Preparing for the Crisis Caller

When the phone rings and the person on the other end indicates that they are in a crisis, you must be ready to intervene. Even if that person is the only one that believes they are in crisis, you must respond appropriately. If he is hinting that he may take his own life, you need to know his true intentions. How do you confirm this? Contrary to a belief that many have, you must simply ask the person “Are you having thoughts of Suicide?” You cannot implant the idea of suicide by asking this critical question. At this moment, we in Law Enforcement need to put away our “Joe Friday” mode and remember we are human beings. You must convey to your caller that you care, you want to listen, and you can help. At this moment it is not our mission to solve every problem that our caller has. You must strive to return this person to a normal functioning level by lowering their emotional level and raising their rational level. That is why time is so critical when dealing with highly emotional callers in crisis. Time reduces stress and anxiety, while it allows rationality to increase. Time also allows you to gather intelligence for better decision making, if a tactical approach becomes necessary. We are not the miracle workers as sometimes portrayed on television. We are however, human beings capable of expressing concern and empathy for another human being who is obviously in pain. A pain not often easily identified, but a pain that is very real to them. Empathy will imply our willingness to try and understand what this person is experiencing. We cannot, and should not say “I know exactly how your feel”, because many times we have not experienced exactly what this person is experiencing. When a person’s emotional level is elevated and their rational level is lowered, they are not usually performing at their “Normal Functioning Level”. Through our concern and compassionate efforts we should attempt to return them to that desired level. At that time perhaps, they will accept assistance from a Mental Health professional or without further incident allow a police officer to approach them. If law enforcement is insistent on approaching a person in a crisis state who has the means to hurt himself, and is not yet ready to accept help, it creates a very dangerous situation. It may result in a dead caller, a dead police officer, or both. That is why it is so critical to train call takers/dispatchers in Crisis Intervention and Crisis Negotiations. If the dispatcher has made telephone contact with this person and begins to establish trust and rapport, police agencies should allow the dispatcher to continue their effort and perhaps assist them with a secondary trained negotiator.

Whether you are dealing with a suicide caller, a barricaded person, or even some hostage takers, the best way to accomplish your mission of a safe resolution is to convince the caller that you care and that they can trust you to help them. For the person in crisis that called, you should strive to convince them that calling you was a positive step toward solving their immediate problem. You should attempt to obtain the caller’s name and give them your name. Referring to yourself as Dispatcher #14, does not convey a sense of personal care and concern. You should attempt to bond with the caller through areas of commonality and the skillful use of Active Listening Skills. Areas of commonality might include things you have in common with your caller, such as similar life experiences, family settings, age, hobbies, and interests. As you continue the conversation with this person remember that emotions, not reason are controlling your caller’s actions. Their normal coping mechanisms are not working. This crisis may be the result of a precipitating event that has occurred within the last 24 hours, an event that was simply too much for this person to deal with. Once again keep your mission in mind, and attempt to return your caller as close as possible to their “Normal Functioning Level”. Signs of initial success may include putting a weapon down, releasing a hostage, or a shift in conversation from emotional to rational.

Law Enforcement agencies believe they are being proactive when they train police officers as Crisis Negotiators. What about training the call taker/dispatcher, who is often the real first person on the scene of a crisis? Many times you will be the one that has initial contact with a person in crisis and can deliver immediate intervention. Wouldn’t it be advantageous for police agencies, to train their communication personnel in crisis negotiations? I would suggest that every call taker/dispatcher, should at least attend the PowerPhone Suicide and Hostage Negotiations classes (8 hours each).

The most critical skills you should learn and practice are referred to as “Active Listening Skills”. These skills are important to many calls that you receive, where listening and soliciting accurate information is essential. The following are “Active Listening Skills” that become the focus of every crisis negotiator:

Emotion Labeling: This skill is the first you would attempt to use in a critical conversation. You are simply identifying and labeling the emotion that you hear in your caller. When a caller is telling you how difficult their life is, and you hear them crying and obviously upset, be ready to respond. Respond to the emotion you hear, not the content. “You sound to me to be very upset.” When anger is very obvious, “You sound to me to be very angry”. This demonstrates to the caller that you understood and identified their emotion, and that someone is actually listening to them. Don’t tell them how they are feeling, but rather how they sound or seem they are feeling to you.

Paraphrasing: Simply repeat and summarize in your own words, the story that the caller just told you. You can initiate you statement by asking “Are you telling me …..? or Are you saying …?”  This skill also demonstrates that you have listened, understood and are able to repeat and verify the information you heard. Your actions and words help build rapport with your caller, which leads to a higher level of trust.

Reflecting/Mirroring: By repeating the last word or phrase the caller just stated, you can verify the information and let them know that you heard and understood them.

Effective Pauses: Most people are not comfortable with silence and will start to talk. These pauses are also used to emphasize something you have just said, or something you are about to say. We should be very cautious with emotional callers not to rapid fire questions at them. They do not have the ability to comprehend multiple questions and formulate a response.

Minimal Encouragers: When you are on the phone, eye contact and body language are obviously not effective tools of communication. Therefore sounds, words, and acknowledgements such as “Uh huh, OK, All right, Go ahead”, will accomplish a similar objective.

“I” Messages: Using “I” messages will allow you to tell your caller how their actions are making you feel when they say or do something. They also can tell the caller what they can do to help you. “I would feel so much better, if you would just put the weapon down”.

Open Ended Questions: These are questions that require more than just a yes or no or one word answer. They allow us to get the subject talking, bide for more time, and gain intelligence. We don’t want to ask questions that only solicit very quick responses.

These “Active Listening Skills” when used properly can greatly assist us in dealing with people in crisis. You can practice them on many other calls you receive, even those of less importance. I make every effort to use these skills whether faced with a crisis or listening to a friend tell a story. Remember, Active Listening Skills are learned skills and we can only become proficient if we practice them and use them in our daily call handling.

Consider this bizarre, yet real call that my department received a few years ago when I was a Patrol Sergeant. The call was a possible burglary in progress. At 2:30 AM an elderly gentleman thought he heard noises coming from the roof of his home, believing that someone was attempting to gain entry. Two patrols were dispatched and I responded to back up the responding officers. It was a fairly quick response, and the dispatcher had remained on the line with the caller. Upon our arrival, the dispatcher told the caller that we had arrived and were at his back door. The caller observed us, came to the door and began to tell us his story. We had not seen or heard anyone during our approach, but to our caller this was a very real call. He began to tell us that he is sometimes followed home and these people that follow him go up on his roof and listen to him. He told us that he knows they are up there when he feels the itching and burning sensations in his body. We all get callers like this lonely gentleman that we are obligated to respond to and investigate. This call was a great opportunity to practice my active listening skills and let this caller know that we cared about what was real and frightening to him, whether real or not, to us. (Oh how we amuse ourselves on midnight shifts.)

“You sound to me to be very upset about this Sir: .. So you’re telling me that you know they’re up on the roof when you feel the itching and burning sensation”. The patrol officers who responded with me found it quite entertaining and amusing. They were surprised by my approach and observed how it appeared to make the gentleman feel better, just believing that we cared. Isn’t that what we are supposed to be about? Shouldn’t we demonstrate concern for the people that call us in the midst of what they consider a crisis? This is a message that every caller should receive when they call us, even our “Frequent Callers”. Patience may also be a learned skill.

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