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When a surrounded terrorist or criminal tries to hold off the authorities by force, it is considered a "barricaded suspect" situation. When he holds others against against their will, but keeps them hidden, it is simple Kidnapping . A hostage crisis develops when the kidnapper barricades himself along with his prisoners, threatening to kill them if he is provoked or attacked. Typically, the hostage-taker issues demands to the forces keeping him surrounded. In a planned hostage crisis, he often has a laundry list of political or religious demands, often including the release of imprisoned friends or allies. In cases where he improvised the hostage situation as a desperate attempt to avoid capture, his demands usually revolve around exchanging the lives of the hostages for transport to safety for himself. For a list of hostage crisis events, see the List Of Hostage Crises . Note that Western journalists often prefer to use the term " Siege " to describe these incidents. However, events like the Waco Siege are not necessarily hostage crises, because third parties are not being held or threatened. RESPONSES TO A HOSTAGE CRISIS Western governments and police forces give extreme priority to these situations, as do the media. Most large cities and major law enforcement agencies have SWAT or similar paramilitary units, specially trained and heavily armed to resolve hostage situations by a very fast surprise attack. Military force or guidance is also available in some contexts. Professional negotiators often take over the task of communicating directly with the suspect. However, controversy is attached to the rules of engagement the authorities should operate under in these situations. One school of thought, enshrined in various "no negotiation with terrorists" political policies, holds that making concessions may save lives today, but it encourages the hostage-taker or imitators to threaten more lives tomorrow. Another theory encourages governments to go to the limits of palatability in granting demands. Under no-negotiation rules, the lives of all currently held hostages are subordinated to deterrence of hypothetical future attacks; many people dislike this priority. No consensus has developed, and various governments have adopted different stances. Western governments tend to approach such situations less aggressively, as they fear public outcry if hostages are harmed as a consequence of their actions. The Soviet Union and its successor Russia , on the other hand, have consistently followed a no-negotiation policy. |
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