The following paper serves to explain the thought process of acting upon the following scenario: You are a police psychologist for a major metropolitan area. You are also a member of its hostage negotiation team. You have just been called out to a crisis incident at 3:15 p.m. on a Friday. It is a residential area about three blocks from a middle school and a public library. The information you have at this time is that the subject is a 42-year-old male who is holed up in his house with his wife, son, and family friend. He has murdered his next-door neighbor and is threatening to kill those in the house if he does not get his demands. One of his demands is for immunity from the murder charge if he surrenders without harming any of the people in the house. He also wants a case of beer and some fast food soon or "something will happen". The focus of this essay is to explain the type of incident that has occurred, which category this hostage-taker falls into, and what my optimal role is in the situation as a police psychologist. Next will be to provide a plan and course of action to interact with the suspect, explain the precautions to be taken, along with the precautions I will request the department to take, express what fundamental problems that I as a police psychologist may be able to foresee in a prolong standoff and how to address them. Identifying the sources used to gather information regarding the perpetrator and the specific information that would be most beneficial to gather. Identifying how to would handle the situation with a very minimal amount of information; identify some probable reasons as to the perpetrator’s mental state, what possible symptoms he may be presenting, and the likely outcome of the incident. Finally, how could I best prepare for this type of crisis situation and benefit the department? What needs to occur before I (as a psychologist) can become an integral part of the team? As a part of the crisis negotiation team, we would have to determine if this is a hostage or non-hostage situation and based off the information that has been received from inside the residence, it is a hostage situation (barricaded with victims). The hostage-taker has expressed that if certain demands are not met then bad things are going to happen and has also shown that he is willing to take more lives in addition to murdering his neighbor. When it comes to hostage situations there are usually only three possible outcomes; one kill the hostages and/or commit suicide, lessen the demands to a more achievable magnitude and continue negotiations or surrender to police. There are normally three choices for hostage negotiators or police supervisors at a hostage/barricade situation. The first response is to send in a large number of officers (SWAT) and to use force (whether physical or gunfire), to shoot chemical agents such as tear gas or pepper spray into the building where the suspect is held up as to try to draw him out or finally, the last option is to contain the area and use a negotiator to deal with this issue. With the first two options the chances of someone getting hurt or killed is extremely high. My optimal role in this situation would be to preserve life; the primary focus of any crisis negotiation team is saving the lives of the hostages but saving everyone including the hostage taker would be the ultimate prize. Most of the time, resolving crisis incident without the loss of life or use of tactical force is quite high. “Negotiators can peacefully resolve over 90% of the incidents they negotiate” (Kitaeff p. 347). I also think it is very important to for a police psychologist to understand the foundation of police work. This should including numerous hours of training with the different departments (e.g. K-9 unit, patrol unit, drug task force, and the SWAT team). These will make officer feel more at one with the individuals doing the negotiations and ensure that they are qualified to be involved in the inner workings of the crisis negotiation team. A licensed psychologist cannot just simply walk on to a police department expecting to be put on the team and accepted. the cognitive aspect of a crisis situation is one that is best given by a psychologist. A psychologist is only good to this team if he/she is specifically trained through seminars and the same training as those in law enforcement in hostage/crisis negotiations. (Kitaeff p. 345) As a psychologist, they would be better at figuring out why a suspect would act a certain way or what he or she may be thinking. There are two exercises that the text refers to that would help with group dynamic and communication between members on these teams; the Fish Bowl and Round Table. The Fish Bowl simulates a scenario in which the negotiator is not meant to be a problem solver but rather engage in effective listening skills and Round Table is meant to trigger responses that may come up to answer a suspect’s statements in an actual incident. The mental health consultant is an extremely vital piece in this whole scheme of things and is meant to provide information and training in all (emotional, behavioral, etc.) aspect of a scenario; their main function is to ensure that these law enforcement officers are prepared as much as they can be for any type of situation. I also think it is very important to for a police psychologist to understand the foundation of police work. This should including numerous hours of training with the different departments (e.g. K-9 unit, patrol unit, drug task force, and the SWAT team). These will make officer feel more at one with the individuals doing the negotiations and ensure that they are qualified to be involved in the inner workings of the crisis negotiation team. The people to be responding initially to this situation would most likely be the first responders (police, fire/ems). I believe whom ever the first responders are should have at least some basis of training for what they should or should not do when being the first on the scene. As a part of the Incident Command staff/crisis negotiation team, you must ensure that individuals involved with the crisis negotiation team are deployed to the correct areas. For example, you would have to ensure the SWAT/tactical team members are set up in the correct areas. Locking down or evacuating the school and the public library would also be extremely important; you do not want anymore innocent bystanders being exposed to this potential dangerous situation. I would also ensure that the media is not in the area; drawing even more attention to situation or letting the perpetrator inside the house with access to television or radio might potentially set him off. I believe the main point of any department is to train first responders to handle the initial negotiation to make the situation stable enough until the crisis negotiation team can arrive. We have to keep in mind that from the initial call, a negotiation unit takes about forty five minutes to an hour estimated time of arrival. This will allow for a correct identification of a problem and ensure the correct resources are notified in a timely matter. As the negotiator I would want to try to contain the hostage taker to the smallest location in the building or exterior area and attempt to deny the opportunity to observe the police presence activities. My first and primary precaution is the safety and well being of the public so given that this incident is on a Friday at 3:15 p.m. It could be safe to assume that school has let out or in the process of releasing students from this middle school. In addition to the school, there is also a public library that could be busy; it is my duty to make sure that all parties are safe, so I would request an immediate lock down/evacuation of both buildings. I would also place uniformed officers on the street near those buildings. Requesting a release to the press might actually be smart so parents would not panic and drive to the school to get their children causing further commotion and activity in the area. In a drawn-out stand-off, individuals begin to become fatigued and may need to have a change out, so at some point I would request that the officers that have been there for an extended period of time be relieved of his or her duties and replaced by another officer. One of the issues with doing that is that some important information may not be conveyed to the oncoming officer so there could be a break down in communication. I think the best way to maybe prevent that break down from happening is to ensure that everything is documented in some form or fashion. In addition to the officers becoming fatigued, I would start to become exhausted and possibly make some decisions that may not be best. Every member needs to employ their active listening skills and make sure they are always on their toes; this is one of the keys to obtaining a successful outcome. Over time, the actor may become more emotional or even more irritable; in some cases they may just get too tired to put up a fight anymore and may just surrender. However, if he is in his own residence, he may be more comfortable and have supplies to last quite a while. If possible, the first individuals I would try to reach out to communicate with would be his immediate family, attempting to reach out to his mother and father if they were readily available might just be the most beneficial and give the best insight as to the kind of person we would be dealing with. If this individual is gainfully employed I would want to talk to his supervisors; find out how he performs at work, what his attitude is, is he friendly with co-workers? The information I am looking for is things that could of set him off or possibly tap into a soft spot where he may reflect and rethink what he is doing. Was the family friend messing around with his wife? Does anyone have information about his medical history, if he was on any medication and if he was, what are they? Did he recently lose his job? How has is behavior been over that past few months? Also, is he on any street drugs or is he an alcoholic? I believe that most crisis situations that a man would not necessarily want to kill his family but taking hostages is his way of dealing with a crisis possibly not even related to the family. Sometimes forcing themselves to be with their family is the one thing that may keep the actor sane. Along with being concerned about what is going on outside the residence, the family and other hostage are probably freaking out right now, not only because they themselves are hostages but because this man has murdered someone and they might be next. Without talking to the hostage-taker himself, you cannot fully know why he is creating this barricade situation but by obtaining all the information you can to make this a positive outcome. From the reading it seems the steps that should be taken are introduction and establishing contact, relationship building, problem negotiation, and resolution with the resolution hopefully ending with no casualties. I feel the best person to become the negotiator is the one that feels that they can best identify with the hostage-taker. The better the established relationship between the negotiator and the perpetrator, the better the outcome could possibly be. If a mental health consultant is playing the role of the negotiator, it may be best to not reveal to the actor that they are in fact a psychologist; doing so may put into the actor's mind that everyone thinks they are crazy and might set them off and/or anger them. Sometimes it seems elementary to remember everything that you have learned on a day to day basis. However, when some individuals come under immense stress, they can have the tendency to freeze up like a deer in headlights and forget all of their training-which can be deadly in this situation, or they just kind of go into auto pilot, really buckle down and do what it is they need to accomplish. Having the first result happen could cause panic within the mental health consultant and trickle to the other members of the team and maybe even out to the hostage-taker. I think in scenarios like a crisis negotiation, the team kind of looks up to the mental health consultant because they seem to be the person to be able to get into the mind of the actor and if they see him or her break down then they might lose their own confidence. Personally, when my adrenaline kicked in, whether it was being on the local first aid and rolling up to the scene of an accident where seconds counted or performing combat lifesaver skills during a mock fire fight, I feel in a way I kind of black out but am completely focused, go into survival mode and get the job done-what a rush! Every single member of the Crisis Negotiation Team is important and even vital, whether it is the mental health consultant, Incident Command or SWAT team members, every person involved has the same goal: keep everyone involved safe and alive while obtaining a peaceful surrender. The Crisis Negotiation Team is like a pyramid or a structure; you take away one piece or have a weak area and the entire structure could come crashing down or will just depending on the amount of time that goes by. Having the absolute best team of highly trained individuals is the key to any successful group, department or team; everyone plays their part, works together and they will be successful.

References

Kitaeff, Jack, (2011). Handbook of Police Psychology. 1st ed. New York, NY: Routledge/Psychology Press.