Saving Lives: The S.A.F.E. Model for Resolving Hostage and Crisis Incidents (Praeger Security International)

The standoff and ultimate tragedy in Waco, Texas, highlights the potential volatility and uncertainty of crisis negotiations and demonstrates the challenges law enforcement officials face as they attempt to resolve these situations. Hammer's book provides a practical negotiation approach (the S.A.F.E. model) that hostage negotiators and first responders can use to help save lives in situations where violence or the threat of violence is present. He identifies methods of interaction and communication during a hostage crisis that help to dispel tension and resolve situations peacefully.Combining approaches from various schools of thought on the topic, and applying the methods to both domestic and international contexts, the author has devised a model that is applicable to many types of crisis negotiations and focuses on interaction, communication, and discourse designed to bring a situation down to a manageable level. Through the analysis of several cases representing domestic, criminal, and suicidal situations, he provides a vivid roadmap to the ways in which crisis negotiation can be used to dispel violence before it takes place. This work provides a practical negotiation approach that hostage negotiators and first responders can use to help save lives in situations where violence or the threat of violence is present. The S.A.F.E. model is based on four 'triggers' : Substantive Demands or the instrumental wants/demands made by the parties; Attunement or the relational trust established between the parties; Face or the self-image of each of the parties that is threatened or honoured; and Emotion or the degree of emotional distress experienced by the parties. It identifies methods of interaction and communication during a hostage crisis that help to dispel tension and resolve situations peacefully. Combining approaches from various schools of thought on the topic, and applying the methods to both domestic and international contexts, the author has devised a model that is applicable to many types of crisis negotiations and focuses on interaction, communication, and discourse designed to bring a situation down to a manageable level. Through the analysis of several cases representing domestic, criminal, and suicidal situations, the author provides a vivid roadmap to the ways in which crisis negotiation can be used to dispel violence before it takes place The standoff and ultimate tragedy in Waco, Texas, highlights the potential volatility and uncertainty of crisis negotiations and demonstrates the challenges law enforcement officials face as they attempt to resolve these situations. Hammer's book provides a practical negotiation approach (the S.A.F.E. model) that hostage negotiators and first responders can use to help save lives in situations where violence or the threat of violence is present. He identifies methods of interaction and communication during a hostage crisis that help to dispel tension and resolve situations peacefully. Combining approaches from various schools of thought on the topic, and applying the methods to both domestic and international contexts, the author has devised a model that is applicable to many types of crisis negotiations and focuses on interaction, communication, and discourse designed to bring a situation down to a manageable level. Through the analysis of several cases representing domestic, criminal, and suicidal situations, he provides a vivid roadmap to the ways in which crisis negotiation can be used to dispel violence before it takes place. The devastation of crisis and violence The growth of crisis negotiation Traditional approaches to crisis negotiation Negotiating substantive demands Negotiating attunement and face frames Negotiating emotional distress frames The Alpha Incident : to pay for one's sins The Bravo Incident : the end of the line The Charlie Incident : a Russian agent The Delta Incident : a deadline to detonate Extending the S.A.F.E. model : where do we go from here? Appendix A: Underlying assumptions and theoretical foundations Appendix B: Teaching the S.A.F.E. model : a discourse analytic approach. Offers A Practical Approach To Handling Crisis Negotiations In Hostage Situations