Reaction Paper 1

Internalization is the process by which something moves from the conscious (you have to think about something to do it) to the subconscious mind (you can do it without thinking about it). I recently went through the law enforcement academy. During our firearms training we learned the steps necessary to draw, fire, and reholster a firearm. In the beginning we went step by step slowly, thinking about each step, and gradually went faster. By the end of training we were able to do all of the steps without thinking about which step was next. It became like second nature because we had internalized it.

In police work you need to have good language skills. Language has three components: verbal вЂ"the words you say, visual вЂ" body language, facial expressions, and gestures, and paralinguistics вЂ" tone of voice, vocal inflections. Of these three, visual and paralinguistics are used the most in law enforcement. For example, if you are interviewing someone about a crime, a person with nothing to hide will look you straight in the eye when talking to you. They will also have good posture while seated. On the other hand, a guilty person will divert their eyes away, slouch, and may stutter or stumble for words as they talk to you. Also in the visual aspect if you walk up to someone and start talking to them, a person who has something to hide might start to lean. The lean is a good indication that they are going to make a run for it in the direction of the lean.

In the academy we also received some training on gangs. We learned that gangs are really not any different than any other social group, other than the illegal acts they commit. A group is a social unit with two or more people. Gangs have membership. Membership means that a person must feel like they are a part of the group, and the group must feel like that person belongs in the group. They have interaction through their illegal doings, and their signs/ codes. Interaction is communication between members. They also share goals. Their goals may include robbing, stealing, dealing drugs or any other thing necessary that would make them the best. Sharing goals is when group members work together to achieve goals.