Active Listening Skills From NYPD Hostage Negotiators

Members of the NYPD engage people in crisis situations on a daily basis where the men and women of the Department continually use crisis communication skills and tactics to resolve these incidents in a peaceful manner. For the month of September and October the NYPD is promoting the use of these skills through a social media campaign that will also be promoting awareness of mental health illnesses and how help is available. The NYPD reached more than 220 million people on social media last year and see this as an opportunity to raise awareness of effective skills that can help people as well as services that are available.

The NYPD encourages everyone to help raise awareness of suicide, mental illness and how it is easy to help someone- you don’t have to be an expert. The first step can be as simple as engaging a person in conversation and encouraging them to talk to you. That is what “Talk To Me” means- starting a conversation with someone who might be in need of help.

You can help by using the hashtag #TalkToMe on social media, following us on Twitter at @TalkToMe, sharing our content that is posted on the channels listed below, raising awareness by posting on your social media, and finally by checking in with someone that might need help.

Why "Talk To Me"?

HNT Skills: Instead of saying...

 

 

Here's a snippet from article from a person who has a mental illness. She shares some tips on things she would prefer hearing instead of "get well soon."

From the perspective of crisis/hostage negotiators, this could be helpful when developing a communication strategy as the suggested can help build rapport and trust.

 

There are other things you could say that aren’t as triggering and are more validating to someone who is chronically ill…

1. I know how hard this is for you.

2. I’m here for you.

3. Take care of yourself, and let me know what I can do.

4. I can see you’re struggling, and I want to help.

5. You must be strong to have battled this every day.

6. I’m sorry you’re hurting.

Read the full article [HERE].

Julie Chen Reveals Her Great-Grandmother Was Kidnapped and Murdered by Bandits

Julie Chen's family story will forever serve as a life lesson.

While on The Talk Thursday, the 46-year-old news anchor revealed a terrible family story that still haunts her to this day. Chen shared that her great-grandmother and aunt were both kidnapped and held for ransom by a group of bandits. Because Chen's grandfather was a successful and wealthy businessman, the bandits demanded payment or else they would murder her family members.

"Because he was wealthy and well-known, this put a target on his back. People knew who he was, so bandits one day kidnapped his elderly mother and one of his teenage daughters—my mom's sister," she explained. "These two women were held hostage and the bandits said that they would kill them if a large ransom wasn't paid for in exchange.

Read more at E! [HERE]. 

WPD negotiator details talks between suspect following standoff

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The Wichita Police Department's Crisis Negotiation Team was called out at around 2:30 Friday morning for a standoff to help a woman that had a gun to her head.

This came after a short police chase that left one sheriff's deputy in the hospital. Behind all of the lights and sirens, negotiators began their work by talking with the officers that were already on scene.

"At this point we decided to go into a coaching phase where we actually coach the officer instead of taking over the negotiations because he'd already developed the rapport," said Christian Cory, a member of the negotiation team.

Read more and watch the video [HERE]. 

Jurors hear FBI crisis negotiator's calls to refuge holdouts

FBI negotiator Marc Maxwell testified Wednesday that he tried to listen to the concerns of the last four holdouts at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in late January and early February, establish a rapport and show some empathy with the hope of coaxing them toward a peaceful outcome.

Jurors heard recordings of four calls that the FBI agent had with defendant Jeff Banta, between Jan. 27 and Feb. 4., as Banta, co-defendants David Fry, Sean Anderson and his wife Sandra Anderson huddled in the refuge's west end encampment, which occupiers dubbed "Camp Finicum.''

Read more at OregonLive.com [HERE].

"Talk To Me" - The NYPD's Suicide Prevention & Mental Illness Awareness Campaign

NYPD “Talk To Me” Campaign Raises Awareness For Suicide Prevention & Mental Illness

Social media being used to share crisis communication skills, dispel myths, connect people with services, and more

Members of the NYPD engage people in crisis situations on a daily basis where the men and women of the Department continually use crisis communication skills and tactics to resolve these incidents in a peaceful manner. For the month of September and October the NYPD is promoting the use of these skills through a social media campaign that will also be promoting awareness of mental health illnesses and how help is available.

The NYPD reached more than 220 million people on social media last year and see this as an opportunity to raise awareness of effective skills that can help people as well as services that are available. They NYPD encourages everyone to help raise awareness of suicide, mental illness and how it is easy to help someone- you don't have to be an expert.

The first step can be as simple as engaging a person in conversation and encouraging them to talk to you. That is what "Talk To Me” means- starting a conversation with someone who might be in need of help. You can help by using the hashtag #TalkToMe on social media, following us on Twitter at @TalkToMe, sharing our content that is posted on the channels listed below, raising awareness by posting on your social media, and finally by checking in with someone that might need help.

Why "Talk To Me"?

Status Report on the Implementation of Executive Order 13698 Hostage Recovery Activities

From DNI.gov:

To ensure accountability for the reforms mandated by the E.O. and PPD-30, the E.O. directed that within one year, NCTC, in consultation with the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), provide a status report to the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism on the implementation of the E.O.. The E.O. directed that the status report will be informed by consultation with stakeholders outside of the USG, including former hostages and hostages’ families and will, to the extent possible, be made available to the public. This Status Report responds to those requirements.

Download the report HERE.

Statement on Hostage Recovery Activities

Statement by NSC Spokesperson Ned Price on the Status Report on the Implementation of Executive Order 13698 Hostage Recovery Activities

From WhiteHouse.gov- Last year, President Obama ordered comprehensive updates to U.S. hostage recovery policy and signed an Executive Order to organize more effectively our efforts so we are best postured both to bring home U.S. nationals held abroad and support their families. Since then, we have brought under one roof law enforcement, intelligence, and military experts at the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, where they work side-by-side to develop and pursue recovery strategies. Moreover, the President designated a Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, who coordinates our diplomatic efforts abroad. The interagency Hostage Response Group is ensuring that all of the elements put into place last year are working together as a team and receiving any guidance and oversight that they need. 

More than just talk: Police discuss how words can diffuse situations

“ The No. 1 element in being a successful negotiator is you have to honestly care about the person on the other end of that phone,” 
Whitley, a 13-year member of the Danville Police Department and a crisis negotiator for around nine years, said. 
“My sole focus at that point and time is talking to him.”

For five hours, Danville Police were on the 100 block of Marshall Terrace negotiating a peaceful end to a hostile situation.

Andrew Steven Petrick, 35, was wanted for grand larceny and forgery warrants. When police attempted to make an arrest that morning around 10 a.m., he went into a residence and would not surrender.

Petrick told police he had a firearm and would not come out.

Read more from GoDanRiver.com [HERE]. 

Nigeria Describes 3 Failed Negotiations With Boko Haram on Kidnapped Girls

DAKAR, Senegal — Two and a half years after more than 200 girls were kidnapped from a school in northeastern Nigeria, the government on Friday described for the first time the failed efforts to negotiate for their release.

Nigerian officials revealed that talks had been underway since July 2015 between the government and Boko Haram terrorists to gain the release of the girls taken from a school in Chibok. The talks began shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari took office.

Three times the negotiations were derailed, in one instance at the last minute even after...

Read more at the NY Times.com [HERE].

Ex-hostage tells of terror as friends beheaded in Philippines

A Norwegian former hostage on Sunday described his psychological torture as he heard his friends being beheaded by Islamic militants during a year-long captivity in the southern Philippines. 

A heavily bearded and gaunt Kjartan Sekkingstad, who was released on Saturday by the feared Abu Sayyaf group, also said he narrowly survived military attacks against his captors, with a bullet piercing his backpack. 

"Basically, I've been treated like a slave, carrying their stuff around, time to time abused." 

Read more [HERE].

New Melle Native Writes Book on Crisis Negotiations

Patrick Doering is a police Lieutenant with the Lake St. Louis Police Department and a skilled hostage/crisis negotiator. He recently published his first book: Crisis Cops — The evolution of hostage negotiations in America.

Patrick started his law enforcement career in Lake St. Louis about 20 years ago. As a new officer, he often looked for new and interesting training classes to attend, and soon decided he wanted to find a “niche” in which he could develop some specific area of expertise. One day he saw a flyer for a class called “Initial Response to Hostage/Crisis Situations.” He didn’t think the likelihood of ever being involved in such a situation was very high, but the class sounded “cool” so he signed up.

Read more from Boone County Connection [HERE].

Read more about the book and purchase it from Amazon [HERE]. 

Crisis Cops: The Evolution of Hostage Negotiations in America

(From Amazon.com)- Hostage/Crisis negotiations is one of the most demanding and stressful jobs in law enforcement. Crisis Cops will put you into the action, whether it be a bridge jumper, hostage taker or suicidal subject. 

These are the origin stories from the early beginnings of Hostage/Crisis negotiations throughout the country. From New York to Los Angeles you will see how Hostage/Crisis negotiation evolved into the art form that it is today. some of these stories may make you laugh, cry or sweat bullets. 

This isn’t what you see on television, these are real stories, from real negotiators who have saved hundreds of lives throughout their careers. You will hear how their teams got started, what hurdles they had to overcome and most importantly you will hear stories from the negotiators that were there in the moment.

Read more and purchase the book by Patrick Doering [HERE]. 

Abu Sayyaf's Malaysian hostage pleads for help in phone call to media

A Malaysian hostage held by the Abu Sayyaf militants sent an SOS message, pleading for help as he has been starved and beaten up.

Wednesday, Abu Rami, Abu Sayyaf spokesman called The Star from Jolo island, southern Philippines, and passed the phone to the 32-year-old hostage for sending a message to the Malaysian government.

"I'm a hostage from Malaysia. My name is Mohd Ridzuan Ismail. And I'm asking for help from the government and my boss to rescue us as soon as possible," he said in Bahasa Malaysia.

Read more from the International Business Times [HERE].