There were some hostage situations at a local hotel in Chatham on Thursday that Chatham-Kent police officers had to deal with, but there was no danger to the public.
These scenarios involving actors is part of a five-day crisis negotiators course local officers are taking in Chatham, along with officers from Niagara Regional Police.
...Const. Fraser Curtis, an experienced negotiator, who is being re-certified, said crisis negotiation is a “perishable skill and obviously something that’s needed on the road from time-to-time when a call comes through where somebody’s in crisis.”
Tom Hart, president of Canadian Critical Incident Inc., with 20 years experience as a crisis negotiator with Durham Regional Police, is a course instructor.
“These type of people when they suffer these mental illnesses they’re in a state of crisis,” Hart said. “It’s really important for the officers to recognize those illnesses and develop a negotiating strategy to defuse, de-escalate and negotiate.”
Listening and de-escalating are key to successful negotiation, he said, followed by communicating clearly to the individual how resources will be used to resolve the situation.
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