The hostage-taking of the rue d’Aligre, in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, ended on Tuesday morning, after seventeen hours of tension. The maniac, known in this shopping district for a psychiatric history, was arrested. He had previously asked to speak to the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti. For Release, Christophe Caupenne, former negotiator of the Raid, the elite unit of the national police, deciphers the way in which the professionals of the intervention forces use the exchange and the word to peacefully put an end to the taking of hostages, in particular when they are perpetrated by people suffering from mental pathologies.
How long is seventeen for a hostage situation like this?
When there is a psychopathology underlying the acting out, as appears to be the case here, it is often very long. The perpetrator may find himself in a psychological impasse, and imagine that he will come out of it by settling the problem with the highest authorities. It can also be long because there are what are called “productions”, that is to say delusional elements which totally disturb the reasoning. As long as the person is in a state of confusion, and as long as the negotiators have failed to stabilize the situation, there is no opening to see a peaceful resolution. So it takes time. There, I think the colleagues of the BRI [Brigade de recherche et d’intervention, rattachée à la préfecture de police de Paris, ndlr] were patient, and the authorities trusted them to do their job to the end.
Should we accede to the requests of people finding themselves in such dead ends or suffering from these “productions”?
No, never, especially not. We do not enter into the delirium of the individual, we do not feed him. This would be a very bad message to send to all people with psychopathologies who want to publicize their problems or to solve them by force. The illusion that they could have access to the highest authorities is extremely dangerous. If we do it once, it creates a case law. Faced with such a request, it is normally a categorical refusal on the part of professional negotiators, they do not seek the assistance of an authority. What is more, if the hostage taker were to have the authorities he requests, that will not solve the problem, since he would then certainly have a higher request. Where are we going to stop: at the President of the Republic? To the Pope?
The entourage of the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, was wrong to let it be known “That he stood at [la] arrangement” negotiators?
I wouldn’t say that. Because I do not see the Minister taking a personal position on this. He had to seek advice from the boss of the BIS, who himself consulted the negotiators. And then an announcement effect is one thing, the reality of a commitment is another. Having said that, lying is a major mistake in negotiating because it can destroy the trust that one is trying to build with the hostage taker. You don’t lie to someone who suffers from psychopathology. Otherwise, we would risk entering into a situation of total mistrust of all future interlocutors.
So what should be done to trade with these profiles?
Know how to listen, and let the person verbalize the discomfort that led him to take action. Mental illness is suffering. The person who is suffering, she is convinced that she is legitimate to do what she is doing, she is no longer in control of her psyche and of her actions. That is why we can invoke criminal irresponsibility in this kind of situation. It is necessary, by the means of the conversation, the exchange, or by asking her questions, to make her think about her situation, to get her to persuade herself that violence is a bad solution. Everything must be done so that the surrender is on his initiative, and this will take time. Because resigning takes time.
Are there typical profiles of hostage takers or a typology of these people?
Even within the pathological profiles, it all depends on the disease they are suffering from, or what they are looking for. Afterwards, for some it is a problem to have it: they want to obtain something, that their child be returned to them, that the administrative or judicial decision targeting them be annulled. Others are in a problem of being. They want to show their anger, to show that they don’t let society do so, to change their opinion of them, by showing that they are dangerous. Some hostage takers are avengers, others will be in terrorism: they want to have a media window to stimulate new people. There are plenty of profiles. However, a negotiator who is too fixed on typologies and operating methods would have a good chance of failing his negotiation. Because we must keep in mind that negotiation is not an area where things are frozen. There are major principles but, in addition to listening, you need a great ability to adapt to the situation.