Lance Burdett: former police negotiator on the hunt for fugitive Tom Phillips’ two missing children

The race is on to track down the two missing children of Marokopa man Tom Phillips before the end of the day.

Phillips was shot dead earlier today by police, following a burglary in Waikato's Piopio.

Former police negotiator Lance Burdett says the fact they're children will make the hunt so much tougher for police. 

"They'll be panicking, probably,  and it's unpredictable. They won't stick to tracks and trails...so they could be all over the place."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fifty officers are involved in searching the area where they
believe the children are. Lance Burdette is a former police
negotiator and investigator and with US now. Lance, thanks very
much for joining US, Hi, Heather, how do you get
two children to come out?

Speaker 2 (00:13):
It's very difficult with children because they don't think logically.
And listening to Minister Mitchell there, he's right, we don't
know if they've made plans now after four years, I
suspect they have made plans that if there doesn't come
home what they should do, and again that's unpredictable what
they will be doing. So in situations like this, it

(00:35):
really is. They will have hopefully a child's psychologist there
on hand to talk to about child behavior and how
their brain thinks and stress situations. But they'll be afraid,
they'll be worried, they'll be panicking probably, and it really is.
It's unpredictable. They won't stick to tracks and trails like normal,
you know, like rational people would, so they could be

(00:55):
all over the place, So we just don't know. They
could also be hunkering down, which hopefully that is the case.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Jill Rodgers said they have got enough resources, which made
me feel reasonably confident that they think that they've got
this in hand.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Did it you, Yeah, it does. Fifty is a good
number for something like that's thirty five is a really
good number. Are too many officers actually get in the
way of each other and so having they'll have somebody
from Search and RISKUS, They've got search and rescue experts,
they've got human behaviorists, they'll have the Advanced Police Negotiation

(01:28):
Team there, and they'll have lots and lots of resources
and ability to keep the area contained and use experts.
Most of the expertises within police. They don't need them,
necessarily need the military unless there's a piece of equipment
not missing.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
Right, what happens if the worst case scenario plays out
on one of these children or both of these children.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Picks up a gun, well you just take it as
it comes. But you know, if somebody confronts the police
officer with a firearm, the automatic training is to go
and to use the firearm and audit that event. So
training will kick in, but hopefully that doesn't look at
that stage.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Lance, listen, thanks very much. I do appreciate your expertise.
It's Lance Burdett, former police negotiator and investigator.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
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