Introduction
The Special Firearms Command [SCO-19] are a group of officers that specialize in the use of firearms and the general removal of all firearms off the streets. These individuals are known as Authorized Firearms Officers [AFO’s] and are rigorously trained to conduct operations, professionally and effectively. Bank Robberies, Store Robberies, any major incident is commanded by SCO-19 and their highly trained team of negotiators.
Rank Structure & Responsibilities
SCO19 Division Command (DC) - The Division Command are the most senior members of SCO-19. They have the final say on all major decisions in regards to the division. They work closely with their command to ensure the professionalism and skill of all SCO-19.
SCO-19 Senior Specialist Firearms Officer (SSFO) - The role of an SSFO is to provide confidence and experience to ranks beneath them. They control all firearms officers and ensure that the tasks set by command are completed. There are a maximum of 2 SSFO’s and they control a team each.
SCO19 Specialist Firearms Officer (SFO) - SFO’s are the more experienced out of the SCO-19 AFO’s, they follow the orders from their SSFO’s. In this position, you’re eligible to take on Phase 3 Firearms Training and can patrol with an unmarked unit if approved by an SSFO.
SCO19 Authorized Firearms Officer (AFO) - Upon entry to SCO-19 this is the first rank you will obtain, you will be attached to the response team with a Phase 2 Firearms and provide on demand SCO-19 assistance when required.
Negotiations
All SCO-19 officers undergo SCO-19 Negotiations Training. Upon completion of this course, you are declared a negotiator and have the option to take over negotiations if necessary. SCO-19 are the ONLY divisions that are allowed to take negotiations and if a SCO-19 officer is not present the highest rank can take over.
SCO-19 Teams
FOXTROT (SSFO)
Foxtrot team are the FRONT entry team at any major situation, it is ran by an SSFO and the team are expected to take the majority of the force in most situations, foxtrot team actively use shields and stun devices to their advantage
BRAVO (SSFO)
Bravo team are the BACK entry team and act mostly as a maneuver team for foxtrot. They sneak around the back or utilize alternative entries to a building to mitigate a threat the potentially is focused on foxtrot team.
negotiations
SCO-19 negotiators can be required in a multitude of situations and are normally the first officer
to make contact with the suspect in the ongoing situation. In a case where firearms are not
present, any MPD Negotiator Trained individual can take negotiations if there is not an SCO-19
available or with their permission. This is due to the high risk when dealing with suspects with
firearms and it is not suitable for other officers to take on that risk. Simply put, when firearms are
present, a specialist trained negotiator must take over.
Negotiators are required in situations similar to:
- Bank Robbery
- Store Robbery
- Hostage Situation
- Suicidal Individual
SCO-19 are almost always in charge of all of the above situations and regardless of the rank of
the officer, they must adhere to the negotiators judgement even if they disagree with it.
How to negotiate:
The are 1 million and 1 different ways to speak to a suspect and it’s vital the almost instantly,
you achieve mutual respect in the situation. Disrespecting the suspect or getting into a shouting
match can escalate the situation out of the control of the police and could result in loss of life.
The PROVEN and best way to negotiate is the HARD way. This doesn’t mean be aggressive
with the individual, it simply means that you set a baseline out from the beginning that you are in
control of the situation and threats do not bother you. An example of this is as follows:
Suspect: “I want 100k for the hostages life”
Negotiator: “Well that’s not going to happen, I can give you 30k and not a penny more”
Immediately setting this level gets into the head of the suspect and they will immediately feel out
of control of the situation and will want to get out of said situation as fast of possible. This allows
you to now give terms of negotiation that will benefit the Met. I.E - No seconds free passage
Introducing yourself:
When arriving on scene its very important for you to announce yourself correctly. ALL negotiators must follow the below protocol: scene and making first contact with the suspect, you me “Hello, Sir/Ma'am, I’m [Rank+Name] with the metropolitan police, I am a qualified negotiator, please explain the situation”
Collecting Information:
ASAP you want to start gathering information about your scene to build a picture up on how to approach. When negotiating you should check off this list:
- Are there any hostages?
- Proof of life?
- Are the suspects armed?
- What do they have?
- Do they appear to be mentally unstable?
- Does NHS need to be on standby?
- Are the suspects erratic?
Once you have gained this information it allows you to approach with confidence in the following steps. Obviously the suspects can lie about certain factors and it’s extremely important to discretely obtain as much information as possible.
Example:
“Do you have a vehicle? And how many seats do you need?”
This is a common question to ask in order to find out how many suspects are inside the building without them directly telling you. There are other types of questions that you can ask to the same effect.
Controlling the situation:
Suspects will always try to make the situation alot easier for them and as a negotiator you don’t
want to make it obvious what your main pieces on the chessboard are. For example, don’t tell
them NPAS are standing by and Interceptors are round the corner.
Below are demands that no matter what, you should never give into:
- Officers holstering their weapons
- Officers must leave the scene
- Marksman must move
- SCO-19 must leave
- Every officer must stand where the suspects can see them
By giving into these demands, you lose control over the situation. These demands lower the
defence of the scene and increase risk to life of all involved and the general public. Negotiating
can be a very stressful position to uphold but its vital that you maintain communications
between SCO-19, Patrol and all other divisions on the ongoing scenario.
Determining an outcome:
Every situation eventually comes to a head, as NOGO trained you need to be able to tell when
the suspect is likely to call negotiations off or make a dramatic move to swing the situation. In
EVERY single scenario the desirable outcomes are as follows:
- Hostages Secured ALIVE
- Ensuring safety of everyone on the scene
- Ensuring no casualties on either side
- Securing all suspects, ideally alive
Obviously not every scene is the same and it’s never going to be the perfect outcome but hold
this in your mind throughout the whole period of negotiations.
Resources Available:
As the negotiator, you have a large amount of resources available to you in order to maintain
control of the scene.
- NPAS
- SCO-19
- SCO-19 Marksman
- Response Team
- Interceptors
- Money
Becoming a negotiator makes you the scene commander. When you take on this role, you have
disposal of the entire police force and its key that you utilize it correctly.
Basic rules:
1. As the negotiator you can not be harmed by the people you are negotiating with until
negotiations are called off.
2. When negotiating be sure to act professional and maintain a level of control
3. As the negotiator you will have full jurisdiction over the scene and will be able to
coordinate the police on scene how you see fit.
4. After negotiations have concluded you are to search the hostage and they can only
leave when you give them permission.
How you should be conducting yourself:
1. Always stay calm
2. Always maintain a confident demeanor when talking.
3. Do not resort to any sort of insults towards the suspects. Stay professional
Rules for breaching:
1. You MUST call negotiations off before any breaching or engagement with the suspect
2. When coordinating a breach try to use more non-lethals however if it is guaranteed that
they will shoot on sight you must do what is necessary to protect life
3. If the hostage is to be harmed or killed breaching can commence.
4. If you see a sufficient window to breach in order to save the life of the hostage then you
may call of negotiations, EG, the hostage is unsupervised while the robbers are talking.
5. When negotiations are called off you CANNOT reopen negotiations.
Negotiation offers:
1. You are NOT allowed to give any government issued police weapons, cars, helicopters
etc, in a negotiation.
2. You are NOT allowed to give any illegal items in negotiations.
3. When negotiating be realistic and don't give the suspects absolutely anything, it must be
in reason. No misconduct [Singing/Dancing etc]
4. When something is promised by the negotiator it MUST be followed .
5. When giving “Free Passage” if they don't say a distance then the suspect can be tazed
once vehicle has been entered.
6. For money demands check below ↓