Hostage-Taking in the Context of Domestic Violence: Some Case Examples

Initial reports of domestic violence are generally made to law enforcement officers who must respond and intervene. A subset of these episodes involves cases in which the victim, and, in many instances her child(ren), have been taken hostage by her husband or partner. Moreover, there are indications that the number of such incidents is growing. The purpose of this project was twofold: (1) to provide one of the first reports on the prevalence and characteristics of these events, and (2) to more closely analyze domestic crisis (hostage) situations using actual case examples. All information was obtained from the Hostage Barricade Database System (HOBAS) of the FBIs Crisis Negotiation Unit. HOBAS is a postincident information collection tool which stores historical data from law enforcement agencies across the nation on hostage/barricade incidents. An examination of this database yielded different types of domestic hostage-taking acts and outcomes (e.g., tactical vs. negotiated resolutions, survival vs. death/injury of perpetrator and/or victim[s]). Implications of the findings, for future crisis negotiation efforts directed toward nonviolent resolution of these high-risk critical incidents, are discussed.     

Expectancy violation and perceptions of rape victim credibility

Purpose. Rape victims have been found to have a heightened risk of secondary victimization in the legal system through biased perceptions of their credibility. In this study, participants observed a video of a rape victim reporting the crime and evaluated her credibility, to establish the influence of victim emotional expressiveness on evaluations of victim credibility. Methods. The nonverbal (eye‐contact, crying) and paralinguistic (tone of voice) behaviour of the rape victim was manipulated such that the emotional presentation viewed by observers was either expressive, or not expressive. One hundred and thirty seven participants were randomly allocated to observe a videotape of either an expressive or a non‐expressive victim. Participants’ specific expectations about the emotional expressiveness of rape victims in general were also measured. Results. Results revealed no significant main effect of emotional expressiveness on perceptions of credibility. However, among participants with a strong expectation of emotional expressiveness, a rape victim who was emotionally expressive was perceived to be significantly more credible than a victim who was not emotionally expressive. Conclusions. It appears to be expectancy violation rather than emotional expressiveness per se that biases observers’ perceptions of rape victim credibility.     

The Emotionally Intelligent Officer? Exploring Decision-Making Style and Emotional Intelligence in Hostage and Crisis Negotiators and Non-Negotiator-Trained Police Officers

The research described in this article explores decision-making styles and levels of emotional intelligence displayed by police hostage and crisis negotiators in the UK. One hundred and seventeen negotiators from 21 police forces took part in the research, and their data were compared with 118 non-negotiator-trained police officers and 203 university students. Participants completed the General Decision-Making Style Questionnaire (Scott and Bruce Educ Psychol Meas 55(5):818-831, 1995) and the Emotional Intelligence Inventory (Gignac 2008), with data analysed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and t tests. When controlling for the effects of age and social desirability, significant differences were found between both police samples and the student sample. All police officers displayed significantly lower levels of avoidant decision-making and significantly higher levels of overall emotional intelligence than students and these findings were also reflected within certain facets of emotional intelligence, specifically. These findings provide support for the existence of a unique ‘police officer profile’, but fail to support the premise of a distinct ‘hostage and crisis negotiator profile’ within the UK police population. The findings are discussed with relevance to the practice of hostage and crisis negotiation and future research directions.     

Credibility of the emotional witness: A study of ratings by police investigators

Abstract

Credibility judgments by police investigators were examined. Sixty-nine investigators viewed one of three video-recorded versions of a rape victim's statement where the role was played by a professional actress. The statements were given in a free recall manner with identical wording, but differing in the emotions displayed, termed congruent, neutral and incongruent emotional expressions. Results showed that emotions displayed by the rape victim affected police officers’ judgments of credibility. The victim was judged as most credible when crying and showing despair, and less credible when being neutral or expressing more positive emotions. This result indicates stereotypic beliefs about rape victim behavior among police officers, similar to those found for lay persons. Results are discussed in terms of professional expertise.     

You shouldn't feel that way! Extending the emotional victim effect through the mediating role of expectancy violation

Recent research has shown that the ‘emotional victim effect’ (an emotional victim is more readily believed than a nonemotional victim) is mediated by expectancy violation: people base their judgments about a victim's credibility on their expectations of the victim's suffering. Victims whose behavior is inconsistent with these expectations suffer a loss of credibility. In this article, we further examine the role of expectancy violation and explore possible negative effects of a victim's highly emotional post-crime reaction. Using several mediations, we demonstrate three important contributions to the existing literature. First, we demonstrate that, in the same way as expectancy violation mediates the effect from nonverbal emotional expression on perceived credibility, this mediating effect would also hold for the verbal expression of emotions. Second, we demonstrate that expectancy violation mediates the effect from a victim's verbal emotional expression on the observer's attitude toward the victim. More specifically, we demonstrate that a highly emotional written Victim Impact Statement (VIS) could lead to secondary victimization, dependent on the observer's expectations regarding the effects of the crime. Third, this article is the first to demonstrate that expectancy violation leads to a negative effect on people's acceptance of the VIS in the criminal justice procedure.     

Differentiating between physically violent and nonviolent stalkers: an examination of Canadian cases

This study is one of a few that empirically investigated factors that differentiated the physically violent stalker from the nonviolent stalker. Using discriminant analysis, 103 Canadian cases of "simple obsessional" stalking were examined. Overall, the success of the model for classifying cases into one of two groups was 81%. Results revealed that the physically violent stalker is more likely to: (a) have a stronger previous emotional attachment toward their victim; (b) be more highly fixated/obsessed with their victim; (c) have a higher degree of perceived negative affect towards their victim; (d) engage in more verbal threats toward the victim; and (e) have a history of battering/domestic abuse towards the victim. Overall, the variables that best differentiate the physically violent stalker from the nonviolent one appear to characterize underlying themes of anger, vengeance, emotional arousal, humiliation, projection of blame, and insecure attachment pathology.     

Maximising trace soil evidence: an improved recovery method developed during investigation of a $26 million bank robbery

Obtaining as much particulate material as possible from questioned items is desirable in forensic science as this allows a range of analyses to be undertaken and the retention of material for others to check. A method of maximising particulate recovery is described using a kidnap case, where minimal staining on clothing (socks) remained as possible indications of where the victim had been held captive. Police intelligence led to a hostage scene that was sampled. Brushing of the socks recovered about 50 sand grains with some silt: ultrasonic agitation and centrifuging recovered over 300 grains of sand, silt and clay. These were visually compared to scene and control samples, allowing exclusion of 52 samples and the retention of one comparison sample as well as other possibles, saving time and money, but maximising sample quantity and quality.     

Why Emotions Matter: Expectancy Violation and Affective Response Mediate the Emotional Victim Effect

The mechanisms behind the ‘emotional victim effect’ (i.e., that the emotionality of a rape victim’s demeanor affects perceived credibility) are relatively unexplored. In this article, a previously neglected mechanism—observers’ affective response to the victim—is proposed as an alternative to the traditional expectancy-violation account. The emotional victim effect was replicated in an experiment with a sample of police trainees (N = 189), and cognitive load was found to increase the magnitude of the effect. Importantly, both compassionate affective response and expectancy violation actively mediated the emotional victim effect when the other mechanism was controlled for. These findings extend previous research on credibility judgments by introducing a ‘hot’ cognitive component in the judgment process. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Why Is There a Strong Positive Correlation Between Perpetration and Being a Victim of Sexual Coercion? An Exploratory Study

The purpose of this research was to determine if the correlation between perpetration and being a victim of sexual coercion is due to a lack of self-control, a coercive lifestyle, or dysfunctional romantic relationships. Two hundred and sixty-two college students completed measures of perpetration and being a victim of sexual coercion, lack of self-control, coercive lifestyle, romantic partner’s coercive lifestyle, and partner’s perpetration and being a victim of sexual coercion. Support was not found for the lack of self-control and coercive lifestyle explanations; support was found for the dysfunctional relationships explanation. Multiple regression analyses found that the self-control variable that best (negatively) predicted both perpetration and being a victim of sexual coercion was valuing long-term, committed romantic relationships. Interventions to prevent perpetration and being a victim of sexual coercion should focus not only on the individual victim/perpetrator but also on promoting functional romantic relationships.     

Past victimizations and dating violence perpetration in adolescence: the mediating role of emotional distress and hostility

This study aimed to understand the nature of the relationships between three forms of past victimizations (exposure to interparental violence in childhood, sexual harassment by peers since beginning high school, prior experience of dating violence), physical dating violence perpetration by adolescents, and anger-hostility and emotional distress. The sample was composed of 1,259 high school students aged between 14 and 19 years who answered self-report questionnaires. Mediation analyses were conducted according to Baron and Kenny's approach. Logistic and linear regression analyses reveal that being victim of sexual harassment by peers and of dating violence are associated to physical dating violence perpetration via a partial mediating effect of hostility in girls. Contrary to results with girls, there is a complete mediating effect of emotional distress for boys. Results suggest that dating violence prevention and intervention strategies could be adapted according to gender and that sexual harassment should be addressed.     

Bullying and social and emotional loneliness in a sample of adult male prisoners

The present study explored social and emotional loneliness, and victimisation among a sample of adult male prisoners. 241 prisoners took part, completing a behavioural measure of behaviours indicative of bullying (DIPC-R: Direct and Indirect Prisoner behaviour Checklist, Ireland, J.L. 2003. The Direct and Indirect Prisoner behaviour Checklist -- Revised. Psychology Department, University of Central Lancashire). and a measure of social and emotional loneliness (SELSA: Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, DiTommaso, E. & Spinner, B. (1993). The development and initial validation of the social and emotional loneliness scale for adults (SELSA). Personality and Individual Differences, 14, 127-134.). Differences between the groups involved in bullying (i.e. pure bullies, pure victims, bully/victims and those not involved) were noted, with victim groups (pure victims and bully/victims) presenting with higher levels of social loneliness than those not-involved. Emotional loneliness was not a distinguishing characteristic for membership to the pure victim or bully/victim group, and instead was found to be associated with the type and amount of victimisation reported: victims who reported multiple types of victimisation presented with higher levels of emotional (family) loneliness than victims reporting just one type of victimisation. Increased victimisation was also associated with increased levels of social and emotional loneliness, most notably with regards to indirect victimisation. The results are discussed with reference to the environment in which the victimisation is taking place, and we outline a potential application of life events and added stress models in understanding social maladjustment (loneliness) among prisoners.     

Hostage negotiation in Costa Rica

This article compares legal and procedural constraints that operate on United States and Costa Rican hostage negotiations. In an effort to better understand the Costa Rican police system, comparisons are drawn between United States law enforcement agencies, United States military services and the Costa Rican police system. The introductory material lays the foundation for a discussion of hostage negotiation as it is practiced in Costa Rica prior to and after hostage negotiation training.     

Appropriately Upset? Emotion Norms and Perceptions of Crime Victims

Victims who express less emotion in response to a crime are perceived as less deserving, less sympathetic, and they have less punishment assigned to the offender who committed the crime. This study considers the extent to which emotion norms underlie perceptions of victims who testify. Two studies investigate the circumstances in which emotional reactions to a crime are seen as "unusual" and whether a more general emotion norm underlies responses to victim testimony. We test a "victim-role" norm against a "proportionality" norm by crossing the severity of victim's emotional response (severe or mild) with the seriousness of a crime (serious or less serious). Results across two studies lend greater support to the notion that people expect victims to match the intensity of their emotional response to the seriousness of the event (i.e., a proportionality rule), although we also find instances in which expectations of the victim are not strong. Gender of the victim exhibited small and contingent effects. We discuss the relevance of emotion norms to legal settings.     

论绑架罪特殊中止犯的设立——由“善良绑匪”案引发的刑法思考

绑架罪的既遂以绑架行为实际控制人质，将人质置于行为人实际支配之下为标准。因此，根据我国中止犯的一般理论，行为人绑架犯罪既遂以后又释放人质的不能构成中止犯，属于犯罪既遂后的悔罪表现。为了保障人质的生命、身体安全，鼓励犯罪人及时放弃犯罪，防止社会危害性扩大，对于绑架犯罪既遂后释放人质的情形，国外刑法和我国台湾地区刑法已经将其作为特殊中止犯加以规定。从刑事政策及中止犯的立法宗旨考虑，我国刑法也有必要将绑架犯罪既遂后释放人质的情形增设为特殊中止犯。     

人质谈判中的风险评估和方案设计

人质谈判中的风险评估就是指当警方赶到人质劫持现场后,在展开谈判工作和设计谈判方案前,指挥者对此次劫持事件做一个基本的风险评估。只有在判明危机事件情况的基础上,指挥员才能对案件的发展情况做到心中有数,从而把握人质危机处置进程的主动权,使谈判取得成效。结合我国目前人质事件类型,进行人质谈判中的风险评估,以确定谈判时所采取的应对策略,从而设计科学、动态的谈判方案,切实有效地提高谈判的效果。     

GENERAL STRAIN,STREET YOUTH AND CRIME: A TEST OF AGNEW'S REVISED THEORY*

Using a sample of homeless street youth, this research examines how specific forms of strain–emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, homelessness and being a victim of robbery, violence or theft, relative deprivation, monetary dissatisfaction and unemployment–lead to crime and drug use. It also explores how strain is conditioned by deviant peers, deviant attitudes, external attributions, self‐esteem and self‐efficacy. The results reveal that all ten types of strain examined can lead to criminal behavior either as main effects or when interacting with conditioning variables. The results are discussed in light of general strain theory and suggestions are offered for future research on this topic.     

A Theoretical Test of Bullying Behavior: Parenting,Personality, and the Bully/Victim Relationship

An index of bullying behavior was used to measure the extent that 527 university students (51% female and 49% male) were involved in bullying in the past couple of months. This index included measures of physical, verbal, indirect-relational, property, coercive, racial, and sexual bullying. Participants were classified into the categories of bully (23.7%), victim (19.9%), bully/victim (9.6%), and not involved in bullying. The type of parenting the students were exposed to growing up and the presence of personality traits reflective of Reintegrative Shaming Theory were also measured. Current bullying was positively associated with being a bully during childhood, impulsiveness, having a tendency to displace shame, being male, being exposed to parental stigmatization, and being younger. Being a victim was positively associated with a tendency to internalize shame, being a victim during childhood, being younger, and being a childhood bully. Shame displacement was negatively associated with being a victim.     

论情绪的刑法评价

情绪对刑事责任的影响主要表现为强烈情绪对刑事责任能力的影响和引发情绪的被害人过错对犯罪动机的影响。对情绪进行刑法评价的考察因素主要有:刺激因素的范围与真实性、情绪的强度以及情绪行为的指向与持续性。在刑事立法上,可采取两种方式对情绪加以评价:总括式立法,在刑事责任能力条款中增设情绪犯罪责任的规定;分散式立法,在具体制度和犯罪中规定情绪犯罪的责任。我国刑法可采取总括式立法对情绪加以评价。     

The Effect of Gender of Perpetrator and Victim on Perceptions of Psychological and Physical Intimate Partner Aggression

Most studies of third-party perceptions of intimate partner violence focus on heterosexual relationships and report that male-to-female aggression is perceived more negatively than female-to-male. Since gender of aggressor and gender of victim are consistently confounded in these portrayals, it is not clear whether the gender of the aggressor or the gender of the victim accounts for the effect. The present research manipulated gender of perpetrator and victim to unravel this confound. Two hundred and fifty one participants (166 females) read scenarios involving psychological or physical aggression between two males, two females, or a male and a female. Participants reported their perceptions of the encounter and the character and emotional reactions of the individual couple members. Physical aggression was evaluated more negatively than psychological aggression. Participants evaluated the encounter and the perpetrator and victim in a manner consistent with stereotypical gender roles, revealing more concern for female than male victims and greater denigration of male than female perpetrators. These results have implications for programs aimed at the reduction of intimate partner violence and the services and programs developed for perpetrators and victims.