Hostage Cop

"This was the first book to come out on this subject. Frank Bolz is one of the founding fathers of hostage negotiation in the New York City Police Department. His book tells the story about how negotiations got started in New York and what the basic concepts were. It focuses on the classic bargaining interactions where someone is holding a hostage and a negotiator shows up and says, for example, ‘Hey listen, I want to help you but my boss wants to get something for this, so before I can give you what you want, you need to do something for me.’ The basic premise of quid pro quo bargaining is highlighted. We’ve learned much since those early days and basic strategies. For example, we know today that over 90 per cent of the incidents that police negotiators respond to are emotionally driven situations in which a true bargaining interaction does not play a role. However, this book gives you a good foundation for how the whole process started."