Hostage Negotiations and Crisis Intervention, Phase I and II (Pierpoint)

Instructor: Brandon Pierpoint

Duration: 4.5 Days

Professional Development Hours: 40 PD hours

Cost: Starting at $675.00

Course Overview

This intensive 40-hour training program equips law enforcement professionals with essential knowledge and practical skills in hostage negotiation and crisis intervention. The course is structured to provide both theoretical understanding and hands-on application through scenario-based training. The first four days run from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM local time, with the final day from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, supplemented by tested coursework to complete the 40-hour requirement.

Course Content

Foundational Training: Participants begin with instructor introductions, curriculum overview, and historical context of negotiations. This segment covers materials and recommended readings to establish a solid foundation.

Equipment and Resources: Students learn about essential equipment required for hostage and barricaded subject responses, including negotiation phones, tactical vehicles, ballistic protection, identification gear, optical surveillance equipment, and radio systems. This section ensures responders understand available tools and tactical capabilities.

Core Negotiation Principles: Fundamental concepts include three types of response incidents, the rationale for law enforcement negotiation, emotional versus rational decision-making, incident management, hostage-taker and hostage profiles, negotiator selection criteria, and time management strategies.

Communication Skills: Active listening techniques form a critical component, with emphasis on comprehending, restating, and paraphrasing information to confirm accurate understanding of messages.

Psychological Dimensions: Training addresses mental health considerations, including personality disorders and mental illness presentations. Students examine suicidal behavior, recognize major depressive disorder characteristics, and conduct suicide risk assessments. The psychological impact of stress on all parties—hostage-takers, hostages, and negotiators—is thoroughly explored.

Operational Management: Students develop situation management boards to effectively organize and process incident information. The Negotiations Operations Command (NOC) protocol ensures proper team function and information flow. Third-party intermediaries are examined for appropriate deployment in complex situations.

Tactical Integration: The course covers the negotiator's role within tactical response operations, emphasizing cooperation between negotiators, tactical teams, and incident commanders. Managing hostage-taker demands, identifying non-negotiable boundaries, and employing tactics to soften or reframe demands are key topics. Techniques for managing artificially imposed deadlines are also covered.

Practical Application: Students participate in creating scenario-based materials and preplan responses to anticipated concerns. Evening homework assignments include case law review, analysis of current incidents, and scenario scripting. Daily discussions and scenario exercises throughout the week reinforce learning and develop practical competency.

Requirements

This comprehensive course is designed for law enforcement professionals seeking foundational expertise in hostage negotiation and crisis intervention. Students should be prepared for evening assignments and active participation in practical exercises.