Crisis negotiations team (CNT)

The Anchorage Police Department Crisis Negotiation Team was formed in the 1980s and was originally called the “Crisis Resolution Unit”. The team has 14 members from all areas of the department to include Detectives, Patrol, and School Resource Officers (SROs). All of the team members are trained by the FBI and have successfully completed the 40-hour Basic Crisis Negotiation Course; many of them have also completed the CNT II 40-hour course. The CNT meets for training twice a month. Training can consist of responding to reality-based scenarios as well as focusing on active listening skills and debriefing prior incidents.

The team responds to situations involving barricaded subjects, hostages, suicidal threats, and/or mentally disturbed persons. Negotiators are not SWAT members and have a completely different skillset. CNT’s goal is always to talk to the involved person and convince them to surrender peacefully without SWAT having to use a tactical approach. CNT members are CIT-trained (Crisis Intervention Team) therefore they understand there is often a mental illness component in many of the incidents they respond to; CNT members are trained to address and deal with those factors.