Addressing people by their first or last name?

[sweetcynic]

Which do you prefer, or does it depend on the situation (subject's age, nervousness, sobriety, cooperativeness, etc.)? I'm thinking suspects, victims, and witnesses here. Does one vs. another(calling someone "John" vs. "Mr. Smith") affect your command presence or their demeanor, in your experience? If so, how?

[crass cop]

I will address people as sir or maam.. If I am trying to get a point across, as I did last night on a 20 something woman who got her *** BEAT by her bf...badly, about how this is not love and she should end the cycle now..I will use her first name...makes it a bit more personal
It depends..

[Bully]

Back when I went to a sales class, I learned that people like to hear their own name. It gives them kind of a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. I feel that I get more compliance by decent people that just slipped and got caught by calling them by their first name.

Now, when talking to a dirt bag, I call them dirt bag. They don't deserve the respect of calling them sir or maam. They also don't seem to respect you as much when you call them sir or maam. You just speak their language.

[Smurfette_76]

Depends on the situation for the most part; but I would NEVER call an elderly person by their first name unless I know them VERY well AND they requested it. You just don't do that 'round here.

[mikeymedic]

I call everyone by their first name, of coarse in a town of 435 I know everyone's first name. On traffic it is their first name if I give them a warning, if it is a cite I call them Mr. or Mrs/Ms. I tell the people I like that as long as they are not in trouble then they can call me Mike instead of Officer -----.

[TC2404]

I mostly call persons sir or ma'am, but often times will use first names, but as Smurfette said, I always, 100% of the time, will address the elderly by Mr or Mrs. I also usually address our frequent fliers (victims and suspects) by first name as well.
I've only been corrected using a first name once. She said, "Thats MRS SMITH TO YOU, sugar!", and she continued to call me sugar and honey though out the contact. Not Officer or Sir...double standard I guess.

[candidateyellow]

Depends on the person and situation. But I never let people on the street call me Steve... because that isn't my name.

[PtlCop]

I typically refer to people older than me as Sir or Ma'am. I'll usually refer to people younger than me as Mr. and Mrs. If I need it to seem like i'm a friend to them, I'll use first names. If they're under 18, it's always their first name.

[Dinosaur32]

Had an aggresive young officer assigned to me for attitude correction. The officer, good competent officer, started virtually every conversation with a defendant with "dirtbag" (which most are). That tactic led to more physical interactions than necessary. I explained to the officer that starting with sir or ma'am allows plenty of room for escalation if the situation deteriorates. Politeness is good policy from a pr and hr viewpoint.

[SgtCHP]

Proprer decorum dictates that persons personally unknown to you be addressed by Mr., Mrs., Ms., Sir, Madam, Ma'am.

Additionally, those in a higher rank structure than yourself should be addressed by their rank or title.

http://www.umw.edu/policies/style_guide/protocol__forms_address/default.php