NCJ Number
179763
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 47 Issue: 10 Dated: October 1999 Pages: 229-232
Date Published
1999
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Police serving as hostage or crisis negotiators in situations involving adolescents must keep in mind that their job is not to solve the youth's real or imagined problems, and that their job consists only of resolving the immediate confrontation safely.
Abstract
Adolescence involves an early phase from ages 12-14 years, a middle phase from ages 13-17, and a late phase from age 16 on. These times are troubled for normal teenagers and are more troublesome for youths burdened by a dysfunctional family and by real physical, psychological, or social problems. Many hostage takers are so blinded by emotions that options that seem logical to more reasonable people escape their attention. Typical troubled adolescents have limited crisis resolution skills due to their lack of experience and the incomplete development of their egos. Police officers must listen to the adolescent hostage taker and make an assessment of the youth's mental state based on the demands, the setting, and the identity of the hostages. Common clinical conditions include depression, anxiety and inadequacy, antisocial personality, and psychosis. Hostage negotiators should use a blend of common sense, experience, and appropriate negotiating techniques. They should determine whether the youth's demands are expressive or instrumental. They should keep in mind that 80-90 percent of communication is nonverbal and carefully monitor the volume, tone, and rate of their speech. They also should be well versed on how to use the Carl Rogers techniques of dynamic silence: listening, repeating, restating, reflection, and reviewing. Photograph and 4 references