Hostage Negotiations and Crisis Intervention, Phase I and II

Instructor: Brandon Pierpoint

Duration: 4.5 Days | 40 Professional Development Hours

Cost: $675.00

Schedule: The first four days of training run from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM local time, with the final day concluding at 12:00 PM. The remaining training hours are fulfilled through the tested component of the course.

Course Overview

This comprehensive 40-hour training program provides law enforcement professionals with foundational knowledge and practical skills in hostage negotiations and crisis intervention. The curriculum combines lecture-based instruction, PowerPoint presentations, and video materials with scenario-based exercises and evening assignments to develop competency in managing critical incidents.

Course Content

Introduction and Orientation: Participants begin with instructor introductions, curriculum overview, historical context of negotiations, and guidance on course materials and recommended readings.

Required and Suggested Equipment: Students learn about essential equipment needed for hostage and barricaded subject responses, including hostage communication devices, tactical vehicles, ballistic protection, identification gear, optical surveillance cameras, listening devices, and radio systems.

Fundamentals of Hostage Negotiation: Core concepts are explored, including types of response incidents, rationales for law enforcement negotiation strategies, emotional versus rational decision-making, incident management principles, profiles of hostage-takers and hostages, negotiator selection criteria, and time management techniques.

Active Listening: Instruction focuses on effective listening methods, including restating and paraphrasing techniques to ensure accurate comprehension of communications during negotiations.

Mental Health for Negotiators: This section addresses psychological elements encountered in crisis situations, covering personality disorders, mental illnesses, and strategies for managing irrational and inappropriate behavior.

Bunches of 5: Students create resource materials for their agencies, brainstorming and developing preplanned responses to anticipated demands and concerns.

Suicide Intervention: Training covers emotional drivers of suicidal behavior, characteristics of major depressive disorder, and risk assessment methodologies.

Situation Boards: Students learn information management and intelligence organization techniques during critical incidents, emphasizing accurate data transposition and documentation.

NOC Protocol: Participants study the organizational structure and functions of Negotiations Operations Commands, focusing on team member roles and effective information sharing.

Third Party Intermediaries: Instruction examines when and how to effectively utilize third-party intermediaries in negotiation scenarios.

Tactical Integration: This module addresses the coordination between tactical teams, negotiators, and incident commanders, emphasizing collaborative interagency operations.

Managing Demands: Students learn strategies for addressing hostage-taker demands, identifying non-negotiable elements, and employing tactics to reframe or reduce demands while managing imposed deadlines.

Stress Management: Training covers stress effects on all parties involved in a crisis, correlation between stress and performance, and evidence-based stress management techniques.

Learning Requirements

Students complete evening homework assignments including case law review, analysis of current incidents, and scenario scripting. Daily discussions examine case law and recent incidents, while practical scenarios are integrated throughout the week to reinforce learning objectives. These assignments comprise the remaining training hours beyond the scheduled classroom time.