Crisis Systems Management

10/05/2026

Please join us at the 2026 NTOA Hostage/Crisis Negotiation Conference and Trade Show in Phoenix, AZ October 26-29, 2026

Join CSM for our POLARIS Training Series for Crisis Negotiation Team Leaders!

We are presenting this brand-new workshop on Thursday, October 29, 2026.

New to our POLARIS line-up is:

LEADING COLLATERAL TEAMS: LEADERSHIP IN THE PART-TIME NEGOTIATION ENVIRONMENT (4 hours)

Leading Collateral Teams is a leadership development workshop specifically designed for crisis negotiation team leaders responsible for building readiness, accountability, and team cohesion within a part-time environment.

Based on the 10 Domains of Collateral Leadership, participants will examine practical leadership strategies for developing influence without direct authority, fostering team identity, maintaining training standards, evaluating readiness, developing future leaders, and strengthening relationships with command and tactical partners.

The course also addresses performance management, succession planning, operational sustainability, and leading teams through unintended outcomes.

On the presenting team is:

Michael Clyde, Team Leader for the Iowa State Patrol CNT,
M.E. Heald, Commander of the Minnesota Department of Corrections CNT,
Aaron Dahl, Team Leader of the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office CNT.

https://www.ntoa.org/conferences/cnt-conference/

09/28/2026

Looking for a Peer Support and Resiliency course? Join our LERPS Course in Council Bluffs, Iowa, November 9-13, 2026. Click on link below.

09/25/2026

Three of our instructors just finished a Level I in Clarksville, Tennessee. They reported The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office to be excellent hosts and the class full of enthusiastic and professional officers, correctional officers, deputies, negotiators, and civilian support staff. CSM considers it a privilege to train crisis responders across the country. Reach out if you would like to host a course in your area, and check out our calendar for upcoming courses.

09/08/2026

CRISIS NEGOTIATORS — READY FOR LEVEL III?

October 2–6 | Arnold, Missouri

Registration is open for our Level III (Advanced) Crisis Negotiation Course — the final course in our three-level Crisis Negotiation training series.

Level III is designed for experienced negotiators who are ready to move beyond the fundamentals and tackle the complexity, judgment, strategy, and decision-making required in the most challenging incidents.

And there’s another reason this course matters:

Level I + Level II + Level III = 120 Hours

Negotiators who successfully complete all three courses fulfill the training requirements for a 120-Hour Certificate of Proficiency in Crisis Negotiation.

That represents more than a certificate. It represents 120 hours of deliberate professional development — building communication skills, behavioral understanding, strategy, critical thinking, and the ability to perform when the stakes are high.

If you have already completed Levels I and II, this is your opportunity to finish the series.

If you’re building toward the 120-hour credential, this is the course you’ve been working toward.

Come ready to think, work, collaborate, and be challenged.

Finish the 120. You are almost there!

The third in a series of three progressive courses, Crisis Hostage Negotiation – Level III (Advanced) prepares you for the most complex and challenging aspects of crisis negotiation – leading crisis negotiation teams and managing crisis incidents. We will take you from policy development, to rec...

08/27/2026

THE DARK SIDE OF INFLUENCE

Crisis negotiators are in the business of influence.

But there is a point where influence can become something else.

Manipulation.

And sometimes the most dangerous techniques are the ones that work.

Fear can work.
Pressure can work.
Deception can work.
Exploiting vulnerability can work.

But crisis negotiation can never be measured by compliance alone.

There are Four Anchors that should hold us steady when the stakes are high:

TRUTH. TETHER. TIME. TRUST.

Truth - because credibility, once lost, may be impossible to recover.
Tether - because our job is to keep the person connected: to us, to the conversation, to the people and things that still matter, and ultimately to the possibility of another outcome.
Time - because slowing the crisis creates room for emotion to settle, thinking to return and alternatives to emerge.
Trust - because without it, influence becomes increasingly dependent upon pressure, leverage and manipulation.

So what happens when we sacrifice one of those anchors because we believe doing so might end the crisis faster?

What if the tactic works?

What kind of a negotiator are we if we depend on manipulation?

My article, “The Dark Side of Influence,” published in NTOA’s The Tactical Edge, takes a hard look at the uncomfortable territory between ethical influence and psychological manipulation in crisis negotiation.

It asks negotiators to consider not simply:

“Can I get this person to do what I want?”
But:
“What am I willing to do to get them there?”

And perhaps most importantly:

“What happens to Truth, Tether, Time and Trust when I do?”

If you negotiate crises, supervise negotiators, teach negotiation, work alongside negotiation teams - or simply believe that how we influence people matters as much as whether we succeed - I hope you’ll read it.

Then bring it back to your team.

08/03/2026

Great work by KCPD Negotiators!

Missouri Association of Crisis Negotiators

Just before 11 AM today the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department Special Operations Unit attempted to execute a felony arrest warrant out of Johnson County, Kansas on a wanted fugitive. The suspect initially evaded a traffic stop, but was located a short time later, UNARMED, on the roof of a housing unit located at 5th and Washington Blvd. in KCK.

After several hours of de-escalation efforts and discussions with KCKPD negotiators, the suspect voluntarily descended from the roof using a ladder supplied by the police and the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department.

He was met on the ground by officers with handcuffs and a bottle of water, and taken into custody without incident.

07/29/2026

Negotiators - If you have never been to a crisis negotiation challenge - we encourage you to come a day early to the 2026 NTOA National Negotiators Challenge, Conference and Trade Show.

We are still looking for experienced judges and facilitators.

The team slots filled up and are waitlisted - BUT being able to observe ten elite teams from across the United States during an intense scenario event is like attending a MASTERS COURSE is crisis negotiation.

You will get to see first-hand (and in comparison) what works and what doesn't work in communication, decision-making, strategy and information management.

This year's challenge is powered by: Blue Line Spear - The Nation's Leading all-in-one platform for negotiation training and team leadership. You will learn more about this platform as it assists team leaders in Team Selection, Performance, Evaluation, Analytics and Readiness.

Register TODAY as there is a cap on registered observers.

07/28/2026

Conference season is here! We have several upcoming conferences which are still looking for presentations, and many are already booking for next year!

07/16/2026

Attention BIG SKY Negotiators!

FREE Crisis/Hostage Negotiation Course - Level II (Intermediate)
November 2-6, 2026
Helena, Montana
Hosted by: Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office

What a great opportunity to get a free intermediate course. It's an anomaly, for sure and well worth the travel to get there. You will have great instructors, a solid curriculum and a great deal of fun to boot. Speaking of boots...maybe bring some. And a warm jacket. And if you are lucky, your skis.

Montana is beautiful in early November as the first flurries are making their appearances during mostly sunny weather.

A qualifying 40-hour basic course is a pre-requisite to attend this course. Be prepared to provide a certificate of completion before your registration is accepted.