The Attica Prison riot occurred on September 8, 1971 at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York. Prisoners started the riot due to demands for better living conditions as well as responding to the death of a black radical activist prisoner who had been shot to death by corrections officers in California's San Quentin Prison in August 1971. About 2,200 inmates rebelled and seized control of the prison, taking 33 staff hostage. Prison officials continued negotiations with the inmates for 4 days. The prisoners continued to unsuccessfully negotiate with Correctional Services Commissioner Russell G. Oswald and then later with a team of observers that included Tom Wicker, an editor of the New York Times, James Ingram of the Michigan Chronicle, state senator John Dunne, state representative Arthur Eve, civil rights lawyer William Kunstler, Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Nation of Islam and others. (The Attica Uprising, 2013)

Authorities finally agreed to 28 of the prisoners' demands, however they would not agree to complete amnesty from criminal prosecution for the prison takeover or for the removal of Attica's superintendent. Finally the Governor Nelson Rockefeller ordered state police to overtake the prison and take back control. As a result of this tactic at least 39 people were dead, including ten correctional officers and civilian employees. (The Attica Uprising, 2013)
On September 5, 1972, eight members of the Palestinian terrorist organization, Black September, snuck into the Olympic Village at the XXth Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. The Black September members raided the building housing the Israeli athletes. Two Israeli athletes were killed during the raid and nine others were taken hostage. After hours of failed negotiations the terrorists demanded a plane to take then to Cairo Egypt. German officials decided to try a rescue attempt at the airport. The rescue attempt failed and all nine of the Israeli hostages were killed during the shoot-out. Five of the Black September members were killed and the other three were taken into custody. (Munich Olympic Massacre: Background & Overview, 2013)
Due to the mistakes made at the prison and at the Olympic Games several models of negotiations were developed to use in hostage situations. The models are based on problem solving approaches to response, management and resolution. Unfortunately problem solving strategies usually are only effective in addressing and defusing the subject’s emotional state regardless of the situation. Fisher’s negotiation model was used in crisis negotiation situations for years. The model dealt with 4 issues while negotiating. It included: separate the person from the problem, focus on his or her interests rather than positions, generate options, and establish clear objective criteria for behavioral change. (McMains, 2010) Even the FBI used the models that were created after the incidents in 1971 and 1972. However in 2000 they started to expand on their crisis negotiations techniques and strategies. This was due to their research which found that over 90% of all reported critical incidents were, non-hostage, crisis situations (Flood, 2003).
Hostage and non-hostage situations can be confusing to most people. Hostage situations involve the taking of a person captive for instrumental or tangible reasons; the suspect needs the police or other authorities to meet specific demands (e.g., ransom, transportation, money). In these events, the captive is used as leverage to obtain other substantive goals. In a non-hostage situation, a person is taken captive for expressive or intangible reasons; he or she does not need the police or other authorities. In these situations, the captive is held by a subject who is in a highly emotional state and are usually a victim or homicide-to-be. (Flood, 2003). In either type of situation hostage-takers, as well as victims, cane become very emotional and the situation would require the appropriate crisis intervention techniques.

Using tactical response instead of negotiation resolution is done by teams that are composed of personnel with highly specialized training in forced entries, hostage/victim extraction, and subject containment/termination. Usually tactical responses are used as a last resort, typically when negotiation efforts have failed and a peaceful resolution to the situation is not likely.

Since the incidents in 1971 and 1972 experts in negotiation techniques have learned that there are four stages to the crisis situation. They are; pre-crisis, crisis, accommodation/negotiation, and resolution (McMains, 2010). The goal of crisis negotiation is to restore the person to their ability to cope and function with the situation in order to properly negotiate with them. In order to do this crisis negotiation involves: establishing communication and developing rapport, buying time, defusing intense emotions, and gathering intelligence to ascertain the optimal negotiation/intervention strategies and tactics (McMains, 2010). By following these steps most negotiations can be solved without fatalities and with a peaceful outcome unlike the crisis situations at Attica and Munich.

References

McMains, M. (2010). Crisis Negotiations: Managing Critical Incidents and Hostage Situations in Law Enforcement and Corrections (4th ed). Anderson
Flood, J. J. (2003). Hostage barricade database (HOBAS). Quantico, VA7 FBI Academy
Jewish Virtual Library (2013), Munich Olympic Massacre: Background & Overview, Retrieved on 12/9/2013 from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/munich.html
New York State Library (2013), The Attica Uprising, September 9-13, 1971, Retrieved on 12/8/2013 from http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/mssc/attica/