Hostage and Suicide Negotiation Fundamentals Training

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate an understanding of the principles and phases of hostage and suicide negotiations.
• Apply effective communication techniques, including active listening and empathy, during negotiation scenarios.
• Analyze the psychological dynamics of perpetrators and victims in crisis situations.
• Evaluate the legal and ethical considerations relevant to hostage and suicide negotiations.
• Implement de-escalation strategies and crisis intervention techniques to resolve incidents safely.
• Design a negotiation plan incorporating risk assessment and multi-agency coordination.

Target Audience

This course is designed for law enforcement officers, security personnel, emergency responders, and mental health professionals who may be involved in crisis negotiation situations.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment

Course Outline

Practicals

Overview

Practicals are essential to develop hands-on negotiation skills through realistic role-plays and simulations. Learners practice active listening, de-escalation, and decision-making in controlled scenarios, receiving immediate feedback to refine their techniques.

Practical Activities

• Basic Communication Drills — Learners pair up to practice active listening, paraphrasing, and open-ended questioning in short crisis role-plays. (8h)
• Suicide Intervention Simulation — Learners conduct a simulated suicide intervention with a role-player exhibiting suicidal behaviour, applying crisis assessment and de-escalation techniques. (8h)
• Hostage Negotiation Scenario — Teams manage a simulated hostage-taking incident, including initial contact, demand management, and resolution coordination with tactical elements. (10h)
• Complex Multi-Subject Crisis — Learners handle a complex scenario involving multiple subjects with diverse backgrounds (e.g., mental illness, substance abuse, cultural factors) requiring adaptive strategies. (10h)

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course via daily exercises, scored practical assignments, and a final summative test at the end.

Practical Assignments — 30%

Practical assignments are observed and scored against a rubric during the practical sessions. Each delegate's practical mark is averaged into a single 100% score and contributes 30% to the final total.

Daily Exercises — 20%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 20% to the final total.

Final Test — 50%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 50% to the overall mark.

Final Total

Component	Out of	Weight
Practical Assignments (rubric-scored)	100%	30%
Daily Average (multiple choice)	100%	20%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice)	100%	50%
Final Total	—	100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

How it works

• Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
• Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
• You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
• If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.

Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates	Discount
5	3% off
10	6% off
15	9% off
20	12% off
25	15% off
30	18% off
50	30% off
75	35% off
100	40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.