Environmental Health and Safety

Hostage

Conduct while being held hostage:

Under all circumstances, attempt to stay calm and be alert to situations that you can exploit to your advantage. Remember that the primary objective of your family and law enforcement officials will be to secure your safe return as quickly as possible.
Do not attempt to fight back or struggle physically. No matter how “reasonable” your captors may appear on the surface, they cannot be trusted to behave normally and their actions may be unpredictable.
Comply with the instructions of your abductor as well as you can.
Do not discuss what actions your family, friends, or employers may take.
Make a mental note of all movements including times in transit, direction, distances, speeds, landmarks along the way, special odors, sounds such as bells, construction, etc.
Whenever possible, take note of characteristics of your abductors, their habits, surroundings, speech mannerisms and what contacts they make. Such information can be of great value in their ultimate apprehension.
Generally, you cannot expect to have a good opportunity to escape; any attempt to escape, however, should not be made unless it is indicated that your life is in imminent danger. Carefully calculate the best possible odds for success.
Avoid making provocative remarks to your abductors. As noted, they may be unstable individuals who react explosively and are likely to be violent and abusive.
Try to establish some kind of rapport with your captors.