Crisis Negotiation Research Articles

Hostage-Taking in the Context of Domestic Violence: Some Case Examples

Initial reports of domestic violence are generally made to law enforcement officers who must respond and intervene. A subset of these episodes involves cases in which the victim, and, in many instances her child(ren), have been taken hostage by her husband or partner. Moreover, there are indications that the number of such incidents is growing. The purpose of this project was twofold: (1) to provide one of the first reports on the prevalence and characteristics of these events, and (2) to more closely analyze domestic crisis (hostage) situations using actual case examples. All information was obtained from the Hostage Barricade Database System (HOBAS) of the FBI’s Crisis Negotiation Unit. HOBAS is a postincident information collection tool which stores historical data from law enforcement agencies across the nation on hostage/barricade incidents. An examination of this database yielded different types of domestic hostage-taking acts and outcomes (e.g., tactical vs. negotiated resolutions, survival vs. death/injury of perpetrator and/or victim[s]). Implications of the findings, for future crisis negotiation efforts directed toward nonviolent resolution of these high-risk critical incidents, are discussed.

Peer Support for Police Hostage and Crisis Negotiators

ABSTRACT Physical body armor has long been standard equipment for all police hostage negotiators in the field. In much the same way, the need for emotional and psychological “armor” has come to be an important requisite for the negotiator who must face very difficult and life-threatening situations on a routine basis. Negotiators face the disturbed and violent of our society. In the line of duty, they often see the worst of what mankind has to offer. Injury, threats, and even death to others, to themselves, and to their comrades has become more frequent. Even for those best trained and best prepared, the job can be emotionally as well as physically draining. Because police negotiators are just as human as civilians who may experience unusual stress in their life, the importance of attending to these human needs is of paramount importance. Stress and emotional trauma, left unattended, will incapacitate a negotiator just as surely as if the negotiator had been shot or otherwise injured. A peer support program of a law enforcement agency acting in conjunction with, and under the supervision of, the department's Psychological Services Unit, if available, can provide immediate and temporary emotional first aid to members of the crisis negotiations team who may be in need of such support. Peer Team members should be available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and officially sanctioned by the chief of police. Effective psychological coverage for all departmental negotiators can be enhanced as a result. All peer team members must receive basic training in Crisis Intervention and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing. They should keep their skills up-to-date by attending regular in-service training as well as formal training schools both within and without the department.

The Use of Deception and the Enforceability of Promises Made During the Crisis Negotiation Process

The Use of Deception and the Enforceability of Promises Made During the Crisis Negotiation Process

The Negotiator and the Bomber: Analyzing the Critical Role of Active Listening in Crisis Negotiations

This article extends Michael R. Hammer and Randall G. Rogan's communication‐based, interactive model of crisis negotiation by examining the role of active listening by a police negotiator in New South Wales, Australia in the process of serving a “high‐risk warrant” on an armed and dangerous man who was expected to resist. Through an analysis of the interaction between the perpetrator and the negotiator, this paper demonstrates that the use of active listening in the early stages of the negotiation was a critical factor in the resolution of this crisis and is an essential skill for any hostage negotiator.

The Structure of Communication Behavior in Simulated and Actual Crisis Negotiations

This research extends recent efforts to differentiate communication in crisis negotiations (Taylor, 2002) by examining how negotiators' behavior differs across context. Data were 108 interaction episodes transcribed from 12 simulated crisis negotiations and coded at the level of thought units across 41 behavioral variables. Results of a smallest space analysis supported the hypothesized differentiation of communication behavior over 3 facets: overall orientation (Avoidance, Distributive, Integrative), motivational concern (Identity, Instrumental, Relational), and intensity (High to Low). This solution was used as a framework for identifying differences in behavior across simulated and actual negotiations. Analyses showed a systematic pattern of variations in behavior use, with simulated negotiations involving relatively more avoidance-relational and distributive-instrumental behavior than actual negotiations. Predictable differences were also observed in the purpose or function of behavior, with highlyintense behaviors showing greater uniformity in function across contexts compared to lowintensity behaviors.

The Structure of Communication Behavior in Simulated and Actual Crisis Negotiations

The Structure of Communication Behavior in Simulated and Actual Crisis Negotiations

Communicating Effectively for Successful Hostage Negotiations and Crisis Intervention

ABSTRACT Whether it is a barricaded crisis situation or negotiations with a bad actor holding hostages, the keys to success are the skills of the negotiator or intervener to effectively communicate. Little else matters if communications is not established, maintained and utilized in such a way that management of the instant situation becomes possible. Most negotiators think that they are effective communicators. Some are. Many are not. Communications must be practiced over and over again to assure proficiency. This article provides the rudiments of the skills needed for success in the field.

Crisis Negotiation Units Within the Small Department Context

Crisis Negotiation Units Within the Small Department Context

Stalking Behavior and Crisis Negotiation

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of stalking behavior and its impact upon some hostage and barricaded subject situations. Specific statistics are lacking about the frequency of stalking behavior in hostage/barricade scenarios; however, anecdotal evidence and indirect measures suggest that stalking behavior occurs as an antecedent with enough frequency to warrant attention to the phenomenon. For example, recent HOBAS data (FBI, December 9, 2002) pertaining to 3,547 subjects indicated that a current or prior restraining order was in effect in nearly eight percent of the situations and that the victim was a current or former spouse or significant other in nearly 19 percent of the situations where there was a victim (N = 934). Such statistics imply that stalking may be a fairly common background dynamic preceding and contributing to the development of hostage/barricade cases.

Right to Privacy Issues in the Context of Crisis Negotiations and Sensory Enhancing Technology

(2004). Right to Privacy Issues in the Context of Crisis Negotiations and Sensory Enhancing Technology. Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations: Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 111-114.

Reflections on Simulation and Experimentation in the Study of Negotiation

AbstractThis article discusses the application of simulation and experimental techniques to the study of international negotiation and mediation. It explores some of the origins of experimental and simulation work in political science, and some of the particular difficulties facing researchers in this area. As an example of such work, the article discusses a specific experimental design in which a human-computer simulation was used to examine hypotheses pertaining to the impact of mediator style on the processes and outcomes of crisis negotiations. The article ends with a discussion of some of the areas in international negotiation study where simulation and experimental techniques can significantly add to the type of knowledge we can develop from more conventional sources, such as case studies and cross-national empirical analysis.

A Decade After Waco: Reassessing Crisis Negotiations at Mount Carmel in Light of New Government Disclosures

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the disastrous federal siege of the Branch Davidians, the tragedy is revisited in light of new government disclosures regarding negotiations during the 51-day standoff. Some of the newly available records - post-incident interviews with negotiators conducted by Justice Department investigators and memoranda written by negotiators or members of the FBI command structure—were concealed by the government for six years because they contained incriminating information. The new evidence reveals the degree to which negotiators at Mount Carmel recognized and roundly condemned the actions taken by the Hostage Rescue Team during the standoff that ultimately led to the insertion of deadly CS gas. Some negotiators even predicted the violent and fatal outcome of the siege weeks before it ended. Indeed, two veteran negotiators challenged the decisions of FBI commanders and were banished from Waco for their remonstrance.

Cultural Differences and Crisis Negotiations: An Experimental Investigation

Cross-cultural and intercultural research has shown that individuals from unlike cultures negotiate differently. Recent studies have begun to identify how different dimensions of culture influence the process and outcomes of negotiation. Research about international conflicts has highlighted a variety of intertwined dimensions of culture (values, norms, rituals, patterns of communication) that may hamper negotiation (Cohen, 1991, 1994), but has not delineated their specific associations with elements of negotiation. To what extent do cultural values influence or mediate negotiators' outcomes in international negotiation during a crisis? In this experimental cross-cultural study we investigate the influence of a negotiator's value priorities in interaction with asymmetric power relations on the outcomes of a simulated international crisis. American and Israeli university students serve as the subject pool to ascertain cultural impacts on negotiation outcomes. We examine the relationship of cultural values, roles, and outcomes on two levels: those of the national group and the individual. We find differences between the average outcomes of the Israeli and American students and ascertain that differences in cultural values relate to these differences in outcomes.

Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Unit Crisis Situation Debriefing Sheet “The Ten-Minute Debriefing”

Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Unit Crisis Situation Debriefing Sheet “The Ten-Minute Debriefing”

Organization and Structure of the Crisis Negotiation Unit and Related Legal Aspects

Organization and Structure of the Crisis Negotiation Unit and Related Legal Aspects

Mediating International Crises

This study focuses on mediation as a means for mitigating or at least minimizing the potentially turbulent and violent consequences of international crises. Two main research questions are explored: (1) Does mediation in general affect the dynamics and outcomes of crisis negotiations? and (2) Does the impact of mediation vary in accordance with mediator style? Data are drawn from the International Crisis Behavior data set and from ongoing experimental work with human subjects. The historical data reveal that mediated crises are more typically characterized by compromise among crisis actors, are more likely to end in agreements, and show a tendency toward long-term tension reduction. The experimental research confirmed the relationship between mediation and the achievement of agreement and also revealed that mediation leads to crises of shorter duration and to greater satisfaction by the parties with the outcome. A manipulative mediation style is more likely to yield favorable crisis management outcomes than is a more restrictive facilitative style.

Crisis and Hostage Negotiations

ABSTRACT Crisis negotiations is a team effort, not an individual event. Further, it is an applied area of police work, not a theoretical one. The classroom is important, just as are individual skills. The negotiator must be trained and helped to develop skills in such a way that, at the moment that the training is complete, the negotiator can respond to a real situation and be successful. Any other type of training or other types of procedures are a waste of time and energy. This article will examine some basic concepts about preparing negotiators for “the real thing,” and suggest a six-step Crisis Intervention model adaptable to Crisis Negotiations.

Adequacy in Crisis Negotiation Training

(2003). Adequacy in Crisis Negotiation Training. Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations: Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 115-120.

School Violence and Hostage Negotiation

(2003). School Violence and Hostage Negotiation. Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations: Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 139-140.

WE NEED YOU! Internet Editor-Job DescriptionJournal of Police Crisis Negotiations

WE NEED YOU! Internet Editor-Job Description<i>Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations</i>