Crisis Response Team (CRT) SOP

Crisis Response Team (CRT) Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)

• The Fort Wayne Police Department's (FWPD) CRT upholds high professional standards.
• CRT members protect life and property, respect individual rights, human dignity, and community values.
• The FWPD will train a team of officers to defuse, resolve, or prevent critical incidents.
• SOPs establish the structure, responsibilities, and operational guidelines for the team members.

CRT Deployment

• When requested, the CRT will respond to incidents involving barricaded persons, hostage situations, and suicidal individuals.
• The CRT will also respond to contain and call out high-risk warrant services, kidnappings, and inter-agency requests.
• The CRT will respond to any situations determined by the Chief of Police or designee.
• The CRT enters heightened alert status during high-profile special events.
• Upon request and authorization, the CRT assists, supports, and consults with any unit within the FWPD or other law enforcement agency.

Policies

• SOPs are the policy of the FWPD when the CRT is used.
• SOPs do not override current FWPD general orders, rules, regulations, or local, state, and federal law.
• The CRT Commander is responsible for resolving conflicts with the SOPs and amending them in writing.
• Incident Commanders can modify guidelines based on training, experience, incident intelligence, and law enforcement practices.
• The negotiation process is part of the law enforcement response to a critical incident.
• Incident Commanders have full authority, using training, experience, and best practices.
• The CRT will work with the EST on any call-out situation, negotiations begin before EST arrival with EST support.

Verbal Containment Policy

• Verbal containment is an ongoing effort to engage a subject verbally to prevent harm to themselves or others.
• The FWPD and CRT engage in verbal containment to prevent harm while preparing a law enforcement response.
• The practice of verbal containment is encouraged when incident intelligence deems it appropriate.
• Verbal containment is the result of ongoing negotiations by the CRT.
• All first responders engage in verbal containment if intelligence deems it reasonable before the CRT arrives.
• Considerations in deciding whether to engage in the practice include: type and circumstances of the incident, intelligence indicating violence, and the relationship between hostage-taker and hostage.
• Other considerations include availability of weapons, hostage-taker's criminal history, mental health, intoxication, and rationality.

Barricaded Person(s) Policy

• If a non-suicidal person refuses to comply with a lawful request to come out of a concealed space, the FWPD uses the CRT negotiation process first.
• If deemed necessary by the Incident Command, other means consistent with the circumstances and best practices may be used.

Hostage-Taking Policy

• When a person confines another against their will, the FWPD uses the CRT negotiation process to obtain the release of hostages and take hostage-takers into custody.
• The hostage takers should not be allowed to go mobile.
• The FWPD CRT will utilize current law enforcement industry negotiation best practices.
• Promises outside of authority, like grants of immunity, agreements contained in criminal court plea agreements, payment of ransoms, and delivery of drugs or weapons, shall not be made without approval.

Suicidal Person(s) Policy

• When a person prevents life-saving assistance by threatening suicide or self-injury, the FWPD first uses the CRT negotiation process to resolve the incident.
• The CRT uses EST operators to provide tactical support and inner perimeter control on these incidents.

Contain and Callout High Risk Warrant Service Policy

• For serving warrants on wanted subjects, the FWPD first uses the CRT to apprehend through voluntary submission.
• The negotiator response will be at the determination of the Incident Scene Commander.
• A minimum of two negotiators will be utilized on an initially identified contain and callout warrant.

Kidnapping Policy

• The Investigative Support Division investigates kidnapping claims, the Detective consults with and advises the CRT on the circumstances.
• The Detective advises the CRT Commander or Team Leader to make a CRT response available.
• If contact with the kidnapper is needed or ransom demanded, the CRT uses the negotiation process.
• The CRT Commander or Team Leader notifies the EST Unit when a member of the team is activated on a kidnapping investigation.

Inter-agency Mutual Aid Request Policy

• The FWPD grants reasonable requests from outside law enforcement agencies to use FWPD CRT members.
• Approval for the use of any CRT member resulting from an inter-agency request will follow the CRT Chain of Command.
• CRT members comply with FWPD CRT SOPs when operating on behalf of an outside agency.
• CRT members are not held accountable to another agency's SOPs, unless supported by local, state, or federal law.
• FWPD CRT members can assist an outside agency while awaiting approval if immediate action is needed to preserve life.

Special Event Policy

• The FWPD CRT recognizes the potential for terroristic that would require the deployment of the CRT during special events.
• The CRT is made aware of these events by special planners to ensure adequate staffing.
• A CRT member may attend special event-planning meetings for plans surrounding the special event.
• The CRT Commander ensures adequate staffing is available for any callout during a special event.
• The CRT Commander or designee works with planners to ensure event manpower does not deplete CRT unit manpower.

Jurisdictional Responsibility

• For incidents within FWPD jurisdiction, the FWPD CRT is the lead negotiating unit.

• Concurrent jurisdiction will be assumed with another outside agency if fresh pursuit occurs.

• For incidents in another agency's jurisdiction continuing into the FWPD's, the initiating agency is the lead negotiating unit.

• Concurrent jurisdiction is assumed with another agency as long as the incident results from the continuation of the initiating crime and is the result of the fresh pursuit.

• If the outside agency requests, the FWPD CRT can be the lead negotiating unit, and the FWPD can operate the incident as the lead agency.

• For critical or hostage-taking incidents requiring FWPD CRT involvement that include a foreign official, any official guest of the United States, and/or a hostage-taking incident occurs resulting from the commission of a federal crime, jurisdiction is held with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

• The FWPD establishes Incident Command and operates as the lead agency with the FWPD CRT as the lead-negotiation unit.

• Upon the arrival of the FBI, the FBI may assume responsibilities for the incident and transfer the Incident Command, the FWPD CRT will relinquish lead negotiations.

• The FBI and FWPD Incident Commanders must jointly decide if the FBI wishes jurisdiction to remain concurrent, however the Incident Command remains with the FWPD.