NCJ Number
143336
Date Published
1993
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video dramatizes methods for police to use in intervening in domestic conflicts, with suicidal individuals, and in hostage-taking situations.
Abstract
In the domestic disturbance portrayed, a husband is angry at his wife because she did not have dinner ready for him when he came home from work. He had been drinking with friends at a local bar and had some more beers when he came home. As he argued with his wife, he was waving a kitchen knife in his hand. He neither hit nor threatened his wife. Fearing a dangerous escalation of the conflict, the wife called the police. The crisis intervention techniques used by the police on this occasion were designed both to protect themselves and de-escalate the crisis. The officers parked down the block from the house so as not to be observed and then announced themselves at the door. They were cautious but not aggressive when entering the house. They separated the parties in the conflict, with one officer talking to the wife and the other to the husband. Each of the officers kept the other officer in sight during the separate conversations. The officers listened to each of the parties and asked questions designed to determine whether or not the situation posed a danger to either of the parties. The officer who interviewed the husband listened to his complaints against his wife and empathized with his frustration, but he made clear to the husband that his temper must be controlled so as not to frighten nor intimidate his wife. The officers left with the situation defused. An officer was called to go to the home of a man who had talked about suicide; the caller was a friend of the suicidal man. When entering the home, the officer found the man sitting on a couch with a knife in his hand. The officer first convinced the man to put the knife down, and then the officer took possession of it. The officer encouraged the man to talk about his intent to commit suicide and the reasons for it. The officer provided a short-term de- escalation of the crisis and a referral for services. Guidance is also provided for how to approach a hostage situation.