Hostage Negotiations and Crisis Intervention at PATC Conference
Hostage Negotiations and Crisis Intervention, Phase I and II (Conference)
Duration: 4.5 days (40 PD hours)
Instructor: Jack Cambria
Cost: $700.00
Course Overview
This comprehensive 4.5-day training program provides 40 hours of professional development instruction in hostage negotiation and crisis intervention. The course schedule runs for the first four days from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with the final day concluding at Noon. PATC supplies morning coffee and afternoon refreshments throughout the training.
Course Content
The training begins with an orientation covering instructor introductions, curriculum overview, historical context of negotiations, provided materials, and recommended readings presented in lecture format.
Students gain awareness of required and available equipment for hostage and barricaded response situations, including hostage phones, response vehicles, ballistic equipment, tactical jackets, headgear, fiber optic cameras, listening devices, and department radio channels through lecture and PowerPoint presentations.
The fundamentals section explores theoretical concepts including types of response incidents, reasons for law enforcement negotiation, emotional versus rational dynamics, incident management, profiles of hostage-takers and hostages, negotiator selection, and time management strategies.
Active listening instruction covers listening techniques essential to hostage and crisis negotiations, emphasizing the ability to restate and paraphrase messages to confirm understanding. Tactical communications training focuses on developing rapport-building strategies through examination of five core principles for managing emotion.
Legal instruction examines landmark court cases establishing the foundation for hostage negotiations in the United States, including Downs v. United States (1971), U.S. v. Crosby (1983), and New York v. Quarles (1984), helping students understand and avoid civil liability issues.
Special response protocols are covered for unique environments such as airports and waterborne vessels. Tactical team instruction addresses the role of tactical personnel in hostage situations and the interagency cooperation required between tactical teams, negotiators, and incident commanders.
Students examine actual case studies from incidents in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Jamaica, Queens, analyzing lessons learned through detailed presentations. An interactive video simulation exercise demonstrates realistic hostage negotiation scenarios with multiple possible outcomes based on student responses.
The training addresses psychological aspects of crisis negotiation, including instruction on personality disorders and mental illnesses negotiators may encounter. Specialized modules cover law enforcement response when officers are involved, correctional environment negotiations, and strategies for responding to special populations including veterans and the elderly.
Students learn demand management techniques, including strategies to soften or reframe hostage-taker demands and methods for handling deadlines. The course concludes with stress management instruction, exploring the effects of stress on hostage-takers, hostages, and negotiators, along with the Yerkes-Dodson Principle relating stress to performance.