The first in a series of three progressive courses, Crisis Hostage Negotiation – Level I (Basic) addresses the fundamental tasks of a successful crisis negotiator. This course will prepare you to work as part of a coordinated negotiation team and handle a variety of crisis situations including those involving hostage takers, barricaded subjects, and potential suicide victims.

You will learn the nation’s best practices as they relate to a team-oriented approach to crisis negotiation as well as gain a thorough understanding of duties for each member of the team.

The effective application of active listening skills and the Behavioral Influence Stairway Model will be discussed at length and reemphasized throughout the progression of all three courses. Active listening skills and the development of rapport serve as the foundation of successful crisis negotiation; these are topics which are presented in detail and reinforced throughout the course.

You will learn how a negotiation progresses, from the introduction to the resolution, and specific strategies and techniques to be used along the way. We will discuss when negotiation may not be the best solution, what items are negotiable and non-negotiable, and what to do in non-response situations.

The management of intelligence and information is a critical aspect of mitigating any law enforcement threat, and you will learn specific techniques for managing the flow of information during a crisis.

You will also gain a basic understanding of mental health crises and will learn to recognize the characteristics of a mental health crisis as well as strategies for affecting a positive outcome.

In that the risk of suicide is present in the majority of crisis incidents, we will have a detailed discussion on law enforcement’s response to suicidal persons. You will learn to identify risk indicators of suicide and the immediacy of suicidal intent as well as practical intervention techniques.

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You must be a sworn member of law enforcement or corrections, a non-law enforcement member of a crisis negotiation team, or a mental health professional or a clergy member supporting law enforcement activities, to attend this course. Requests for exceptions must be submitted and approved by the course director.

This course meets most state, Department of Defense, and federal training requirements for crisis-hostage negotiator certification, and is trained in accordance with guidelines established by the National Council of Negotiation Associations.

This course is approved as a “full credit” basic course toward a 120-hour CSM Certificate of Proficiency.