State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Jackie Bray today announced the start of a new Advanced Crisis Negotiation course at the State Preparedness Training Center in Oriskany. This is the first time the State is teaching an advanced course for crisis negotiators, with support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Police, and the New York Association of Hostage Negotiators. Over the course of two days, several dozen crisis negotiators from around the state will be trained on best practices to de-escalate tense interactions between law enforcement and persons in crisis, working in teams to train through a variety of real-world scenarios.
“When New Yorkers are in crisis, we want our law enforcement partners across the State to have the training and resources they need to achieve safe resolution,” said Jackie Bray, Commissioner of the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. “As we know, communication and empathy are key elements in successfully aiding a person in crisis and this course will go a long way in enhancing the capabilities of the state’s trained negotiators and help reinforce best practices in deescalating dangerous situations.
The six scenarios will challenge negotiators to leverage skills including empathy, conflict resolution, leadership and creativity. The course will ultimately enhance their capabilities in de-escalating tense situations and achieving positive outcomes during negotiations.
The training scenarios include:
- Negotiation with a fellow law enforcement officer
- Negotiation with a veteran experiencing PTSD
- Negotiation with a barricaded person in crisis
- Negotiation in a ‘no win’ scenario where violence has already occurred, but law enforcement response is ongoing
- Negotiation with an interpreter for an individual in crisis who does not speak English
- Negotiation by video
All of the crisis negotiators participating in this week’s course have at least two years of negotiating experience within their respective law enforcement agencies and have completed the FBI’s or the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services’ (DCJS) 40-hour “Basic Crisis Negotiation” course which serves as a preliminary course for crisis negotiators. The Advanced Crisis Negotiation course fills a current void in training for negotiators based on modern examples of real-world incidents.
State Police Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen said, “I want to thank our partners for collaborating on this important training. It’s more imperative than ever for law enforcement members to have the knowledge, tools, and training to bring positive outcomes to complex, dangerous, and potentially violent situations.”
Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Office Michael J. Driscoll said, "The FBI is pleased to join our state and local partners in the New York Crisis Negotiation community for the inaugural session of the Advanced Crisis Negotiation Course. We look forward to continuing this critical partnership and improving our collective capacity to respond to critical incidents."
New York Association of Hostage Negotiators President Samuel A. Farina said, "The New York Association of Hostage Negotiators exists to promote training to increase the skills of our membership to resolve crisis events through effective communication. With this goal in mind and a history of training almost 10,000 negotiators since our inception in 2006, NYAHN is pleased to partner with the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to provide our law enforcement negotiators with invaluable advanced skill training. It is important to note that crisis negotiators have a high degree of success when using the fundamentals of crisis communications and it is obvious that DHSES is dedicated to furthering our efforts to resolve crisis situations in a peaceful and humane manner.”
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About the State Preparedness Training Center
New York State is home to one of the premier emergency responder training facilities in the nation – the State Preparedness Training Center (SPTC) in Oriskany. Located on 1,100 acres on the grounds of the former Oneida County Airport, the SPTC offers an extensive series of realistic training venues, a Swift Water and Flood Training (SWFT) venue, a 45,000 square foot CityScape complex, and an Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) simulator. From classroom lectures and discussions, to skill development lanes, to reality and high-performance scenario-based training, the SPTC offers state, local, and federal agencies a wide variety of opportunities for dynamic emergency responder training.
About the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
The Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services provides leadership, coordination and support for efforts to prevent, protect against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorism, natural disasters, threats, fires and other emergencies. For more information, visit the Facebook page, follow @NYSDHSES on Twitter, or visit dhses.ny.gov.
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