A Proposition for Hostage Negotiation 1

A Proposition for Hostage Negotiation Kenny Tran University of North Carolina at Charlotte

ENGL 1102-010 Ashlyn Walden Spring 2014

A Proposition for Hostage Negotiation 2 Background Introduction Many films, in the last decade, have had a situation where someone is kidnapped by a criminal, and then a certain ransom or demand is wanted from some major official. As a result, we are mostly familiar with the typical outcome of what is intended to happen to the hostage if the criminal doesnt get their way. They will murder the hostage and probably hold another person hostage until they get what they want. It is crazy how there are some individuals who actually do this in reality too. Those types of people dont have a heart, and will do anything to get rich. What kind of world do we live in where someone would take another persons life for material things or because they arent even comfortable with their own life? Criminals should be ashamed of themselves for holding people hostage, even if the person deserves it. Theyre only threatening to murder people because they either want something that badly or theyre just pissed-off that they didnt get their way. They dont realize how wrong it is to take another persons life. Its not easy for a negotiator to come up with ideas or a plan of action that will make the criminal give-up and let their hostage go. Anything they say or do can either put the hostage in a really bad situation or ensure their well-being. This paper investigates management of hostage situations; specific attention will be given to recent hostage negotiations across the world. In addition to analyzing specific hostage situations, we will explore effective ways for negotiating. Hostage situations are not only popular for criminals, but for officials of other countries too. Ive read many articles with topics pertaining hostages, and I still cant believe people are getting murdered, even though they have nothing to do with the situation or the fact that they could be innocent. Ill be discussing the articles Ive read, and then give my input about the situation to show my perspective about how this problem should be handled.

A Proposition for Hostage Negotiation 3 Literature Review Ive always been a fan of situations that causes intense feelings. When people arent sure about what will happen next or even have the slightest prediction of the next sequence of event, I think its fascinating how people can really have a lot of interest in a thriller situation. At first, some people might not be interested in an intense situation, but they end up wanting to know more information about it later because they either hear about it all the time, and then actually find interest in it, or they just took a shot at understanding what was going on and really liked it. I believe hostage situations are one of the most interesting initiators of an intense reaction because people become worried and want to ensure the hostages are safe, especially if they know them. When a person is close with someone involved in a hostage situation, they freak out and have anxiety since all they want is peace and a positive outcome for the situation. I will be discussing some key terms and topics pertaining to hostage negotiations. Terms: Hostages: I define hostages as people/things used as a part of a negotiator for reasons of obtaining material things or primary/secondary resources. In David Ansens article, he presents a concept for how hostage negotiations are used in films and what makes people really want to watch them (1). When theres a scene where someone is about to get murdered for a specific ransom, it is called K&R (kidnap and ransom). Hostage negotiations like those dont just happen in movies, but in reality too. Hostages are mainly those that are helpless and cant do anything to help the situation get better. They are just an object used to help someone or an organization receive a favor. Inner Perimeter: They would be the people who are neutral and are just trying to find common ground. They are the negotiators who try to meet the desired needs and wants of

A Proposition for Hostage Negotiation 4 the person holding the hostage. Dominick Misino states that it is the subject area that separates all of the unnecessary police personnel from the immediate danger area (par 5). Outer Perimeter: They are the people that dont really have an important role in the situation. They arent involved and should stay out of any trouble regarding the hostage negotiation. Dominick Misino states that it is line that separates the civilian population from the dangers of the incident. Expressive Demands: These demands are those that involve feelings towards a specific person or event that causes a person to hold someone hostage to get an answer or response to a request. This happens often, especially in other countries where they want things to go their way and hold hostages from other countries to prove how they really feel about a situation. Michael McMains and Wayman Mullins, authors of the book Crisis Negotiations: Managing Critical Incidents and Hostage Situations in Law Enforcement and Corrections, described this as demands that involve the need to express intense emotion (45). Substantive Demands: Michael McMains and Wayman Mullins states that these are demands that are tangible and can be traded (45). I believe this happens as much as expressive demands, but it isnt a bigger problem. Things, such as money and jewelry, are negotiable trades for a hostage. The only thing hostage holders really want is money and power. Ive seen this type of demand often in films. Ultimate bargaining game Many people are involved in a hostage situation, but only a significant few actually matter to help determine the outcome of the event (Shuppa 1). Robert Shuppa, Pamela Schmittb, and Kurtis Swope call this the ultimate bargaining game. The hostage, criminal, and negotiator

A Proposition for Hostage Negotiation 5 are the three most substantial characters and they are important throughout the negotiation process. The negotiator and the criminal mainly converse with each other to find common ground and meet each others need. The hostage is in danger at all times, so anything they do can get them killed. Everybody else, civilians and policemen, arent important in this ultimate game because they dont understand the situation. In Dominick Missinos article, there is a man name Hector thats holding his wife hostage, and the only person that could help save her is the negotiator (10). The negotiators intention isnt to put the hostage in any more danger than they already are or to make the criminal feel uneasy, so he bargained with the criminal until he came up with an idea that suits his wants, and that would be to spend more time with his daughter. Foreign Disputation Hostage negotiations arent just disputes between people within a community, but also internationally. Anne Nivat is a French Journalist who was once kid-napped and taken hostage because she entered a country (Chechnya) that doesnt really like outsiders who dont have proper identification (78). Hostage situations that happen internationally are just the same as the ones you hear about in United States. Countries use hostages from other countries to get what they want. It doesnt surprise me that countries would actually commit a crime like this to show their dominance and power. Once before, other countries held operations in Iraq without consent (Fisher par. 2). As a result, Iraq held two of their men hostage, stating that if they dont leave Iraq and move their operations elsewhere, they will murder both of the hostages. Holding people hostage is probably the best option a country could choose to get their point across. Im not saying that its a beneficial technique; it just seems like that is what it will come to if a country doesnt get what they demand. I dont believe it is right at all because a persons life has nothing to do with a foreign dispute. Innocent people shouldnt have to be

A Proposition for Hostage Negotiation 6 involved with the countries problem no matter what the situation is. I think it is crazy how countries will actually hold a person hostage because another country didnt pay-off their complete debt (Blackwell Publishing par. 3). As a result, I dont believe anyone is safe. Hostage Safety The main goal of a hostage situation at all times should be to keep the hostage safe. The negotiator has to ensure that no matter what is being offered, the hostage should be as far away from danger as possible (Yue-bing par. 1). They have to make the criminal believe that the chances of them getting what they want are high. This will ensure that the hostage wont be harmed because the criminal is getting closer to what they desire. In my first assignment of this course, I talked about a scene in a movie, Rush Hour, where the policemen admitted that they would pay the ransom to reclaim a little girl, named Soo Yung, back from the criminals (Tran 5). While the policemen and the criminals were making transactions, Detective Lee and Carter were devising a plan to get Soo Yung back without her being harmed. It is interesting how far a negotiator has to go just to make sure someones life is protected. Criminals will do anything to get what they want, as if they are brainwashed to commit evil crimes. Entering the Conversation Hostage situations need to be taken care of very carefully. We can never really guess the outcome for this sort of event. Negotiators are as nervous as anyone else is when they are involved in this situation, and no matter how good they are at getting out of tough situations, they could still make matters worse regardless of their background. I believe that the best way to handle this dilemma would be to maintain tranquility, be determined, and focus on the desired wants of the criminal.

A Proposition for Hostage Negotiation 7 In Dominick Misinos article, Crisis Negotiators: No Rules in the Life Saving Game, he pointed out that the primary negotiator was running out of ideas and out of nowhere, he just blurted out an offer to the criminal that worked (par. 16). He tried his best to stay calm throughout the whole negotiation, but he started to lose faith in his ability to better the situation. In the end, he continued to keep calm and offer up choices for the criminal to choose, and it worked. Ive never been in a hostage situation, and hopefully I never will, but if it ever comes down to it, I know I must not show any fear because if I do, I am certain that the criminal will try their best to be in-control and take advantage of the outcome. Determination will take a person far in their objective if they really try and put in effort. Remember, the goal for every hostage situation is to ensure that the hostage feels safe and protected at all time (Yue-bing par. 1). If that isnt what the negotiator or anyone that wants to save the hostage is looking for, then the criminal will just think they are taking this problem as a joke, and kill the hostage. In Ian Fishers article, Jordanian Company to Quit Iraq to Save Lives of 2 Hostages, she stated that when civilians of a country found out that two people from their community was taken hostage in another country, they went on a strike to help reclaim their people back (par. 5). They were willing to do whatever it takes to save those hostages, and it worked. They were able to reclaim the two hostages without any harm. In my previous assignment, I discussed how the two main detectives were involved in a hostage situation in every film of the film trilogy, Rush Hour (6). There was a point in time where Detective Lee almost gave up on saving a hostage (Soo Yung), but Detective Carter motivated him to continue and fight. They ended up saving Soo Yung and the other hostages involved in the film trilogy. In order to succeed in a hostage negotiation, a person has to be goaloriented.

A Proposition for Hostage Negotiation 8 Working on a task without motivation can lead to questionable chances of succeeding. In the article MALI: Swiss Hostage Freed, there was a Terrorist group called the AQLIM (AlQaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb). They held four people from Malian hostage and they wanted a specific ransom (par. 2-3). They let three hostages return back to Malian, but kept one. Malian still refused to pay the ransom, so the AQLIM beheaded him. The problem with this situation is that Malian didnt even try to negotiate. All they said was no. They couldve come up with an alternative to help save that man, but they didnt even try, so he was left in the dirt, defenseless and helpless. Determination is a key aspect to saving a hostage, but most people dont really put effort into making it right. Maybe it is because they dont know the hostage, have any relation to the hostage, or even really care about the outcome, but just going in with no effort will foreshadow what will happen in the end. There are times where the negotiator doesnt care for what the criminal wants and just enter the ultimate bargaining game without a thought out plan. This is not the proper approach because I have no doubts that the hostage will be killed or not released sooner than expected. Michelle Magnan discussed a scenario about a man, named Terry Waite, who was taken hostage once in his life, and now he travels the world as a hostage negotiator to help those that were in the same situation as he was (par. 1). He stated that a hostage negotiator needs to convey credibility, relation, and trustworthiness in order to succeed. In other words, the negotiator has to ensure that they are in mutual grounds with the criminal and will make them believe they are getting closer to what they desire. Whether it is an expressive demand or a substantive demand, the criminal needs to feel like they wont get caught by the police, but instead, get closer to what they want (McMains 45). Only then, will there be a high chance of them letting the hostage go free.

A Proposition for Hostage Negotiation 9 So What? After discussing all the different aspects associated within a hostage situation, the only question left to answer is so what? Well, we know that a criminal will have many different reasons for holding someone hostage, and they will have many specific demands that need to be dealt with in order to let the hostage go. Handling these situations are never easy, and even though they may seem to be, a person would have to experience it to understand how tough it really is to save a hostage. We need to put ourselves in the negotiators perspective and see how obstacles are through their eyes. All of the pressure is on them and they have to be able to stay calm throughout the entire situation. We need to establish peace and common ground to proceed in a positive way (Blackwell Publishing p. 8). There arent really exact methods that will help lead us to obtaining this need, but some general ideas would be to stay calm and be motivated to help the criminals get what they desire. Most people dont understand how serious a hostage situation is. Ive never experienced it before, but I understand which steps need to be taken to handle the situation in an orderly fashion. A person should never take this for granted because someones life is at stakes. People need to imagine themselves in the place of the hostage and think about how terrifying it would be to be engaged in a particular dilemma like this. No one can ever determine the outcome of a hostage situation, so those who are associated with one need to be prepared for the worst. There arent many people who are clever enough to come up with a good idea in late, clutch situations, but for the few that do, those are the ones that hostages would want as their negotiator (Misino par 16). I know they cant really choose their negotiator when theyre the hostages, but it would be beneficial to have one that enters the battlefield with a plan in mind and knows how to be resourceful.

A Proposition for Hostage Negotiation 10 Work Citied Anne Nivat. A Journalist's Near-Death Experience in Chechnya. Nieman Reports, 1 Sep. 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. Blackwell Publishing. MALI: Swiss Hostage Freed. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 20 Aug. 2009. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. David Ansen. Hostage Heat. LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc., 11 Dec. 2000. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. Dominick J. Misino, NYPD Hostage Team.Crisis Negotiators: No Rules in the Life Saving Game. Public Agency Training Council, 2002. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. Ian Fisher. Jordanian Company to Quit Iraq to Save Lives of 2 Hostages. LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc., 28 July, 2004. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. Kenny Tran. Assignment 1. Observation Assignment. 25 Feb. 2014. Essay. Michael J. McMains, Wayman C. Mullins. Crisis Negotiations: Managing Critical Incidents and Hostage Situations in Law Enforcement and Corrections. 4th edition. Matthew Bender & Company Inc., 2010. Print. Michelle Magnan. How to bargain like a hostage negotiator. LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc., 18 Jan. 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. Robert Shuppa, Pamela Schmittb, Kurtis Swope. On the role of the hostage in ultimatum bargaining games. Elseiver. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 30 Sep. 2005. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. Zhang Yue-bing. On Hostage Self-saving. Tsinghua Tongfang Knowledge Network Technology Co., March 2010. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.