Crisis Negotiations Team (CNT)

An integral part of the Georgia State Patrol SWAT Team is the Crisis Negotiations Team (CNT). It is the negotiators’ responsibility to insure that all avenues of resolution are explored prior to any tactical action being taken in a given situation. Negotiators work in unison with the State SWAT Commander to coordinate possible successful courses of action and to put plans into motion. Negotiators on the CNT will often serve as a life line between a suspect and the outside world. Successful negotiators are very good listeners. What a negotiator says can make a difference between successful resolution and tragedy.

Negotiators on the GSP Crisis Negotiations Team are expected to carry themselves in a professional manner at all times. As already stated, a good negotiator is a good listener. However, there are many other traits that are essential in performing this function well. There is no substitute for utilizing good common sense. Common sense dictates our judgment and actions (or inactions). Successful negotiators possess strong interpersonal skills and in time, can learn to “read” people by their actions, words, and other non-verbal clues. It is also helpful for negotiators to practice empathy, especially when dealing with emotionally charged situations in which someone has suffered some sort of loss in their life. Probably as important as anything else, negotiators must be able to remove themselves from a given situation, thinking and acting logically and objectively, without excitement and emotion.

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