Roles And Rules In Terrorist Hostage Taking

Question 1

3 types of hostage taking?

Answer 1

Kidnap
Barricade Siege
Hijack

Question 2

How do the 3 types of hostage taking differ?

Answer 2

Hijacking – Hostages are held under duress but the main goal of the terrorists is something other than killing the hostages, e.g. the al-Qaeda-inspired 9/1 attacks, where planes were hijacked and flown into iconic buildings.

Barricade-siege – Terrorists invade a building to kill or hold people hostage. This type of incident inevitably provokes a quicker response from the authorities and results in a stand-off, e.g. the Bataclan theatre siege where Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) inspired terrorists murdered 90 people and injured many more.

Kidnapping – Different to the first two categories in that it is normally a predetermined activity involving the instigation of demands or concessions by the hostage-takers.

Question 3

What are the implications for the authorities of the 3 types of hostage taking?

Answer 3

Media attention - though Kidnapping might prefer to no have the coverage, particularly if it is not terrorist motivated. Double edged sword for Governments, can help the governments cause for new policy/legalisation, but can also make them look weak and lacking control

Policy of not responding to ransom demands - but may deliver support through other channels so as not to be seen as being influenced by violent acts

Question 4

What might look like hostage taking but isn’t classified as hostage taking?

Answer 4

Kidnap
when the intention is to kill no release the people taken
people who are hiding from attackers

Question 5

What is hostage identification syndrome?

Answer 5

Also known as Stockholm syndrome, a bond between hostage taker and hostage. untestable hypothesis, well untestable in a post Stanford prison experiment world.

Question 6

Why is HIS important?

Answer 6

Increases the likelihood of a hostage situation ending without deaths, BUT may cause increased sympathy for the organisations causes

Question 7

Pros of HIS for each party?

Answer 7

hostage:

increased chance of survival

Authorities

increased chance of hostage survival

Hostage takers

good publicity
hostages easier to control

Question 8

Cons of HIS for each party?

Answer 8

hostage:

?

Authorities

hostages provide good publicity for the cause
hostages cannot be relied on in escape planning

Hostage takers

difficult to harm the hostage if necessary

Question 9

7 factors related to whether HIS occurs in hostage taking

Answer 9

Turner (1985) 7 factors

Face to face contact
Language
Sophistication of individuals
Cultural value structure
Timing of Violence
Time
Manipulation

Question 10

What might the true cause of HIS be?

Answer 10

social roles and rules,
faulty scripts and
script breakdown

Question 11

Define kidnap

Answer 11

•
A person is taken away and held at a
different location against their will.
•
Sometimes called an “abduction”.
•
The location is usually unknown (at first).
Balance of power…abandon the plan.
•
More than one person can be kidnapped.
E.g. a group of tourists, a team of
journalists.
•
Large groups of people are quite rare
because it is hard for the hostage takers to
maintain control…
•
Overpowered, escape.

Question 12

What looks like a kidnap but isn’t?

Answer 12

Are they hostages instead?

• A person abducted in order to be killed which sometimes happens in political
assassinations.
• Was there ever any intention to bargain over their release?
• This can be very hard to judge.
• An abduction and murder may be an assassination or a kidnap gone wrong.
• Where a person, usually a woman or girl, is abducted and kept captive. E.g. Ariel Castro case discovered in Cleveland 2013.
• Three young women abducted and held captive for years.

Question 13

Define barricade siege

Answer 13

• A known location is taken over and the people there are held against their will.
• E.g. a private dwelling, an office, hotel, shopping mall.
• Authorities have the advantage because location is known.
• Hostage takers will now have to negotiate their way out, surrender or escape.
• Few hostage takers intend a suicide mission, although it might be back up plan.
• By definition there is bargaining to be done.
• The most frequent forms are non terrorist, e.g. domestic, criminal and prison hostage taking.
• Sometimes occurs when a different crime goes wrong, e.g. a robbery.

Question 14

What looks like a barricade siege but isn’t?

Answer 14

Hostages

• People present during bank raids and other robberies when the raiders take the money and leave.
• People hiding in hotel rooms during an armed assault.

Question 15

Define hijack

Answer 15

• The taking of a form of transport with the passengers on board.
• You hear about planes; skyjacking is an old term.
• Still happen but most often not are terrorism.
• Other transport is also taken…
• Shipping (see also piracy and maritime terrorism.
• Piracy is not terrorism by definition and vice versa.
• Maritime terrorism involves more than taking boats.
• Busses, cars, even trains have been hijacked.

Question 16

What looks like a hijack but isn’t?

Answer 16

• No hostages or coercion
• Not re routed
• Not used for a different purpose
• The men on board were stowaways
• Possibly asylum seekers
• Also happens with planes

Question 17

Plane hijacking indicators

Answer 17

• Can be of private aircraft.
• Most often commercial flights.
• Hijackers most often board the plane as passengers and don’t announce until after take off.
• Have similarities with kidnap at first…
• Because they are mobile and cannot be surrounded.
• Destination is limited by fuel (and permission to land).
• But once landed become barricade siege.
• Unless they can refuel and take off again.

Question 18

What is a non hostage hijack?

Answer 18

• Confusingly, we also call the theft of a manned vehicle a hijack, even if the people are not taken.
• For example, drug smugglers who steal a private yacht.
• Whether they killed or ejected the occupants they did not take them along they only took the vehicle.
• Or a vehicle “hijacked” to use in crime or terrorism act e.g. the truck used in the Berlin Christmas market attack in 2016.
• The Polish driver was shot and the truck taken.
• Vehicle is used for transport, another purpose, or even held for ransom.
• If there are no people it is not a hostage taking incident
• However, sometimes even when there are people taken it is still not a hostage taking incident…
9/11 - the people on board were never intended to be hostages - hostages are barganing chips, the intention was that they would all die in the attacks

Question 19

Define a hostage

Answer 19

someone who is taken and used by a group as bargaining power to get something they want - money, transport, prisoner release etc

Question 20

Hostages that are not hostages?

Answer 20

Human shields
Suicide by cop
on transport that is going to be intentionally destroyed with people on board

Question 21

Can kidnap, barricade siege or hijacking overlap?

Answer 21

yes and frequently do - hijack turns into barricade siege etc

Question 22

Turner (1985) 7 factors explain Face to face contact

Answer 22

more interaction bet H and HT more likely HIS will occur

Sophisticated group will try to avoid this through:

Gags/hooding
Rotation of guards
no conversation

Difficult for captor to maintain dehumanising strategies

Question 23

Turner (1985) 7 factors explain Language

Answer 23

H and HT must share the same language

can be interesting division of H in hijacking where some H share the same language of the HT but others do not

Question 24

Turner (1985) 7 factors explain Sophistication of individual

Answer 24

A H understanding of psychology of hostage taking can help the development of HIS.

HEAT training is used to develop this within groups like reporters about to go to areas of increased concern like warzones or politically unstable regions

Question 25

Turner (1985) 7 factors explain Direction of identification / Cultural value structure

Answer 25

guards of H generally followers of groups, therefore can be swayed by strong personalities. H tend to be people like diplomats who have these strong personalities that can sway the HT to their view.

Question 26

Turner (1985) 7 factors explain Violence

Answer 26

Specifically the timing of violence

violence in initial hostage taking or against a H that has provoked the HT is seen as acceptable by the other H and can accelerate HIS

Random violence, taunting H inhibits the development of HIS

Question 27

Turner (1985) 7 factors explain Time

Answer 27

As time progresses, the close proximity breaks down pre existing stereotypes as subculture behaviour take over.

Time + positive factors = increased HIS likelihood

Time + negative factors = decreased likelihood

on the part of HT frustration can be a negitive factor.

Question 28

Turner (1985) 7 factors explain pre existing stereotypes

Answer 28

If there are pre held racism etc, then this can be a barrier for HIS to occur

Question 29

Does Hostage Identification Syndrome exist?

Answer 29

APA definition of syndrome - indicate a particular physical or mental disease or disorder

APA disorder - abnormal behaviours or physiological conditions, persistent or intense distress, or a disruption of physiological functioning.

So, is this abnormal, or just a group of people developing social interactions in a normal way in an abnormal environment.