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Hostage and barricade situations occur frequently in law enforcement practice. Large-scale standoffs, such as the Branch Davidian incident, attract intense media coverage and capture the public's attention. More commonly, however, police deal with hostage/barricade subjects whose motivation is influenced by psychiatric illness, substance abuse or extreme emotional states. With that context in mind, this paper examines the role of mental health consultants with hostage negotiation teams.
Overview of Hostage/ Barricade Incidents
A hostage situation occurs when one or more people are held against their will, with release contingent upon certain demands being met. Regardless of the specific demand, the perpetrator clearly communicates that the hostages will not be released unless certain conditions are satisfied. A barricade situation is one in which an individual is isolated, either with or without hostages, but makes no demands other than "go away." In such instances it is difficult to initiate negotiations to resolve the incident.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), motivations for taking hostages have traditionally fallen into the following categories: as a means to escape from an interrupted criminal act; to gain support or publicity for radical causes; or to influence governments to change a domestic or foreign policy (FBI Special Operations and Research Unit, 1981). Recently a trend has emerged in which hostages are taken to gain retribution for real or perceived wrongful acts occurring on an interpersonal level. These crimes may also express a personal agenda related to an underlying mental illness. This is particularly true for barricaded subjects who threaten suicide.
It has been argued that mentally ill people comprise 50% of all hostage/ barricade subjects (Fuselier, 1981). Generalizations about psychopathology come primarily from anecdotal studies or single case reports. Few studies have examined the incidence and prevalence of psychopathology among hostage/ barricade subjects.
Characteristics of Hostage/ Barricade Situations
A study of 120 incidents revealed the most common situation was a barricaded individual who held hostages at some time during the incident (55.83%) (Feldmann, 2001). Barricaded individuals without hostages (27.5%) and hostage situations without an accompanying barricade (16.67%) were less common.
Six categories of hostage/barricade incidents were identified (Figure 1) and occurred across a variety of locations (Figure 2). Most incidents were committed by males under the age of 30. Offenders...