Police & Military Training — Jack Cambria, Hostage Negotiator

Hostage Negotiation Five-Day Basic Course

This five-day basic course addresses the fundamental skills of a successful hostage/crisis negotiator. You will be prepared to work as part of a coordinated negotiation team and handle a variety of crisis situations including hostage takers, barricaded subjects, and potential suicidal victims.

You will learn the different phases of the negotiation process, from the introduction to the surrender, and specific strategies and techniques to be used along the way. The class will discuss when negotiation may not be the best solution, what items are negotiable and non-negotiable, and what to do in non-response situations.

The effective application of active listening skills and the Behavioral Influence Stairway Model will be discussed at length and will be reemphasized during the Advanced Training Course.

The management of intelligence and information is a critical aspect of mitigating any law enforcement threat and you will learn specific techniques for managing the flow of information during a crisis.

You will also gain a basic understanding of the psychological motivations of individuals in crisis and learn to recognize the characteristics of emotionally disturbed persons. The student will be given instruction about the different personality disorders which are most commonly encountered during a crisis incident as well as strategies for affecting a positive outcome.

Challenging, team-oriented, scenario-driven practical exercises are an integral part of the course and will allow you the opportunity to practice and refine your crisis negotiation skills in a clinical setting.

Topics include:
• Introduction to crisis negotiation
• Required/Suggested Equipment
• Fundamentals of Negotiation
• Active Listening Skills
• Understanding/Interacting with Tactical Teams
• Negotiating in a Correctional Facility
• Negotiating as a team
• Legal Issues
• Managing Incidents Involving the Mentally Ill
• Text Messaging Negotiations
• Suicide Intervention with a Law Enforcement Officer

Note: This course is conducted in accordance with guidelines established by the National Council of Negotiation Associations (NCNA), New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), New York Association of Hostage Negotiators (NYAHN) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

Prerequisites: Sworn members of law enforcement and corrections, hostage negotiators, patrol officers, military personnel, non-law enforcement members of a crisis negotiation team, mental health professionals and clergy members supporting law enforcement activities

Course length: 40 hours (5 days)

Hostage Negotiation Five-Day Advanced Course

This advanced course will further enhance the knowledge and skills acquired in the Hostage Negotiation Five-Day Basic Course, or its 40-hour equivalent. A more in-depth study of abnormal psychology, high stakes negotiation, appropriate use of third party intermediaries, Stockholm Syndrome, police suicide/suicide-by-cop, and advanced communication strategies will be a primary focus during the course.

There will be in-depth discussions on controversial incidents as well as class participant presentations to better acclimate negotiators when negotiating in front of colleagues and command staff. Negotiating strategies with special populations as veterans, the elderly and psychotic individuals will be developed to a higher level with a much greater emphasis on demonstrating empathy and establishing rapport through active listening skills.

Challenging, team-oriented, scenario-driven practical exercises are an integral part of the course and will allow the student the opportunity to practice and refine their crisis negotiation skills in a clinical setting.

Topics include:
• Case reviews
• Intensive scenario practical exercises
• Use of third party intermediaries and translators/interpreters
• Advanced tactical communication techniques
• Managing Incidents Involving the Mentally Ill - II
• Stockholm Syndrome
• Public speaking strategies
• Negotiating with a law enforcement officer - II
• Negotiating with the elderly, veterans, and psychotic individuals

Prerequisite: Suggested class size held to a minimum of fifteen to a maximum of thirty-five sworn officers, corrections, hostage negotiators, patrol officers, military personnel, non-law enforcement members of a crisis negotiation team, mental health professionals and clergy members supporting law enforcement activities who have successfully completed the Hostage Negotiation Five-Day Basic Course, or its 40-hour equivalent; copy of successful completion certificate required at registration.

Course length: 40 hours (5 days)

Verbal De-Escalation And Crisis Communication

Law enforcement is a physically and emotionally demanding job. Officers continuously face hostile and challenging street encounters that are subjecting them to injury, civilian complaints, departmental administrative charges, civil litigation, termination and even criminal indictments.

Today’s scrutiny placed upon police officers and other first responders have resulted in a growing need to master verbal conflict and crisis management skills.

If street encounters are managed improperly, they can often lead to controversial use of force issues. When many of these incidents are reviewed the officer is often criticized for their lack of de-escalation techniques. Verbal de-escalation has become an essential training issue in law enforcement and was included in The National Consensus Policy on Use of Force (January 2017). The policy is the result of collaboration between 11 agencies, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). Although no training can ever reasonably be expected to stop all incidents in escalating to use of force, many citizens and communities have come to expect that officers receive training in applying verbal de-escalation strategies.

This course is designed to assist individuals working in law enforcement, corrections, EMT’s, Fire Fighters, and other first responders to better manage hostile street encounters.

Course Objectives: Upon completing this course, the participant will be able to:

1. Understanding the emotional verses the rational state of mind.

2. Develop rapport building strategies.

3. Recognize the importance of empathy in crisis encounters.

4. Introduce active-listening skills during difficult conversations.

5. Become aware of and avoid the professional role and voice conflict.

6. Know which words and phrases to avoid.

7. Become better listener.

8. Manage incidents involving the emotionally disturbed and mentally ill.

9. Understand many other critical incident objectives.

Primary Audience: Patrol officers/deputy sheriffs and supervisors, correction officers and supervisors, security officers and supervisors and anyone who interacts with people.

Course Length: One and Two-Day Curriculums available.

Police & Fire Department Dispatcher & Telecommunicator Principles of Communications Three-Day Course

A training program designed to assist the emergency police or fire department dispatcher and 911 call-taker to react appropriately during difficult and stressful situations.

It will teach communication principles and strategies utilized by law enforcement hostage negotiators in gaining voluntary compliance when interacting with the public during high-crisis encounters. This training will reinforce both positive and negative case reviews by communications technicians to serve as a model as what and what not to do.

The curriculum has become an essential training component to these dedicated professionals who are the lifeline to the emergency workers out in the field: coordinating resources, making notifications, running license and warrant checks, and ensuring that ambulances are responding for an injured victim or downed emergency responder. These literal first-responders often-times go unrecognized, and the emotional and psychological trauma also goes unrecognized. Frustration and cynicism, coupled with personal life events, can cause the communications technician to make mistakes, setting up possible internal disciplinary sanctions or termination, and even civil or criminal liability. By learning and applying simple active listening skills will greatly enhance the dispatcher's and call-taker's professional ability to manage even the most hostile encounters, and at the same time keeping their own emotional well-being in check. This training also examines the underlying causes of telecommunicator stressors and explores strategies for reducing those stressors.

Topics include:
• Principles of crisis intervention
• Active Listening Skills
• Demonstrating empathy during high crisis encounters
• Legal issues
• The causes and types of conflict in the workplace
• Managing encounters with the highly-emotional caller
• Mental Health overview for the Telecommunicator
• Incident reviews
• Intensive scenario practical exercises

Prerequisite: Telecommunicators, shift supervisors and communications center managers; probationary telecommunicators who are still learning how to manage their workplace stress; and the sworn individual in the chain-of-command to whom the communications manager reports.

Course length: 24 hours (3 days)

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