Verbal Judo Training Module for Law Enforcement: An Ethnographic Perspective

CCI Auditorium, 321 Communications Building

This study examined Verbal Judo non-verbal and verbal communication tactics in a compliance-gaining context between a police officer and an individual who had been stopped by the officer. Verbal Judo emphasizes the use of both verbal and non-verbal communication by the officer with specific discourse structures aimed at the individual to obtain goals in compliance-gaining contexts. Verbal Judo incorporates the principle of nonresistance deflecting the other’s energies to obtain goals within a context. This study determined that Verbal Judo compliance-gaining procedures used in training videos should be tailored by law enforcement to the specific context and type of person (easy, difficult, sneaky). Successive repetition by officers (with matching non-verbal tone) of strategic Verbal Judo language when dealing with a difficult person is the key in diminishing conflict and minimizing escalation of conflict within the compliance-gaining context. Minimizing conflict in compliance-gaining situations between officers and individuals benefits law enforcement agencies, law enforcement officers, city and state governments, and the general public.

Keywords: Law Enforcement, Verbal Judo, Visual Ethnography