Incarcerated individuals at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women (NCCW) were given the opportunity to attend a presentation by Tom Zoucha, a retired Sergeant from the Omaha Police Department on July 26.  Sergeant Zoucha provided insight and examples from his thirty years of experience on the police force in order to demonstrate ways for individuals to improve communication and interactions with law enforcement and to make those encounters less stressful. Sixty-three incarcerated women attended the presentation by Sergeant Zoucha, who brought great enthusiasm and humor to a sensitive topic.

According to Sergeant Zoucha, showing respect is the most important thing to remember during encounters with law enforcement officers and to always “treat people as if they deserve respect”, even when you feel otherwise. Sergeant Zoucha’s strategies are not limited only to contact with law enforcement, but are applicable to every human interaction.

The audience reported that the message and explanations were very helpful and useful in their lives and they felt more at ease about future encounters with law enforcement after hearing the information that was presented.