DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT
PART I. DISPUTE RESOLUTION
A. KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THE PRINCIPLES OF NEGOTIATION, ARBITRATION,
MEDIATION, AND CONCILIATION, AND THE COURT ANNEXED MEDIATION; JUDICIAL
MEDIATION; AND LITIGATION AS MODE OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYSTEM AND AMICABLE
SETTLEMENT
DISPUTE (conflict) – an irritable and persistent argument;
either criminal or civil in nature
The Concept of Conflict
A conflict is a struggle between people. The
struggle may be physical, or between conflicting ideas. The
word comes from Latin "conflingere" means to come
together for a battle. Conflicts can either be within one
person, or they can involve several people or groups.
Conflict is a natural disagreement arising between
two or more people. It exists when they have incompatible
goals and one or more believe that the behavior of the
other prevents them from their own goal achievement.
COMMON PROCESSES OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE
RESOLUTION
Arbitration
• a neutral person called an "arbitrator" hears arguments
and evidence from each side and then decides the
outcome.
• parties agree to accept the arbitrator’s decision as final
(binding arbitration), or –
• parties may request a trial if they do not accept the
arbitrator’s decision (non-binding).
Mediation
• A neutral person called a "mediator" helps the parties
try to reach a mutually acceptable resolution of the
dispute.
• The mediator does not decide the case, but helps the
parties communicate so they can try to settle the
dispute themselves.
Court-Annexed Mediation – means any mediation
process conducted under the auspices of the court, after
such court has acquired jurisdiction of the dispute;
Court-Referred Mediation – means mediation ordered by
a court to be conducted in accordance with the Agreement
of the Parties when as action is prematurely commenced in
violation of such agreement
Neutral Evaluation
• A process in which the parties or their counsel present
their cases to a neutral third party who renders a non-
binding reasoned evaluation on the merit of the case.
• A third party is usually an experienced and respected
lawyer with expertise in the substantive area of the
dispute.
Conciliation – a conciliator meets with the parties both
separately and together in an attempt to resolve their
differences. Conciliator usually has no authority to seek
evidence or call witnesses, usually writes no decision,
and makes no award.
Concept of Conflict Resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the
methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful
ending of conflict and retribution. The term conflict
resolution may also be used interchangeably with dispute
resolution, where arbitration and litigation processes are
critically involved. The concept of conflict resolution can be
thought to encompass the use of nonviolent resistance
measures by conflicted parties in an attempt to promote
effective resolution.
Committed group members attempt to resolve
group conflicts by actively communicating information
about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest of
group (e.g., intentions; reasons for holding certain beliefs)
and by engaging in collective negotiation. Dimensions of
resolution typically parallel the dimensions of conflict in the
way the conflict is processed.
Cognitive resolution is the way disputants
understand and view the conflict, with beliefs, perspectives,
understandings and attitudes. Emotional resolution is in the
way disputants feel about a conflict, the emotional energy.
Behavioral resolution is reflective of how the disputants act
their behavior. Ultimately a wide range of methods and
procedures for addressing conflict exist, including
negotiation, mediation, mediation-arbitration, diplomacy,
and creative peacebuilding.
Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann developed
five conflict resolution strategies that people use to handle
conflict, including avoiding, defeating, compromising,
accommodating, and collaborating.
This assumes that people choose how cooperative
and how assertive to be in a conflict. It suggests that
everyone has preferred ways of responding to conflict, but
most of us use all methods under various circumstances.
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B. COMPARE AND DIFFERENTIATE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE FROM RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE.
(METHODS, TECHNIQUES, AND STRATEGIES OF NEGOTIATION, ARBITRATION,
MEDIATION, AND CONCILIATION).
Restorative justice is an approach to justice in
which the response to a crime is to organize a meeting
between the victim and the offender, sometimes with
representatives of the wider community. The goal is for
them to share their experience of what happened, to
discuss who was harmed by the crime and how, and to
create a consensus for what the offender can do to repair
the harm from the offense. This may include a payment of
money given from the offender to the victim, apologies and
other amends, and other actions to compensate those
affected and to prevent the offender from causing future
harm.
Restorative justice is a new movement in the fields
of victimology and criminology. Acknowledging that crime
causes injury to people and communities, it insists that
justice repair those injuries and that the parties be
permitted to participate in that process.
Comparatively, Restorative justice is a valued-
based approach focused on determining harm resulting
from crime, what needs to be done to repair the harm, and
who is responsible for repairing the harm while Retributive
is an approach focused on determining what law was
broken, who broke it, and how they should be punished.
Restorative justice view crime as an act against
another person and the community and the control lies in
the community where the community facilitates the
restorative process while Retributive view crime as an act
against the State and a violation of law. The control lies in
the justice system and the community becomes a sideline,
represented by the State.
Restorative justice views crime as an
accountability by both individual and the society and
punishment is not an effective means of changing behavior
because it disrupts community harmony and good
relationship. Retributive justice views crime as an individual
act and individual responsibility and the offender should be
punished in order to deter crime and change behavior.
On the other hand, Transformative justice is a
general philosophical strategy for responding to conflicts. It
takes the principles and practices of restorative justice
beyond the criminal justice system. It applies to areas such
as environmental law, corporate law, labor management
relations, consumer bankruptcy and debt, and family law.
Transformative justice uses a system approach, seeking to
see problems, as not only the beginning of the crime but
also the causes of crime, and tries to treat an offense as a
transformative relational and educational opportunity for
victims, offenders and all other members of the affected
community. In theory, a transformative justice model can
apply even between peoples with no prior contact.
It can be seen as a general philosophical strategy
for responding to conflicts akin to peacemaking.
Transformative justice is concerned with root causes and
comprehensive outcomes. It is akin to healing justice more
than other alternatives to imprisonment.
The analogy is that Restorative Justice are at par
with the concept of alternative dispute resolution and
amicable settlement. In this premise, the dispute resolution
system under provides the same perspective - the
opportunity of providing freedom of the parties to decide at
their own expense while resolving the dispute. In addition,
the use of ADR is an efficient tool and an alternative
procedure for the resolution of appropriate cases while
enlisting the active private sector participation in the
settlement of disputes.
Another important milestone in the development of
restorative justice is the system of amicably settling
disputes at the barangay level. The system is defined
under the P.D. 1508 "Amicable Settlement Act" which
provides the purpose of perpetuation and official
recognition of the time-honored tradition of amicably
settling disputes among family and barangay members. at
the barangay level without judicial resources that would
promote the speedy administration of justice and
implement the constitutional mandate to preserve and
develop Filipino culture and to strengthen the family as a
basic social institution.
CONFLICT RESOLUTION STRATEGIES
Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann developed five
conflict resolution strategies that people use to handle
conflict, including avoiding, defeating, compromising,
accommodating, and collaborating.
This assumes that people choose how cooperative and
how assertive to be in a conflict. It suggests that everyone
has preferred ways of responding to conflict, but most of us
use all methods under various circumstances.
Conflict Resolution Strategy #1: Avoiding
Avoiding is when people just ignore or withdraw
from the conflict. They choose this method when
the discomfort of confrontation exceeds the
potential reward of resolution of the conflict.
While this might seem easy to accommodate for
the facilitator, people aren't really contributing
anything of value to the conversation and may be
withholding worthwhile ideas. When conflict is
avoided, nothing is resolved.
Conflict Resolution Strategy #2: Competing
Competing is used by people who go into a conflict
planning to win. They're assertive and not
cooperative.
This method is characterized by the assumption
that one side wins and everyone else loses. It
doesn't allow room for diverse perspectives into a
well-informed total picture. Competing might work
in sports or war, but it's rarely a good strategy for
group problem solving.
Conflict Resolution Strategy #3: Accommodating
Accommodating is a strategy where one party
gives in to the wishes or demands of another.
They're being cooperative but not assertive.
This may appear to be a gracious way to give in
when one figures out she/he has been wrong
about an argument. It's less helpful when one party
accommodates another merely to preserve
harmony or to avoid disruption.
Like avoidance, it can result in unresolved issues.
Too much accommodation can result in groups
where the most assertive parties commandeer the
process and take control of most conversations.
Conflict Resolution Strategy #4: Collaborating
Collaborating is the method used when people are
both assertive and cooperative. A group may learn
to allow each participant to make a contribution
with the possibility of co-creating a shared solution
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 that everyone can support. A great way to
collaborate and overcome conflict is to reach out
and touch them.
Conflict Resolution Strategy #5: Compromising
Another strategy is compromising, where
participants are partially assertive and cooperative.
C. UNDERSTAND AND INTERPRET R.A. 9285 “ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION ACT OF
2004” AND OTHER APPLICABLE POLICIES AND ISSUANCES OF THE COURT OR AGENCY
CONCERN.
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYSTEM IN
THE PHILIPPINES
(Republic Act No. 9285)
Preliminaries
Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 2004 came
into law for the purpose of promulgating the prescribe
procedures and guidelines for its implementation along
with the policy of the state to promote party autonomy in
the resolution of disputes or the freedom of the parties to
make their own arrangements to resolve their disputes; to
encourage and actively promote the use of Alternative
Dispute Resolution ("ADR") as an important means to
achieve speedy and impartial justice and to declog court
dockets; to provide means for the use of ADR as an
efficient tool and an alternative procedure for the resolution
of appropriate cases; and to enlist active private sector
participation in the settlement of disputes through ADR.
Applying the principles governing alternative
dispute resolution will provide the opportunity for the
parties involved in to settle the issue in their own expense
with the support of the local community, authorities of the
law and responsible social organizations with the aim of
restoring interpersonal relations thereby contributory to the
public safety and promotion of peace in general.
Amicable settlement on the other hand, was
formally institutionalized in order to help relieve the courts
of such docket congestion and thereby enhance the quality
of justice dispensed by them. In this premise, the context of
restorative justice has served to reference the objective of
amicably settling disputes at the elementary level within the
Barangay Justice system, primarily with the objective of
restoring personal relations and initiate effort from those
that are mainly affected.
Policy of the State
The following statements provides the Policy of the
State as reference for the sustenance of social justice and
The concept is that everyone gives up a little bit of
what they want, and no one gets everything they
want. The perception of the best outcome when
working by compromise is that which "splits the
difference."
Compromise is perceived as being fair, even if no
one is particularly happy with the final outcome.
promotion of peace while making it at the early stage of
resolution.
✓ To promote party autonomy in the resolution of
disputes or the freedom of the parties to make their
own arrangements to resolve their disputes;
✓ To encourage and actively promote the use of
Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") as an
important means to achieve speedy and impartial
justice and to declog court dockets;
✓ To provide means for the use of ADR as an
efficient tool and an alternative procedure for the
resolution of appropriate cases; an
✓To enlist active private sector participation in the
settlement of disputes through ADR.
Exception to the Application of the ADR Act
The provisions of the ADR Act shall not apply to the
resolution or settlement of the following:
✓ labor disputes covered by Presidential Decree No.
442, otherwise known as the "Labor Code of the
Philippines, as amended", and its Implementing
Rules and Regulations;
✓ the civil status of persons;
✓ the validity of marriage;
✓ any ground for legal separation;
✓ the jurisdiction of courts;
✓ future legitime;
✓ criminal liability;
✓ those disputes which by law cannot be
compromised; and
✓ disputes referred to court-annexed mediation
Liability of ADR Providers/Practitioners
The ADR providers/practitioners shall have the
same civil liability for acts done in the performance of their
official duties as that of public officers, upon a clear
showing of bad faith, malice or gross negligence
.
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 PART II. CRISIS MANAGEMENT
D. DISCUSS AND APPLY THE PRINCIPLES OF POLICE CRITICAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT
Critical Incidents: PREPARATION/RESPONSE,
MANAGEMENT
Preparation/Response
a. No two critical incidents are the same, and
planning for the unknown can be difficult
b. Any event can turn into a critical incident; what is
important is knowing what to do before an incident
becomes critical
c. Transparent communication with the public helps
establish realistic expectations
Management
a. Effective management of any event can help
ensure that a critical incident does not become a
crisis
b. Communication is a key element of incident
management
c. In deploying critical incident response, mental
aspects are just as important as the physical
aspects
The Five (5) P’s of Crisis Management
1. Predict – removing uncertainty in the future
2. Prevent – avoiding future harm by addressing the
causes
3. Prepare – essential for effective response
(exercise and evaluation, simulation)
4. Perform – actual implementation of contingency
plans when crisis occurs
5. Post-action and Assessment – when the crisis has
been addressed; seeks to evaluate and improve
prevention, preparation and the actual execution
E. IDENTIFY AND DEMONSTRATE THE VARIOUS TYPES, CHARACTERISTICS, PHASES, AND
METHODS OF CRITICAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT
Councils in-charge with Critical Incident Management
National Peace and Order Council (NPOC) – responsible
for managing human-induced critical incidents e.g.
bombings, civil disturbances, hostage-taking, kidnapping;
contribute to the strategies of the National Security Council
and serve as a forum for deliberation for peace and order
concerns
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Council (NDRRMC) – responsible for managing natural
calamities and disasters
Crisis Management Committee (CMC) - primarily
concerned with the formulation of crisis management
procedures, integration and orchestration of government,
military/police and public efforts towards the prevention
and control of crisis incidents.
OBJECTIVES OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT
1. resolve without further incident
2. safety of all participants
3. apprehension of all perpetrators
4. accomplishment of the task within the framework of
current community standards
PRINCIPLES OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT (Human-
induced)
1. Contain and Negotiate – the response force should, as
much as possible resolve a crisis without violence or
bloodshed, and with the perpetrator getting arrested
2. Protection of the Innocent from Harm – innocent
victims of crises must be spared from harm and be
freed as soon as possible
3. Longer Time means Better Resolution – the response
force must allow passage of time so that perpetrators
can be reasoned through thorough negotiation;
passage of time can also afford the response force to:
a. evaluate the situation
b. gather information
c. explore alternatives; and
d. formulate a plan of action
MUSTS IN CRISIS MANAGEMENT
1. Rely on continuous flow of information from all
sources.
2. Press perpetrators to abandon their position.
3. Receive, analyze and disseminate all information.
4. Mount controlled probes on the perpetrators’ position.
5. Prepare for possible rapid escalation of events.
INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM - a standardized
approach to the command, control, and coordination
of emergency response providing a common hierarchy
within which responders from multiple agencies can be
effective.
Incident Command System Core Concepts
• Common terminology - use of similar terms and
definitions for resource descriptions, organizational
functions, and incident facilities across disciplines.
• Integrated communications - ability to send and
receive information within an organization, as well as
externally to other disciplines.
• Modular organization -response resources are
organized according to their responsibilities. Assets
within each functional unit may be expanded or
contracted based on the requirements of the event.
• Unified command structure - multiple disciplines
work through their designated managers to establish
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 common objectives and strategies to prevent conflict
or duplication of effort.
• Manageable span of control - response
organization is structured so that each supervisory
level oversees an appropriate number of assets
(varies based on size and complexity of the event) so
it can maintain effective supervision.
• Consolidated action plans - a single, formal
documentation of incident goals, objectives, and
strategies defined by unified incident command.
• Comprehensive resource management - systems
in place to describe, maintain, identify, request, and
track resources.
• Pre-designated incident facilities - assignment of
locations where expected critical incident-related
functions will occur.

F. DETERMINE AND EVALUATE THE VARIOUS TYPES OF CRISES, DISASTER

MANAGEMENT AND ASSESSMENT.

DEFINITION a. There is an immediate threat to the organization

concerned;
Crisis is any event that involves individuals – usually two
or more in conflict – who have reached such a b. Presence of an element of surprise that catches the
debilitating mental state that they seem to have lost the organization off-guard; and
ability to cope with a situation through normal methods,
c. A very limited time to arrive at a sound decision on how
such as discussion or negotiation.
to address such crisis.
Crisis Management is the expert handling of a crisis or
emergency to reduce or eliminate danger or damage, or
the like, especially on the part of government DEFINITION OF TERMS
Hostage Situation - a set of circumstances wherein a
Categories of Crisis/Incidents suspected law violator is holding a person captive with the
Natural Calamity and Disaster (typhoons, earthquakes, use of force and threat of violence while the police are in
fires, floods) – the PNP shall act as the first responder in close contact with the suspect and his captive.
the affected area in order to provide area security and
support in the conduct of search, rescue and retrieval DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOSTAGE-TAKING AND
operations to be spearheaded by the area DRRMCs. KIDNAPPING
Human Induced Incidents (bombings, hostage-taking, Kidnapping Hostage-taking
kidnapping, terrorism) – the PNP shall respond to two
different situations: The police are not aware of the police know the location
a) To manage an incident that could be resolved by the captive’s location of both the hostage and the
ordinary police response without the involvement of the hostage-taker
Crisis Management Committee (CMC);
the police are not in close The police are in contact
b) To manage an incident that needs a CMC–directed
contact with the with the perpetrators and
operation requiring the implementation of special tasks by
perpetrators afford verbal communication
one or more of the urgent services of the Philippine
with them
government.
The police cannot exert The police can pressure the
Behavioral Phenomena observed during certain pressure to the perpetrator/s into
Hostage and Kidnapping situations perpetrator/s abandoning their cause are
even conduct an assault
Stockholm Syndrome – a coping mechanism to a captive
or abusive situation. People develop positive feelings
toward their captors or abusers over time. This condition
applies to situations including child abuse, coach-athlete Venette argues that "crisis is a process of
abuse, relationship abuse and sex trafficking transformation where the old system can no longer be
maintained." Therefore the fourth defining quality is
Lima Syndrome - a psychological response in which a
the need for change. If change is not needed, the
captor or abuser develops a positive bond with a victim.
When this happens, they may become empathetic to the
event could more accurately be described as a failure
individual's circumstances or condition or incident.
London Syndrome - response in which hostages do not During the crisis management process, it is
co-operate with their captors and become disobedient, important to identify types of crises in that different
belligerent and/ or argumentative crises necessitate the use of different crisis
management strategies. Potential crises are
enormous, but crises can be clustered.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A CRISIS

5
 Lerbinger categorized seven types of crises
1. Natural disaster
2. Technological crises
3. Confrontation
4. Malevolence
5. Crisis of skewed management value
6. Crisis of deception
7. Crisis of management misconduct
A. Natural crises
Natural crises, typically natural disasters
considered as 'acts of God,' are such environmental
phenomena as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
tornadoes and hurricanes, floods, landslides,
tsunamis, storms, and droughts that threaten life,
property, and the environment itself.
Example: 2011 Japan Tsunami, Sendong
Flood, Oklahoma tornadoes
B. Technological crises
Technological crises are caused by human
application of science and technology. Technological
accidents inevitably occur when technology becomes
complex and coupled and something goes wrong in
the system as a whole (Technological breakdowns).
Some technological crises occur when human error
causes disruptions (Human breakdowns. People tend
to assign blame for a technological disaster because
technology is subject to human manipulation whereas
they do not hold anyone responsible for natural
disaster. When an accident creates significant
environmental damage, the crisis is categorized as
megadamage. Samples include software failures,
industrial accidents, and oil spills.
Examples: Chernobyl disaster, Exxon
Valdez oil spill
C. Confrontation crises
Confrontation crises occur when discontented
individuals and/or groups fight businesses,
government, and various interest groups to win
acceptance of their demands and expectations. The
common type of confrontation crises is boycotts, and
other types are picketing, sit-ins, ultimatums to those
in authority, blockade or occupation of buildings, and
resisting or disobeying police.
Example: Rainbow/PUSH’s (People United to
Serve Humanity) boycott of Nike
D. Crises of malevolence
An organization faces a crisis of malevolence
when opponents or miscreant individuals use criminal
means or other extreme tactics for the purpose of
expressing hostility or anger toward, or seeking gain
from, a company, country, or economic system,
perhaps with the aim of destabilizing or destroying it.
Sample crises include product tampering, kidnapping,
malicious rumors, terrorism, and espionage.
E. Crises of organizational misdeeds
Crises occur when management takes actions it
knows will harm or place stakeholders at risk for harm
without adequate precautions.
F. Workplace violence
Crises occur when an employee or former
employee commits violence against other employees
on organizational grounds.
G. Rumors
False information about an organization or its
products creates crises hurting the organization’s
reputation. Sample is linking the organization to
radical groups or stories that their products are
contaminated.
Definition of Crisis Management
Crisis Management is the expert handling of a
crisis or emergency to reduce or eliminate danger or
damage, or the like, especially on the part of
government. It is the act or manner of handling
decisively matters that are crucial in nature. It
involves considerably the prevention of loss of life
and injury, loss or damage to property from hazards
which cannot be normally foreseen or prevented.
DEALING WITH PARTICULAR CRISES INVOLVING
KIDNAPPING, HOSTAGE TAKING, AND
TERRORISM (Crisis of Malevolence)
OBJECTIVES OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT
1. resolve without further incident
2. safety of all participants
3. apprehension of all perpetrators
4. accomplishment of the task within the
framework of current community standards
H.
I. PRINCIPLES OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT
1. Contain and Negotiate – the response force
should, as much as possible resolve a crisis
without violence or bloodshed, and with the
perpetrator getting arrested
2. Protection of the Innocent from Harm – innocent
victims of crises must be spared from harm and
be freed as soon as possible
3. Longer Time means Better Resolution – the
response force must allow passage of time so
that perpetrators can be reasoned through
thorough negotiation; passage of time can also
afford the response force to:
a. evaluate the situation
b. gather information
c. explore alternatives; and
d. formulate a plan of action
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J. MUSTS IN CRISIS MANAGEMENT
1. Rely on continuous flow of information from all
sources.
2. Press perpetrators to abandon their position.
3. Receive, analyze and disseminate all
information.
4. Mount controlled probes on the perpetrators’
position.
5. Prepare for possible rapid escalation of events.
K. PHASES OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT
1. Locate
2. Isolate
3. Evaluate
4. Evacuate
5. Eliminate
CRISIS INTERVENTION PROTOCOLS (National
Organization for Victim Assistance)
The following covers the basic techniques of crisis
intervention and some hints for helping victims and
survivors in the aftermath of trauma. It should be
noted that training and experience with traumatized
victims is a prerequisite to understanding the
following protocols.
Under no circumstances should the following
information be implemented without training and
oversight.
PROTOCOLS
A. “Safety and Security”
1. The first concern of any crisis intervener should be
for the physical safety of the victim. Until it is clear
that the victim is not physically in danger or in need of
emergency medical aid, other issues should be put
aside. This is not always immediately obvious.
Victims who are in physical shock may be unaware of
the injuries they have already sustained or the
dangers they still face.
For the crisis intervener who is responding to a
telephone crisis call, the question should be posed
immediately, “Are you safe now?” Interveners who
are doing on-scene or face-to-face intervention
should ask victims if they are physically harmed. That
question alone may cause the victim to become
aware of a previously undiscovered injury.
2. A parallel concern should be whether the victim
feels safe. The victim may not feel safe in the
following circumstances:
• The victim can see and hear the assailant being
interviewed by law enforcement officers.
• The victim is being interviewed in the same area
where an attack took place.
• The victim is not given time to replace torn clothes.
• The victim is cold and uncomfortable.
• The assailant has not been apprehended and has
threatened to return.
Any of these may make the victim feel unsafe
even if there are law enforcement officers present. In
the aftermath of the Edmond, Oklahoma, post office
mass murders in 1986, one of the survivors of the
attack said that he would not feel safe until the
assailant, Patrick Sherrill, who finally killed himself,
was physically in his grave.
3. A priority for some victims and survivors is the
safety of others as well. If a couple has been robbed
in a street crime, each may be more worried for the
other person than himself or herself. Parents are
often more concerned about the safety of their
children than themselves.
4. Survivors or victims of homicide may not focus on
safety but rather seek a sense of security through the
provision of privacy and nurturing. Their anguish and
grief can be made more painful if there are unfamiliar
and unwanted witnesses to their sorrow. They, too,
will suffer feelings of helplessness and
powerlessness.
The shock of the arbitrary death of a loved one is
usually not assimilated immediately and survivors
may not understand questions or directives given to
them. For example, one mother did not realize that
she had said yes when she was asked if she wanted
to identify the body of her son. When she was taken
to the morgue, she became hysterical and distraught
because she was not properly prepared.
5. All victims and survivors need to know that their
reactions, their comments, and their pain will be
considered private. If in a group setting, it should be
noted that while privacy cannot be guaranteed, it
should be an expressed value that is acknowledged
by everyone present. If confidentiality is limited by law
or policy, those limits should be clearly explained.
6. Security is also promoted when victims and
survivors are given opportunities to regain control of
events. They cannot undo the crime or the death of
loved ones, but there may be opportunities for them
to take charge of things that happen in the immediate
aftermath.
7. Hints for Helping.
a. Make sure the victims/survivors feel safe or secure
at this point in time.
• Sit down to talk.
• Ask the victims/survivors where they would feel
safest when talking to them, and move to that
location.
• If it is true, reassure them with the words, “You
are safe now.”
• Identify yourself and your agency or position
clearly, and explain your standards of privacy.
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 You might say, “Our program’s standards require
me to keep all information that you tell me private
unless you give your permission to me to release it.”
If you can’t keep all information confidential because
you are with a police or prosecutorial agency, then be
honest about the limits of confidentiality.
You might say, “Our program requires me to
report anything you tell me that might help a
defendant in this case, but I am not required to report
anything else, and I will not do so unless you give
permission.”
• If possible, keep media away from
victims/survivors or help them in responding to
media questions. If the case involves a
sensational crime and there are media
representatives approaching the survivors, try to
ensure that the victims/survivors understand that
they do not have to answer questions unless they
want to and under circumstances of their own
choosing.
• If they have loved ones about whom they are
concerned, try to find out as much information as
possible about the safety of the loved ones. For
instance, a mother who has been a victim on the
way home from work might not be as worried
about the victimization but the safety of a child
who is home alone awaiting her arrival. (See if a
colleague can be dispatched to the home to
provide care for the child until the mother is able
to return. Or, see if she can identify a relative or
neighbor who might assume the caretaking role in
her absence.)
• If victims are to be interviewed by law
enforcement officers or others, try to ensure that
they understand questions by asking them to
repeat the question back to the interviewer.
• Provide victims with information to assure them
of their safety. For instance, if they have been
survivors of a massacre, it may help if they are
assured that the gunman is dead or has been
apprehended.
• If they are not safe, keep them informed about
the extent of additional threat. For instance, if the
gunman is still at large, try to get information
about their whereabouts. If possible, find them an
alternative location at which to stay for a few
hours or a few days. In the aftermath of the serial
killings of five co-eds in Gainesville, Florida, the
victim/witness program and the community
arranged for students to sleep together in
dormitory-like conditions in a large auditorium
surrounded by guards; all to restore a sense of
safety.
• Give victims permission to express any reactions
and respond non-judgmentally. Say, “You have a
right to be upset over this tragedy, so don’t be
afraid to tell me what you are thinking.”
b. Respond to the need for nurturing — but be wary
of becoming a “rescuer” on whom the victim becomes
dependent. The “rescuer” who ends up months later
making decisions for the victim has subverted the
primary goal of crisis intervention; that is, to help the
victim restore control over his or her life. The
following tips suggest appropriate ways in which the
intervener can step in on a temporary basis.
• It is useful to take care of practical things that
need to be done but are beyond the victim’s ability
to accomplish. For example, a victim of a sexual
assault may appreciate it if you arrange for a
friend to bring a new set of clothes; after—as with
every courtesy—getting permission to do so. In
making such offers, don’t assume anything. For
example, the last person a sexual assault victim
may wish to see immediately after a rape is a
spouse or partner.
• Offer to provide childcare, help with
transportation, make telephone calls, and so forth.
Be specific in making such offers so that the
victim can simply respond with a “yes” or a “no”.
c. Help survivors to re-establish a sense of control
over the small things, then the larger ones, in their
lives.
• While it is important to assist survivors with
practical activities, it is
also important to allow them to make decisions for
themselves and to take an active role in planning
their future.
• The crisis intervener initially can offer survivors a
sense of control by asking them simple questions
involving choices that are easily made. For
instance, “What name would you like me to use in
talking with you?”; “Where would you like to sit
while we talk?”; “Would you like a glass of water?”
• Often the recovery of a physical object that is
important to the survivor helps to reestablish a
sense of control. For instance, after the arson of
one family’s home, the entire family found hope
when a law enforcement officer found their cat in
the bushes nearby. The family had thought the cat
had died in the fire.
Motives in Hostage-taking
1. In political terrorism, reasons include showing
the public that the government is unable to
protect its own citizens.
2. Hostage-taking guarantees immediate media
coverage for the purpose of expressing
sentiments and getting their demands met.
3. Warring nations seek peace after exchange of
hostages as a guarantee of reciprocity.
4. In urban guerilla warfare, hostages are taken
with little regard for law and order. Holdups
sometimes involve hostages and certain
guidelines of behavior must be laid down if the
police is to effectively deal with a hostage
situation.
8
 5. Law enforcement officers will most likely
encounter hostage incidents that involve either
criminals or the mentally disturbed.
6. A husband or wife may take a child hostage in
custody battles.
7. A mentally disturbed person may take people as
hostages.
Reasons of taking Hostages in a Criminal
Situation
1. when the criminal is unable to complete the
crime and escapes before the police responds,
thus, making hostage-taking a spontaneous
event
2. criminals take hostages to ensure their own
safety
3. the demands are invariably for safe passage
and as a means of escape in return of the
hostages’ lives.
4. hostage-taking, particularly of children due to
domestic custody battle
HOSTAGE TAKER
The International Convention against the Taking
of Hostages, Adopted by the General Assembly of the
United Nations on 17 December 1979, defines a
hostage taker as:
i. any person who seizes or detains and threatens
to kill, to injure or to continue to detain another
person in order to compel a third party, namely, a
State, an international intergovernmental
organization, a natural or juridical person, or a
group of persons, to do or abstain from doing any
act as an explicit or implicit condition for the
release of the hostage, commits the offence of
taking of hostages (“hostage-taking”) within the
meaning of this Convention. (Art. 1) any person
who: a) attempts to commit an act of
hostage-taking, or b) participates as an
accomplice of anyone who commits or attempts to
commit an act of hostage-taking
There are three choice of actions for the hostage
taker:
a. choose martyrdom, kill the hostages and
commit suicide
b. lessen the demands to a more achievable
proportion and continue negotiations
c. surrender to police.
(source: FBI Hostage Negotiation Study Guide 2010,
USA)
Categories of Hostage-Takers
1. Persons in Crisis - people who take hostages
during a period of prolonged frustration,
despair and problems
2. Psychotics – mentally-ill people who take
hostages during a period f psychiatric
disturbance.
3. Common Criminals – people who take
hostages for personal, rather than ideological
reasons
4. Prisoners/Escapees – people who take
hostages because of dissatisfaction and
discontent regarding their living conditions in
prison.
5. Political Terrorists – are ideologically-inspired
individuals or groups of people who take
hostages because of political and ideological
beliefs.
Generic Categories of Hostage-takers
1. The Common Criminal
a. He generally concedes to police negotiations
if there is no way out and hostages will
generally be unharmed.
b. This type is classified as a rational creative
thinker; he is able to reason and can
discriminate on how much force is to be used
against him.
2. The Psycho
a. This person is unpredictable and may resort to
violence depending on his mood.
b. The enforcement officer should try to gain as
much information as possible concerning
motives, past history, medical and arrest
records, etc.
c. This type of person is generally described as
one who is full of inner conflict and frustrations
which are transferred to his immediate reality,
distorted to suit his own illusions.
3. The Fanatic
a. This category includes the one who falls on
the extreme side of violence.
b. The most dangerous because he tends to
think that the law has no basis.
c. The law enforcement officer may have to
resort to ego-flattering if he can approach
close enough.
Guidelines in Dealing with Hostage-takers
1. Law enforcers will have to discover the hostage-
takers intentions.
2. The demands and needs of the hostage-taker
must be determined.
3. “Negotiation” means to talk. Stalling and talking
may actually help.
4. In most cases time has been found to be an ally
of the negotiators.
5. Never say NO to a hostage-taker.
9
 3. Leading
Common Reasons why Criminals take Hostages
1. escape 3.
Transportation
2. money
Common Reasons why Prisoners take Hostages
1. better bargaining power and a significant
amount of media coverage
4. Controlling
2. to seek address on complaints concerning
prison conditions and demands for improvement
Common Reasons why Terrorists take Hostages
1. to get as much publicity as possible for airing
their “cause”
2. taking people as hostages is one of the more
effective ways of striking fear into their hearts
MANAGING HOSTAGE SITUATIONS
Experience has repeatedly demonstrated that the
most effective way to resolve a hostage situation is
through the efficient management of conditions and
police activities related to the situation.
Basic Plan of Action for Hostage Situations
Four (4) Major Activities in Managing Hostage
Situations
1. Planning
a. forecasting – anticipating conditions,
problems and opportunities that maybe
confronted during and after the incident
b. establishing objectives – determining
desired results
c. establishing priorities – creating a sequence
of steps to be followed in reaching the
objective
d. scheduling – establishing action
commitments
e. allocating resources – identifying manpower
and equipment required to reach objectives
and to effectively utilize available resources
f. establishing procedures – providing answers
to important questions and problems which
are anticipated and which provide for actions
that are of the interest of the police
2. Organizing
a. structuring work – identifying and classifying
work that needs to be performed, and
seeing to its proper implementation
b. delegating – entrusting responsibility and
authority to others and establishing
accountability
ANAYSIS OF THE SITUATION
a. making decisions – arriving at conclusions
and judgments about results
b. communicating – creating understanding
c. motivating – inspiring, encouraging and
impelling people to take required actions
d. selecting people – choosing people with the
appropriate skills
e. developing people – improving the
knowledge, attitudes and skills of people
a. developing performance standards –
establishing criteria in order to differentiate
between acceptable and unacceptable
performance
b. measuring performance – recording and
reporting work
c. evaluating performance – appraising work
and results
d. correcting performance – regulating and
improving methods and results
1. Identify the Physical Objective
The physical objective is the exact location
of the event. It may be a structure, a vehicle or
a position with no structure or vehicle
involved.
2. Establish an Inner Perimeter – the purpose is
to control ingress and egress
3. Establish an Outer Perimeter – the purpose is
to restrict vehicular and pedestrian traffic that
could conflict with police activity
4. Organize a Fire and Observation Team – this
team will help provide cover for the assault
team, and to obtain information useful in
devising a plan of action; it will also make an
estimate of the situation through direct
observation of the objective
5. Activate the Negotiating Team – the
objectives of the negotiating team is the
release of the hostage/s, the representation of
the authorities in negotiation and conveying
government stand and policy in dealing with
the crisis
6. Deploy Arrest and Assault Teams – the
primary objective is to secure the hostages
and take the hostage taker into custody
7. Maintain Reserves – important as a stand by
team that will relieve duty teams or officers in
cases of a prolonged negotiation
10
 After the basic plan has been implemented, the
leader must make a detailed analysis of the situation
that should include the following:
1. Mission – the basis for all actions that are to be
undertaken
2. Suspects and Hostages
Information concerning the perpetrators and
hostages come from many sources. The most
reliable information is obtained b traditional
methods like direct observation and conducting
interviews.
3. Terrain – it must be studied from both the police’s
and the perpetrator’s point of view; it includes
both the natural layout of the land and any man-
made structures such as building, fences, roads,
etc.
• Critical Terrain – any location or area, the
control of which gives a marked advantage to
the holder in terms of good observation and
field of fire
• Observation and Fields of Fire – conditions
that assist in gaining visual information and
accurate firing by the police
• Cover and Concealment – provide obstruction
from gunfire and observation from the
perpetrators side
• Obstacles – terrain features that stop, delay or
restrict movement toward or away from the
target
• Avenues of Entry and Exit – areas that permit
a route toward or away, from the target
4. Resources – compose of things that are needed
to deal with the situation effectively
5. Complete Plan of Action – is usually done after
the analysis of the situation is completed
6. Preparation of a Checklist – can be helpful in
guiding intelligence officers in preparing the
proper analysis
THE CRISIS MANAGEMENT TEAM
The role of a Crisis Management Team is to
act as a decision making body that can significantly
influence the successful resolution of the crisis
situation.
As such, they are accountable for their
decisions either individually or collectively. Accurate
and timely records of meetings and decisions should
be kept to demonstrate a clear auditable trail of:
• What the decision was
• Who took the decision
• Their rationale behind taking the decision
• When the decision was made
• It may also be necessary to securely store
documents, E mails and correspondence
relevant to the crisis.
• All of these will be relevant in either a post-
incident investigation or inquiry.
Composition of the Crisis Management Team
(CMT)
1. Patrol Officer – responds to the crime scene,
confirms situation, evacuates the injured and
threatened, evaluates situation, establishes
perimeter, gathers initial information, determines
command post
2. Commander – manager, controller, overall
decision-maker, delegates authority and
responsibilities to his personnel
3. Assistant Commander – performs delegated
duties, and keeps commander informed at all
times
4. Emergency Service Teams – reconnaissance,
arrest, counter-sniper, isolation, evacuation,
placement of devices, assault and rescue,
delivery of munitions, delivery of negotiated items,
protection of negotiators, fire suppression,
illumination, crime scene preservation
5. Negotiator – primary communicator with
perpetrators, coaches, chronographers,
messengers, radio operators, and intelligence
officers
6. Communications Specialist – sets up and
monitors communication equipment, monitors and
maintains surveillance equipment, maintains
advance command post, maintains liaison with
telephone companies
7. Tactical Squad Personnel – containment teams,
isolation teams, and other support teams to
emergency service teams
8. Combat Photographers – gather tactical
intelligence, record and preserve evidence
9. Staff Psychologists – interprets negotiation,
monitors stress levels, forecast possible actions,
evaluates negotiator’s performance, recommends
negotiation strategies, provide mental health care
for members, assists in emergency commitments
10. Aerial Support Crew – aerial surveillance,
evacuation and transportation
11. Public Information Officer – media briefings,
monitor media activities and community
sentiments, maintain media liaison and issues
press releases
12. Investigators – gather evidences, provide
intelligence info, interview people, and prepare
criminal charges
13. Explosives Ordnance Personnel – advise
emergency service teams on presence of
explosive devices
Concluding a Hostage Incident
1. remove perpetrators as quickly as possible
2. secure the scene
11
3. brief media
4. collect evidence
5. assemble involved personnel
6. retrieve equipment
7. assess property damage
8. identify critique data and handle debriefing
NEGOTIATION APPROACHES AND
OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
Principles of Negotiation
1. The hostage has no value to the hostage-taker,
other than as a tool to get what he wants from the
authorities.
2. Preventing violence in a hostage situation is the
interest of the hostage-taker, as it is to the
authorities. In case of violence, the authorities
must always come out the victor.
3. Priorities in a hostage situation are the
preservation of life. Apprehension of the hostage-
takers next, and the recovery and protection of
properties follow.
4. To successfully negotiate, the police authorities
must know what is in the in the mind of the
hostage-taker. What and who is the hostage-
taker.
Guidelines in the Initial Stages of Negotiations
1. Assess the Situation
Immediately attempt to identify the cause of the
crisis, and what you may do to defuse the
hostility.
2. Take Immediate Corrective Action
Separate the combatants and isolate them from
each other. If arrest is warranted, do so
immediately and have the offender removed.
Take minimum risk for our own safety and attempt
to disarm or neutralize any individual who is
intending to cause immediate violence to himself
or others.
3. Listen and Observe
Attempt to be totally non-judgmental, and
devote your full attention to what the principal
actors in this crisis are saying or doing.
4. Employ Crisis Diffusion Techniques
When you are attempting to diffuse a crisis
situation, here are some points to consider:
a. keep voice low and speak slowly
b. non-verbal communication should indicate
openness and willingness to listen
c. establish eye contact with the person you are
addressing, to indicate your sincerity and
willingness to listen
d. touching the person you are talking to may
help keep the communication lines open
e. attempt a compromise without saying no to
the hostage-taker
5. Follow-up
Even if you have defused the crisis situation,
you have probably not yet solved any problem.
Make follow-up reports as soon as you can and
arrange for professionals in psychology, family
counseling, spiritual guidance, or whatever other
needs there appears to be.
Negotiation Approaches
Paranoid-Schizophrenic
1. these people are usually above-average in
intelligence. Be careful about attempting to trick or
lie to them.
2. the best approach is to accept their beliefs as
being true for them.
3. do not try to argue or convince them that their
beliefs are wrong.
Manic Depressives
1. provide understanding and support
2. the negotiator should continually reassure them
that they have self-worth
3. do not underestimate the situation by saying
that what they are doing is bad
4. gently interrupt long statements
5. spontaneous events may indicate that decisions
to kill the hostage have been reached
6. gradual improvements over hours of
negotiations are much better indicators
7. establish rapport that could lead to direct
actions
Inadequate Personality
1. understanding and uncritical acceptance should
be provided
2. help him find a way to end the incident by
allowing him to save face
3. bringing parents, friends, and relatives may
invoke stronger feelings of failure or
embarrassment and may cause him to react
drastically
Anti-social Personality
1. it is important to remember that he is self-
centered and will attempt to make things easier
on himself.
2. be careful about making tricks. He is usually
streetwise and expects to be tricked.
3. he is familiar with the judicial system. Do not
make promises you can’t guarantee.
4. he needs frequent ego stimulation
5. avoid discussing jail sentences nor assistance
12
 6. this person will test the limits of his environment
and redoubles his efforts in the face of perceive
weakness on the side of authorities
7. whenever possible, match the negotiator and
hostage-taker as to ethnic origin, religion, or
education.
8. do not attempt to play the role of therapist.
Common Criminal
1. he is the type of person who doesn’t plan very
well
2. he is often self-indulgent and impulsive
3. he often lacks conscience or concern for others
4. at first, relations with hostages will be
uncomfortable because he is worrying what they
might do and how to manage them. After some
time, he ay begin to relate to them as human
beings.
5. an important step is to determine whether he is
a mentally-disturbed person or not
6. after ruling out mental disturbance, you can be
fairly sure that you are dealing with a person
who has frequent brushes with the law, knows
what to expect from the police, and knows what
he may need to do to get out of the situation
alive.
7. negotiations should be reality-oriented
discussions to assist him I recognizing the facts
of the situation and convincing him to accept his
physical safety in return for the release of
hostages
Prisoner Hostage-taker
1. preferred response should be rapid police action
before true leaders of the unruly group can
emerge
2. if rapid action is not possible, negotiations
should continue as if dealing with a mentally
normal criminal
3. if the hostages are guards or police officers, the
risk of injury increases
OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
These are standard policies designed to give
guidance and direction to police personnel regardless
of the types of functions to be performed or police
operations to be conducted. These are aimed at
determining a future course of action or conditions to
operate effectively in any given situation based on the
norms of conduct set forth by law.
General Operational Procedures
1. under all circumstances, the use of force is
justifiable only by virtue of “Doctrine of Self-
defense and Defense of Stranger”.
2. The use of force shall be applied only as a last
resort, when all other peaceful means have
been exhausted.
3. only necessary and reasonable force to subdue
or overcome a clear and present danger shall
be applied.
4. in cases of shootouts, panic firing should be
avoided. it is done by opening fire with everyone
following suit. the officer-in-charge should order
his men to fire only when necessary.
5. extreme caution should be observed when firing
a weapon in congested areas. The practical rule
of shooting only to save a life could well be
applied.
6. after a shootout, the police officer should check
whether the suspects still pose danger or has
been disabled already. He shall then be brought
to the nearest hospital for treatment and
adequate security.
7. police sirens and megaphones shall be used to
influence or warn offenders or suspects to stop
and to peacefully give up.
8. human rights shall be strictly observed and
respected at all times.
Operational Procedures during Hostage
Situations
1. there shall be a Crisis Management Team
(CMT) in every locality trained and equipped for
any eventuality.
2. there shall be only one Ground Commander in
the area
3. the incident area should be cordoned.
4. negotiators shall be designated and no one
shall be allowed to talk to the suspects without
clearance form the negotiating panel or ground
commander.
5. assaults shall be well-planned and assaulting
teams alerted for deployment in case
negotiations fail.
6. an ambulance with a medical crew and a fire
truck shall be detailed at the incident area.
7. proper coordination with all participating
elements is necessary to unify efforts in solving
the crisis.
THE FIRST RESPONDERS AND THE BARRICADE
MATRIX
The First Responder’s Role
As a patrol officer, you are not expected to
diagnose the individual, nor are you expected to
distinguish between the many variations of psychoses
and neuroses. Your principal concern is your safety
and that of the individual, and to make an effort to see
that the person receives appropriate professional
attention.
13

First Responder’s Guidelines
Whenever you encounter a person who appears
to exhibit a mental or emotional problem more deep-
seated than the immediate circumstance warrants,
the following guidelines may assist you:
1. Approach the subject with extreme caution.
Maintain a calm and casual manner.
2. Speak to the subject by name, if you know it. Your
voice should be soothing, but firm and business-
like.
3. Say or do nothing that might threaten or
intimidate.
4. Avoid arguing or scolding the subject, and don’t
allow anyone else to do so.
5. Make use of friends or relatives who know how to
talk to, or deal with the subject, unless there is
friction between them. The subject might have
more trust and confidence in you if you appear to
be getting along with friends and relatives.
6. Try to stall whenever possible until you have a
follow-up officer on the scene.
7. If the situation warrants, and you take the subject
into custody, do so carefully. Avoid painful grips
and keep your firearms out of the suspect’s reach.
8. When you transfer custody to psychiatric
personnel, give them as much information about
the subject’s symptoms and behavior.
The First Responder’s Actions
1. maintain radio contact at all times
2. verify complaint
3. determine perpetrator’s locations
4. determine perpetrator’s weapons
5. communicate findings
6. establish inner perimeter
7. request necessary support
8. communicate safe entry and exit routes
9. evacuate the trapped and the injured, if
possible
10. maintain command and control
11. establish outer perimeter
12. fill out the first responder’s report form
Upon arrival, the investigating patrol officer(s)
employs the ICER concept to the call:
a. Isolate physical and psychological activities on
the scene and keep onlookers beyond the police
safety line.
b. Contain the hostage taker mobility to the smallest
location in the building or exterior area and deny
the opportunity to observe the police presence
activities. This begins the confines of the inner
perimeter and also allows time for crisis
stabilization
c. Evaluate because the original report may or may
not be what the situation actually is. Gather as
much cursory information as possible. Assess the
threat(s) and estimate the location(s) of the
command post(s), and the number and proposed
positions of backup officers needed to establish a
temporary inner perimeter.
d. Report the number and identities of hostage
takers and hostages and their clothing
descriptions, precipitating events, size and
locations of the dangerous zones, inform
responding officers of recommended entry routes,
types of weapons involved and directions or line
of fire. (FBI Hostage Negotiation Study Guide
2010, USA)
Contemporary Terrorism
Definition of Terrorism
Terrorism is … “violence for effect . . . not
primarily, and sometimes not at all for the physical
effect of the actual target, but rather for its dramatic
impact on an audience.”
Terrorism is . . . “the calculated use of violence of
the threat of violence to attain goals, often political or
ideological in nature, through fear, intimidation or
coercion. It usually involves a criminal act often
symbolic in nature and intended to influence an
audience beyond the immediate victim.”
Terrorism is . . . “violent criminal behavior
designed to generate fear in the community, or a
substantial segment of it, for political purposes.”
A definition proposed by Carsten Bockstette at
the George C. Marshall Center for European Security
Studies, underlines the psychological and tactical
aspects of terrorism:
“Terrorism is defined as political
violence in an asymmetrical conflict that is
designed to induce terror and
psychic fear (sometimes indiscriminate)
through the violent victimization and
destruction
of noncombatant targets (sometimes
iconic symbols). Such acts are meant to
send a message from an illicit clandestine
organization. The purpose of terrorism is
to exploit the media in order to achieve
maximum attainable publicity as an
amplifying force multiplier in order to
influence the targeted audience(s) in
order to reach short- and
midterm political goals and/or desired
long-term end states."
In November 2004, a United Nations Secretary
General report described terrorism as any act
"intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to
civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of
intimidating a population or compelling a government
or an international organization to do or abstain from
doing any act".
14
ETYMOLOGY (ORIGIN) OF THE TERM
"Terror" comes from a Latin terrere meaning "to
frighten". The terror cimbricus was a state of panic
and emergency in Rome in response to the approach
of warriors of the Cimbri tribe in 105 BC.
The Jacobins cited this precedent when imposing a
Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. After
the Jacobins lost power, the word "terrorist" became a
term of abuse. Although the Reign of Terror was
imposed by a government, in modern times
"terrorism" usually refers to the killing of innocent
people by a private group in such a way as to create
a media spectacle. This meaning can be traced back
to Sergey Nechayev, who described himself as a
"terrorist". Nechayev founded the Russian terrorist
group "People's Retribution" in 1869.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism#cite_note-
Bockstette2008-24)
Contemporary Terrorism
Some commentators agree that the roots of
contemporary terrorism lie in the swell of student
unrest during the 1960’s when there was a global
trend towards dissatisfaction with the establishment.
The campus riots at the time enabled the disaffected
minorities to operate with a degree of impunity. The
use of violence to make a point became increasingly
popular. It became an “accepted” form of expressing
dissatisfaction with the status quo.
Factors that Affected Terrorism
1. Media
No matter what the terrorist’s cause may be, one
of their main objective is to publicize their cause to
the widest audience possible. The existence of a
highly-efficient media network, therefore, is a factor in
any terrorist scenario that must not be
underestimated. Today’s technology gives terrorists
the opportunity to gain worldwide attention on
primetime television on the same day as the event.
This gives them banner headlines in the world press
immediately. There is seldom a day when some type
of terrorist event does not appear in the media around
the world. And this is what they like.
2. Communications
Technological advances in communications have
enhanced terrorist capabilities by leaps and bounds.
This helped them operate in many parts of the world
with quickness, efficiency, and relative ease. This
single factor has contributed to the growth of
transnational and international terrorism in the last
decade and has removed the terrorists from the realm
of parochial “freedom fighters”.
3. Military capability for super-violence
The abilities of terrorists are now greatly
enhanced with the advent of military combat
technologies such as missiles, laser devices, and
chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. In the
wrong hands, these could prove to be devastating.
Terrorist Motivations and Group Classification
The Institute of the Study of Conflict, when
discussing terrorism in Europe, classified the groups
as follows:
1. Minority Nationalistic Groups – groups fighting the
majority of the community where the support base
will depend on ethnic, religious, or linguistic
minorities at odds with the majority community
2. Marxist Revolutionary Group – characterized by
its possession of a coherent Marxist ideology, or
any persuasion, and of a long-term strategy
bringing about a Socialist revolution
3. Anarchist Group – true anarchists are difficult to
find since true anarchy brings lawlessness and
disorder, which is a natural state in which humans
exist; these are people who terrorize for the sole
purpose of inflicting terror only.
4. Pathological Groups – motivations normally have
more to do with personal inadequacy, hatred of
family or specifically identified persons or things,
than with acquired ideology
5. Neo-Fascist and Extreme Right-wing Groups –
these are groups that appear to counter the
activities of the Left, or the Communists, and may
pose a more serious threat to security forces than
the more traditional terrorist groups
6. Ideological Mercenaries – a new form of terrorism
from people who, for the sake of shared ideology
and a common faith in worldwide revolution are
ready to cross frontiers to pursue their causes
Common Terrorist Tactics
1. bombing – the increase in bombing activity and
the sophistication of devices used have caused
the NATO EOD Standardization Committee to
classify all terrorist bombs as Improvised
Explosive Devices (IED)
2. hoaxes – IED’s (improvised explosive devices)
are often used to establish terrorist’s credibility.
Once their credibility is established, they continue
to disrupt, though not to destroy, by using well-
made hoax bombs
3. arson – although not a popular tactic but has been
used to destroy or disrupt targets like public
utilities, political headquarters, and commonly,
economic and industrial targets
4. hijacking – the commandeering of a plain or
aircraft by the terrorists ; hijacked “legitimate “
vehicles give terrorists a better means to
approach government facilities
5. ambush – it is often forgotten that the terrorists
has time on their side and will spend weeks, if not
months, preparing for an operation
6. kidnapping – this tactic is acted out with extreme
precision and with definite goals in mind by two
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 separate, dedicated terrorist groups, the Abu
Sayyaf and the MILF.
7. assassination – perhaps the oldest tactics in the
book and is still widely used. Targets are often
predictable and assassinations are claimed later
by the terrorists themselves
8. hostage taking – normally carried out in order to
demand political concessions
Types of Terrorism
In early 1975, the Law Enforcement Assistant
Administration in the United States formed the
National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice
Standards and Goals. One of the five volumes that
the committee wrote was entitled Disorders and
Terrorism, produced by the Task Force on Disorders
and Terrorism under the direction of H.H.A. Cooper,
Director of the Task Force staff. The Task Force
classified terrorism into six categories.
▪ Civil disorder – A form of collective violence
interfering with the peace, security, and normal
functioning of the community.
▪ Political terrorism – Violent criminal behavior
designed primarily to generate fear in the
community, or substantial segment of it, for
political purposes.
▪ Non-Political terrorism – Terrorism that is not
aimed at political purposes but which exhibits
“conscious design to create and maintain a high
degree of fear for coercive purposes, but the end
is individual or collective gain rather than the
achievement of a political objective.”
▪ Quasi-terrorism – The activities incidental to the
commission of crimes of violence that are similar
in form and method to genuine terrorism but
which nevertheless lack its essential ingredient. It
is not the main purpose of the quasi-terrorists to
induce terror in the immediate victim as in the
case of genuine terrorism, but the quasi-terrorist
uses the modalities and techniques of the genuine
terrorist and produces similar consequences and
reaction.[71] For example, the fleeing felon who
takes hostages is a quasi-terrorist, whose
methods are similar to those of the genuine
terrorist but whose purposes are quite different.
▪ Limited political terrorism – Genuine political
terrorism is characterized by
a revolutionary approach; limited political
terrorism refers to “acts of terrorism which are
committed for ideological or political motives but
which are not part of a concerted campaign to
capture control of the state.
▪ Official or State terrorism –"referring to nations
whose rule is based
upon fear and oppression that reach similar to
terrorism or such proportions.” It may also be
referred to as Structural Terrorism defined broadly
as terrorist acts carried out by governments in
pursuit of political objectives, often as part of their
foreign policy.
Several sources have further defined the typology of
terrorism:
1. Political terrorism - the unlawful use of force or
violence against persons or property in order to
coerce or intimidate a government or the civilian
population in furtherance of political or social
objectives.
2. Criminal terrorism – technically there is no
definition for criminal terrorism, except that
terrorism itself is an international crime.
3. Pathological terrorism - describes the use of
terrorism by individuals who utilize such strategies
for the sheer joy of terrorizing others. Pathological
terrorists often operate alone rather in groups like
the others on this list and often are not true
‘terrorists’ as they lack any well-defined political
motive.
COUNTER TERRORISM
Counter – terrorism is the practices, tactics,
techniques, and strategies that
governments, militaries, police departments and
corporations adopt to prevent or in response to
terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.
If the terrorism is part of a broader insurgency,
counter-terrorism may also form a part of a counter-
insurgency doctrine, but political, economic, and other
measures may focus more on the insurgency than the
specific acts of terror. Counter-terrorism includes both
the detection of potential acts and the response to
related events.
The US military definition, compatible with the
definitions used by NATO and many other militaries,
is "operations that include the offensive measures
taken to prevent, deter, preempt, and respond to
terrorism." In other words, counter-terrorism is a set
of techniques for denying an opponent the use of
terrorism-based tactics.
Foreign Internal Defense (FID) – is a term used by
several countries for programs either to suppress
insurgency, or reduce the conditions under which
insurgency could develop.
Anti-terrorism v. Counter Terrorism
The concept of anti-terrorism emerges from a
thorough examining of the concept of terrorism as
well as an attempt to understand and articulate what
constitutes terrorism in Western terms. In military
contexts, terrorism is a tactic, not an ideology.
Terrorism may be a tactic in a war between nation-
states, in a civil war, or in an insurgency.
Counter-terrorism refers to offensive strategies
intended to prevent a belligerent individual or group
from successfully using the tactic of terrorism.
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 Anti-terrorism is defensive, intended to reduce the
chance of an attack using terrorist tactics at specific
points, or to reduce the vulnerability of possible
targets to such tactics. "Defensive measures used to
reduce the vulnerability of individuals and property to
terrorist acts, to include limited response and
containment by local military and civilian forces."

Planning for, Detecting and Neutralizing Potential

Terrorist Acts
Building a counter-terrorism plan involves all
segments of a society or many government agencies.
In dealing with foreign terrorists, the lead
responsibility is usually at the national level.
Because propaganda and indoctrination lie at the
core of terrorism, understanding their profile and
functions increases the ability to counter terrorism
more effectively.
Most counter-terrorism strategies involve an
increase in standard police and domestic intelligence.
The central activities are traditional: interception of
communications, and the tracing of persons. New
technology has, however, expanded the range
of military and law enforcement operations.
Domestic intelligence is often directed at specific
groups, defined on the basis of origin or religion,
which is a source of political controversy. Mass
surveillance of an entire population raises objections
on civil liberties grounds.
To select the effective action when terrorism
appears to be more of an isolated event, the
appropriate government organizations need to
understand the source, motivation, methods of
preparation, and tactics of terrorist groups. Good
intelligence is at the heart of such preparation, as well
as political and social understanding of any
grievances that might be solved. Ideally, one gets
information from inside the group, a very difficult
challenge because operational terrorist cells are often
small, with all members known to one another,
perhaps even related.
Counterintelligence is a great challenge with the
security of cell-based systems, since the ideal, but
nearly impossible, goal is to obtain a source within
the cell. Financial tracking can play a role, as
can communications intercept, but both of these
approaches need to be balanced against legitimate
expectations of privacy.

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