ABSTRACT
Negotiating with those involved in hostage or barricade incidents is a comparatively recent strategy developed by law enforcement agencies. Michael McMains and Wayman Mullins (1996) noted that, prior to the 1970s, an assault was the most common tactic used in these situations, as illustrated at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 when a group of Arabs invaded the Israeli compound at the games and took Israeli athletes as hostages. In the assault at the airport, police killed 10 Arabs, and 11 Israelis and lost one police officer. Beginning in the 1970s, law enforcement agencies realized that some situations could be resolved by negotiations, and guidelines gradually evolved for handling such situations.
