The mission of the Crisis Negotiation Team is to defuse potentially life threatening situations through the use of proven verbal crisis management techniques. The Crisis Negotiation Team responds to incidents involving suicidal, armed/barricaded and hostage holding individuals. The Team is a voluntary on-call unit within the Emergency Response Team. Team members represent various ranks and positions within the Department’s through Sumner County. They respond to Departmental and local agency requests throughout the County whenever their services are needed.
The Crisis Negotiation Team was formerly known as the Hostage Negotiation Team. The name change occurred in 1996 to reflect a more accurate description of the incidents the Team responds to from purely suicidal subjects such as bridge jumpers, to armed and barricaded subjects, to subjects who have taken hostages during the course of a criminal act.
All members of the Crisis Negotiation Team complete a basic 40 hour Negotiators course prior to being placed on the Team and most have attended advanced training as well.
The Crisis Negotiation Team is a voluntary on-call unit within Tactical Operations. The men and women who make up the Crisis Negotiation Team have proven to be dedicated and hard-working officers. They are committed to ensuring that the Mission of the Crisis Negotiation Team is met.