A hostage situation is a law - enforcement bad - case scenario , because it places innocent civilian direct in hurt ’s way . Armed treatment becomes very risky , since the hostages themselves can be harmed either by isolated bullets or by the hostage - takers . That makes the dialogue the most significant aspect of any surety crisis . A skilled treater must feel out what the surety - taker want , who he or she is and what it will take to achieve a peaceable resultant , all while secure the safety of the surety and other bystanders .
Ideally , a hostage situation ends with everyone walking away ( albeit with some of them in cuff ) . In this clause , we ’ll find out what happens on the scene of a hostage negotiation , how a negotiator convey the business done and what it take to become a professional surety treater . We will also take a look at the psychology of hostage - takers and hostages .
The Hostage Situation
Although surety site can variegate greatly based on the motivations of the hostage - taker and the exact consideration surrounding the incident , there are some basic fact that apply to all surety spot .
Hostage situation move through several distinct phase :
There is also a post - incidental stage in which the effects of the incident wager themselves out . These effects can include change in the status of the groups responsible for , shifts in the relationships between world governments or addition in security .
Now that we ’ve seen how most hostage situations are similar , we ’ll take a look at the way in which some hostage incidents differ from others .
Hostage-takers
One of the first thing a negotiator does when he or she arrives on the scenery of a hostage crisis is find out as much as possible about the hostage - taker . The most canonic question is : Why did this somebody take a surety ? There are a few common reasons .
Kidnapping is a anatomy of hostage crisis , but it does n’t resemble a typical surety place in which the surety - takers are barricade in a known area . abductor keep their surety in a unavowed fix , and communication is often one - way – the kidnappers tell the confidence what to do . As a result , there is n’t much negotiating .
disregarding of the hostage - taker ’s motivation , the basic element of negotiating remain the same . " You work to build a rapport and encourage them to bring about a peaceful conclusion . The same techniques are used whenever someone is in crisis , " say Lt . Schmidt .
In the next section , we ’ll find out what a treater does at the scene of a hostage situation .
The Negotiator Arrives on the Scene
At the scene of any hostage crisis , the two most important officials are thecommander , who has authority over the integral view and all the personnel involved , and thenegotiator , who communicates straight with the surety - taker . It is vital that these two stance are not held by the same person ( Antokol , pg.134 ) . The negotiant has to keep an accusative point of vista and stay on calm , both of which can be difficult if he or she is simultaneously take a shit command decisions . Also , one of the negotiator ’s most utilitarian tactics is to cause hold by tell hostage - takers that higher authorities must be consulted before a conclusion can be made or a concession offered . If the negotiator is the highest authority at the scene , this obviously wo n’t work .
The negotiator ’s first priority at the commencement of a negotiation is to gather entropy . A plenty of information will amount from other officers at the picture who have scouted the area or run background checks on the hostage - takers , but the negotiant can determine a good deal from the hostage - taker themselves . The negotiator must notice out who the hostage - takers are , why they are holding people hostage , what their demands are and who their drawing card is , if there is more than one . At the same time , the negotiant is paying near tending to the surety - taker ’s responses , mannerism and general posture so as to create a roughpsychological profile . This can give the treater some clue as to how the hostage - taker might respond to sealed position – a negotiator deals very differently with a depressed , self-destructive captor than with a cold , rational pragmatist .
Negotiator Objectives and Tactics
The master objective lens of a negotiator are :
Prolong the situation.
The longer a hostage spot lasts , the more potential that it will end peacefully . Tactics include stalling while an official with more office is confer , get deadlines push back , focusing the hostage - taker ' attention on detail such as what type ofairplanethey want and asking them receptive - ended questions rather than yes / no questions .
Ensure the safety of the hostages.
This means convincing the hostage - taker to allow aesculapian discussion or release for sick or bruise hostages , negociate the delivery of food and weewee and negotiating the passing of as many hostage as possible . aim some of the hostages out of the situation not only ensures their safe , but it also simplify the situation in the event that an armed assault becomes necessary . In summation , unloose hostages can provide invaluable information about the locations and habits of the capturer and the other hostages .
Keep things calm.
From the initial rape through the first hours of negotiations , hostage - taker can be extremely volatile . They ’re usually angry about whatever comprehend injustice has go them to take hostages , and they are fill with epinephrin following the excitement of their tone-beginning . tempestuous , excited hoi polloi withmachine gunsare not good for hostages . The negotiant should never reason with a surety - taker and never say no to a requirement . Instead , the negotiator should use delay maneuver or make a counter - offer . Above all , the treater should keep a overconfident , upbeat position , reassuring the hostage - taker that everything will eventually work out peacefully .
nurture the increment of human relationship between negotiant and hostage - taker and between hostage - taker and hostage .
The negotiator must seem credible to the capturer . That is , the negotiant must act like he or she understands the reasons for the surety - taker ’s action but still total across as strong – not just eager to please . The negotiator can also encourage activities that require cooperation and interaction between the captors and the hostage , such as send food and medical supply in bulk packages that have to be prepared . When the surety - taker gets to know the hostages and determine them as human beings , it becomes more difficult to carry through them . In a 1975 hostage repulsion on a train in Holland , a hostage , Robert de Groot , who had been pick out for dying , was give up after the terrorists heard him pray for his wife and children . Some of the hostage - taker cry , and two of them agreed to avoid a lethal shot when they pushed him out of the train . He rolled down an embankment unharmed , played dead and escaped a myopic while later ( Barker , pg . 33 ) . When the terrorists choose other hostages for slaying , they did n’t earmark prayer and defeat them quickly to keep off the emotional strain .
Next , we ’ll find out how negotiant balance hostage safety with political reality .
Making a Deal
At the get-go of a hostage crisis , the hostage - takers ' requirement are often unreasonable . They might ask for huge sums of money or for the outlet of grand of fellow terrorists from jails . Of of course , the negotiator ca n’t just give them anything they necessitate for , even if it would intend base hit for the hostage . The policies of any res publica involved , the ability to in reality develop the items being demand and the demand to confabulate with the situation commander and luxuriously - ranking political officials all limit what a negotiant can extend to the hostage - takers . Plus , if anyone who call for hostages immediately had all of his or her demands granted , the public would face one hostage crisis after another .
However , the negotiant can " chip off away " at the post by offering nonaged concession , such as nutrient and water system , promise of transport and media coverage . In return , the surety - takers can trade some of the hostages or some of their weapons or fit in to downgrade some of their demands . By continue this outgrowth , the treater can step by step damp the surety - taker ' office .
Most countries have prescribed policies regarding negociate with terrorist . However , these policy stir with fourth dimension , and they tend to be compromising depending on the situation . If the hostages are children or important political officials , even the most surd - line non - negotiating government might make an exception . In many cases , secret deals are made that allow the government to go for demands and spare the surety but maintain their public voiceless - line of business stance against giving in to terrorists ' demand .
Israel , the United States and Russia are all land that have a repute for nonindulgent non - negotiation policy . However , every policy is open to exception . One example is the 1985 highjacking of TWA Flight 847 . The Hezbollah hijackers demand the sacking of more than 700 Shiites who were in Israeli prison house . After a long ordeal , all the hostage were release ( except one American , who was off by the highwayman ) , and Israel released all 766 prisoners .
Not Making a Deal
Although reject to negotiate with terrorists is often a politically pop idea ( no one wants to " give in " to terrorists ) , it can be black . Even if the government has no intention of granting the demand , the process of negotiate itself is vital to achieving a peaceful resolution . Two of the most awful surety incidents in history ended in tragedy in large part due to Russia ’s outright refusal to negociate with Muslim Chechen separatists .
In October 2002 , armed terrorists took over a Russian field , jeopardise to blow it up if their demand for a Russian withdrawal from the Chechen part were n’t met by the deadline . The Russians expect several days before appointing an prescribed government envoy to lead the negotiations , and then decided to surprise the theater using " kayo accelerator pedal " instead of negotiating further . In the conclusion , 129 surety give way , almost all of them due to the poisonous throttle [ ref ] . Although wretched planning and a lack of right aesculapian charge has been blamed for the high death toll , further negotiations may have been able to slim down the telephone number of casualty .
Unfortunately , history iterate itself in 2004 , when Chechen separatist invaded the Beslan unproblematic school with an armory of guns and bombs . Again , the Russians fall back to an armed ravishment with tragical results . The hostage - taker float up the gymnasium where most of the hostage were being held . More than 300 hostages were killed , more than half of them child .
In contrast , France had a reputation in the 1970s and ' fourscore as a nation that was willing to negociate and make deals with terrorists . The result was that France became a prime target for terrorist attacks , and terrorist group that had agreements with the French political science regularly broke those agreement .
Next , we ’ll examine a case study of a surety negotiation .
Case Study: Princes Gate
In April 1980 , members of the Democratic Revolutionary Movement for the Liberation of Arabistan took over an embassy at Princes Gate in London , England . The terrorists took 26 hostages in their quest to liberate the Iranian state of Arabistan .
Negotiators kept the terrorists ' drawing card talking for three day , giving him medium reportage of his demands ( despite a botched reporting Book of Job by theBBCthat send him into a rage ) and winning the release of two inauspicious surety . They realise his confidence and stimulate him to loosen up several deadlines . They also observe him focused on the micromanagement of minuscule details , such as the case of bus he wanted , what kind of food to bring in and other nonaged matters .
Throughout the standoff , police were working to obtain intelligence service about the interior of the construction , a complex layout of government agency . selective information amount from free hostages , solid food deliveries and tv camera and microphone hung down chimneys or through walls .
unluckily , the terrorists executed one hostage ( reportedly because he argue the merits of Islam with them ) , which forced British forces into action . They combined a carefully plan violation with a distraction render by the negotiator . This was a breach of stock protocol – usually , negotiators are not recount when there is going to be an attack because it is too unmanageable for the treater to forfend giving anything aside through tone of voice or option of words . In this fount , however , keep the terrorist loss leader on the phone would keep him away from the windows , cave in the troops some extra time to get into the construction before the hostage - taker discover the onrush [ ref ] .
The ravishment was a relative success . The terrorists kill one hostage when they realized they were under attack , and the remaining hostages escape the construction alive . British forces killed five terrorist during the assault , including the leader , and arrested the sixth .
For a concluded business relationship of the hostage post at Princes Gate , seeOperation Nimrod : The SAS Assault at Princes Gate .
In the next section , we ’ll find oneself out how someone becomes a professional hostage negotiant .
Becoming a Hostage Negotiator
The path to becoming a professional hostage negotiant can be a winding one . There are training courses and certification , but an authoritative aspect of dealing with a crisis is experience . Someone fresh out of college could take every negotiator breeding form ever declare oneself and still not get a job as a negotiator . The bedrock of a treater ’s career is several years working as a law - enforcement officer ( whether with the police force department , FBI or other practice of law - enforcement group ) or in the military and dealing with crisis situations on a regular basis . " You hone your skills as an officer , because you talk to mass all the time . A lot of the hoi polloi you babble out to , while not in an ' official crisis , ' are in some kind of crisis position , " state Lt . Schmidt . " You learn a lot just from combat-ready listening and interact with people . "
A surety negotiant ’s education is never thoroughgoing . The FBI and other agencies put up repeat training seminars . The Cheektowaga Police Department ’s crisis negotiators have team up up with other law - enforcement agencies in their area to form an association that meets several sentence each year to proffer critiques , suggestions and support .
To explore one example of the training process for a hostage negotiator and find out what case of factors trainees are appraise on , see the Hostage Negotiation Study Guide 2003 rise jointly by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center .
For more information on hostage dialogue and related topics , check over out the link on the next Thomas Nelson Page .
