PNC 'scales stairway' to more professionalism
Dr Gregory Vecchi of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a three-day Advanced Crisis Negotiation Course for the Police Negotiation Cadre (PNC) early this month.
Dr Vecchi is an expert in Crisis Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, and Behavioural Science. He is the former Unit Chief of the FBI Behavioural Science Unit (BSU) and a former Supervisory Special Agent in the Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU) at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, USA. In the academy, he conducted extensive research, training, and consultation for law enforcement agencies around the world on behaviour-based conflict analysis and resolution, crisis management, crisis negotiation, de-escalation and defusing applications, and global hostage taking.
Dr Vecchi developed the "Behavioural Influence Stairway Model (BISM)", rationalising the various critical steps of crisis management. The BISM has been widely adopted in the academic field and law enforcement arena in crisis negotiation around the world.
Training overview
During the three-day course, Dr Vecchi covered behavioural threat assessment, assessment of needs and conflict behaviour, assessing instrumental versus expressive mindsets, principled negotiation and bargaining, active listening, crisis intervention, interactional manipulation, behavioural influence stairway and negotiated resolution models, suicide intervention, command and control of tactical and negotiation teams, critical incident structure and process, critical incident stress management and debriefings, construction of generational behaviour profiles, and psychopathology, besides case studies/exercises in class.
Dr Vecchi shared his valuable experience in the hostage negotiation incidents he handled. He also visited Police Psychological Services Group and shared with Police Clinical Psychologists his insight and experience in crisis management, training and critical incident psychological support.
The BISM graphically depicts and explains the process of developing a relationship between the communicator and the person in crisis that results in ultimately influencing the person to accept, and act upon, the suggestions of the communicator. The model moves the communicator from "no relationship" with the person in crisis to a "relationship" that enables the communicator to influence and ultimately persuade the person in crisis to follow the communicator's suggestions. The BISM can be employed for resolving incidents in a peaceful manner.
This will be accomplished in four stages as a product of time, namely active listening (the foundation), empathy, rapport, and influence. The yellow upward arrow depicts the movement from "no relationship" to "relationship" and the red downward arrow represents the mistakes made by the communicator ("falling down the stairs") that require the communicator to return to the active listening stage and begin again.
People in crisis have to be heard and understood and they all have their own unique story to tell. Active listening attends to these needs from the standpoint of the person in crisis and it is the first step in developing a relationship that will ultimately lead to behavioural change and an end to the crisis.
Active listening skills form the bedrock of the BISM and comprise core and supplemental groupings. The core group elements are Mirroring, Paraphrasing, Emotion Labelling, and Summarising. The supplemental group consists of Effective Pauses (silence), Minimal Encouragers, Open-ended Questions, and "I" Messages.
Superintendent Wong Kwong-hing, Officer-commanding of the PNC, said he was grateful to Dr Vecchi, a world-renowned academic and practitioner in the field of crisis negotiation, for offering training to PNC members. He appealed to officers interested in joining the PNC to watch out for the upcoming recruitment exercise in the fourth quarter of this year. Introductory seminars will also be conducted for potential applicants.
Dr Vecchi is giving a
presentation on "Crisis Incident Stress Management and Debriefing"
Dr
Vecchi
with PNC members 