Hostage negotiations - FBI, etc.

Captcha · Sep 25, 2011

I have a kidnapping situation in which the authorities have found the kidnappers and the victims, but the victims are being held as hostages.

Assuming I can write it so that the kidnappers would agree, is there EVER a situation where the FBI would allow a civilian to trade himself for one of the hostages? (She's eight-months pregnant, so they want to get her out of the situation). The kidnappers wouldn't let anyone but this one guy in, so there's no way they'd trade her for a cop, or anything like that.

I know I've seen the heroic cop trades himself for hostages trope on TV or in movies, but I don't even know how realistic THAT is. But I'd really like my male character to make the trade.

If it is even remotely possible, what arguments would be made that would make the cops more likely to agree to it all?

Thanks for any advice.

ironmikezero · Sep 25, 2011

Disclaimer - I haven't been involved in hostage negotiation in years. However, when I was trained, you never give the hostage taker another hostage or weapons. That was non-negotiable. I never saw any deviation from that dictum. I doubt the playbook has changed.

OTOH, you're writing fiction, so do what you feel your story demands.

Allen R. Brady · Sep 25, 2011

Do the cops have to agree to it? Can your hero get himself in there without their knowledge or approval?

Captcha · Sep 26, 2011

It's a pretty locked-down scene. I don't know which would be less realistic, letting him get in on his own, or having the cops agree to it...

C.H. Valentino · Sep 26, 2011

Gonna agree with IronMike on this one. "Exchanging" hostages for more hostages is not something that is typically done. But here is a link to a guy that may be able to help you. He responds to emails and comments on the blog, so don't hesitate to ask him.

http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/

Is it possible to make your civilian run into the hostage situation (without police cooperation) - maybe grab your pregnant lady out?

(PS. A pregnant female is not considered "more important"; her being pregnant would not necessitate her release, unless there are compounded medical issues that leaving her in the hostage situation - i.e if she were in labor or wounded.)

jclarkdawe · Sep 26, 2011

Here's one of those situations where something can happen in fiction that doesn't in reality. As IronMike says, the likelihood of this happening in the real world is somewhere between extremely slim and none.

But to give you a recent example, in one of the episodes of N.C.I.S., Gibbs, the protagonist of the show, enters a classroom of kids to be a hostage. But if you watch the show, you know Gibbs is arrogantly stupid enough to do something like this. And only the fact that he's good prevents him from being fired. Works perfectly in fiction.

With the right setup, allowing someone into a hostage situation works perfectly fine in fiction, even though the reality is the chances of it happening greatly exceed my chances of Powerball. Of course, if you present it as, "Gee, they always exchange hostages," then yeah, you're going to have problems.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Hostage negotiations - FBI, etc.

Captcha

ironmikezero

practical experience, FTW

Allen R. Brady

Captcha

C.H. Valentino

Wording!

jclarkdawe

Feeling lucky, Query?