PCM-cover-March_2021

March 2021

Critical Communications

GUEST EDITORS Casey Shellenberger and Jessica Grisler

Building a solid media presence before a crisis occurs, maintaining consistent media relationships with reporters, and having a strong communications plan already in place are necessary to successfully lead. Communication between the police and the communities they serve is crucial — it contributes to trust building, transparency, agency reputation, and community participation in crime prevention. During major incidents or threats, an established communication plan helps streamline messaging and share critical information with the community.

Cover: CBS News Senior Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent Jeff Pegues reports on-site in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Articles

  • The Media’s View from the Ground

    In May 2020, CBS News Chief Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent Jeff Pegues was among the first network correspondents on the scene in Minneapolis, Minnesota, within hours of George Floyd’s ...

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  • Managing Critical Communication Long Term

    When most people in policing think of managing communication in a crisis, they usually focus on the first few hours or days of a breaking incident. Those moments are indeed critical, but how does one ...

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  • Clear and Consistent Communications

    Communities across the United States are experiencing a crisis in local journalism. In the last 15 years, more than one in five newspapers in the United States have closed. Today, almost 200 U.S. co...

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  • Strategic Communications in Developing Countries

    A sea of people navigates the streets of Manila, Philippines, every day, talking on and looking at their cellphones just like in every big city in the modern world. Yet there is no obvious clue that t...

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  • Investing in Your Story

    Let’s face it. The perception of present-day policing is not where most police professionals want it to be right now. The defund movement is not going away, nor are the demands for police reform. Po...

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Columns