This book will help police officers and other contact professionals develop verbal strategies that can transform potentially explosive encounters into positive resolutions. It addresses the most difficult problems of the street encounter where quick thinking and spontaneous verbal response often make the difference between life and death. The author explores all kinds of confrontation rhetoric and offers both a theoretical and practical account of how to handle street situations. Following an introduction to the problems of street communication the author focues on five basic rhetorical elements perspective, audience, voice, purpose and organization. The principles and techniques described can be used in practically every verbal encounter. Each chapter includes case studies that give readers practice in developing rhetorical strategies for handling street encounters and dealing with the public. The final chapter provides a professional model for police officers. It presents a definition of the law enforcement profession that will command respect from the public and offer those in the profession a firm sense of identity.