
work of a field officer is to go and find a bad guy, throw him in a prison cell, and be done with
him, that is never the case. Police work requires a bunch of paperwork, which once again comes
back to that status of professionalism. When someone sees an officer either citing someone,
arresting someone, or at their desk looking at a weekly memo for a brief summary of events that
occurred throughout the week, it gives off this aura of a professionalism. To add to it, the memos
are generally done with a very formal language, as they can hold the minutes of a meeting that
took place, so slang or lingo present would be minimum.
What the informal messages, through either texts or IMs, says about the FSU PD is that
they arent some heartless, emotionless robotic enforcement agency who are just meant to keep
campus safe. They are regular people, and they encounter stress just like everyone else. Texting
each other can help them relieve some of the stress that they may encounter during the job,
whether it was from a stupid citation they had to hand out, to being disciplined for forgetting
their paperwork, to just not being happy with an update of policy from the chief. This can also
show that the force is very strict with its official communication, as to really air out their
thoughts and how they personally feel, they have to do it through the use of an unofficial method
of communication, to ensure that it will not pop up around the office.
What the genre ecology says about the community as a whole is that they are a very
official branch of law enforcement, but at the same time they are sympathetic and are just
ordinary people who have chosen to safeguard the law. Some of the genres such as the citations
and conferencing with an interrogation can make the field officers seem as if they are heartless,
but this is because they are in an authoritative position. APBs make the officers and dispatchers
appear militaristic, as when they have the description of someone or a vehicle, they will use all

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of their power to pursue that person. On the other hand, the use of informal communication to
talk to their fellow officer as a regular person, and conferencing an interview with a witness can
help give them an appearance of being just a regular person. Especially when an officer gives out
a verbal warning rather than a citation can help civilians see the officer as someone who is just
like them.
The FSU PD have had quite an impact on the different genres that they use throughout
their day and ultimately their career. For instance, when we look at the genre of conferencing, we
see that even though they have many sub-genres, such as interrogations, they dont require it
daily. There are not as many crimes on Florida state campus that require bringing a suspect in for
a serious interrogation, so the option is there but is not used very often. On the other hand, they
have a whole list of offenses they can give citations for, including parking in the wrong area or
parking in an area at the wrong time, an example being overnight parking on the wrong floor.
When it comes to Memos in the work force, they are still distributed but due to an increase in
communication through technology, they are not required as much. They will still post one or
two around the office and send them out, but mostly the force is up to date except in the instance
that they are on the opposite shift when something notable happens. APBs can be impacted by
different members of the FSU PD just depending on how descriptive someone is. When they are
giving the description, some people might say light blue, where someone else would say baby
blue, where someone else could say it was cyan. This would not really lead to a disruption in
communication because generally most people know color names, the difference would be which
adjective the specific officer would use. The texts and IMS can be played out differently
depending on the officers who are talking to each other. While it is informal, some may still use
this form to privately share information, but still use their formal way of speaking. Some other
officers may decide to use the IMs and texts as a way to vent what is going on and will drop their

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professional manner, knowing that what they say is between them and the other officer that they
are messaging confidentially.

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Works Cited
Jihong "Solomon" Zhao, Quint C. Thurman, and Ling Ren. "An Examination of Strategic Planning in
American Law Enforcement Agencies." Police Quarterly 11.1 (2008): 3-26. Print.

Monkkonen, Eric H. "History of Urban Police." Crime and Justice 15., Modern Policing (1992): 547-80.
Print.

Parker, W. H. "The Police Role in Community Relations." Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology & Police
Science 47.3 (1956): 368-79. Print.

"Police Forces." Journal of Contemporary History 7.1/2 (1972): 199-200. Print.

Sewell, James D. "Stress in University Law Enforcement." The Journal of Higher Education 55.4
(1984): 515-23. Print.

Russell, Jim. Personal interview.

7/23/2015
Daly, Brandy. Personal Interview.
7/29/2015