Barriers to Communication

1. There are several barriers to communication that can keep jail intelligence from being collected and used by law enforcement personnel. Communication is the process by which a sender (i.e. agency, individual) conveys some type of message to a receiver (i.e. another agency, individual) with the purpose of the receiver understanding mutually (Greenberg, 2005 as cited in Stojkovic, Kalinich, Klofas, 2008; Stojkovic et al., 2008). Jail organizations can be large in nature which in turns means there are various levels a message can go through. Jail intelligence would have to be separated out into networks that would be able to approve and handle the information at a faster pace (Galbraith, 1973 as cited in Stojkovic et al., 2008).

The barriers that can interfere with effective communication are listed below. With preconceived ideas the receiver hears what he/she wants to hear based on beforehand personal opinions, views, or ideas about the information transmitted (Stojkovic et al., 2008). Denial of contrary information occurs when the sender’s message has conflicting information in which the receiver has already acknowledged as valid, in this case the receiver denies or rejects the message from the sender. The message that the sender is conveying may have a different meaning to the receiver. If there is a lack of motivation and interest communication will be ineffective. A person that is known for producing non-creditable, inaccurate information will not be trusted (Stojkovic et al., 2008).

Effective communication skills are a must in order for jail intelligence to successfully work with law enforcement personnel. This can include the sending, receiving, collecting, recording, and disseminating of information (Stojkovic et al., 2...

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...tc. Providing the inmates with feedback and assisting them with issues and concerns that they may have is essential for motivation.

Communication between inmates and correctional officers could be improved without jeopardizing the safety and security of the institution by providing an open environment with different channels of communication (Stojkovic et al, 2008). The officers would need to understand the inmates and what needs, abilities, and opinions are in order to have an effective communication with them (Stojkovic et al., 2008). If the inmates feel that they are being used are not getting anything out of the deal the will either not give information or give inaccurate information. The creation of formal and informal incentives and strategies to motivate inmates to cooperate with officers is not an easy task but they can be varied (Stojkovic et al., 2008).