CPS CO-HOSTS HOSTAGE NEGOTIATION TRAINING PROGRAM

Hostage-taking is the holding of one or more persons against their will with the actual or implied use of force. Recently, the Center for Psychological Studies, FBI Miami Field Office, and City of Plantation Police Department co-hosted “Crisis/Hostage Negotiations Advance Course” where law enforcement hostage negotiators from across South Florida received training in a number of areas considered crucial to the peaceful resolution of high-risk and often volatile events, such as domestic, workplace, and school violence situations, prison riots, and terroristic acts. Several NSU faculty provided training in the Course, including: Dr. William Dorfman (Serious Mental Illness and Crisis Intervention), Dr. Scott Poland (Crisis Intervention in School Settings), Dr. Jose Rey (Psychopharmacology for Hostage Negotiators), Dr. Vincent Van Hasselt (Critical Incident Stress Management for Negotiators), and Dr. Lenore Walker (Crisis Intervention in Domestic Violence Situations). Police and FBI Instructors also offered a variety of topics, such as the tactical role of the negotiator, media coverage of ongoing incidents, use of interpreters, and technology updates.