Hays County Crisis Negotiations Team Takes First Place In National Competition

Hays County Crisis Negotiations Team place 1st in Crisis and Hostage Negotiation Conference.

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Hays County Sheriff Gary Cutler and San Marcos Police Chief Chase Stapp are proud to announce that the combined Hays County Crisis Negotiations Team took first place at the annual Crisis and Hostage Negotiation Seminar and Conference held in San Marcos this past January 9- 11, 2017.

Over 30 teams participated including teams from Canada, Oregon, California, Florida, Kansas, and Missouri.

Every January, the School of Criminal Justice at Texas State University opens its doors to a number of Crisis and Hostage Negotiation teams from around the nation.

The conference & seminar is a three day event, consisting of a full day of classes which explore the latest issues faced by negotiators, as well as a two day training component involving mock hostage situations.

Classroom and training hours combined accredit participants with a total of 24 continuing education hours. This was Texas State’s 27th Crisis and Hostage Negotiation Seminar & Conference.

The competition between the hostage/crisis negotiators was a mock scenario in which the units needed to negotiate with a hostage taker and attempt to have him surrender without injury to the caller or others involved.

Hours of negotiations and intelligence gathering were needed to try and achieve a successful resolution.