Entering the specialized field of hostage negotiations
Many specialties within the criminal justice field require becoming a police officer first. Becoming a hostage negotiator is no different. Every day as a police officer, negotiations are made, so the first step is becoming an excellent communicator. These communication skills also require quick thinking for many of the situations dealt with in negotiations (and law enforcement) can change rapidly.
Patience is also another benefit of any hostage negotiator, for negotiating can literally take days. So not only do those communication skills come in handy with the suspect, but also with the rest of the officers involved in the situation, especially the tactical officers who are trained to resolve situations in a different manner. Hostage negotiations and tactical decisions need to coincide, and many are training together now.
Read about actual negotiations to fully understand the dynamics that will take place in any hostage situation. There are dynamics involved between the suspect and those taken hostage. These dynamics are present whether or not the suspect and those taken hostage know each other, such as a domestic situation, or if they are total strangers, suspect and customers inside a business. Understand the Stockholm syndrome. Research.
Practice not becoming personally invested in the negotiations or with the subjects involved. This is extremely difficult when children are involved. At the end of the day, as long as you know you did everything you could have, the outcome is still not your decision.
Be comfortable with lying, but without lying. Know the law and know your department policies surrounding hostage situations. Know how to verbally minimize a terrible situation in a suspect's mind so he/she has some hope. Know people. Know yourself. Stay in shape for those long hauls so the mind stays sharp as well.
Most departments only have a few hostage negotiator positions and require interested officers to go through some sort of formal interview and/or test for an open position. Talk to the other negotiators and find out what the position entails, such as being on call. Find out what training these negotiators did once they were selected. Ask to see their training materials so you can learn as much as you can about the position before the interview date. It may help to keep of log of how many situations you negotiated successfully (and not so successfully), because many of the skills required of a hostage negotiator are possessed by every officer often it is the first responding officer(s) who sets the stage on many scenes.
Just remember that appearance, confidence and knowledge are reflected in many different ways and also apply to every interview you do, regardless of whether or not you are already in a department.
