|
Hostage Negotiator Certification:
Necessary or Not?
By Dominick J. Misino and Hugh McGowan PhD
Presently the law enforcement community is very concerned
about certifications. Agencies must insure that their officers maintain
certification in everything from defensive driving to use of deadly physical
force. Yet, these same agencies do not require certification for their
hostage/crisis negotiating teams. Or perhaps they are under the mistaken
belief that a certificate of attendance at an FBI Basic Negotiation Course
will suffice or is the same thing as certification. Nothing could be further
from the truth.
I recently had a conversation with Lt. Jack Cambria, Commanding
Officer of the NYPD’s Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT) and he related
the following story to me. Lt. Cambria had to appear in court to testify
regarding a hostage situation that his team handled. After the ritual
of swearing in, Lt Cambria was questioned as to his expertise in the field
of hostage negotiation. Lt. Cambria has a long and distinguished career
in the NYPD, which includes 12 years in the Emergency Service Unit, both
as a police officer, sergeant and lieutenant, and has served as the Commanding
Officer of the HNT since 2001. He articulated his experience and training
and was qualified to testify. Let me add that Lt. Cambria and I served
in the Emergency Service Unit together as police officers and I have the
highest respect and admiration for him. Lt. Hugh McGowan, (now Doctor
Hugh, Ph.D.) the former HNT Commanding Officer, chose Lt. Cambria to take
his place upon his retirement, also served in ESU and shares this sentiment.
For a week or so after that conversation I keep replaying it in my head.
Something was nagging at me and finally I realized what it was. Some negotiators
who come from busy places such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or a
number of other cities could probably withstand the cross-examination
scrutiny but what about the rest? How many officers from other jurisdictions
could get on the stand and articulate extensive experience and ongoing
training?
As to experience, there is no way we can help negotiators
from all points of the country get real life negotiating
experience and we most certainly are not
going to encourage them to go out and initiate a situation just so they can.
Lt. McGowan, Lt Cambria and I encourage new and veteran negotiators to volunteer
some of their time on a crisis hotline. This will not only give them some real
negotiating experience but they will also serve their community and most importantly
possibly save a life.
Training, on the other hand is something that we can control,
encourage and mandate. Hostage negotiation training throughout
the country differs very little. Any
differences usually involve team composition, callouts and command structure.
The theories on negotiating with armed and unarmed subjects have remained
pretty constant since Lt. Frank Bolz Jr. trained the first NYPD Hostage Negotiation
Team in 1973. Lt. Bolz and Det.Harvey Scloshberg, Ph.D formulated the guidelines
and theories, which have become the mainstay for negotiation training worldwide.
The basis of negotiation training then and now in the NYPD was simple. Find
good detectives who on a daily basis know and use “street psychology” in
their interviewing techniques.
I am constantly asked the question “Should negotiators have a degree in
psychology?” I get e-mails almost on a daily basis from kids in college
saying, “I am a psychology major and I want to be a hostage negotiator.
Can you give me some advice what courses should I take”? Let me answer
the first question. “NO”! It is not mandatory for negotiators to
have a degree in psychology. However, it is and should be mandatory for a negotiator
to have the proper personality, determination, drive and a well-rounded life
experience and of course, structured training. Now for the second question, I
advise young people to definitely continue with their education and understand
that the path to becoming a hostage negotiator is not an easy one. If you come
from a 2-man department and you are second to the chief then you have a 50/50
chance of getting the job. To become a hostage negotiator a person first needs
to become a law-enforcement or corrections officer in a department that has negotiators.
Then you need to, as we call it “pay your dues” which basically means
becoming a good hard working officer who likes people and cherishes the idea
of saving lives and, I might add, not getting anything extra for doing it. Once
you have accomplished that, you can apply for the position. If accepted you then
need to get trained as soon as possible and then need to train and practice on
a regular basis. You also need to accept the fact that in relationship to other
law-enforcement incidents, negotiation incidents are not common. Your agency
may go for the longest time without an situation but when you least expect it, ‘bada
boom” as we say in New York, you have a full blown multi-hour hostage
situation with real lives hanging in the balance.
There are a number of negotiation trainers
who go very heavily into psychology, spending hours and
sometimes days on having
their students memorize the different
mental disorders and how to recognize them. I know I am walking on dangerously
thin ice here but “What the hell” I spent my career on that same
piece of ice and I am still here alive and kicking. In many cases, the instructors
who do this are well meaning but I question the value to the officers they
are training. I question the value simply because I have had many psychologists
in
my classes over the years and I encouraged them to share their thoughts on
whether they believed this type of training was necessary or not? Let’s
look at this from a streetwise approach. Do you or I really care that a person
who is
holding 3 people hostage was locked in a closet by his mother when he was
twelve and forced to wear high heels and stockings. Knowing that his relationship
with
his mother may not be good can be of help, I agree but the rest has limited
value. Now I ask you, can you or I or for that matter a trained psychologist
be able
to accurately diagnose this person under these most dangerous conditions
in such a short period of time? The psychologists I have spoken with say
the most they
or anyone could do would be to listen to the responses the negotiator is
receiving and make suggestions such as … he sounds like he may be …and
you may want to try…. A trained psychologist needs to get continuous
feed back, allowing the subject to vent and then possibly get them to a place
where the
subject feels comfortable about opening up. The difference is that when a
psychologist sits with a patient it is under controlled circumstances and
not while the individual
holds a gun to a hostage’s head. When time is of the essence and lives
are at stake police negotiators must rely heavily on their ability to use
the “street
psychology” they have developed and the training they have received
to diffuse the situation. Only when the situation is calmed down and the
subject
is in custody can the psychologist take over and work on the problem in long
drawn out sessions to gain trust and find a way to help the subject deal
with life and its problems, past, present and future. I have had many police
officers
of all ranks confide in me that sitting through hours or days of psychology
training only made them unsure and uncertain about being able to do the job.
Why shouldn’t
they feel this way when clinical psychologists say it is extremely hard for
them to diagnose a subject under these conditions in such a short time span
and under
a hostile environment?
I want to make sure that I am perfectly clear about this.
I am not saying that a psychologist present on the scene could be a valuable
resource. I
believe the
good ones could be of great value. I also believe that negotiator training
should be streetwise based. Training should encourage the negotiator to
use the skills
they have developed over the years. Officers train for the position of
negotiator ever day of their lives. Some excel at it and others barely
get by. Training
should be geared to help the negotiator continue to develop those skills.
I’ll share a lesson from my class with you. On the first day of the class
I make a mark on easel pad or dry erase board and I call it the city name I am
teaching in. Let’s say the name I use is San Antonio, Texas. Then I make
a second mark on the easel about 18 inches above it and I will label it Dallas,
Texas. I then ask one of the students what would be the fastest and most direct
way to get from San Antonio to Dallas. They correctly reply a straight line.
Then I say to another student I want you to meet me in Dallas but you can take
the scenic route. I then draw an arc about 2 inches from the straight line to
the right from San Antonio to Dallas. Then I say to another student “Meet
me in Dallas and take a scenic route but not the same route as the other student”.
This time I draw another arc about 2 inches away from center but to the left.
Now, to the rest of the class I say “I want all of you to meet me in Dallas
and I want all of you to take the route you are most comfortable with”.
Now I draw about 4 or 5 arcs on each side of the existing arcs. The picture on
the board should resemble a pumpkin (Ok, sometimes it looks like an onion). I
am not noted for my artistic ability. Now the question to the class is: “Which
route is the right one?” The answer is ALL. This is because all I asked
the class as individual’s to do was just get to Dallas. I now rename San
Antonio the beginning of a hostage situation and rename Dallas the end of a hostage
situation. The lesson is rather simple. Look at these arcs not as driving routes
but rather as personalities. Each person has his or her own unique personality
and rather than stifle this individuality a good instructor should promote it.
The first student I asked to go to Dallas chose the most direct route since their
personality is comfortable with being a little more direct and forward. The second
student chose a more scenic, roundabout route because their personality is more
comfortable with taking the road to the right. The next student also took scenic
route but not the same one as the previous student. The rest of the class each
took the route that was comfortable with their own personality. Now I ask the
same question “Which personality is the correct personality to get the
job done?” The answer is still the same ALL. Dominick’s theory
on PUMPKINOLOGY or ONIONOLOGY.
These are the kind of training methods that make students
more comfortable and confident that they can do the job. The sampling
of things that I discussed
here
are part of a first time ever Hostage Negotiator Certification Training
course which has been developed by Hugh McGowan, Jim Alsup, Director of
the Public
Agency Training Council, and Dominick J. Misino. The course consists of
three Phases
with Phase I and II given as two three day sessions or as one five day
session consisting of both Phase I and Phase II. Phase I covers the basics
of negotiation
from history to talk tactics and I might add, a touch of psychology. Phase
I also consist of team building and we discuss how a small agency with
only one
or two negotiators can still utilize the team concept. Phase II is the
hands-on portion and the students are broken up into teams of five. They
use the team
structure to practice the skills we discussed in Phase I. Each team gets
a chance to negotiate using a crisis phone and “through-the-door” dialogue.
We even do a face-to-face negotiation in front of the class. The role-plays
are structured to get the best possible learning experience. This training
is geared
to give the students some realistic hands on practice, in the Phase I and the
Phase II courses.
The new Phase III and final part of the certification has
been designed to give the students a broad view of the in and outs of
the negotiation
experience.
Phase
III is only given as a five day 35 hr class. There are five instructors
for this class.
On the first day students will have the pleasure of listening
to retired Detective Pete King, Philadelphia Bomb Squad. Pete shares
his extensive
knowledge of dealing
with Middle Eastern cultures and suicide bombers. Pete has lectured to
numerous law-enforcement agencies including federal, state and local agencies
on the
topic.
Retired Chief Gary Barney will teach the morning session
of day two. Gary will discuss how to deal with the mentally ill and
what we should and should
not do.
Gary served in the law-enforcement community for over thirty years and
brings a wealth of knowledge to the course.
On day three former Sgt. Frank McClure will instruct in
the afternoon session and he will cover negotiating within a jail environment.
Frank was a member
of the Atlanta, Georgia PD for over thirty years and served as the Commanding
Officer
of that HNT for a number of years.
Retired Lt. Hugh McGowan, Ph.D. NYPD Hostage Team teaches
on day three. Hugh gives a unique perspective on the concept of hostage
negotiating.
For thirteen
years Hugh commanded the NYPD’s HNT and he is considered to be the most
experienced HNT commander in the country even before he earned his Ph.D. Hugh
has been invited to speak to numerous agencies and has traveled overseas to
other countries to share his expertise.
On day four we split the group in half. Group 1 will start
their hands on testing period while group 2 attends a lecture by Larry
Danaher. Before
Larry
P. Danaher
retired he was the Commander of the Lafayette SWAT Team. He has consulted
with Supervisors, Chiefs and Sheriff’s nationwide on SWAT issues and has been
called upon to testify in State and Federal Court as an expert in Managing
Special Operation Teams, SWAT Training, Selection of Personnel and Equipment,
Barricade
Operations, Force Options and Tactical Decision Making Issues. Larry has also
trained Federal Response Teams, as well as, local and state SWAT teams in close
quarter tactics. Many of his SWAT operations have been seen nationally. Larry
has over 25 years of law enforcement experience and training. Larry shares
his expertise in liability issues involving team building and agency responsibilities
for training and funding.
On Day 5, a written test will be administered. There will
not be any trick questions and all the questions will be based on the
lessons taught in
Phase I, II and
III. The evaluation of the role plays will be done on uniform critique
sheets and will be graded as meets standards, needs improvement or does
not meet
standards. There will NOT be a numeric grade attached to any part of the
testing process.
When the testing process is completed the three instructors will review
the results. If any student was rated as needs improvement or does not
meet standards
they
will be given a second chance with a different person critiquing and a
different role player. The results will then be final and recorded. Once
the written
test is completed, a lecture will be given by Kevin Otto, owner of Enforcement
Technologies
Group Inc. Kevin’s lecture will be geared to providing up to date equipment
information and not a sales pitch. Once all lectures are completed a hostage
negotiator Certification Certificate will be presented by Hugh McGowan, Frank
McClure and myself.
To initiate the Hostage Negotiator Certification Training
we have assembled a cadre of instructors whose individual experience
is unparalleled. All
of the
instructors are veteran street cops first and all have developed their
skills through the belief that good street cops use good tactics. When
we combine
their education, experience and practical knowledge we can state that
without fear
of contradiction you as street officers will receive the best possible
training available anywhere in this country to help you accomplish the
goal of saving
Lives.
For those of you who are looking for a little more unbiased
opinion about the training classes you can go to www.hostagenegotiation.com
and read the
guest book. There are hundreds of entries and many comments about the
Phase I, II and III classes.
Law-enforcement agencies are climbing onboard every day.
We have had 5 phase 3 classes so far and the response has been outstanding.
We
continue to strive
for the finest class we can possible provide. We have made some changes
and adjustments to better our presentation. Our office receives calls
every
day
from chiefs,
sheriffs and training officers wanting to know the process for getting
their officers certified.
Remember, negotiator certification is Liability insurance.
Now you need to ask yourselves Necessary or Not?
As always, take care and stay safe,
Dominick J. Misino and Hugh McGowan, PhD,
Dominick J. Misino
Detective Dominick J. Misino (retired) is a 22 year veteran
of the New York City Police Department. During his career with the NYPD he
served
in the
Special Operations
Division for 18 years. His background is varied and diverse. He served as the
primary hostage negotiator for his last 6 years with the NYPD. The NYPD negotiation
team consists of 120 trained negotiators. His responsibilities included training
new members to this team and scheduling and retraining existing negotiators.
As primary negotiator he has personally been involved in over 200 hostage /
barricade incidents. He has trained law enforcement personnel from over
500 various departments
and agencies. He has also trained officers from numerous foreign countries.
Hugh McGowan, PhD
Doctor McGowan retired from the NYPD after 35 years of service. In his last
13 years with the department he was the Commanding Officer and Chief Negotiator
of the Hostage Negotiation Team. During his tenure he personally responded
to and coordinated negotiations at over 1,500 hostage, barricaded subject and
suicide incidents.
|
