Fort Meade CID Hosts Crisis Negotiation Training Course

The Fort Meade Criminal Investigation Division Office hosted a training event recently on Fort George G. Meade.

Resident Agent-in-Charge Michael J. Stankovich, said the Crisis Negotiation Course (Level I/Basic) training was a year in the making and consisted of various experience levels and included local law enforcement partners.

The five-day course is designed to prepare law enforcement and corrections personnel to mitigate threats involving barricaded subjects, suicidal subjects, and hostage takers.

Stankovich said while crisis negotiation training is a core class for CID agents, not all local law enforcement has the opportunity for the training. He added that partnering with the local and county police departments was “all about relationship building” and is critical to criminal investigations.

Thirty students participated in the practical introductory course of instruction. The basic course is designed for newly assigned negotiators or negotiators with more than five-years of time lapse in negotiation training. The Basic Level course is the first in a series of three progressive courses and meets or exceeds most state and federal training requirements for crisis/hostage negotiator certification and is trained in accordance with guidelines established by the National Council of Negotiation Associations.

The students were grouped into teams and executed scenarios-driven practical exercises that reinforced the concepts learned during classroom style lectures. After each practical exercise, students received a facilitator-led operational debriefing.