“There’s nothing that compares to it”: a grounded theoretical analysis of the experiences of police hostage and crisis negotiators

Abstract

The authors would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the hostage and crisis negotiators who gave up their time to take part in the research. THE HOSTAGE AND CRISIS NEGOTIATOR EXPERIENCE 2 Abstract PurposeHostage and crisis negotiators serve a vital function within society by resolving hostage/crisis incidents. This role, performed by specially trained police 'volunteers' helps to prevent numerous fatalities, and forms an important part of the modern policing repertoire. There is limited research that identifies the experiences of police officers that dedicate their lives to saving others by volunteering in this capacity. The current research, therefore, provides an insight into this fundamental police role using negotiator's personal narratives. Design/methodology/approachThis study consisted of an exploratory qualitative grounded theoretical analysis of semistructured interviews conducted with 15 negotiators from nine English police forces. FindingsThe analysis revealed three primary, seven secondary and 23 tertiary categories that form a conceptual model of the negotiator experience. The three primary categories consisted of 'negotiator positives', 'negotiator negatives' and 'negotiator ambivalences', which provide an insight into the experiences and identities of negotiators in England. Practical implicationsThe findings identify several positive factors that could be used to market the role more effectively within police forces and enhance future recruitment processes. Equally, the findings highlight several operational and organisational issues that have a negative impact on the negotiator experience. The findings are, therefore, discussed in light of the practical implications for negotiator training/continuing professional development, policy and practice. THE HOSTAGE AND CRISIS NEGOTIATOR EXPERIENCE 3 Originality/valueThis paper depicts the findings from one of the first qualitative analyses of negotiator experiences and provides a unique insight into the negotiator role from an Anglo-centric perspective.

From deployment to debriefing: introducing the D.I.A.M.O.N.D. model of hostage and crisis negotiation

“…iii The lead author is a Chartered Psychologist, Registered Forensic Psychologist and Senior Academic with extensive experience of conducting and supervising research projects. iv These 320 concepts were eventually categorised into five micro-models: Please refer to , Grubb, Brown, Hall, and Bowen (2019a), Grubb, Brown, Hall, and Bowen (2019b), and Grubb, Brown, Hall, and Bowen (2019c) for findings relating to the other micro-models. v Whilst risk/threat assessment forms a vital component within the first stage of the model (i.e.…”

“The More You Do, the More Comfortable You Feel”: the Police Hostage and Crisis Negotiator Journey

“…As a result of this atypical role format, it could be argued that negotiators form a unique sub-group of the police population. To date, and to the authors' knowledge, there is only one piece of published (and publicly available) research that has drawn upon the experiences of negotiators to understand the negotiator role and provide insight into how negotiators perform their dual police roles (see Grubb et al 2019b). The current research builds upon this work to shed light on the operational and organisation aspects of being a negotiator and form a picture of how negotiators navigate the process of transitioning from police officer (non-negotiator) to qualified "and de facto expert" negotiator.…”