Kidnapping investigations: enhancing the flow of information.

Undoubtedly one of the most traumatic experiences a family can face, a kidnapping also severely challenges the law enforcement agency responsible for successfully resolving the situation. In such difficult circumstances, however, agencies can turn to an effective aid--crisis negotiation teams. (1) These teams fill a unique and effective role that ultimately benefits the on-scene commander, investigative personnel, and the victim family. The true value of a crisis negotiation team's assistance, however, often does not become apparent until the kidnapping ends. The grandson of an 88-year-old victim shared his thoughts about how an FBI crisis negotiation team helped him endure his grandmother's kidnapping. He believed that the negotiators who remained with him during the 2-day ordeal were extremely valuable because of the information they provided, along with their experience, knowledge, and wisdom. He stated, "I had that [experience, knowledge, and wisdom] at my fingertips. I had answers to my questions in regard to how I might negotiate, how the transaction might happen, how the transfer might go down, what to say, how to personalize my messages, how to communicate effectively."

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One of the crisis negotiation team's primary responsibilities in any critical situation is to support the overall investigative effort. In the case of a kidnapping, the crisis negotiation team works closely with the victim family members. The team establishes a negotiation operations center, makes assessments of family members, and guides and supports them through what is likely their darkest hour. The team, using its negotiation training, develops strategies to reduce the subject's expectations, to respond to threats and demands, and, most important, to seek the safe return of the victim.

Establish Negotiation Operations Center

A crisis negotiation team typically sets up a negotiation operations center within the victim family's residence or place of business, whichever seems the most likely point of contact by the subjects. The team members immerse themselves with the family; in doing so, personnel can observe and converse with family members on a consistent basis, continually gleaning information regarding the victim, including past behaviors and routines, and the situation. This immersion with family members serves several more purposes. It limits the traffic in and around the victim family's residence; demonstrates the commitment and dedication to the safe recovery of their loved one; enables investigators to focus on investigative leads; and provides the on-scene commander and investigative personnel with real-time, accurate information. Negotiators can address questions from investigators or commanders immediately with the family. By the same token, if the family has questions about the investigation, negotiators can address these as well. This clearly becomes an effective and efficient means of obtaining and disseminating information pertinent to the kidnapping and takes full advantage of the capabilities of the negotiation team.

To successfully fill such an important role, the crisis negotiation team must be well trained, disciplined, and organized. The team, along with other investigators, should participate in the initial debriefing of the family members. Other members of the crisis negotiation team will begin equipment set up, designed to capture any future communication with the subjects.

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In an effort to be the least intrusive, the crisis negotiation team should seek to establish the negotiation operations center in a suitable place within the residence or building where members can answer and discreetly monitor calls. The negotiation operations center also should have an area where the team can conduct private meetings, hold shift-change discussions, and conduct telephone conversations with investigators, yet offer sufficient privacy to the family. Team members and investigators should avoid conducting brain-storming or case discussions where family members inadvertently may overhear their remarks because the family may misinterpret such discussions as disagreements or inexperience.

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Assess Family Members

Upon arrival at the residence, crisis negotiators immediately begin to assess family members to determine those best suited to serve as the spokespersons, usually referred to as third-party intermediaries (TPIs). (2) The crisis negotiation team will select, coach, and role-play with the anticipated TPIs. The coaching and role-playing act as an invaluable exercise with the family members to help them become more comfortable with the conversations, threats, or demands they may encounter and to rehearse their responses. This practice also enables the negotiation team to observe and assess who is the most coachable, the most reliable, and the most able to handle the challenge of serving as the TPI, thereby following one of law enforcement's well-known theories--the manner in which officers train directly relates to the manner in which they perform.

The family members of a kidnap victim often become overwhelmed with a wide range of emotions. Some family members may feel the need to "do something," while others are sad, angry, confused, or distraught. The fundamental aspect of the crisis negotiator's craft is active listening. (3) The team's skill in identifying and labeling these wide-ranging emotions serves to comfort the family, demonstrates empathy, and establishes and builds rapport. From this growing and developing relationship, the victim family becomes more at ease and cooperative and, most important, increasingly confident in the abilities of law enforcement to secure a successful outcome.

Guide and Support Family

The grandson's comments in the opening example highlight the crisis negotiation team's skillfulness in preparing family members for anticipated contacts from the subject, which often include steep monetary demands and intimidating threats of bodily harm or death. Negotiators provide guidance and offer experience in dealing with what can be frightening and confrontational interactions with kidnappers. Negotiators prepare family members for the first communication after law enforcement becomes involved. During this critical time, family members should seek to personalize the victim and ask for "proof of life." Ideally, this involves talking directly to the victim. In lieu of this, negotiators should help the family craft a question that only the victim can answer, such as "What was the name of your pet dog when you were 9 years old?" In personalizing the victim, negotiators should advise family members to highlight various facts about the victim, including whether the victim is a parent, sibling, or child. Also, they should inform the subjects of any medical conditions and fully exploit this information. For example, a wife may state, "My husband has a heart condition and needs his medicine. I would hate to see something happen to him accidentally because he didn't get his medicine. Then we both don't get what we want." Statements like this clearly place the responsibility for the welfare of the victim and the impending deal on the subjects, yet the family member delivers the information in a nonconfrontational manner.

Develop Strategies

Negotiators also offer guidance and coaching in the strategies and techniques of lowering the subject's expectations and stalling for time. With regard to lowering expectations, crisis negotiation team members try to make subjects realize the inherent difficulties in obtaining large amounts of ransom money. For example, they inform subjects that banks often ask questions regarding large withdrawals and have to report large transactions. They also tell them that family assets are not liquid, thus making cash not readily available. Or, they say that the family simply does not have the resources to cover the demanded ransom. Such strategies set the tone for lowered expectations, yet indicate a willingness to cooperate.

Negotiators coach and role-play with the family spokesperson, or TPI, so the individual can become more comfortable with responding to potential threats and ransom demands. Proper preparation is crucial to successfully communicating with subjects and getting the most out of every contact. These and other techniques aid in stalling for time. Time enables investigators to employ technical assets and to follow up on leads and fully develop the investigation.

Conclusion

Crisis negotiation teams can make significant contributions in kidnapping situations. The unique skills they possess and the critical role they play serve to strengthen the effectiveness of the overall investigative initiative and enable efficient, timely information flow with other key components. As Albert Einstein said, "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." When such assistance so clearly benefits on-scene commanders, investigators, and victim families, it simply makes sense to seize the opportunity and call out the crisis negotiation team.

Endnotes

(1) For additional information, see Chuck Regini, "Crisis Negotiation Teams: Selection and Training," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, November 2002, 1-5.

(2) For additional information, see Stephen J. Romano, "Third-Party Intermediaries and Crisis Negotiation," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, October 1998, 20-24.

(3) For additional information, see Stephen J. Romano, "Communication Survival Skills for Managers," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, September 2002, 14-16.

RELATED ARTICLE: A Kidnapping Perspective

She recalled watching helplessly as her husband was abducted and led away into the thick forest. She stared in disbelief, heeding the kidnappers' command to remain there for an hour. As she waited, she kept expecting her husband to appear from the bushes, walking toward her. He never came.

Over the next several days and weeks, she went through a range of emotions. Initially, she was upset and scared. Some days, she believed she was falling apart. She had bouts of crying, felt angry, and became argumentative. She attributed her ability to pull herself together to FBI negotiators who worked with her--preparing her, coaching her, and role-playing with her--all in preparation for conversations with her husband's kidnappers.

Negotiators helped her focus on saving her husband's life. She convinced herself that she had to be strong. She remains grateful to these negotiators, especially in light of the fact that her husband is alive today, because they offered her guidance and advice and prepared her for taking part in the negotiation process.

She had several conversations with her husband's kidnappers. Before the calls, the negotiators role-played possible scenarios. They prepared her for the threats she received, and they focused her on achieving an established goal for each call, such as stalling for time and lowering expectations. She wrote notes to herself on what she was going to say and practiced on her own. The negotiators provided immediate feedback after each call; this gave her confidence.

She described the kidnapping of her husband as one of the most stressful and emotional situations she ever encountered. Sometimes, she unleashed her wide-ranging emotions of frustration, anger, and fear on the negotiators; however, they did not seem to mind. She stated that she considered the negotiators "friends" and sensed their commitment to the priority: getting her husband home alive.

In an interview shortly after her husband's return, she expressed gratitude to the time the negotiators spent with her, acknowledging that they were away from their own families while helping her. She stated, "Negotiators enabled me to keep my husband alive. They helped me do that."