Negotiations with Abnormal and Deviant Behaviors

Core Course Objective: Instructor and class participants will define atypical behaviors, discuss societal normality behaviors, mental health detention, sexual deviant behaviors, intrusive thoughts, suicide attempts, and more. This course will allow law enforcement officers to gain insight to mental health persons or emotionally disturbed persons while in the field and how to properly approach a person in crisis, identify possible needs, when is it appropriate to [detain] or utilize a mental health professional.

The Mental Health Initiative 2024 reflects a proactive shift towards mental health approaches. The most common mental illness is bipolar disorder, major depression, and anxiety disorders. Suggested research states that the crisis is surrounding mental illness is on the rise as a direct result from multiple risk factors, leading to crisis, resulting in negotiations. Over the past 20 years, there is little research examining the literature surrounding negotiations/mental illness, however, recent findings suggest suicidality and mental illness are precipitating factors in more than half the events within negotiations. There is a significant research gap, suggesting further research that examines law enforcement responding or negotiations with a mentally disturbed person and best practices. There appears to be a cognitive bias when negotiating with the mentally disturbed as well as a lack of understanding of the risk factors of a specific illness.

Understanding sexual deviance has continuously been difficult to navigate, partly due to controversies of the very definition of sexual deviance creating lack of prevention not only within intervention programs but within basic communication. Everyone experiences sexual interest, however, the interest within sexual paraphilias displays an increase in the likelihood to act upon the interests.

Day 1: Deviant Behaviors

• Define atypical behaviors- behaviors that are undesirable, harmful to self or others, goes against societal norms or expectations of society.
• Common abnormal/atypical diagnosis- What is abnormal psychology? schizophrenia, schizoaffective, bipolar, antisocial personality disorders, sociopath, psychopath descriptions.
• Psychosis! Hallucination types, command hallucinations, stimuli
• Class discussion of mental health professional involvement/crisis teams including detainment or use of a DCR (Designated Crisis Responder) for grave disability, danger to self, danger to others, or danger to property. Class research and discussion for a mental health profession who has the ability to detain.  
• Suicide attempts or threats of suicide- suicide lethality, are there plans, means, or intentions? Suicide history of the individual- assessing for safety, are there resources offered? Class participants will be asked to spend a couple minutes researching basic resources in their area to become familiar.
• Basic needs- Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs- Food, Shelter, Water, Sleep
• Negotiations

Day 2: Sexual deviant behaviors

• Paraphilias, paraphilic & perversions- definition, class engagement on cases

1. Fantasy- need driven behaviors/stimulus
2. Voyeuristic Dx
3. Exhibitionistic Dx
4. Frotteuristic Dx
5. Sexual masochism Dx
6. Sexual sadism Dx
7. Pedophilic Dx
8. Fetishistic Dx
9. Transvestic Dx

• Class discussion, case studies and negotiations

Day 3 (.5)

• Class discussion on personal communities, what is considered normal in their communities, current issues that may cause atypical behaviors- substances (drugs or alcohol), environmental stressors.
• Personal self-care and coping skills for law enforcement officers
• Testing over abnormal behaviors!
• Negotiations