Boca Raton Police Crisis Negotiation Team SOP 2018 PDF

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operating Procedure 46.11 CRISIS NEGOTIATION TEAM Revised: August 21, 2018 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this standard operating procedure is to establish guidelines for the organization and operation of the Boca Raton Police Services Department’s Crisi...

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operating Procedure 46.11 CRISIS NEGOTIATION TEAM Revised: August 21, 2018 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this standard operating procedure is to establish guidelines for the organization and operation of the Boca Raton Police Services Department’s Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT). II. DEFINITIONS: Barricade Situations: A standoff created by an armed or potentially armed suspect in any location, whether fortified or not, who is refusing to comply with police demands for surrender. Hostage Situations: The holding of any person(s) against their will by an armed or potentially armed suspect. III. ORGANIZATION: A. The CNT is comprised of law enforcement officers and one supervisor with the rank of sergeant or above. 1. The CNT supervisor, in addition to being a trained negotiator, will be responsible for all required paperwork, delegation of the CNT duties, and the overall coordination. 2. Membership of the CNT is voluntary and all members agree to comply with and abide by the contents of this standard operating procedure. B. The CNT shall fall under the command of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team commander. IV. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF CNT PERSONNEL: 17.05 A. The Boca Raton Police Services Department’s CNT Team will select prospective members as outlined in the Agreement between the City of Boca Raton and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35. B. An Exceeds Expectations score is required on an employee’s most recent employee performance evaluation to apply or remain on the Crisis Negotiation Team. Effective: June 6, 2002 Revised: August 21, 2018 Crisis Negotiation Team SOP No. 46.11 Page 1 of 6 V. ON CALL DUTY: 17.05 A. Because incidents requiring negotiators can occur during any hour of the day or night, team members are subject to call on a 24/7 basis. B. Communications shall notify the CNT supervisor or his/her designee when a negotiator is needed. 1. The CNT supervisor, at the discretion of the SWAT commander, will activate the CNT on all appropriate incidents. 2. All CNT members are subject to call out unless permission is granted by the CNT supervisor. 3. CNT members are required to carry cell phones when off duty, so they can be notified promptly in case of a call out. VI. EQUIPMENT/INSPECTIONS: 17.05 A. CNT equipment, e.g. throw phones and go bags, will be kept in a secured area as designated by the CNT supervisor. B. Equipment shall be inspected by the CNT supervisor or his/her designee at least once per calendar month and documented on the monthly training report. VII. TRAINING: 17.05 A. Training will be conducted at the discretion of the CNT supervisor and will include scenarios and training with the SWAT Team and the Bomb Squad. B. Monthly training shall be documented by the CNT supervisor and stored in the Crisis Negotiation Team file on the Department’s file server. C. Newly selected team members must attend and complete formal hostage/crisis negotiation training before being allowed to handle any actual situations. Prior to receiving training, new members may assist the negotiators during a situation, but they shall not perform any actual negotiation with subjects. VIII. POINT OF NEGOTIATION: 17.05 A. Upon responding to an incident, negotiators shall secure a location to conduct negotiations. 17.06 B. The Incident Commander (IC), in cooperation with the SWAT commander and CNT supervisor, will coordinate the control of the following: 17.06 Effective: June 6, 2002 Revised: August 21, 2018 Crisis Negotiation Team SOP No. 46.11 Page 2 of 6 1. Requests for additional resources, e.g. Fire Rescue Services, other law enforcement agencies 2. Perimeters 3. Evacuation of bystanders or injured persons 4. Pursuit/surveillance vehicles 5. Travel routes 6. Use of force against the suspect or any other persons at the scene unless exigent circumstances exist IX. NEGOTIATOR RESPONSIBILITIES: 17.05 A. Primary Negotiator: 1. The primary negotiator will communicate directly with the subject(s). Members of the CNT will assist the primary negotiator as needed. B. Secondary Negotiator: 1. The secondary negotiator shall monitor the situation and all conversation between the primary negotiator and the subject(s). a. The secondary negotiator shall act as a backup to the primary and be able to take over in the event the primary cannot continue for any reason. b. The secondary negotiator listens to the dialogue, takes notes, looks for non-verbal clues, analyzes the responses, and gathers intelligence information. 2. If an additional negotiator(s) is on the scene, he/she will act as a support person assisting the secondary negotiator in gathering intelligence information. In the absence of the CNT supervisor, the secondary negotiator will provide updates to the SWAT commander. X. NEGOTIATION TECHNIQUES: 17.05 A. Negotiation techniques are used to ease anxieties and tensions and, if possible, enable the subject to assess the situation in a rational way. B. Negotiation provides an opportunity for the subject to free any hostages he/she might be holding and surrender himself/herself peacefully. C. In most hostage/barricaded subject incidents, time is the most important factor. Effective: June 6, 2002 Revised: August 21, 2018 Crisis Negotiation Team SOP No. 46.11 Page 3 of 6 1. The passage of time gives the police the opportunity to prepare for different eventualities. 2. Generally, the more time the subject spends with the hostage(s), the less likely he/she is to take the hostage’s life, due to a transference of feelings that is likely to occur. D. The negotiator must attempt to build trust between himself/herself and the subject so that the subject will see that surrender is the solution. E. The negotiator must be a good listener, have patience, and stimulate the subject into conversation. F. The negotiator should not portray himself/herself as the ultimate decision-maker but should defer decisions to the overall scene commander. XI. NON-NEGOTIABLE ITEMS: A. Certain items are strictly non-negotiable in any hostage situation, up to and including the following: 1. Any type of weapons. 2. Trading another person for a hostage, particularly a police officer. XII. NEGOTIATION TACTICS: 17.05 A. If the subject of a hostage negotiation will not communicate, the negotiator can stimulate the subject by raising or lowering his/her anxiety level. B. XIII. Certain tactics can be used in these cases including the following: 1. Turning police sirens on and off 2. Controlling electric lights and/or air conditioners 3. Food 4. Using aviation teams to fly over CONFRONTATIONS: A. It may be necessary for the negotiator to confront the subject face to face with the approval of the SWAT Team commander. 1. Prior to exposing himself/herself to the subject the negotiator must first complete the following: Effective: June 6, 2002 Revised: August 21, 2018 Crisis Negotiation Team SOP No. 46.11 Page 4 of 6 a. Build confidence and rapport with the subject. b. Elicit a response from the subject that he/she will not hurt the negotiator and then verify it. 2. XIV. A negotiator involved in face-to-face negotiations shall wear a ballistic vest. DECISION TO CONTINUE NEGOTIATIONS: 17.05 A. If at any time during the negotiation process, the subject kills and/or injures any of the hostages, regardless of the reason, any continued negotiations will be done at the discretion of the SWAT commander or his/her designee with the sole intention of furthering a tactical objective. XV. RELATIVES/FRIENDS: A. Care should be taken in allowing friends or relatives to talk to the subject. As a rule, the use of non-police personnel in the role of negotiator is discouraged. B. Valuable intelligence information can be gathered from the relatives and friends of the subject that could possibly enhance the negotiation process. XVI. CREDIBILITY: A. The negotiator should use caution when making statements to the subject that are not true, because if caught in a lie, the negotiator loses credibility with the subject. XVII. SURRENDER: A. Once the subject agrees to surrender, arrangements must be made so that the subject comes out under controlled circumstances. B. The primary negotiator will provide specific instructions to the hostage taker/barricaded subject to surrender to ensure the safety of all people involved. C. A weapon should never be taken directly from the subject. He/she should be directed to place it on the ground and walk away. XVIII. CONCLUSION: 17.06 A. Upon conclusion of a hostage/barricaded subject/crisis incident, or shortly thereafter, an after-action meeting will be convened. The CNT supervisor will provide any information needed to the IC completing the incident report or after-action report from the incident. Effective: June 6, 2002 Revised: August 21, 2018 Crisis Negotiation Team SOP No. 46.11 Page 5 of 6 XIX. REVIEW OF PLAN: A. This SOP shall be reviewed by the SWAT commander and/or the CNT supervisor on an annual basis and documented in the CNT Team’s annual analysis. Any necessary revisions will be submitted to the Accreditation and Compliance Office for policy review. Approved: Daniel C. Alexander Chief of Police Effective: June 6, 2002 Revised: August 21, 2018 Date: Crisis Negotiation Team SOP No. 46.11 Page 6 of 6