ABSTRACT

Critical incidents are events that benefit from expert engagement in order to maximise an effective and safe resolution for all involved, such as the engagement of trained negotiators who have expertise in effective communication during critical events. This chapter provides a summary of what is known about critical incidents in secure forensic services, addressing motivation, function and protective factors and linking this to theory, where possible, concluding by outlining in brief some management considerations. Petherick and Turvey (2008) note that determining the motivations for critical events is crucial to inform learning from such events and to manage future incidents, especially as the actual motivations might be concealed and not explicit. There is certainly value in considering motivations, functions, barriers to engagement and protective factors associated with critical incidents as a means of approaching the management of these incidents and what might be maintaining them.