Our History at N.B.P.D.

            In 1981, our Department started with only one (1) officer who was trained to negotiate with the subject(s) during a critical incident.

            In 2000, we began to change our philosophy from having one negotiator to making it a Crisis Negotiation Team (C.N.T.), which consisted of five (5) officers.

In 2004, the C.N.T. began to practice regularly four (4) hours a month.  Each month, the practices consisted of different scenarios that also included different settings such as being in vehicles, outside, in a hallway, etc.  

In 2005, the selection process to be on the team was changed.  To be selected as a team member, a candidate had to now go through successfully a three part testing process and have at least three years of law enforcement experience.  The entire test evaluated the applicant’s writing, note taking and communication skills as well as ability to work under stressful and difficult conditions.

In 2006, the Team was expanded to six (6) members. 

In 2007, the Team was expanded to seven (7) members, which consisted of two supervisors (2) and five (5) officers.  The training also went from four (4) hours to eight (8) hours each month.  In the allotted time, the team would practice with doing a scenario and then commonly have guest speakers such as therapists, counselors, etc. that would teach the group topics such as how recognize certain disorders, how to deescalate things through talking, etc.

In 2007, after careful planning and consideration, Chief Gagliardi permitted the team to accept a donated 1997 Ford E-350 mini-bus from Dattco, a local bus company.  The interior of the bus was remodeled by the team members to make it more conducive for them in performing their jobs. 

In 2007, New Britain Police Department with Newington Police Department’s assistance hosted an eight hour training class at N.B.H.S. for all of the Crisis Negotiation Teams whose agencies participated in C.R.C.O.G. (Capitol Region Council of Governments).  Fourteen (14) different agencies had participated in the training session, which was a success.

In 2008, there was a front page article about the New Britain Police Department’s Crisis Negotiation Team published in N.O.T.A.’s (National Tactical Officers Association) Crisis Negotiator magazine featuring the team and our vehicle.

http://ntoa.org/site/publication/crisis-negotiator.html

At the present time, each of the members are trained to perform the common duties during the negotiation process.  The team has two Spanish speaking officers and one Polish speaking officer.  One of the members served in the military services.  The current members on the team have college degrees and the majority of them have studied in the field of sociology and/or psychology.  In addition, all of the team members have experience working with people that have mental disorders. 

“Talking, it buys time and it can save lives.”