Harvey Schlossberg (January 27, 1936 – May 21, 2021) was a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer, Freudianpsychoanalyst, and the founder of modern crisis negotiation. He founded the Psychological Services Department in the NYPD, where he pioneered treatment for violence-prone police. In the Handbook of Police Psychology, Schlossberg was called a "father of modern police psychology" for his role in changing the tactics police employed in hostage situations.[1]
Schlossberg first worked as a traffic officer in the accident investigation unit. He was later moved to the Medical Bureau after commissioner Patrick V. Murphy learned that he had a doctorate in psychology. There, he performed emotional testing to assess the well-being of prospective and current colleagues in the NYPD, and was made director of psychological services in 1974.[1] He helped resolve the 1973 Brooklyn hostage crisis,[2] coined the term Stockholm syndrome,[3] and helped catch serial killerDavid Berkowitz.[1] The NYPD Hostage Negotiation Team was the brainchild of NYPD chief Simon Eisdorfer, with Schlossberg responsible for formulating the team’s strategy. He advocated containing a hostage situation to a restricted area, with police starting negotiations, keeping up communications with the hostage-takers, and gaining their trust in the hopes that they would change course and free their captives.[1] He trained over 70,000 crisis negotiators globally, and his theories were eventually adopted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[4] Schlossberg was credited with helping to save over 40,000 lives globally with his tactics.[5]
1973 hostage-taking
During the 1973 Brooklyn hostage crisis, the longest in NYPD history,[6] twelve hostages were taken by four gunmen, who vowed to fight to the death. Schlossberg spent 14 hours assessing their psychology and advising NYPD officials on what to do next.[7] He called the hostage-takers' bluff when they requested a doctor and food, observing at the time how "if you’re worried about food, you don’t want to die."[1] The siege ultimately ended without any further deaths when the gunmen surrendered.[1][7]
Schlossberg's first marriage to Cynthia Marks ended in divorce. Together, they had four children: Mark, Alexander, James, and Steven. His second marriage was to Antoinette Collarini Schlossberg, who also taught at St. John's University. They had one child, Anna Elizabeth.[1]
Schlossberg died on May 21, 2021, at a hospital in Brooklyn. He was 85 when he suffered a fatal cardiopulmonary arrest.[1]
