ABSTRACT
According to Gilbert and Sullivan, the policeman’s lot is not a happy one (HMS Pintefore). is was a fact during 19th-century England. It remains valid today in the United States and around the world. It is especially true for the typical law enforcement hostage/crisis negotiator. Like many aspects of police work, negotiation for the release of hostages is very stressful. I doubt that negotiations will be less of a strain in the future. However, we can mitigate the e§ect of debilitating stress by recognizing its symptoms and learning to more e§ectively deal with this reality.
