ummmm we got a hostage here?

[ßå$tĮТHÏ¿ð]

Well earlier today there was a "hostage" taking situation in a trailer (serious no joke) at the end of my road. The road itself was blocked off for 4 hours, after 4 hours of failed contact with anyone inside the house they decided to take a look. They found out the house is vacant.....

Now me being a civillian and all I dont know much about Police tactics in a hostage situation. But wouldn't they bring in a a negotiator (sp?), wouldnt they want to get in contact with the hostage taker?

I understand the past history of the house comes into play, considering the owner is a speed freak with guns I do understand they want to be cautious as possible and not try to get anyone hurt/injured.

Now that being said taking 4 hours to realise that the suspect is not at the location, does anyone else think this is kinda odd?

Anyways I'm looking forward to see what other police officers/soldiers think of "Nanaimo's Finest" tactics. Is this something of the norm and I am blowing this outta the water? Can anyone comment on this?

Thanks for the reply's in advance
The bastardchild

[CX20]

after 4 hours of failed contact with anyone inside the house

You answered your own question.

It is impossible to question their response without knowing their guidelines for such situations. Every force/department may have different guidelines for the deployment of negotiators. How can you say if it was a hostage situation or not? Were there reports of a hostage, were there witnesses? If anything, it sounds more like a barricaded offender to me. If they'd had no contact from inside the property, they would have had to contain the area whilst other officers made enquiries to determine who lived in the house, spoke to any witnesses and tried to contact the offender's next of kin. So yes, it may well have taken four hours - you don't know how long the lines of enquiry took, you don't know how long it took them to decide on a course of action after obtaining all the necessary information.

Bear in mind that it can take a good couple of hours to call out a tactical unit and negotiators. A senior officer may have not even have authorised a call out due to the undeterminded nature of the incident. It all depends on the guidelines. No doubt the actions of the officers at the scene would have depended on waiting for the decisions of senior officers in the control room.

It's not just a case of "this happened, and they should have done this". Police forces have to adhere to guidelines, or they leave themselves open to litigation. What is often the most obvious course of action to an outsider, is not necessarily how it must be done. You can't fault the officers for their actions if they were following their training and adhering to their guidelines.

Personally, I think you are making something out of nothing. I attend similar incidents all the time and our response would have been along similar lines. At the end of the day no-one was harmed, and everyone went home safe. It is better to take more time and do everything methodically and safely then it is to start kicking in doors when you don't have to.

[usa320]

Bah...that drag these hostage situations out too long... One sharpshooter with a clear line of site and the problem could be fixed in seconds instead of hours.

[USAF G]

That would be great, if the goal of police departments was to kill as many suspects as possible without giving them their right to a fair trial :roll: . I mean, we wouldn't want to participate in the judicial system would we? "Sorry Mrs. Smith, the 911 caller gave us the wrong house address, and since it's our policy to shoot first, well..." :(

[Salty Dog]

yeah, that would be great, or just do a bombing run over the suspected location, and reduce it to rubble. :D

[James]

Or bulldoze the place like Israel.