NCJ Number
137877
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 61 Issue: 8 Dated: (August 1992) Pages: 6-10
Date Published
1992
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Since the 1970's, negotiation has been viewed as an effective first response to hostage and barricade situations; the volatility and complexity of these incidents, however, require a planned and prepared response.
Abstract
Effective negotiation training courses include a focus on psychologically classifying the hostage taker. This classification allows negotiators to understand the subject's style and motivation and to choose a negotiation strategy appropriate for the situation. Research indicates that mentally disturbed individuals are involved in over 50 percent of all hostage-taking incidents. More research, however, is needed on subjects suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD) and their involvement in crisis situations. Because their reactions often involve actual or threatened violence, borderlines generally have frequent contact with law enforcement. In addition, substance abuse tends to be common among individuals suffering from BPD. Key traits of persons with BPD include manipulative behavior, rapid mood swings, frequent suicide threats or gestures, and extreme dependence on others. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the essential feature of BPD is a pervasive pattern of instability of self-image, interpersonal relationships, and mood. Borderlines usually come to the attention of police officers through barricade or domestic hostage incidents. During crisis negotiations, their demands tend to focus on gaining the attention of others. Because of the unstable and unpredictable nature of persons with BPD, extreme caution must be exercised when negotiating with them. Borderlines tend to transfer the hostility and dependency they harbor in their own personal relationships directly to negotiators. Negotiators must remain alert to psychotic symptoms and, as in dealing with psychotic subjects, must avoid arguing with borderlines about the content of their delusions. The borderline individual must be kept as calm as possible, and excess activity around the scene must be eliminated. Negotiators must provide structure for subjects by describing each phase of any planned interaction. Police departments that lack negotiators with experience in handling borderlines may consider requesting the assistance of clinical psychologists to resolve high-risk confrontations. 7 endnotes