Mitchell R. Hammer’s Saving Lives: The S.A.F.E. Model for Resolving Hostage & Crisis Incidents is a book that discusses a specific, if not niche, area of negotiation and conflict resolution: law enforcement crisis and hostage negotiations. However, much of the information Hammer shares in this book is more broadly relevant and offers value to professionals with experience working in other areas of conflict resolution. He takes an academic approach that neatly integrates it with practical and real life examples.

Hammer begins the book with a story about a suicide, which dramatizes the high stakes involved in these negotiations in a manner that will intrigue the reader to continue turning pages. The book then offers a review of other models of crisis and hostage negotiation and defines and explains the S.A.F.E. model that he developed. The second part of the book analyzes real incidents using the S.A.F.E. model. Hammer thus provides the reader first with the tools to understand the model and then the opportunity to see it in action.

The S.A.F.E. model is designed to “support critical incident management protocols through the development of more comprehensive negotiation strategy” in order to “influence the behavior of the subject to peacefully surrender or assist in a tactical resolution of the incident.” The model is named for its four elements or interpretative frames: Substantive Demands, Attunement, Face Frames, and Emotional Distress. Before exploring each element, Hammer explains the interactive process of S.A.F.E. through three core processes: identify, match, and shift.

Read the full review at ACResolution [here].