ABSTRACT
This chapter defines the characteristics of a negotiable crisis incident, such as the need to live by the hostage taker, threat of force by authorities, demands made, time to negotiate, and so on. Crisis is defined and an explanation given of why people experience crises, how they respond, and how negotiators should respond to people in crisis. The stages of a crisis are illustrated and the goals of crisis intervention at each stage discussed. It is critical that negotiators develop trust with the hostage taker, and methods of developing trust are presented. Using the foundations developed in the behavioral sciences, techniques are given for managing the hostage taker’s behavior and emotions, including the importance of empathy, how to develop empathy with the hostage taker, the stages of change negotiators should attenuate to, and how ambivalence affects negotiations. Using SAFE as a framework, the triggers and emotions negotiators should watch for are presented and how those change during the course of an incident. Techniques for engaging the hostage taker are given for the crisis and adaptation stages of an incident. During the crisis stage, negotiators need to establish safety and security, build rapport, and build trust using the basic listening sequence (BLS). During the adaptation stage, negotiators need to use reinforcement to help move toward resolution, watch for factors that interfere with the hostage taker’s problem-solving ability, and focus the hostage taker on resolution. Techniques negotiators can use to help control the hostage taker’s behavior and emotions are discussed.
