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PST 321 INSTRUCTOR'S NOTES - WEEK THREE
DEMANDS AND EFFECTS OF TIME
Welcome to week three. In this week’s chapter the text addresses two very important aspects of negotiations, demands and time. In last week’s instructor notes I clarified the different types of demands that are part of the negotiation process (i.e. instrumental and expressive). The text does an excellent job of defining how demands influence various stages of the hostage situation. It is very important that all demands are written down. Many times the demands that are mentioned at the very beginning of the stand off (when the 911 telecommunicator is the first contact) give the clearest insight into where the subject is mentally. If a demand is not understood, ask for clarification. This conveys to the subject the impression that you are taking him seriously. This is a step in the right direction towards building rapport with the subject. Don’t leave out “minor” details concerning demands. Write down every demand (verbatim), the time it was brought up, and if there was a deadline given. It is a good idea to confirm the current time with an individual if a deadline is set. I once had a barricaded subject call in a time limit on a demand 15 minutes before the time was up. The reason? His watch was 15 minutes faster than mine. Since then I always confirm the time when I’m given a demand involving a deadline. Deadlines are best addressed by talking right past them. Last week we discussed “smilers” and “elevators”. A minute or two before a deadline is a good time to go to a “smiler” topic.
The text also addresses three different theories concerning needs. While I’m certain all three are viable theories, I happen to feel most comfortable with the Maslow Hierarchy theory as seen below.
Picture courtesy of Educational Psychology Interactive
Most situations that I have been involved in usually started with the subject being at the Safety Needs level. This is evident with statements such as, “get those cops back or someone is going to get hurt.” My job then becomes meeting these needs as the subject moves up the pyramid. You need to be very careful to move at their pass not yours. Also, in certain circumstances you may not want the subject to go too high on the scale. For example, I was once negotiating with a suicidal man who was dying of pancreatic cancer (3 to 6 month mortality prognosis). I had to be careful how we dealt with Ego level (Potential and self fulfillment). Actually, I eventually had to avoid the topic completely because every time we started discussing his future and any goals he had, the reality of his impending death became painfully obvious. This would send him spiraling back into the crisis phase and we had to start all over. This is a prime example of how difficult it is to address the many different possibilities of how your words or actions might affect a hostage situation. It is about like trying to train a new 911 operator in how to deal with all situations. It can’t be done. There will always be the situation that is the exception. Therefore the situation dictates your actions, not what the book says.
Certain demands are covered in the text as negotiable and non-negotiable. Food is a very common demand especially in protracted incidents. There are some very important details not covered in the text concerning the delivery of food items. First, always send in unprepared food that will need to be “assembled” inside. Don’t send in sandwiches. Send in bread, meat and mayonnaise. This forces interaction inside, thus facilitating the Stockholm Syndrome. Second, when drinks are negotiated, don’t send in can sodas. Send in a 2-liter bottle with ice and cups. Again, someone pours, someone adds the ice… interaction. Also, when you have the food ready to be delivered wait until the subject asks about the food again. Having him ask about it again keeps him in the position where he has to come to you. The text mentions sending in one cigarette instead of a pack. While I would not send in a whole pack, do not insult the person by sending in just one cigarette. Send in a partial pack (4-7). Explain that they belonged to an officer (you, but only if you do smoke) on the scene and that was all that he had. Always be prepared to justify why you gave only so much of a demand, before the items are delivered.
The text also covers alcohol as a negotiable demand. Only in the most extreme case and only if you are given MANY concessions should you ever consider introducing alcohol into a situation. The text states that the team should have good intelligence on how the alcohol will affect the subject. How alcohol affects an individual when he is out with his friends or sitting at home may be drastically different from how it would affect him in the high stress situation he is in currently. As a general rule alcohol is non-negotiable as a demand. I once negotiated with a man that had gotten very drunk and had taken his ex-wife and stepchildren hostage. He would place the barrel of his pistol to his wife’s temple and then angle it just enough to miss her skull and fire through her hair. He also did this to his ten-year-old stepdaughter. He began demanding that we bring him alcohol from the very beginning of the incident. Seven hours into the incident we were still discussing his alcohol (among a myriad of other topics). I never told him that he would not get the alcohol during that entire time. By the eighth hour he was sober enough to realize what he had done. Four hours later he surrendered.
A common mistake made by someone who has not been trained as a negotiator is to start asking for demands. Demands are clues as to what is motivating the subject to take such drastic steps to deal with a problem. By asking for demands you take away this very important intelligence gathering tool. Don’t offer anything; let him ask. The more experienced you get at dealing with people in barricade/hostage situations, the more you will begin to have an idea of what the subject is going to ask for before he asks. One final note concerning negotiating for sick or injured hostages, be very careful not to present these people too often as a liability to the hostage taker. Make certain you are not dealing with an individual who might decide to “get rid of” these liabilities first (i.e. an anti-social individual).
Time is your ally in almost every situation concerning negotiations. Notice that the text spans seven pages on the positive aspects of time and only two paragraphs on the negative. This is for a good reason. If I were given the challenge to sum up the most important characteristic of negotiations in one word, that word would be time. The first few moments of a hostage situation are generally the most volatile. If we can just stall past that first 45 minutes, the chances for survival increase to 85%. My average time to respond to a call out is 25 minutes. That is time of arrival on the scene. It may take me another 15 to 20 minutes to get set up and gather the bare essential intelligence about the subject. Guess who is usually the person dealing with the subject during this most volatile time? The 911 telecommunicator establishes the foundation for negotiations. Many times the telecommunicator does this without even realizing it.
Negotiation Golden Rule # 3: “Everything is negotiable. Not everything can be given to the hostage taker, but you can negotiate anything.”