Hostage Negotiation example essay topic

Hostage and barricade incidents are amongst the most difficult, emotional, and sometimes potentially lethal situations that a negotiator can be involved in. Often, the hostage taker shows signs of mental illness, drug or alcohol intoxication, or personal disputes accompanied by a high level of emotion. (Feldmann) These contributing factors lead to impulsive and often unpredictable behavior on the part of the hostage taker. It is sometimes impossible for negotiators to anticipate possible outcomes and complications that could arise from these incidents. Negotiators use a wide variety of tools, information, and strategies to try and resolve whatever grievances and demands the perpetrator is exhibiting. The main focus on the part of the negotiator is to keep the hostage alive, then try to negotiate a surrender.

There is a considerable risk to both the victims and law enforcement when dealing with a hostage situation. (Feldmann) This paper will identify and distinguish several high risk factors that negotiators and law enforcement use to extinguish potentially lethal situations. The presence or absence of these factors can influence the outcome of a situation for the better or for the worst. Second, this paper will identify several motivations for hostage taking. Why and what would prompt an individual to take hostages?

Several influential and background reasons will be examined. Finally, some successful and also failed negotiations will be explored, with possible reasons and explanations to what factors made them either a success or a failure. Hostage negotiation is as much of an art as it is a science. The negotiator not only holds the lives of the victims in his hands, but the lives of law enforcement and the hostage taker as well. His persuasiveness and communication abilities have the power to protect and save lives. The Hostage Taker One of the most common reasons for a hostage taking situation is desperation.

The hostage taker feels desperate because of either what he has done or what he is doing. (De Fao) Taking a hostage is a split second decision usually made out of desperation. (De Fao) A person who is in the process of committing a crime, for instance a bank robber who has been surrounded or confronted by police, may resort to taking a hostage, or a person who has recently committed a crime and is running away from police is also a potential hostage taker. The most common hostage situations involve a subject who is holding someone with whom there was a romantic involvement, a family member, or someone whom they have had previous problems with. (Fuselier) Romantic involvement and love gone bad are often the emotional driver which leads the subject to lash out. These cases are also the most difficult to negotiate and unfortunately many of them often end in tragedy due to the delicate nature of the subjects emotional state.

The mood of the hostage taker often changes from depression to anger, these mood swings pose difficulties for negotiators because they have to keep changing negotiation strategies. (Fuselier) The third type of hostage taker is either a disgruntled employee or a student. Workplace violence can often be triggered by stress on the job, oppression from co-workers and boss, less than standard performance on the job. Often employees who feel that they do not fit in with the corporate culture experience multiple levels of stress from both the environment and co-workers.

(Feldmann) These intense stress levels often interfere with job performance, which lead to management reprimands, which increase the stress level. The disgruntled employee feels that he is spiraling downward and often blames others for his troubles. (Feldmann) These intense emotional levels often lead to a distorted sense of reality. If the subject is terminated from employment, anger is the stressor and sometimes violence is their way out.

(Feldmann) Gaining revenge takes over logical thought and tragedies occur. As far as students are concerned, the oppressed individual, who is often harassed by others, feels he has no other way out. The student expresses intense frustration with both the school and the oppressor. Revenge and murder are his motivators and bystanders become the hostages. What prompts a hostage taker?

Many different situations can trigger an emotional outburst. For the criminal, desperation is usually the motivator. Fear of going to jail either for the first time, or returning, is the main reason for taking a hostage. (Fuselier) The situation itself is also a trigger. For the person who takes either a family member or loved one, the motivation is different. Loss of a family life and fear of change often take over emotionally.

If a spouse is awarded custody of kids, possessions, and sometimes money, the subject experiences an emotional breakdown, which leads to irrational behavior. (Fuselier) Anger and jealousy are often the most common emotions felt by the hostage taker. The risk to these hostages is much greater due to the emotions involved. Also, the hostages have not bee taken as a mean to satisfy demands, but rather because the subject intends to murder them. (Fuselier) The disgruntled worker and the student often feel oppressed in some way either from peers or management. They are often looking to fill a void in their life, which ids usually lack of respect.

They believe that by resorting to violence, they can gain the respect that they lack. (VanZandt) Also, many employees feel that they do not have a voice in the company and that management does not care about their opinions and feelings. (VanZandt) High Risk Factors Although most hostage cases are not identical, they do share some common factors. These factors have been labeled? high risk? factors. The number of? high risk? factors present in an incident is directly related to the increased risk of a homicide being followed by a suicide. (Fuselier) Negotiators should be familiar with a number of high risk factors involving the background characteristics and behavioral patterns of the subject.

(Fuselier) Recognizing these factors and reacting correctly may make a difference in how the incident ends. (VanZandt) Background Characteristics? Most subjects share certain background characteristics. For example, many experience multiple stressor's. (VanZandt) In the case of the student and disgruntled worker, the subject feels outside pressure, whether real or imagined, such as not fitting in, being the outsider, and feeling unstable.

For others, financial problems are the stressor. A desire to live beyond ones means, bankruptcy, and loss of money can overwhelm an individual, leading him to take drastic action. (Fuselier) Family life can also be a stressor. Is there an ongoing battle with kids, wife, or parents? These problems lead to a highly unstable emotional level.

A disintegration of a relationship with either a wife or girlfriend also puts pressure on the subject. (Fuselier) The presence of drug and alcohol use also play an important part in determining the characteristics of an individual. Alcohol makes an individual agitated and intensifies emotional levels, but eventually the subject will tire out and become more predictable. (De Fao) Background stresses male dominance?

In many situations subjects have backgrounds that encourage male dominance. This factor contributes greatly to a subject's refusal to surrender. (De Fao) This characteristic is usually present in immigrants and minorities. (De Fao) Once the subject believes that he has? lost face? and that he could never again hold his head up in the community, he loses all regard for life. Hispanic heritage states that once a man loses his respect, he has nothing left. (Fuselier) Many individuals also feel caught between cultural beliefs, such as family roles, and the expectations of American society.

(De Fao) Previous problems and incidents with victim? Negotiators need to be especially wary of situations that involve subjects who have a history of similar incidents. For instance, if a subject has been previously charged with incidents of wife or child abuse, the risks and stakes intensify. (VanZandt) If the subject has a pattern of violent behavior they become more of a risk to both the victim and law enforcement. The victim is not a genuine hostage, but rather an intended homicide.

The victim was not taken to satisfy a demand, they were being held because often the subject intends to murder them and then take their own life. (Fuselier) These incidents are referred to as? pseudo hostage? incidents. The term hostage has been typically defined as? a person being held for the fulfillment of demands? In pseudo hostage incidents, the victims are clearly threatened and usually injured, but the subject makes no demands to police.

(Fuselier) The risk to the victims is considerably high and this is an incident that is not likely to end peacefully. Lacks family or social support? Individuals who are involved in these types of hostage situations many times lack family or social support systems. This lack of support leaves the individual with no emotional outlets, which adds to their feeling of alienation and desperation. Negotiation Techniques When police find themselves faced with a hostage situation, one of the first things they do is to contain the perpetrator, evacuate the area and gather information on the subject. Police profiling is an important tool in beginning a negotiation, the more they know about the subject, the better they can negotiate a peaceful outcome.

Background factors such as parents (one parent, two parents, no parents), marital status, kids, abuse (was the subject abused in any way or has he been accused of abuse), and mental condition all play a volatile role in predicting the outcome of a situation. Once the subject has been profiled, police move on to making a connection with the perpetrator. This step takes a lot of time, but as Fuselier states, 'Time is always on the side of the negotiator. Sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something. '. He calls this approach 'dynamic inactivity' and predicts that given enough time, the criminal will eventually fall asleep, or the hostage may escape, or the criminal's anxiety level will drop to the point that he can be talked to rationally, or having ventilated his problems in the negotiation process, he will surrender.

(Fuselier) Negotiators try to develop a relationship with the subject in order to find out what has driven him to take a hostage, also to take the perpetrators mind off of the hostage and to focus on the negotiator. The negotiator tries to build a relationship of trust and respect with the subject in order to convince him to surrender. By making a connection with the individual and finding things in common, the perpetrator begins to trust the negotiator. Once a relationship has been established, the negotiator uses the proper techniques to try and diffuse the situation. If the hostage taker is a criminal, negotiators try to shed light on other aspects of the situation instead of the crime.

For instance, negotiators use family and kids to try and calm the subject. They reason that a loved one in jail is better than a dead loved one, and try to focus attention on the positives of life rather that the crimes committed and consequences. (Fuselier) Sometimes negotiators may even bring in family members such as a mother, daughter, or wife if they feel this approach can give them an edge. A loved family member can often change a mood from sour to positive and family members also give the perpetrator lost hope. (De Fao) Another technique used by law enforcement is to bring in a psychologist to try and interpret the meaning of what the perpetrator is saying, and has said. Also the psychologist can sometimes predict the future actions of the subject and advise negotiators on how to handle the situation.

Communication, trust and respect are the most reliable and dependable tools that negotiators use. (Fuselier) When negotiations fail When a situation become either too intense, or law enforcement feels the negotiations are not going in the right direction, more aggressive measures are taken. (Fuselier) The FBI and command leader have authority to abandon negotiations and send in the SWOT team. When most or all of the high risk factors are present, and the perpetrator shows no signs of surrender, either the SWOT team will take over or the sharpshooters will be given the go ahead. (Fuselier) Usually the SWOT team is on alert during intense situations such as children, schools, and large amounts of people being held hostage. Before law enforcement takes action they must consider if the action being taken is both legally and ethically acceptable.

(Fuselier) In 1993, during a standoff with branch Dividians in Waco, Texas the FBI abandoned negotiations in favor of more aggressive measures. Tear gas, tanks, and armed agents stormed the Divi dian compound. After the smoke cleared, 80 followers perished including infants, young children, and mothers. Conclusion The risk to victims and law enforcement in a hostage incident can vary considerably, depending on either the presence or absence of many factors, including background factors, mood, and intent of the perpetrator. That perceived risk, as well as the risk involved in a particular tactical option, should be the primary considerations in an on-scene commander's decision to authorize a more aggressive approach.

Before any decisions are made, the on-scene commander should evaluate the presence of high-risk factors, consider all other intelligence available, and combine this information with the assessments made by both the negotiation and tactical teams. This combined information will assist in differentiating between a genuine hostage situation, and a pseudo-hostage situation. The success or failure of the situation ultimately lies in the persuasive and communication abilities of the negotiator.

Bibliography

1. Feldmann, Theodore: Hostage Negotiation Research. Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences: University of Louisville school of Medicine: Jan. 15, 20012.
com 3. American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry: Psychiatric consultation to police hostage negotiation teams: Volume 19, 1998, p.
27-444. VanZandt, Clinton: Hostage / Barricade Situations: Special operations Unit Training Manual: FBI Academy 5. De Fao, Janine: Hostage crisis calls for an artists touch: Sacramento Bee: Sunday, March 5, 1995: 6.