Hostages - Crisis Negotiations - Case Study Example

Hostages Crisis Negotiations Hostages Crisis Negotiations Introduction Crisis negotiation may be described as a law enforcement technique used to persuade individuals who are threatening violence, including hostage takers, barricaders, threats, stalkers, workplace violence or individuals threatening suicide (Romano, 2002). Hostage negotiation on the other hand is a subset which entails negotiating with a person or group of people with the aim of securing a release of one or more people held hostage. The subject has developed as the most significant development in police psychology and law enforcement over the past several years. Vecchi, Hasselt and Romano (2005) note that law enforcement agencies have been adopting negotiation strategies regarding their response to hostage/barricade situations, personal crises, kidnappings, and other incidences that critical since they came into being in 1973 after being introduced by New York City Police Department. This trend was preceded by the debacle of the 1971 Attica, New York riot of prisoners and Israeli athlete’s killings during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich Germany (Romano, 2002). Since then, several negotiation strategies have been developed for application in hostage situations, mainly based on problem solving methods to response, resolution and management of these incidences. The objective of this paper is to analyze a hostage negotiation scenario that is family-domestic in nature. Part 1 Hostage vs. Non-hostage Situations Vecchi, Hasselt and Romano reveal that significant confusion exists currently concerning the difference between a hostage and non-hostage situations (2005). They term hostage situations as those which involve taking an individual or group of person’s captive for tangible or “instrumental” reasons in which the suspect needs authorities or the police to meet certain demands (such as money, ransom, transportation etc). Under these events, the person taken captive is used as a means to achieve certain substantive goals (Strentz, 1986). This scenario has been common with the terrorist groups. For instance, the Al Shabaab terrorist groups based in Somalia have been taking foreign nationals hostage on their territorial waters for the purpose of getting ransom, and money in exchange for their release. In a non-hostage situation, an individual or group of people are taken captive for “expensive or intangible reasons. Under such situations, the suspect does not need the police or authorities (Vecchi, Hasselt and Romano, 2005). Here the captive is held by a suspect who is in highly emotional state such as jealousy, anger frustration among others, and usually as a homicide-to-be or victim. Vecchi, Hasselt and Romano (2005) give an example of one’s spouse captive due to extramarital affair. Following the distinctions as illustrated above, it is clear that Bradley’s case is a non-hostage situation. The fact being, he is holding his wife and the student’s captive out of shear jealously, anger and frustration putting him in a highly emotional state. This is mainly because he is feeling that his wife might be having an extramarital affair with her professor. This makes him even wonder if the child they are expecting is his or not. Furthermore it does not fall under hostage situation since there are no tangible demands such as ransom or money from Bradley (Romano, 2002). Crisis Stage According to Vecchi, Hasselt and Romano, a crisis occurs in four stages that are predictable: pre-crisis, crisis, negotiation/accommodation and resolution (2005). In the pre-crisis stage, an individual goes about his or her normal day to day routine, not knowing a problem or looming event. The crisis stage is the stage characterized low rationality, high emotions, and inability to manage a situation that is perceived to be of a serious threat. In this case, he tension and frustration increases due to antagonism and the individual not being able to deal with challenge using previous effective management skills. Vecchi, Hasselt and Romano (2005) note that it is during the onset of the crises stage that the police or mobile crisis responders are called upon to intervene. Accommodative/negotiation stage is where the suspect begins to “work through” the crisis and becomes receptive to suggestions and thinking better regarding solving the situation (Vecchi, Hasselt and Romano, 2005). In this stage, emotional intensity lessens and there is a shift towards more productive ways of solving problem. The resolution stage is the final stage which involves working out of an acceptable solution geared towards abating the crisis. This stage results in the individual experiencing renewed stability and state of equilibrium. Based on the four stages described, it is apparent that Bradley is at a crisis stage. This is because he is highly emotional and is not able to cope with the problem at hand that is perceived to be a serious threat. This is evident as he screams at the background threatening that no one should leave the room until he works out issues with his cheating wife. It is also a crisis stage as negotiators are called upon to solve the issue (Romano, 2002). According to my opinion, the incident is negotiable. This is so because, despite the fact that Bradley is under a lot of stress and anger, he can still be talked to for him to sober up. The process may involve buying time. Romano (2002) asserts that buying time is greatest negotiator’s ally. The passage of time will help reduce stress and levels of emotions and set stage for realizing target of intervention crisis. Under law enforcement circles, time buying is termed as the verbal containment or process of keeping the suspect in crisis “occupied” through ongoing negotiations with the negotiator. Part 2 In part two of the incident, Bradley seems to have made a raft of instrumental demands. This acts as pre-condition for which would lead to the release of captives. Instrumental demands include food, alcohol and a promise that he is not going to be jailed. Bradley demands food as a precondition for the release of the five students. This is meant to keep him stronger as he might have been feeling hungry in the room. He also demands s alcohol to quench his thirst being that he is an individual who likes drinking a lot. Finally, he demands an assurance that after releasing the five students, he will not be subjected to imprisonment by the authority. Regarding the situation Bradley is at, being promised no imprisonment would be more important than the others. This is mainly because; things like food and alcohol are things that he may get immediately upon being set free by the authority. In this regard, in case he is promised this, then he is more likely to release the five students as he demands as opposed to providing him with food and alcohol. Crisis Stage In the second part of the crisis, Bradley now has reached the accommodation/negotiation stage as noted by Vecchi, Hasselt and Romano (2005). This is because, he has now started to work through the crisis and is willing to talk and receptive to suggestions that may lead to resolving the problem at hand. This is evident as he can now stay longer on phone and begins to ask questions regarding the problem. Regarding Bradley’s demand for alcohol as a way of securing release of the captives, I would surely provide the alcohol if that is what it takes to save the captives. This is because; the main aim is to save lives of others (McGeorge, 1983). As a result, I would do everything possible to ensure that he gets the alcohol he wants in exchange for the release of the captives. However, the alcohol will also be provided under strict terms and conditions. Before giving out the alcohol that Bradley demands, I will ensure that the alcohol is given out just as he releases the students to bar him from refusing to let the students go. Moreover, I will handle the demand with a lot of caution. This involves ensuring that the Bradley is persuaded to ensure that no harm would be caused as a result of taking alcohol (McGeorge, 1983). Part 3 Any negotiation held with the suspect under a crisis is aimed at bearing fruit (McGeorge, 1983). In the case before us, after three hours of negotiation, and some of the demand having been met, Bradley was expected to release the captives. However, this is not so as none has been released or injured. As a result, it is better that some other tactical skills that may secure the release be employed. I however, disagree with the thinking of command making a tactical assault as a means of solving the situation. This is so because, report shows that none of the captives have been injured. Making an assault in my opinion may anger the Bradley to an extent that he may consider killing captives, which is not a good strategy at this stage. The strategy can only be used as the last resort when all have failed (McGeorge, 1983). What I would do as a negotiator to help the tactical team is to ensure that precipitating events are identified. These are the last triggers which drew the person into the crisis. Identifying precipitating events are vital in establishing the groundwork for solving of problems. This is because it will assist in identifying the conflict that needs to be resolved during the process of negotiation. As a result of the initial high levels of emotionality, the individual in crisis more than often get confused regarding the impact of the precipitating event. Nevertheless, these are the tools that may be used by negotiating team to resolve the crisis and must be clearly identified and focused upon in negating a crisis. This would ultimately help calm down Bradley, thus release the captives (McGeorge, 1983). In conclusion, one is required to use proper negotiation strategies in order to secure the release of captives, be it in a hostage of non-hostage situation. References McGeorge, H. J. (1983). Plan carefully, rehearse thoroughly, execute violently: The tactical response to hostage situations. World Affairs, 146, 59-68. Romano, S.J. (2002). Personal Communication. Crisis Negotiation Unit, Critical Incident Response Group. Quantico, VA: FBI Academy. Strentz, T. (1986). Negotiating with hostage-taker exhibiting paranoid-schizophrenic symptoms. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 14, 12-17. Vecchi, G.M., Hasselt, V.B., & Romano, S.J. (2005). Crisis (Hostage) negotiation: Current strategies and issues in high-risk conflict resolution: Aggression and violent Behavior. October, 533-551. Read More