Answers About Hostage Negotiation, Part 1

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Taking QuestionsAsk a Hostage Negotiator

Frank A. Bolz Jr., a founder of the New York Police Department's hostage-negotiation team is taking reader questions.

Frank A. Bolz Jr., one of the founders of the New York Police Department's hostage-negotiating unit, is taking reader questions. Read the introductory post about Mr. Bolz and post your own questions for him.

What was the biggest mistake you made during a negotiation and how did you apply what you learned to the next one?
- KevDog, Williamsville

Fortunately, we have not made any mistake that caused anyone any harm. However, there was one instance that we learned from.

It was in a Bronx tenement, on a fourth-floor landing, 4 o'clock in the morning. A family is being held hostage by an emotionally disturbed relative. I am on the landing negotiating, accompanied by m y secondary negotiator. We are backed up by two Emergency Service Unit tactical officers armed with shotguns. We are seven hours into the job. During the course of negotiating we gathered intelligence about the perp and about the family.

Suddenly we hear running footsteps coming down the darkened apartment hallway. We shout out “Stop! Stop! Halt.” The steps keep coming, the secondary and I back off and the Emergency Service Unit guys aim their shotguns. In a fraction of a second, an 8-year-old girl appears at the door.

The disciplined team had held their fire. We would later learn the child was deaf, and that while gathering intelligence about the family no one thought of her as disabled and never mentioned the deafness.

In any of the situations that you were involved in, was anyone ever successful? That is, were all of their demands met, and they then got away with it, and if so… why?



I'd like to add that s aying that you must have led an interesting life/career compared to the average Joe.
- RC, Pompano Beach FL

That depends on what they were looking for. Many situations come about because the person is looking for attention, for himself or for a cause. He/she takes a hostage, makes threats and does a lot of screaming and makes demands, many of them impossible. He believes he is successful because of all the police and media presence. He is on the news.

As far as my career, no job quite like it. The Hostage Program has saved a lot of people.

Is there a movie that really “gets it right” regarding what you do?
- Aubman, 32080

In the movie “The Negotiator,” the title character identifies a lie by the fact that the speaker “looked up and to the left” while talking. What do the professionals think of such “tells”: bunk or real?
- Pat, US

Are there any representations of hostage negotiations in film or TV that you find particularly accurate? Conversely, any things about hostage negotiations that film and TV often get wrong?
- Nick, LA, CA

Though Hollywood rarely gets it completely right, “The Negotiator” was better than most and the closest to being accurate in the actual negotiating process. What I find disturbing in some films or TV is the way they portray the lack of cooperation between the negotiators and the tactical team. Film creates a conflict between the two, which is not accurate. In the N.Y.P.D., we had the negotiators train at the range with the Emergency Service tactical guys, establishing a team effort, each getting to know the other's function.

The other big problem I have is that “The Negotiator” is not “in command” of the incident. In our program, the ranking patrol commander is in charge, because when the tactical guys and the negotiators pack up their gear and leave, it is the patrol guys who will have to deal with the community.

Body language can be a very important part of the intelligence portrait of the subject. We have included some mention of it in our training program. Though it may not get the same significance as in a poker tournament.

Are some situations more difficult to resolve than others? For example, are domestic hostage negotiations typically harder to resolve peacefully than one with political overtones?
- Trixie in the Heart of Dixie, Atlanta, GA

It seems that domestic incidents make up the major part of hostage and barricaded situations that hostage- and crisis-negotiating teams respond to. They can be the most dangerous to the victims because the parties know each others' faults and foibles and often harbor deep personal animosities. Though these situations are difficult, we have been very successful. For many years, more police officers were killed or injured responding to domestic disputes than to all other crimes.

Political incidents, though they may sta rt locally, will usually be deferred to federal authorities with our backup, though the N.Y.P.D. has handled a few hostage and barricade situations at foreign missions to the United Nations successfully.

What can everyday people take away or learn from what you do?
 Is humor a tool you have ever used?
- Aubman, 32080

One thing I mention to folks is try to avoid being taken hostage. Before you enter a bank or store look through the window. If you see a bunch of people with their hands up, don't go in. That may seem simple, but we have had it happen on more than one occasion.

One must be very careful with humor. The subject may be setting you up to make you appear prejudiced. Then again, some people just can't tell a joke. When the time is right, the subject may permit some humor later on.

Read more about Captain Bolz, ask him a question and read our Retro City post about an epic 1973 hostage situation.