Hostage Negotations

HOSTAGE NEGOTATIONS

Negotiating as a “science” actually began as a result of two tragic, world shaking events—the 1971 Attica, New York prison riots, and the 1972 Munch

Germany Olympic Village massacre.

Attica

September 9, 1971, in the state prison in Attica, New York, a long simmering unrest exploded into a prison-wide riot. The inmates had been increasingly upset and frustrated by the conditions at the prison and the overwhelming perceptions was that they were being treated as slaves or political prisoners and they had had enough. Inmates had complained to no avail about the horrendously overcrowded conditions, the restrictions on basic personal hygiene, the censorship of letters, and the general oppressive attitude of the administration.

As the inmates were just heading out to go to breakfast, a guard was spontaneously overpowered and beaten which led to a full scale riot in a very short period of time. The rioters broke into restricted areas and eventually obtained access to all cellblocks. Over 2,200 inmates housed at the prison were almost all involved in the violence in some capacity. Guards were beaten and fires were started. The New York State Police quickly regained control of all cellblocks except one. The inmates only held D Yard, a large outdoor field surrounded by walls and gun towers. The hostages, numbering 39, mostly guards and other prison employees were held in a circle by the inmates who possessed weapons.

Leaders of the rioters compiled a list of demands which included better living conditions, no mail censorship, more phone calls, and other things. They also requested particular individuals to act as negotiators and observers. Then

Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller was assembling hundreds of state troopers and

National Guard soldiers in the area. The head of the New York Corrections who was acting as a negotiator agreed to honor the demand for better living conditions, but refused to give amnesty for the inmates in D Yard. Over the next four days what unfolded was an exercise in incompetence and miscalculation.

Negotiations stalled, brokered by an ever-changing ad hoc mediation team of more than 30 people formed in response to the prisoners’ demands. The negotiator went back and forth, criticized by all sides, both by those who thought he was compromising too little and those who thought he was compromising too much.

The observers who had come at the behest of the inmates begged

Governor Rockefeller to come to Attica, but he refused. He ordered the prison to be taken by force at any cost.

Four days into the uprising, the inmates were told to surrender. They did not. Helicopters began dropping tear gas into D Yard while the troops stormed into the prison firing 300 rounds into the fog created by the tear gas, killing 29 inmates and 10 hostages. Eighty-nine more people were wounded. Most of the casualties were shot in the initial round of gunfire, but many prisoners were shot and killed after they surrendered. It was the worst prison riot in United States history.

1972 Munich

The 1972 Olympics were held in Munich, Germany. On September 5,

1972, terrorists claiming to be representing a Palestinian guerrilla group, invaded the Munich Olympics. About 5:00 a.m., one of the terrorist attackers knocked on a door in one of the buildings at Olympic Village and when the door opened the first shots were fired.

As the terrorists went room to room looking for Israeli’s six were able to escape through a rear door. More than 300 police officers were called to seal off the buildings which were under attack. The Olympic officials and the Munich police chief acted as the primary negotiators with the attackers. The siege had begun.

Quite early in the takeover, the terrorists issued a list of demands. Noon was the deadline to accept, or they promised two Israelis would be shot. At 9:35 a.m. the terrorists issued their demands. The noon deadline came and went with nothing being settled. Negotiations dragged on. Several offers were sent in to the attackers, but Israel stuck with its longstanding policy of not dealing with terrorists at all. The “negotiators” did not believe there was a chance to take the building by force, and also that the Arab terrorists would not surrender no matter what happened. By night fall, nothing had really been accomplished and the Arabs were talking about leaving with the hostages. Negotiators tried to convince the terrorists that they could leave West Germany safely, but under no circumstances could they leave with the hostages.

Nevertheless, a bus was provided that evening to take the Arabs out of

Olympic Village as they had demanded. Three helicopters also landed. Shortly after 10:00 p.m. the terrorists came out of the building with the hostages who were blindfolded and tied together. All went into the bus and headed to the helicopters. They were ultimately headed to a plane which was going to take them out of West Germany. More people were killed at the plane. Some were shot while they stood in front of the plane. A hand grenade was tossed into one of the helicopters killing all the occupants. A botched rescue attempt at least, stopped them from leaving the country.

The terrorists had first demanded that 200 Arabs in jail in Israel be released and that they (the terrorists) be safely transported to their homeland.

That same night, the hostages, five of their captors and one German police officer were dead. Three of the Arab terrorists were captured. The attempt to rescue the hostages was a miserable failure. Hostage Negotiations Today

Lessons have been learned from the tragic events of countless hostages situations, such as the two included here. Instead of the haphazard attempts at trying to get terrorists or other hostage takers to “give up” or at least release hostages, there is a system and an organized way of handling situations. People of various areas of expertise, such as psychologists, law enforcement and social scientists, pool their knowledge and experience to apply to hostage situations.

Organizations all over the United States and the world, devote themselves to gathering information, education, and news relating to hostage negotiations.

Hostage situations are something that law enforcement dreads. They place innocent people in extreme danger. Any intervention usually includes force, even deadly force, which is risky for all concerned. The ideal end result of a hostage situation is, of course, one where everyone walks away. Each case is different, but some basic facts about hostage situations are common to all. This information has been used to education and train negotiators so that any circumstances can be addressed in the most effective and safe manner.

Hostage situations can be domestic related, political, inmates, fugitive, or can even be a case of a mentally ill person with no discernable reason to be taking hostages. Today’s professionals need to be aware of the similarities and differences of these types of cases and be able to adjust and be flexible with what is desirable and what is contraindicated in each type of negotiations. Negotiators have certain objectives and tactics which can vary, depending on many variables. But the basics remain the same. The primary objectives of a negotiator are:

1. Prolonging the situation.

2. Ensure the safety of the hostages.

3. Keep things calm.

4. Try to develop a relationship between negotiator and hostage-taker

and between hostage-taker and hostages.

Books, magazine articles, journal articles and training courses are now available to train and assist those who want to become or remain proficient in this relatively new “profession.” Had this body of knowledge been available in the early 1970’s many more people would be alive today.

References

BBC News: 1972: Olympic hostages killed in gun battle.

Miller, Abraham. Terrorism and Hostage Negotiations. Westview Press, 1980.

Grabianowski, Ed, How Hostage Negotiation Works. 2008.