Hostage Situation
Hostage situations can be described generally in two basic ways. One is where the hostage taker tries to utilize hostages as the device for negotiating something else. For example sea pirates can hold hostage a ship with people destined to a certain national so as to demand the particular state to give some money or even other thing including changing certain situations. The other situation that is becoming prevalent takes place when the hostage taker is bent on destruction and death to make a statement and has no other goal.
A hostage situation is a law enforcement worst scenario because it places the innocent civilians in the direct way of being harmed. Armed intervention becomes very risky since it is possible to harm the hostages very easily. The army in the pursuit of intervention can harm the hostages through the stray bullets which would be targeted to the hostage takers. The intervention of the army could also harm the hostages when the hostage takers decide to take on the threats of violence. This is what makes negotiations one of the most important aspects of any hostage crisis. A skilled negotiater comes into play to find out what the hostage takers wants and what it will take to achieve a peaceful outcome. During the negotiation the negotiator should the hostages are safe and also the safety of other bystanders. However at times it becomes very difficult because when the demands of the hostage takers are too high or even impossible to be meet.
As we see in the movies, a hostage taker could be holding a pistol behind the hostage it and putting the gun to the side of the hostages head and issue threats to shoot if the armed intervention don’t drop their weapons. In a real life situation the question that presents itself is how likely is it for the hostage taker to squeeze the gun if the army men fire at him. In this case the range between army men and the hostage take matters. If they fire at the hostage taker from a long distance the hostage taker is able to see the flashing of the gun and before the bullet can hit him he responds according and shoots the hostage. This would be the worst outcome since the basic aim of the intervention was not to shoot at the hostage taker but to save the hostages. The outcome however would different if the officers approached to within some meters or feet from the hostage taker and then fired. Whether it is day light or night it is impossible for the hostage taker to see the muzzle flash when the range is so minimal. The weapon used by the officers however must have a silencer and the ammunition must be smokeless. By the time the hostage taker realizes that he has been hit he it is too late and he doesn’t have time pull the trigger the instant he feels the bullet on his forehead. The risk that the hostage faces here is that if the target fails. The officers should ensure that the bullet doest hit where it is not meant to hit. The criminal might move unexpectedly just as the officer fires and thus making the situation even worse. If the criminal notices the bullet which could be passing an inch from his head he might pull his own gun. Another situation is where he is hit in a place that kills him but not instantly. He could recover easily and the shoot at the hostage. In another scenario the officer shot might hit the hostage. It rarely happens that the hostage taker is hit in the head and instantly dies. But if he is in the head and instantly dies there is also a possibility that he could squeeze the gun at that moment or in the split of a second before he falls. Thus intervention of the armed officers in hostage scenarios always runs very high risks of harming the hostage. It is not recommendable for the armed officers to intervene and shoot in hostage scenarios unless it is ascertained that the hostage is going to die instantly. There could also be the option of shooting the gun in the hands of the hostage. This is equal to shooting an unarmed opponent and there is a high susceptible risk of impact that detonates the bullet in the hostage taker’s gun. The best advisable action would be negotiation. The negotiations could even help lessen the demands and become a possible thing to do.
