On Patrol for Good Public Relations: Are Police-Public Interactions Symmetrical?

Abstract

In 2009, the Ottawa Police Service collaborated with Rogers Community TV to produce a documentary type show called On Patrol. While offering an educational ride-along perspective to the viewer, the show also acts as a convenient platform for showcasing a community-oriented organization interested in establishing good public relations. The aim of this study is to assess whether the police-public interactions in the episodes studied conform to a two-way symmetrical public relations model and if so, how effectively. Using a model developed by Hon and Grunig (1999), which borrows from interpersonal communication and conflict resolution theories to integrate symmetrical/asymmetrical communication strategies that modulate organization-public relationships, the dialogues and monologues in the show are examined through the lens of various tenets of the above-specified model. Although the On Patrol production does indeed embody the spirit of positive public relations, the police-public interactions analyzed are nevertheless not unambiguously symmetrical because of the unique requirements of the police profession.