Psychological Aspects of Crisis Negotiation
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Summary
You arrive at the location. From the information you've been given, an individual…or individuals… has taken at least three…or ten… people hostage. There are demands made, threats boasted, and a deadline given. With all of the hysteria surrounding the scene, how do you discern what is really going on, how do you know who you are dealing with - and just what his…or their…state of mind is?
Focusing on the psychological makeup and motivation of the
hostage taker, the victim, and the negotiator, Psychological Aspects of Crisis Negotiation equips those on the scene with vital information that allows for fast, safe, and accurate decision making. The author, a seasoned FBI agent and crisis negotiation instructor, divides the content of the book into five comprehensive, yet accessible parts.
The topics in Part I discuss negotiation basics: the traits and training necessary for success, the toll that stress takes on the negotiator, negotiation teams, and the effects of third-party involvement in the process. Part II describes how to react when dealing with suicidal hostage-takers, police-assisted suicide, and crisis negotiations in a correctional setting. It also explains how to negotiate with those who have personality disorders, what to say, and not to say, to each type.
Part III discusses situational indicators as they pertain to subject surrender and volatile negotiations that involve the violent and the suicidal. Group dynamics are explored in Part IV through examination of the incidents in Waco and Ruby Ridge. This section also includes creative criteria for constructive deviation from the guidelines of negotiation. Part V illustrates hostage issues such as the phases of a crisis, the Stockholm Syndrome, and what to communicate to a hostage.
While you never know what type of situation you are responding to, Psychological Aspects of Crisis Negotiation is an important resource to have with you at all times…just in case.
Table of Contents
PART 1: BASIC CONCEPTS
The American Psychiatric Association
Multiaxial Evaluation
Mental Health Negotiators
Types of Disorders Typically Encountered by Crisis Negotiators
Characteristics of Effective Hostage
and Crisis Negotiators
What Is Past Is Prologue
The Way We Were
The Way It Should Be
Who Talks the Talk so SWAT Does Not Have to Shoot?
Method
Results
Conclusion
Cross-Trained versus Cross-Qualified
Non-Law-Enforcement Negotiators
The Role of Third-Party Intermediaries
To Whom Are We Listening?
Legendary Linguistic Lapses
Potential Problems
Time Is on Our Side
Typical Third-Party Problems
Psychological Aspects of Crisis Negotiation
Some Simple Solutions
Professional Models
Control of Non-Law-Enforcement/Correctional Interpreters
The Interpreter Cannot Be Allowed to Improvise
Third-Party Intermediators Do Not Guarantee Success
Conclusion
One on One Just Isn't Right
The Team Concept
Team Structure
The Successful Approach: Teamwork
Stress and the Hostage or Crisis Negotiator
We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us
Negotiating and Negotiators' Stress
Preincident Precautions and Preparation
Incident
Postincident
CISDs
Debriefings
Defusing
Demobilizations
Summary
PART II: DEALING WITH THE OTHER VICTIM
Negotiating with Normal People
Mission Statement
Stress Is Personally Defined
Every Call for Service Means Stress for Someone
Active Listening
Negotiating Guidelines
Negotiating with the Adolescent Hostage Taker
The Role of the Negotiator
Defining Adolescence
Adolescence: Phase I
Adolescence: Phase II
Adolescence: Phase III
Normal Adolescents
The Crisis Mindset
Adolescent Crisis Resolution Skills
Common Clinical Conditions
Depression
Anxiety and Inadequacy
The Adolescent Criminal (Antisocial Personality)
The Psychotic
Negotiating Guidelines
Guidelines for Negotiating with an Adolescent Hostage Taker
Negotiating with the Inadequate Personality
Incidence in Society
The APA Version
The Military Version
The Movie Version
The Law Enforcement Version
Conclusion
Negotiating Guidelines and Their Rationale
The Antisocial Personality Disorder
(It's All About Me!) Hostage Taker
The Antisocial Personality Disorder
APA
Hostage Takers
Negotiating Guidelines and Their Rationale
Negotiating with the Paranoid Schizophrenic
Hostage Taker
Etiology
Definition
Incidence in Society
Major Symptoms
Negotiating Guidelines and Rationale
Conclusion
Psychological Aspects of Crisis Negotiation
The Bipolar (I'm Focused and Flying High!)
Hostage Taker
Law Enforcement Encounters with Bipolar Hostage Takers
The APA Multiaxial Evaluation
Bipolar People and the Police
Bipolar Disorder and the APA
Bipolar Disorder and Hollywood
Hostage Takers
Negotiating Guidelines and Their Rationale
Recommended Guidelines for Negotiating with the Bipolar
Quick Summary of Negotiation Strategies
The Suicidal Hostage Holder
Asking the Difficult Question
The Golden Gate Bridge, Doubt, Alcohol, and Judgment
The Less Than Lethal Alternative
Police and Solo Suicidal Subjects
Depression in the DSM IV
Suicide by Police
Snakes With and Without Venom
Civilian Suicide
Mental Health Professionals
Negotiating Guidelines and Rationale
Evaluate Preincident Behavior
Incident Behavior
Suggested Officer (Negotiating Team) Behavior and Strategies
Negotiating Techniques
Postincident Considerations
Police-Assisted Suicide
Law Enforcement as Mental Health Professionals
Snakes With and Without Venom
The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcohol and Judgment and Doubt
Identification
Preincident Behavior
Incident Behavior
Suggested Officer (Negotiating Team) Behavior and Strategies
Negotiating Techniques
Postincident Considerations
Crisis Negotiations in the Correctional Setting
The Street Versus the Institution
Daily Experience
Hostage Survival
The Prison Population
Institutional Crisis Negotiations
Systems Approach to Crisis Management
Conclusion
Negotiating with the Extremist
Types of Hostage Holders
The Terrorist Mystique
The Role of Third-Party Intermediaries
Time Is on Our Side
Conclusion
PART III: CRISIS RESOLUTION INDICATORS
Indicators of Subject Surrender
The Indicators
Indicators of Volatile Negotiations
Suicidal Subjects
A Depressed Hostage Taker Who Denies Thoughts of Suicide No Rapport
Age of the Subject
No Social Support System
The Subject Insists on Face-to-Face Negotiations
The Subject Sets a Deadline for His Own Death
Verbal Will
History of Violence
Subject has a History of Violence
Prior Confrontations
A Planned Siege
Psychological Aspects of Crisis Negotiation
Negotiations Process Refusal to Negotiate Subject-Victim Relationship Targeted Hostages The Hostage Taker Insists that a Particular Person Be
Brought to the Scene
Isolation or Dehumanization of Hostages
Weapons
A Weapon is Tied to the Hostage Holder
Excessive Ammunition and Multiple Weapons
Explosives
Incident Behavior of Subject
Postnegotiations Violence
Negotiations are Becoming More Volatile
After Hours of Negotiations, the Subject has No Clear
Demands, His Demands are Outrageous, or
They are Changing
Subject Stress
Multiple Stressors
Alcohol or Drug Use by Subject or Hostage During the Siege
Threat Analysis
Types of Threats
Conclusion
PART IV: GROUP DYNAMICS
Group Think
Basic Human Nature Is to Go Along to Get Along
Group Think
A Bridge Too Far
Group Think in 1944
What Went Wrong at Waco, Phase I
What Went Wrong at Waco with the FBI: Phase I
F.C.I. Talladega, Alabama, 1991
Ruby Ridge, Idaho, 1992
What Went Wrong at Waco with the FBI in 1993: Phase II
The FBI Does Study Its History
Avoiding This Disaster
Creative Criteria for Constructive Deviation
from Crisis Negotiation Guidelines
Landover Mall
Long Ago and Far Away
A New Direction
Judicial Hindsight
In the Beginning
We've Come a Long Way, Baby
Making the Decision to Deviate
The Decision to Deviate
Procedures for Creativity in Deviation
Conclusion
PART V: HOSTAGE ISSUES
Phases of a Hostage Crisis
Problem
Individual Differences in Response to Stress
The Role of Hostage
London Syndrome
Stockholm Syndrome
U.S. Marines in Tehran
The Hostage Takers
Types of Hostage Takers
The Criminal Subject
The Mentally Ill Subject
The Politically, Socially, or Religiously Motivated Subject
Is It Ever Over?
The Stockholm Syndrome
The Bank Robbery
Some History
The Phenomenon
Domestic Hostage Situations
Stages of Hostage Reaction
Time
Isolation
Positive Contact
Psychological Aspects of Crisis Negotiation
Hostage Taker Reaction
Individualized Reactions
What Do You Say to a Hostage?
Time
Dos
Don'ts
Have a Plan
Who Are the Hostages?
A Litany of Legendary Animosity and Misinformation
The Role of the Hostage in the Surrender
Summary
INDEX
Editorial Reviews
"Strentz combines a wide range of hands-on experiences, respect for the wisdom of some psychological concepts, and knowledge of psychopathology to give some valid, helpful advice to those who are faced with a precarious hostage or other crisis situation. He has been there and "done it." Yet he has also, through graduate work and expert coaching, learned to use psychological insights to determine an appropriate course of intervention and attain a successful outcome."
— Charles Bahn, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 51, No. 45, 2006
"…very insightful, and comprehensive. It is a great book to "carry in your CNT bag" as you give excellent recommendations on strategies to utilize when negotiating with disturbed individuals. [The author's] sense of humor throughout the book is priceless."
— Sandy Terhune, Ph.D., Santa Monica Police Department, California, USA
"…a long overdue reference book for crisis negotiators. …Psychological Aspects of Crisis Negotiations should be mandatory reading for any crisis negotiator who considers him/herself a professional."
— Russ Moore, Sergeant, San Diego Sheriff Department
" … the real gem of the book, and the reason it can be seen as a manual to have at a hostage scene, is the second section. Strenz goes into how to negotiate and what to say to different types of hostage takers. He delves into what you say to an adolescent hostage taker, a suicidal hostage taker, an inadequate personality, a paranoid schiz, a bipolar hostage taker, an extremist, even a police assisted suicide who takes hostages. This section is worth its weight in gold because he not only gives you the rationale, he gives you lists on where to go with a negotiation and what to say and not to say. This is the brilliance of Strenz’s organization."
— Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D., Executive Director Society for Police and Criminal Psychology
"Reading his book is a little like his seminar, except to see the material in a manual format makes it more alive and gives the reader confidence that they know where to go for answers if ever they find themselves negotiating for the lives of others. He organized material to make it useful even at the scene of a hostage situation. So if you want a good read and a good reference in the area of operational work, order Thomas Strenz Psychological Aspects of Crisis Negotiation. You will not be disappointed."
— Society for Police and Criminal Psychology, May 2011
