Welcome to week two. The chapter this week begins by covering bargaining and clarifying the difference between a hostage and non-hostage incident. It also defines the characteristics of a negotiable incident. I would like to clarify a few things discussed in the text. Several times in the text there are references to different types of demands. Below I will list definitions to these various types of demands.
· Substantive Demands: This is where the subject wants something. He has a specific need or want that needs to be addressed. If there are no substantive demands then there is very little for the negotiator to work with.
· Instrumental Demands: These are demands concerning specific things that the subject needs in order to reach a tangible goal (i.e. a car in order to drive away).
· Expressive Demands: These demands address an expressive instead of a tangible goal. The subject wants to vent his emotions (i.e. demanding media coverage in order to tell the world what the I.R.S. has done).
The text is accurate in stating that there must be substantive demands in order to give the negotiator something with which to work. However, many times these demands may not be obvious. Many times the most difficult thing to determine is what the subject wants or needs (especially if the subject is suicidal). If you are dealing with someone who is experiencing a major depressive episode, he may not be aware of what he needs and if he is aware, he may find it very difficult to communicate that need to others because of depressed cognitive ability. Usually if the subject has a demand it will be presented very quickly during the initial contact. If there are no clear demands then your job becomes more difficult; however, this does not mean that the situation is not a negotiable one. Even though the text enumerates the necessary elements that qualify a situation as negotiable, as an emergency communications operator, I would recommend that you handle every situation as if it is negotiable even if you believe the opposite is true. At some point in time a commander may determine that negotiations are futile and take steps to use another resolution technique. However, by keeping the subject occupied and trying your best to talk the situation out, you allow that commander more time to make this very difficult decision.
In the paragraph above I mentioned resolution techniques. According to the text, there are basically four different options that police have in resolving a hostage/barricade situation.
1. An armed assault.
2. Selected sniper fire.
3. Chemical agents.
4. Contain and negotiate.
It is highly unlikely that a 911 telecommunicator would be involved in any of these actions other than negotiations. However, it is important that you understand what alternatives exist because you may be asked to help in the transition from negotiations to one of the other options. This is called tactical negotiations. Once it is determined that the situation is not negotiable, then it becomes the negotiator’s responsibility to assist police in taking other actions. I have been asked to assist in a tactical assault by making sure that the subject was standing in a certain location at the time of the assault. You may be asked to assist in physical as well as emotional movement. I have had to elevate the aggression of a subject toward me so that the subject is focusing so much energy on cursing and yelling at me that he will not hear the tact team entering the rear of the residence. One of the things we will be discussing in more detail later in this course is what I refer to as “smilers” and “elevators.” “Smilers” are topics that the subject likes to talk about (i.e. children, hobbies, pets). “Elevators” are subjects that tend to upset the hostage taker and make him angry (i.e. ex-spouse, boss, IRS, jail). As a general rule you want to avoid “elevators”. However, there will be occasions when you will want to use “elevators”.
Because another course covers crisis intervention at length, I don’t want to be redundant and spend too much of our time covering this topic anymore than what is in the text. The most important thing from a negotiation standpoint is that you understand how to recognize what stage of the crisis the caller is in. How would your response differ for a caller that is in the accommodation/negotiation stage as opposed to a caller that is in the crisis stage?
Pages 84 through 98 in the text cover some key concepts to the negotiation process.
· The importance of conveying reassuring language at the onset of communicating with the hostage taker or barricaded subject.
· Learning to listen actively.
· Learning to hear what is NOT being said.
· Restating the key points of the suspect’s statements.
· Working toward using appropriate language to defuse the situation.
The table on the bottom of page 73 (Bolton’s Ratings of Word Intensity) is an excellent reference to use during the negotiation process. I have a copy of this table in my negotiation reference material that I have with me at every call out.
Negotiation Golden Rule # 2: “You never say No. You don’t always say yes, but you NEVER say no.”