Interview with a Crisis Negotiator

I interviewed a police officer for the Dubois County Sheriff's Department in Jasper, Indiana. The officer is specially trained as a crisis negotiator (formally known hostage negotiator). Of all the great advice he gave me, and that you will read in this interview, he said that the most important information to know is that "you must give them the power and let them vent. Their venting is their validation. Without their validation, your chance for a peaceful resolution lessens and is almost impossible."

What is your role in crisis negotiations?

"My role in crisis negotiation is to try and get a peaceful resolution.'

How did you become involved in crisis negotiations?

"The area was starting a tactical rapid entry team and a negotiation support team. I did work like this is the military so I wanted to do something with it in the police force. I joined the command center negotiation support team."

What type of training have you received in this area?

"The FBI came and trained us. It was a week-long training in which we learned about all aspects of scenarios. It was set up where we role played each type of scenario. We also learned about psychology and abnormal psychology, basically what makes people do what they do and what makes them tick. We then learned how to use this for crisis negotiation."

Do you work alone, or are you a member of a team?

"I never work alone, always a team. Ideally the team is made up of five negotiators working together. The most we have ever had, however, is three. Most of the time it is just two negotiators."

Approximately how many negotiators are there in the department?

"Our department only has two people officially trained for crisis negotiation."

Have you worked with forensic psychologists in either training or actual crisis negotiations?

"No, our department is really small and there is little demand for one."

How do you become involved in a situation? When are you notified?