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Keeping Your Crisis Negotiation Skills Sharp Superior communication means being an active listener who can see through verbal smoke screens and read past charged emotions to find hints of the truth. Such a communicator gives reassurances and feedback so that the person’s message is being understood and skillfully applies emotional and psychological themes to bring that person past the crisis. A good crisis negotiator is a team player who is willing to use ideas of other negotiators, and willing to follow instructions from the team leader or on-scene field supervisor even when disagreeing with the command. Negotiators must realize that they are only a part of a large strategy, and that they only know one piece of a complex situation. Negotiators must have the maturity and experience to emotionally roll with the situation. An effective negotiator will often have to “lay it on the line” with a person in crisis. A bonding between the subject and the negotiator is part of the formula for success. Emotional trauma from this bonding is a possibility. TRAINING Crisis negotiation team members should train together frequently, at least every other month. If members normally work different shifts or at different locations, they should train together even more often, and include an hour of team building exercises to renew the trust and effectiveness of each member. A typical training session might be a two to four hour-negotiation mock scene using role players from inside and outside the agency. The team would react as with any real situation, following department procedure and using team equipment. By rotating the duty of creating the mock scene among all the team, even the leader can participate in the event. Repetition of training builds confidence, renews skills and enhances abilities. An experienced observer to comment on, reinforce what went right, and provide suggestions for improvements should evaluate training scenarios. This is part of the “lessons learned debriefing” that every mock scene should have. The essential part of the debriefing is where every participant gives an assessment of training from his or her viewpoint. Mock scene training can include negotiators from other agencies. Recruit resources within the agency, local government and community to assist the team’s mission.
Train with other local negotiators. Do not let any agency turf boundaries prevent learning from one another. Join state or national negotiator associations. Attend their conferences and seminars. Read magazine articles and newsletters about hostage / crisis negotiations. Once you have the knowledge and skills of a good negotiator, share your expertise with other officers. Patrol officers handle most crisis situations successfully but help improve their confidence and performance by providing them with the do’s and don’ts of negotiating. Teaching is also a recruiting tool for future negotiators by planning the seeds of interest. Skills gained as a negotiator and a law enforcement officer makes you uniquely qualified to teach non-sworn personnel in how to deal with people in crisis. You can develop skills as an instructor to teach others in government such as county clerks, courtroom personnel, dispatchers and school resource officers. Documenting your crisis training will focus your experience further, and will remember successes and attack weakness. Record keeping is also necessary to combat challenges in court. Describe every training session in detail including what you did, how long it lasted and who attended. Document every call out in your team training files. Build your own resource library of books, articles, and videos. Remember, a crisis negotiator has to be a good listener and that comes from practice! The above information was compiled from articles in Law and Order Magazine, the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin and Vince McNally - Ret. FBI Negotiator and Trainer BOOK REVIEW The Chaplain’s Monthly Messenger is a publication of the Central Florida Police Stress Unit, Inc. – a 501(c) (3) corporation. All materials are property of the Chaplain’s Monthly Messenger and may not be reproduced without written permission. Opinions and ideas express are those of the authors and do not represent the Central Florida Police Stress Unit, Inc. Check out our website at www.policestress.org |
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