Hostage Negotiations and Crisis Intervention, Phase I and II

Instructor: Brandon Pierpoint

Duration: 4.5 Days

Professional Development Hours: 40 PD hours

Cost: $675.00

Course Overview

This comprehensive 40-hour training program equips law enforcement and first responders with essential skills for managing hostage situations and crisis interventions. The course runs for four full days from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM local time, with the final day concluding at 12:00 PM. The remaining instructional hours are completed through a tested examination component of the training.

Course Content

The program begins with an introduction and orientation covering the class curriculum, historical context of negotiations, and relevant materials and readings. Instruction is delivered through lectures, presentations, videos, and practical exercises.

Participants will study the fundamentals of hostage negotiation, including the three types of response incidents, the rationale for law enforcement negotiation approaches, the distinction between emotional and rational responses, incident management principles, profiles of hostage-takers and hostages, negotiator selection criteria, and time management strategies.

The curriculum covers active listening techniques, teaching students how to effectively listen, paraphrase, and confirm understanding during negotiations. A dedicated section addresses the mental health and psychological aspects of crisis negotiation, including common personality disorders and mental illnesses negotiators may encounter.

Additional topics include suicide intervention and risk assessment, situation board management for information control during incidents, Negotiations Operations Command (NOC) Protocol for team coordination, the use of third-party intermediaries, the tactical role of negotiators and interagency cooperation, strategies for managing hostage-taker demands, and stress management techniques for all parties involved in crisis situations.

Students will also learn about required and suggested equipment for hostage and barricaded responses, including hostage phones, response vehicles, ballistic equipment, fiber optic cameras, listening devices, and tactical communication systems.

Learning Activities

Throughout the week, students engage in scenario-based practical applications, daily discussions of case law and current incidents, and evening homework assignments. These assignments include case law review, analysis of current incidents, and scenario scripting, which collectively provide the five hours of instruction not covered during regular class sessions.

Students also participate in creating "Bunches of 5" materials—brainstorming and developing preplanned responses to anticipated concerns and demands that participants can take back to their agencies.