Modern Crisis Negotiations
An advanced training course taught by current and highly experienced negotiators
Modern Crisis Negotiations
(16 Hours)
California POST Certified: #1345-20771 – Plan N/A
Need certification for your state?
As a crisis negotiator, everybody is counting on you to know the right thing to say to prevent a tragic outcome. But many negotiators feel unprepared to be in the hot seat when the stakes are literally life and death. At the Savage Training Group, our instructors are active-duty negotiators who teach simple concepts that actually work. Our Modern Crisis Negotiations course gives negotiators the confidence they need to save lives.
Our instructors are team leaders on a busy urban team, so they know exactly what works and what doesn’t. They’ll share with you what techniques and equipment they used last week, not 20 years ago!
Students Will Learn
- How crisis negotiators can become an indispensable asset to your agency
- How new use force and eavesdropping laws affect negotiators
- How the public duty and special relationships doctrine affect tactical decision-making
- Disengagement and re-engagement plans for barricade incidents
- Modern negotiating techniques including video chat negotiations
- National standard recommendations for negotiators
- …and much more.
You’ll see recent body-cam video of actual incidents and work through table-top scenarios all while our expert instructors guide you.
What this course is NOT:
- “Death by Power Point”
- A repeat of a basic negotiations course
- Dated debriefs and war stories
Students are saying:
“This course was not death by power point. It provided relevant tools we can use such as training ideas and laws. Excellent instructors and excellent course.”
— Sgt. Nicol Dudley, Napa County SO (CA)
“The instructors have empowered me with lessons and confidence that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.”
— Officer Ellen Dukanauskas– Fort Lauderdale PD (FL)
“Take this course! You won’t regret it. The instructors were knowledgeable and engaging and there was no death by Power Point.”
— Deputy Will Davis, Yuba County SO (CA)
“Learning from active police officers who are negotiators was phenomenal. I learned a ton and now I’m more confident to do my job.”
— Deputy Jakub Mejstrik - Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office (OH)
“Excellent course and instructors. Every hour of training was well worth the cost. The instructors challenge students to think critically about their jobs and responsibilities.”
— Ofc. P. Boehm – Fort Lauderdale PD (FL)
“Before taking this course I had a lack of experience and confidence. But now I have new insights and tools I can use. I’m now eager to negotiate and de-escalate a crisis. To anyone who is on the fence about registering I would tell them to attend because it’s worth it!”
— Deputy ZB, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office (CA)
“This isn’t your normal boring Power Point class. This class breaks that pattern. The instructors are very informative and taught me to be confident in my skills and current laws.”
— Detective Lauren Dukanauskas– Fort Lauderdale PD (FL)
"First-hand, real life experiences from the instructors made the learning environment easy to understand."
— Sgt. RC, Santa Barbara PD (CA)
Upcoming Presentations:
Hostage and crisis negotiators deserve a modern crisis negotiation course.
When a crisis is beyond the capabilities of regular patrol officers, crisis negotiators like you get the call. Are you prepared? We know you have limited training time and a million other things to do. We get it! Come spend two days with us learning what works and what doesn’t and leave the course with a whole new set of tools for your negotiation toolbox.
Your instructors:

Senior Instructor Donald Anderson is a current Lieutenant with San Francisco PD where he serves as the Officer in Charge of the Hostage/Crisis Negotiation Team and the Crisis Intervention Team. He has years of experience in patrol as well as supervising the 40-officer crisis negotiation team. He is a passionate and engaging instructor who is committed to sharing real-world experience with our students. More about Donnie

Senior Instructor James Tacchini is a Lieutenant with the San Francisco Police Department. He is a Team Leader on the department’s 40-member Crisis/Hostage Negotiation Team. He has previously served as a full-time Officer Involved Shooting investigator and is presently a Patrol Sergeant. He is a current practitioner as well as a highly-experienced instructor. More about James

Sergeant Elizabeth “Lily” Prillinger is an active-duty sergeant with the San Francisco Police Department. She is assigned full time to the Crisis Intervention Team and is a Team Leader with the department's 5o-person Hostage/Crisis Negotiation Team. More about Lily
Watch James Tacchini discussing Crisis Negotiations on the on the Shots Fired Podcast.