On-Scene Guide for Crisis Negotiators PDF

Preface

As with the first edition of On-Scene Guide for Crisis Negotiators , nothing in this edition should be construed as legal advice. The field of law is constantly changing, and even what I thought I once knew may be out of date. Your best source of legal advice continues to be your legal adviser, whether it is your county attorney or district attorney. I very often receive legal questions in my seminars, as well as questions on how to liven up regular negotiator training, and I always suggest guest speakers, especially your legal adviser. There are still many legal questions lingering in the minds of many negotiators.

This book should not be considered a substitute for a good seminar on crisis negotiation, as well as continuing training. Just as the legal field is evolving, so is the field of crisis negotiation. I sometimes find myself in the odd position of debating with an officer or deputy one of my old ideas that he has learned vs. a new idea that has emerged. Negotiators must train and train regularly.

Masculine pronouns will be used to refer to subjects throughout this book for ease of reading, and to reflect the negotiation experience. Most subjects with whom we negotiate are male. When asked to estimate the percentage of female subjects, most estimate fewer than 10%, with many negotiators estimating 5%.

I have added two new chapters to this book. One new chapter concerns first responder actions and dialogue. Many negotiators

have urged me to add this chapter for a variety of reasons, but one of the primary reasons is that far too many times the first responding officer or deputy has taken an unnecessary, even fatal risk. Also, many negotiators are responsible for training first responders in their jurisdictions, and they wanted a chapter on which they could base their presentations.

Every year I receive several telephone calls from plaintiff's attorneys looking to sue law enforcement agencies. It appears to me that particularly hot topics these days are suicide-by-cop incidents and the perceived mishandling of suicidal individuals and the mentally ill. I believe that many of the topics covered in this book should be taught to all officers, not just negotiators. The chapter on first responder actions and dialogue reflects, in part, that belief.

In traveling across the U.S. and doing seminars, I ask negotiators what percentage of the time they are negotiating with persons under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. The lowest estimate that I have ever received was 40%, but the most common estimate by far is 90% or 95%. Some officers have estimated 100%; some negotiators have told me that they have never negotiated with a sober individual. So negotiators are not only encountering suicidal, schizophrenic, or borderline persons, for example, but also encountering these individuals while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Obviously, the subject's consumption of drugs and alcohol add an additional and potentially dangerous component to the negotiation process. The unique aspect to the chapter on drugs is the section that provides communication guidelines for each drug group.