52:17B-4.16 Guidelines for law enforcement, barricaded individual.
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3. a. The Attorney General shall issue and revise as needed guidelines and procedures applicable to law enforcement encounters involving a barricaded individual. Any revision to such guidelines and procedures shall be in furtherance of the components and principles enumerated in subsection b. of this section.
b. These guidelines and procedures shall address, at a minimum, the following components and principles:
(1)Proper identification of situations involving a barricaded individual, including differentiating between situations involving a barricaded individual experiencing a mental health crisis that poses a health, safety, or welfare risk to the individual or others, and those situations involving a barricaded individual or hostage situation under circumstances that do not involve a mental health crisis. Appropriate protocols shall be established for dealing with those situations based on their differing nature. Protocols shall include proper circumstances for the use of conflict resolution through negotiating, communication through a mental health professional, or the engagement with a barricaded individual pursuant to the Attorney General Use of Force Policy;
(2)Initial responding law enforcement officers’ roles and responsibilities shall include ensuring that responding officers consider the barricaded individual’s primary language and, if communication is difficult, take reasonable steps to establish communication via the person’s primary language;
(3)Law enforcement de-escalation responses to barricaded individual and hostage situations, and interaction with individuals in behavioral and mental health crises, including crisis intervention, crisis negotiation, resolution techniques, and resolution tactics;
(4)Roles and responsibilities of supervisors, including establishing that it is the responsibility of the incident commander, absent exigent circumstances, to make the decision to employ resolution tactics or to enter a structure or area occupied by a barricaded individual, which decision shall be made after giving due consideration to all available alternative strategies and information, including that provided by the tactical commander, crisis negotiation team leader, and available mental health professionals;
(5)Proper coordination of activities between incident command systems and tactical teams, and providing that, when feasible, a law enforcement officer trained in crisis intervention shall respond to incidents involving barricaded individuals and assist in de-escalating the situation and recommending appropriate resources; and
(6)Appropriate role and use of mental health professionals, when available.
L.2025, c.243, s.3.