Capt. Charlie
Moderator Emeritus
I view an aggressive tone of voice as a minor escalation in the use of force continuum, and depending on the situation, we don't necessarily start out at the bottom of the continuum.Voice and demeanour are the first stage in the continuum of force, and some officers use that as a "default" whenever they deal with anyone, because they think it'll head off anything physical before it gets to that point. Plenty of other officers think there's no reason whatsoever to be a dick unless the person you're dealing with gives you a reason to be a dick.
There are certain areas of the city where a "sir", "please" and "thank you" are both effective and appropriate. There are other areas where those terms would be viewed as a sign of weakness. "When in Rome", so to speak .
But when dealing with the average joe on a traffic stop, I see absolutely no reason to start out aggressively in any manor.
As far as effectiveness, however, it's been my experience that an aggressive tone of voice takes a back seat to a confident tone. An air of self-confidence usually makes a customer step back and think before doing something stupid, and it works with people from all walks of life.
We've all heard the phrase, "don't look like a victim". We probably should add to that, "don't sound like a victim, either".