NCJ Number
80881
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
In this videotape, Morton Bard, an expert in crisis intervention and conflict management speaks to an audience of police management personnel who will be developing training programs in crisis intervention for police officers.
Abstract
Bard describes the similarities between a police officer and a physician to illustrate his concept of crisis intervention. Crisis is portrayed as a turning point which gives a person the opportunity for change. When a person is in crisis, all psychological defenses are down and the person is accessible to authoritative intervention from the police. Police are confronted with crisis daily in their jobs and so must develop the techniques to handle it more effectively. Examples are given of how crisis situations should and should not be handled. A distinction is made between the one-time crisis call and chronic crisis calls. Effective intervention includes diagnosing the situation, evolving a treatment plan, developing a prognostic outcome, implementing the treatment plan, and making an effort to determine the outcome. Bard also discusses the potential problems of having police personnel and social service personnel working together to develop and implement effective crisis intervention and conflict management training programs. It is emphasized that each profession's skill and knowledge should be respected.