To respond as appropriately as possible in the incidences of barricaded subjects or violent situations, effective communication must exist between police, special responders and department negotiators.  While agencies are often under pressure to resolve situations quickly, it is often the best approach to allow time for communication to work in these crisis situations. Hostage negotiators will likely be called to a scene when initial efforts by responding officers to resolve a critical incident have failed.

The effective resolution of these encounters is also dependent on the involvement of specially selected and trained mental health professionals who have expertise in crisis negotiation and familiarity with police operations.  State-level mental health agencies will likely know of individuals suited to this role.  These mental health professionals will be able to assist law enforcement in understanding the motivation for the incident, which is critical to defusing the situation.