Responding to Crises Situations

¶ … police elements that respond to a crisis incident as well as an analysis concerning the emphasis that is placed on the negotiating and tactical team, and the necessity of the two groups to communicate and work together and the various positions that make up the negotiating team. A summary of the research and important findings concerning these issues are provided in the paper's conclusion.

Law enforcement authorities have used various negotiation strategies in their response crisis incidents ever since these methods were originally used in 1973 by the New City Police Department (Vecchi, Hassel & Romano, 2005). The composition of negotiation teams varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but the National Council of Negotiation Associations (NCNA) recommends at least three trained negotiators for responding to any type of crisis incident.

According to the NCNA, "More complex or difficult incidents may require additional trained negotiators working in shifts and filling a variety of team functions" (Recommended negotiation guidelines and policies, 2014, para. 3). In addition, the NCNA also recommends the inclusion of a mental health professional as part of the negotiation team (Recommended negotiation guidelines and policies, 2014). In this regard, the NCNA reports that in order to be a valuable addition to the negotiation team, mental health professionals should: 1. Serve as team advisor, not as a negotiator; 2. Participate in negotiation team training; 3.

Respond to team call outs as requested; 4. Focus on behavioral assessment of subject; and, 5. Assist in team debriefings after a critical incident (Recommended negotiation guidelines and policies, 2014, para. 3). All negotiation team members should also possess the following skills and characteristics: 1. A volunteer; 2. High level of self-control; 3. Ability to remain calm under stress; 4. Excellent interpersonal communication skills; 5. Calm and confident demeanor; 6. Good listener and interviewer; 7. Works well in a team concept (Recommended negotiation guidelines and policies, 2014, para. 3).

By contrast, tactical teams such as a special weapons and tactics (SWAT) or comparable specialized unit are used to respond to crisis incidents when there has been a determination made that negotiations will not be successful (Mijares, McCarthy, & Perkins, 2000). According to Vecchi et al., "In some situations, the subject may have engaged in a behavior, such as a shooting of a victim, that necessitates an immediate tactical response to prevent additional harm" (2005, p. 536).

Tactical teams are typically comprised of police that have received highly specialized training in forced entries, extraction of hostages/victims as well as subject containment and termination (Vecchi.