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About the
Fort Worth Police Department
Fort Worth is located
within North Central Texas. In 1876, "Longhair" Jim Courtwright was given the
difficult task of policing this roaring cowtown. With his reputation as a scout, a performer in Wild Bill Hickock's Wild West
Show, and possessing a noted dexterity with firearms, Courtwright was able to give City Fathers what they wanted--a town where
money and liquor flowed, but where bloodshed was cut to a trickle. It was under Courtwright that a "police force" was created--the
authorization to fill two positions with men to assist him in his duties. A reputation went a long way in those days, and
Courtwright's reputation with a gun was enough to make many men think twice before trying something that might draw the Marshal's
attention. Reportedly as fast or faster than most famous gunmen of his time, Courtwright was able to reduce the number of
killings in Fort Worth to less than at any time before or since”
Today the Fort Worth
Police Department is broken down into six bureaus--Executive, North/West Field Operations, South/East Field Operations, Special
Services, Operational Support, and Administrative Services--the work is then further split into more specialized units. Each
unit within a division has a specialized area of expertise. The Fort Worth Police Department has 1,439 sworn personnel and
approximately 362 non-sworn personnel.
The patrol and general
investigation functions of the Fort Worth Police Department are organized in four geographical divisions (north, south, etc.). The specialized units of the Fort Worth Police Department include: K9, Mounted Patrol,
Air Support, SWAT, Fugitive Unit, Gang Unit, School Security Initiative, Downtown Bike Patrol, and the Intelligence Unit.
The Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team was first titled Tactical when the unit was established 1980. The primary function
of the unit has always been to handle all Special Threat Situations involving barricaded subjects, sniper incidents, hostage
situations, dignitary protection, and crowd control.
The secondary function of the
unit is to assist other units within the department in the control of Part I offenses. This goal is addressed by the targeting
of known criminals and affecting arrests for crimes in progress. Recently, another very important assignment was given to
the SWAT Section. The unit is now responsible for training all sections of the Fort Worth Police Department in dynamic entry
techniques for search warrant execution. The SWAT Section also provides other tactical training courses as needed.
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With 40 years of practice, and almost 25 years as a police officer James L.
Greenstone, Ed.D., has expertise as a police psychologist, a therapist, a teacher, an author, a police officer, a mediator
and negotiator, and as a consultant. The field of Crisis Intervention has been his focus.
For the better part of his career as a police officer, he has worked extensively in the field of hostage and crisis
negotiations. As a mental health professional and consultant, and as a trainer of negotiators, as well as a member of hostage
negotiations teams, he is knowledgeable about negotiator training, current practices in this area, dealing with suicidal and
barricaded subjects, negotiations techniques, team development, and team and negotiator interactions with police tactical
units. He has participated in numerous hostage, barricaded and suicidal situations, and has practical experience in all aspects
of hostage and crisis negotiations team functioning.
According to the book description
of On Policing: From Swords
Into Plowshares, “With each
passing day, tensions and crises
are becoming common occurrences in
our society. News media, social
media, blogs, and personal
discussions are escalating despair
and anxiety among the public as
catastrophes unfold. Law
enforcement in particular is being
scrutinized on how it handles these
situations. Policing needs to
evolve to handle modern-day crises,
but what’s the best method of
reform?
Colonel James L. Greenstone, EdD,
JD, DABECI, a current peace officer
and police behavioral health
specialist, believes the answer
lies in thorough crisis-management
and de-escalation training for
police officers. Although this area
of expertise is typically
overlooked in police academies, Dr.
Greenstone makes a hard case for it
to be systematically reinforced.
It’s not enough for officers to
respond to situations; they also
need to know how to de-escalate
them and also to be held
accountable for ongoing standards
of practice.
Filled with thought-provoking
assessments and discussions on
training, this vital resource
defines policing principles and
outlines the crisis-management and
negotiation skills needed by
officers to better service the
public and protect themselves in
the field. These detailed tools and
techniques emphasize and expand on
current concepts that will be
invaluable to law-enforcement at
all levels of service and
administration."
According to the book description of, The Elements of Disaster Psychology: Managing Psychosocial Trauma-an Integrated Approach
to Force Protection and Acute Care, “This book is design to aid in practical, day-to-day, on-the-scene disaster
response and crisis intervention. The elements are basics of any discipline and
knowledge of them is critical to achieving success. The Elements of Disaster Psychology focuses on those basics that are
needed by crisis and disaster responders in the field by providing an integrated approach to force protection and acute care. The presentation is ordered in such a way as to provide quick and easy access to the
information needed from the initial deployment, to final debriefing.”
Dr. James L. Greenstone’s book, The Elements of Police Hostage and Crisis Negotiations, “is designed for
day-to-day, on-the-scene use. It is a practical handbook for experienced professionals and novices that can also be used as
a supplementary textbook for criminal justice, crisis intervention, and psychology coursework. Each chapter contains useful
checklists, procedural notes, tables, strategy worksheets, and forms, and the book includes special indices for quick reference
in addition to a traditional index. The book examines the negotiation process from start to finish, including pre-incident
preparations, first response responsibilities, responding to the call-out, arriving at the scene, preparing to negotiate,
making contact, preparing for the surrender, post-incident tasks, preparing equipment, and more.”
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