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1 – 10 of 27Robert J. Homant and Daniel B. Kennedy
A typology of suicide by police was created by separating 143 such incidents from a database of 174 police shooting incidents. The 143 incidents were found to consist of three…
Abstract
A typology of suicide by police was created by separating 143 such incidents from a database of 174 police shooting incidents. The 143 incidents were found to consist of three main categories: Direct Confrontations, in which suicidal subjects instigated attacks on police, Disturbed Interventions, in which potentially suicidal subjects took advantage of police intervention, and Criminal Interventions, in which subjects preferred death to submission. These three categories were then subdivided into nine types. Two judges obtained a reliability coefficient of 0.87 for distinguishing suicide by cop, and 0.58 for placement into the nine types. Meaningful distinctions among the types were found on three variables: subject age, real danger, and lethality.
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The purpose of this paper is to review several major components of hostage negotiation including: the different types of hostage situations; the prediction of the behavioral…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review several major components of hostage negotiation including: the different types of hostage situations; the prediction of the behavioral patterns of the hostage taker; the collection and the use of police intelligence in hostage incidents; and the application of forensic psychology during the hostage negotiations process.
Design/methodology/approach
Emphasis on the social psychological aspects of creating attitude change and gaining compliance with the hostage taker are introduced to assist in developing an effective crisis communication approach during the hostage negotiations process.
Findings
The paper also discusses trends in hostage negotiation strategies within incidents of domestic violence, suicide by cop, school shootings, and suicide/homicide bombings.
Practical implications
Limitations and advancements in the field of hostage negotiations are also discussed as well as suggestions for the use of tactical entry to resolve unsuccessful hostage negotiations.
Social implications
Explores the current trend of “suicide by cop,” but also introduces the concept of homicide by cop in relation to police shootings.
Originality/value
The use of criminal psychology in developing hostage negotiation strategies to engage hostage takers with personality disorders, PTSD, paranoid schizophrenia, and suicidal depression is also discussed.
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Marina Sarno and Vincent B. Van Hasselt
Suicide by cop (SbC) is a growing problem and presents special challenges to crisis (hostage) negotiation teams. The purpose of this paper is to examine current definitions of…
Abstract
Purpose
Suicide by cop (SbC) is a growing problem and presents special challenges to crisis (hostage) negotiation teams. The purpose of this paper is to examine current definitions of SbC, early warning signs of SbC, successful and unsuccessful resolution of cases, and strategies that have proven most effective to resolve these incidents. Recommendations regarding appropriate training and coping strategies in dealing with the post-shooting emotional sequelae of SbC are presented.
Design/methodology/approach
With a dearth of empirical knowledge regarding how to properly respond to SbC crisis incidents, an extensive literature review was conducted to ascertain extant strategies to de-escalate and reduce the lethality of these events.
Findings
Results indicated that SbC crisis incidents are more likely to be resolved if officers provide reassurance for the way that subject's feel, comply with reasonable requests, and offer alternative or realistic options. Establishing rapport by spending time with the subject and utilizing active listening skills can decrease the likelihood of another episode in the future.
Practical implications
These findings have implications for the efficient training of law enforcement officers in general, and crisis negotiators, in particular, in how to appropriately deal with SbC events. The authors also highlight specific errors in negotiation and how to observe early warning signs in the SbC subject to inform prevention and intervention strategies.
Originality/value
The paper adds to the limited literature on crisis negotiation techniques for resolving SbC incidents.
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Dragana Kesic and Stuart Thomas
The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of attempted suspect-provoked shootings (SPS) in Victoria, Australia, and explore nonlethal tactics police officers use to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of attempted suspect-provoked shootings (SPS) in Victoria, Australia, and explore nonlethal tactics police officers use to resolve such incidents.
Design/methodology/approach
A random sample of 20 percent of police-attended incidents was sourced from a police contact-based database. The narrative of each incident was coded using established criteria for “suicide-by-cop.” Incidents that met the criteria were further analyzed to elucidate historical and situational characteristics. To supplement these data, operational police officers were invited to participate in a survey about particulars of an attempted SPS incident that they had attended and resolved non-fatally.
Findings
Police are encountering these incidents up to three times a week in Victoria, Australia. While they engage in a range of tactics, police report that communication and negotiation skills are the most effective means of successful resolution.
Research limitations/implications
Although the survey attempted to correct for the potential limitations of using administrative data for research purposes, its weakness is in the modest sample size that utilizes self-report data that may lead to recall biases. Further research would benefit from using complementary methodologies that seek to examine police tactics and elucidate decision-making processes using video-based or written vignettes.
Practical implications
Officers’ awareness of both the commonalty of this phenomenon and of the important situational characteristics may lead to greater skill and confidence in managing these.
Originality/value
This is one of the very few published studies investigating prevalence and characteristics of attempted SPS incidents.
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Christopher Ryan Hagan, Matthew C Podlogar and Thomas E Joiner
The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on mass murder and amok, and the relationship of these phenomena to murder-suicide as well as to determine future…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature on mass murder and amok, and the relationship of these phenomena to murder-suicide as well as to determine future research directions.
Design/methodology/approach
Research literature on mass murder, amok, and murder-suicide was reviewed in the context of recent developments in the understanding of suicide, aggressive behavior, and psychiatric diagnostics.
Findings
Amok, typically viewed as a culture-bound disorder, occurs throughout the world and is best characterized as mass murder, similar to school shootings. Additionally, the phenomenon of mass murder may be best understood as a form of murder-suicide, related to the phenomenon of suicide-by-cop.
Originality/value
This paper provides a review of the literature on murder-suicide, mass murder, and amok spanning over 110 years in the context of modern psychological research, new insights into the possible motivations of those who “run amok” and commit mass murder and provides future research directions for this important phenomenon.
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Richard B. Parent and Simon Verdun‐Jones
This study examines the underlying reasons for the police use of deadly force and potential deadly force, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, during the period 1980‐94…
Abstract
This study examines the underlying reasons for the police use of deadly force and potential deadly force, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, during the period 1980‐94. Within this context, interactional violence and the phenomenon of victim‐precipitated homicide are examined in relation to the police use of deadly force. This study analyzes 58 separate documented incidents in which municipal and Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, within the Province of British Columbia, have been confronted by a potentially lethal threat. In 27 of these incidents, the police responded by discharging their firearms and killing a total of 28 people. The remaining 31 cases that were examined reflect incidents in which the police responded with less‐lethal force. Through the examination of police investigations, verdict‐at‐coroner’s‐inquest reports, BC Police Commission data and interviews with police officers, this study reveals that, in roughly half of the cases examined (N = 28), the police reacted to a potentially lethal threat of victim‐precipitated homicide. These are incidents in which despondent individuals suffering from suicidal tendencies, mental illness, or extreme substance abuse, acted in a calculated and deliberate manner so as to force the police to use potential or deadly force. The study recommends that police personnel within the Province of British Columbia should be given further alternatives to the standard‐issue firearm, when responding to potentially lethal threats. Non‐lethal tools of compliance should be made readily available to the operational police officer with a view to providing alternatives to the traditional use of deadly force. In addition, the training of police personnel should emphasize non‐violent strategies in dealing with irrational individuals who are suicidal, mentally disordered and/or intoxicated.
Rebecca G. Cowan and Rebekah Cole
The purpose of this study is to provide mental health practitioners with a framework for conceptualizing individuals who may be at risk of targeted violence, mass shootings in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide mental health practitioners with a framework for conceptualizing individuals who may be at risk of targeted violence, mass shootings in particular.
Design/methodology/approach
Through the lens of the Path to Intended Violence model, a non-experimental descriptive design was chosen to explore the characteristics and behaviors of perpetrators who had engaged in mental health treatment within six months before their attacks.
Findings
The perpetrators in this study demonstrated behaviors included in each of the stages of the Path to Intended Violence model. Thus, it may be important for practitioners to be familiar with this model, especially the earlier stages, to potentially identify and intervene with individuals who may be at risk of committing mass violence.
Originality/value
This paper highlights how the Path to Intended Violence model can provide practitioners with a framework for identifying progressive warning signs in patients and how to take action to stop them from continuing their journey toward violence.
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