Hostage negotiation
Name
Instructor
Course
Date
The mental state of the offender
The decision to take people hostage might be triggered by many factors. These factors include prisoners taking others hostage in order to highlight some of their grievances. A hostage situation can also occur when criminals are interrupted during the course of another crime and hence take hostage so as to try and secure their escape. There are hostage-taking situations that are politically inspired that are carried out by terrorist organizations in order to achieve some kind of political end. Another cause of taking hostage is mental illnesses. Some individuals suffering from a mental illness might end up taking people hostage as a response to their thoughts, fears and disturbed moods. The motives behind hostage-taking can be classified under tow categories. The motives can be defined as instrumental whereby, an individual’s actions are aimed at attaining specific things such as ransom. These motives can also be defined as expressive whereby; the aim of the perpetrator is to express their anger, frustration or any other emotion (Rogan, 1997).
In this hostage situation, it is evident that Mr. Albondigas is not in a correct mental state. This is seen through his verbal cues whereby he shares illogical thoughts. He shares a combination of topics that are unrelated and do not make sense. He claims that a maintenance personnel and a corrections officer are aliens from another planet living in his cell block and demands that they should leave immediately. This statement does not make sense at all since this tow individuals are human beings just like Mr. Albondigas. Another verbal cue is the nonsensical speech that he is showing. Mr. Albondigas is using the corrections officer as a translator in order to communicate to the maintenance personnel. He is acting as though the maintenance personnel is not speaking in English but in an alien language. He is also showing some behavioral cues that indicate he is not in a correct mental state. He has covered his head with an aluminum foil something which a person in his correct state of mind would not do.
Mental illnesses
Various mental health disorders or illnesses can affect an individual’s behavior and logic. The actions of Mr. Albondigas the offender are due to mental illnesses. The two most likely mental illnesses that are affecting him are schizophrenia and psychosis. Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that has an impact on how an individual; thinks, feels and acts. Individuals suffering from schizophrenia have a problem when it comes to differentiating real and imaginary things. Psychosis is an abnormal condition affecting the mind and a generic psychiatric term used on an individual having a mental state that involves loosing contact with reality. Individuals suffering from psychosis are termed as being psychotic. Psychosis leads to changes in an individual’s personality. Psychosis leads to an individual perceiving or interpreting things in a different way from other people around them.
The delusions that Mr. Albondigas is having can be caused by schizophrenia or psychosis. Delusions are normally false beliefs that are not based on reality. These cause an individual to view the world in a peculiar and unique perspective. He has false ideas that the maintenance personnel and corrections officer are aliens from another planet but living together with humans in the cell block. He believes that he is the one who is going to save other inmates from the invasion by aliens. He is also having hallucinations which are symptoms of schizophrenia. He believes that the tow people he has taken hostage are aliens. He is seeing a flying saucer which he demands has to leave the exercise yard area. He believes that the “aliens” he has taken hostage are in communication with other aliens. He also believes that maintenance personal is not conversing in English but he is using an alien language. He ends up using the corrections officer as a translator so at to be able to converse with the maintenance personnel who he believes is speaking in an alien language. A combination of delusion and hallucinations leads to disruptions in the way a person thinks, how they perceive things, their emotions and how they behave (Rogan, 1997).
Medical personnel at the scene
There are principles and techniques that can be used for negotiating with hostage-takers suffering from mental health illnesses. In order to be effective when dealing with mentally ill hostage-takers, the negotiations used must be a combination of science and art of managing crisis. It should also involve an insight of psychopathology and personality that is provided by mental health professionals. In the case of hostage and negotiation of a crisis, there is the need of involving a psychologist. Therefore, the medical personnel that would be useful in this scene is a psychologist. As individuals with mental illnesses and law enforcement are increasingly getting entangled, there is the need to collaboration between the police and mental health providers. As a general rule, psychologists are best consultants and not negotiators in a hostage-taking situation. In a hostage negotiation, psychologists are not usually qualified to determine if it is necessary to pursue negotiations or launch a tactical attack. They are also not competent to asses how dangerous a hostage-take is (Laurence, 2005).
This situation is among an emergency mental health issue since the lives of hostages are at risk. This is because the perpetrators are unstable and desperate. The psychologists do not serve as hostage negotiators but instead perform a variety of functions on the law enforcement crisis management team. Psychologists should not be used as negotiators since it can lead to hostage-takers resenting the idea that they are mentally ill. Crisis management teams that have a psychologist are more effective compared to those that do not have one. The role of a psychologist starts before the incident occurs and goes on throughout the incident. A psychologist can offer valuable services in terms of training and on scene support that can enhance the effectiveness of the team. A psychologist then becomes a consultant during the incident through providing a mental assessment and profile of the perpetrator (Laurence, 2005). Psychologists are able to provide an insight on the mind of the perpetrator since they are able to identify different types of personality, personality disorders, and any other psychological motivations that might cause the perpetrator to behave that way. They might be unable to determine the root cause for the behavior, but with ample time and information, they deduce what caused the individual to behave in that manner (Noesner, & Webster, 1997).
They can also be useful when it comes to carrying out an assessment on the hostages in order to determine the reason why the perpetrator decided to chose the hostages. The psychologist can also assess whether the hostages are behaving in a manner which is helpful or not in the ongoing negotiation situation. An important role of the psychologist in the negotiating team is monitoring how the team members are behaving, especially the primary negotiator and assess how they react to this stressful situation. The psychologist also offers emotional support to the negotiator and suggests how they can deal with stress. They can also alert the leader of the team of how stress can negatively impact the behavior of the negotiator. Psychologist can conduct interviews on friends, relatives and associates of the hostage-takers in order to get information that can be used in the negotiation strategy. They interview witnesses in order to gather information that is crucial for the success. They also assist in decision aids that can help negotiators come up with strategies to use in negotiating for hostage release. Psychologists can also provide post-trauma counselling to the people taken hostage and post-event support to the person who was negotiating for the release of the hostages (Laurence, 2005).
Likely events when deadline reaches without a solution
For the negotiation to be successful, a lot of time is required. The negotiation team requires time to create a negotiation plan, get adequate information about the suspect and figure out the best way of handling the hostage situation. If the deadline is reached without a solution, Mr. Albondigas might end up hurting the maintenance personnel. This is because the more time it takes to negotiate, the more tired a suspect becomes. Mr. Albondigas might get frustrated since his demands have not been met and hence go ahead with his threat of killing the maintenance personnel. He might feel as though the negotiating team is not taking him seriously and hence end up killing the maintenance personnel just to show that he is serious and wants the demands met. Mr. Albondigas might also kill the maintenance personnel because he is not in a correct state of mind. He thinks that they are aliens and hence believe that they will hurt him and other inmates. He might end up killing the maintenance personnel because he sees him as a threat to the security of the cell. In his psychotic state, he sees that the only solution to the problem is killing the alien who is the maintenance personnel. Furthermore, he has a hand made knife at his disposal and hence he can easily use it to kill the maintenance personnel if a solution is not found. He can just make good his threat of killing the maintenance personnel since he has a hand made knife to execute it.
People interviewed at the scene
There are people who would provide useful information that would help in negotiations at the scene. First, it would be important to interview family members and friends of friends of Mr. Albondigas. Through interviewing this people, we can get information of Mr. Albondigas mental health condition. Since they have lived and interacted with him before he was taken into the maximum security facility. They are in a position to provide information of his behavior and if he had exhibited any signs of mental health. They can provide information if Mr. Albondigas had ever being diagnosed or treated of a mental health disorder. They can also provide information of whether he had tried anything of the sort when he was not in the maximum security facility.
It would also be useful to interview Mr. Albondigas doctor or healthcare provider. This would help in gathering information on any mental illness that he had been diagnosed and any treatment that had been used on him. They can also get information on his response to treatment and whether the treatment had been effective or not.
It would be useful to interview Mr. Albandigos fellow inmates. They can be questioned on how his behavior in the cell blocks before the incident occurred. They can be in a position to state whether they had noticed any change in his behavior and speech. They can also be in a position to say if Mr. Albondigas interacted well with others and if he had an inmate who he was close to. If it is established that he had someone who was close to him, the person would also be interviewed. The inmate would be questioned of whether Mr. Albondigas had talked to him about his intentions. The inmate would also be asked to share anything that Mr. Albondigas had confided in him before the incident.
Inmates who witnessed the incident when it started would also provide useful information when interviewed. They would be asked how Mr. Albondigas had behaved prior to taking the two facilities maintenance personnel and fellow corrections officer hostage. This information would be useful since the negotiator would be able to be aware of the perpetrators state of mind before he took the three people hostage. Interviewing these people will provide information that can be used to negotiate for the freedom of the three hostages held by Mr. Albandigos.
Strategies in hostage negotiations
It is important for the negotiator to customize their communications approach depending on how they understand the hostage-taker’s personality and motives. First, the negotiator should make sure that any background distractions are minimized from their end and at of the hostage takes. This will enhance the clarity of the communication and hence making it easy for the negotiator and hostage-taker to understand each other. The negotiator should open their statement with an introduction of themselves and their intentions. The negotiator should assure Mr. Albondigas that he is there to listen to him and try to make sure that everybody is safe. The negotiator should use a firm voice and make sure that they convey the confidence that the situation is just temporary and they will resolve it safely (Call, 2003). The negotiator should communicate with respect, in a direct way, with integrity and not deceive the hostage-taker in any way. This will show that the negotiator is sincerely concerned with the well-being of the hostages and the hostage-taker. The negotiator should speak calmly and slowly since the speech pattern of an individual reflects on their tone. It is important for the negotiator to avoid raining their pitch or the rate of their speech as a response to irritation, frustration or being provoked (Hammer & Rogan, 1997).
After establishing a rapport with the hostage-taker, the negotiator should portray him as a reasonable problem solver. He should assure Mr. Albondigas that they all want the same thing which is for the situation to be over without anyone getting hurt. He should let him know that he is aware of everything that has happened so far and they would all like for the situation to end well. The negotiator should also portray himself as a friend to Mr. Albondiags. He should assure him that he understands his fears and he also would not like “aliens” to hurt him and the other in mates. He should assure him that so far he has proved his point and hence they should try and move forward past the situation. It is also important for the negotiator to be compassionate but also competent at the same time (Call, 2003). He should assure the hostage-taker that he understands his fears and hence he is trying to help him deal with his fears. The negotiator should reinforce appropriate behavior which not only applies to bug concessions such as releasing the hostages but also the small steps towards the right direction.
The negotiator should avoid as much s possible any confrontation and argument with the hostage-taker. This might make the hostage-taker angry and hence cause him to go ahead with his threats of killing the maintenance personnel. It is also important for the negotiator not to moralize the situation. He should not condemn the actions of the hostage-taker but show that he understands the situation and what the hostage taker is going through. Negotiators are not supposed to suggest that the hostage-taker has a mental health issue. This can appear as an insult to the hostage-taker and hence make him carry out his threat of killing the hostage.
The negotiator should practice active listening techniques that comprise of important skills for any type of crisis intervention (Call, 2003). This will help the negotiator listen to the hostage-taker and hence be able to understand what exactly he wants. Emotional labelling will also the hostage-taker to clarify his feeling to the negotiator and hence making it easy to solve the situation.
When it comes to negotiating for demands, a fundamental principle is to make the hostage-taker work for what he wants to get through extracting a concession in return. The basic elements involved in a crisis when it comes to dealing with demands presented by the hostage taker are; defining the problem. The negotiator is then required to brainstorm the solutions such as finding ways of achieving goal of ending the crisis. The negotiator should try as much as possible to eliminate any solutions that are not acceptable. It is important for the negotiator to choose the best possible solution for instance narrowing down to one or tow points that can be easily agreed upon. Whatever choice the negotiator takes, they should ensure that they make everyone understand who is supposed to do what (Hammer.& Rogan, 1997).
In this situation, the hostage-taker is suffering from a mental illness and hence he might have underlying emotions of anger and fear. Therefore, it is important for the negotiator to use calming techniques when dealing with the hostage-taker.
References
Call, J.A. (2003). Negotiating crises: The evolution of hostage/barricade crisis negotiation.
Journal of Threat Assessment, 2, 69-94.
Hammer, M.R. & Rogan, R.G. (1997). Negotiation models in crisis situations: The value of a communication-based approach. In R.G. Rogan, M.R. Hammer & C.R. Van Zandt(Eds.),
Dynamic Processes of Crisis Negotiation (pp. 9-23). Westport: Praeger.
Laurence, M. (2005). Hostage Negotiation: Psychological principles and practices. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, Vol7, No.4, pp277-293.
Rodriguez, G.J. & Franklin, D. (1996). Training hostage negotiators with psychiatric patients: A “hands-on” approach. In J.T. Reese & H.A. Goldstein (Eds.), Psychological Services for Law Enforcement (pp. 497-500). Washington DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Noesner, G.W. & Webster, M. (1997). Crisis intervention: Using active listening skills in negotiations. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, August, pp. 13-19.
McMains, M.J. & Mullins, W.C. (1996). Crisis Negotiations: Managing Critical Incidents and Situations in Law Enforcement and Corrections. Cincinnati: Anderson.298
Rogan, R.G. (1997). Emotion and emotional expression in crisis negotiation. In R.G. Rogan, M.R. Hammer & C.R. Van Zandt (Eds.), Dynamic Processes of Crisis Negotiation
(pp. 26-43). Westport: Praeger
Slatkin, A.A. (2005). Communication in crisis and hostage negotiations. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
