Police Department

Crisis Negotiation Team (Hostage Negotiation Team)

The Spokane Police Department Crisis Negotiation Team consists of selected officers who are specially trained to mitigate crisis situations and preserve the lives of hostages, the public, the police, and suspect(s) in crisis situations. Selected officers participate on this team in addition to their regularly assigned duties.

The SPD Crisis Negotiations Team trains on a regular basis in order to ensure the most up to date and effective strategies are in place. Training consists of speakers, seminars, scenarios, reality training with other units within our department (ERU, EDU, Dignitary Protection, etc.) and training exercises with other crisis negotiation teams in the Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho region.

All of our negotiators are trained in Hostage Negotiations by the FBI. They also receive specialized training regarding barricaded criminal subjects, jail disturbances, suicidal individuals, and possible terrorist confrontations. They are also certified in Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), meaning they are specially trained in responding to people in mental health crisis.

The Spokane team is a member of and regularly attends state and regional training hosted by Western States Hostage Negotiation Association (WSHNA).