In the last four decades, hostage situations have rapidly increased in the world due to the threat of terrorism and other social problems. The goals of hostage takers are to achieve certain political, criminal, and/or social benefits through hostage situations. It is not only a police problem but also a governmental problem. Police apply either negotiation or tactical intervention in hostage situations to recover hostages without bloodshed or loss of life. Success in this endeavor is based on effective negotiation. The purposes of this study are to analyze the major actors and their roles in hostage situations, to identify effective negotiation strategies and tools, and to provide some future recommendations for governments, police agencies, and researchers for peaceful resolutions in hostage situations.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity International University, 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-140).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity International University, 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-140).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity International University, 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-140).

The current study investigated communicative interactions between hostage takers and negotiators in hostage taking incidents. This study used communications from six actual hostage negotiations as data to study those communication behaviors that depict rapport and face saving in relation to the incident outcome. Three of these incidents had a resolution ending with the arrest of the hostage taker, while the remaining three culminated in the suicide of the hostage taker. The unit of analysis was a single thought unit. The findings from this investigation were as follows, more rapport statements were made by both the hostage taker and the negotiator in situations with a non-violent resolution vs. a violent one. Results also indicated in situations ending in suicide, there were more loss of face statements made by the hostage taker directed toward himself, than in incidents ending in arrest.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 1982. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Steve Richard Pieczenik. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 1982.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, May, 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S. in Computer Science)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2010. / Thesis Advisor(s): Martell, Craig. Second Reader: Anand, Pranav. "March 2010." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 26, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Persuasion, Persuasion Detection, Hostage Negotiations, Cialdini, Cohen, Cohen's Kappa. Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-75). Also available in print.

By conducting this theory-based empirical study, gathering data from working negotiators in the US and Canada, I have determined what primary dynamic activities, communication skills, and negotiation tools are used by hostage/crisis negotiators. Negotiators implement their negotiation and decision strategies differently depending on whether the situations they deal with are instrumental or expressive. I have determined which elements of negotiations and factors affecting negotiations differ while handling instrumental and expressive hostage situations. I found that the collected data did not reveal any significant relationship between handling instrumental/expressive hostage situations differently and belief in the elements of Brenda Dervin's and Shannon-Weaver's theories. I have also determined that the belief in the elements of the Dervin's and Shannon-Weaver's theories is workable and practical for negotiators to use. Based on the above findings, the model suggested by this research adds the elements and directives of Dervin's and Shannon-Weaver's models to the common approach used by the negotiators. This revised model suggests that the negotiators pay attention to the dynamics of the interactions presented between the two parties: the negotiators themselves and hostage takers. The revised model also recommends that the negotiators focus on not only the hostage takers behavioral characteristics, psychological conditions, and criminal history but also on the meaning of the sent message and the interaction itself as performed between the two parties. This perspective enables the negotiators to look at the negotiation process as information and communication process. We are not ignoring the fact that hostage negotiation is a format of extreme information management. By looking at such an extreme case, we can add to our understanding of Dervin's and Shannon-Weaver's perspectives in order to see the hostage negotiation process from a wider perspective. The revised model is not an alternative approach to the common approach most negotiators use. Instead, the revised model uses the perspective and directives of the common approach and extends its meaning and content by also focusing on Dervin's sense making theory and Shannon-Weaver's communication model perspectives. The use of the perspective of this revised model is one more tool for the negotiators to use in order to promote new ways of looking at hostage negotiation resolutions.

Hostage and crisis negotiators are police officers who have been trained to respond to and resolve hostage and crisis incidents. They are often required to respond to highly-pressurised and emotive incidents that may last for protracted periods of time and are likely to encounter situations whereby their actions could play a role in whether individuals live or die. The first aim of the current thesis was to identify whether negotiators in the United Kingdom (UK) possess certain traits or characteristics that serve to enable them to perform their role effectively and differentiate them from the wider police population. The first phase of the research involved a quantitative cross-sectional comparison of a sample of hostage and crisis negotiators (n = 117) with a sample of non-negotiator police officers (n = 118) from 21 UK forces and a sample of students (n = 203) utilising a psychometric test battery measuring five constructs previously identified within the literature as playing a role in success within occupational settings: Personality, Coping Style, Cognitive Emotion Regulation, Decision-Making Style and Emotional Intelligence. The findings refuted the existence of a “unique hostage and crisis negotiator profile” but confirmed the existence of a unique “police officer profile” by demonstrating significant differences between both police samples and the student sample in relation to all constructs measured. These findings are discussed with reference to the implications for the selection, training and CPD of UK negotiators. Hostage and crisis negotiation is one of many options available to police incident commanders and is well-established as an effective means of resolving hostage and crisis incidents. Whilst there is a plethora of published literature relating to the entity of hostage and crisis negotiation, the majority of this literature has been developed within the United States of America (USA), on the basis of USA negotiator deployments and experiences. The second aim, therefore, was to provide an insight into the discipline of negotiation in the UK by conducting a constructivist grounded theory analysis of the experiences of negotiators as derived from semi-structured interviews with 15 negotiators from nine UK police forces. The findings allowed for the development of five grounded theoretical micro-models: a) The Nature and Characteristics of UK Hostage and Crisis Negotiation, b) The UK Hostage and Crisis Negotiator Journey, c) The UK-Centric D.I.A.M.O.N.D. Procedural Model of Hostage and Crisis Negotiation, d) The UK Hostage and Crisis Negotiator Experience, and e) The Self-Perceived Successful UK Hostage and Crisis Negotiator Profile. These micro-models are discussed with reference to their implications for hostage and crisis negotiation policy and practice in a UK-centric context.