In the movie Inside Man, which was directed by Spike Lee (2006), the plan for the bank heist was formulated very well. In particular, Dalton Russell, the mastermind, planned for and anticipated everything. For example, he planned for an easy and “clean” entrance into the bank, that is, the robbers came in as painters who were dressed in uniforms, which made nobody take particular notice of them. They also used infrared light in the form of flashlights to ensure that they wouldn’t be seen on the surveillance cameras. By the time that the security guard noticed their suspicious actions, they had already positioned themselves in a way that allowed them to take control of the bank and its employees.
He had also planned for what to do with the hostages and where to place them. He took all of the hostages’ cellphones and keys to ensure that they wouldn’t be able to make any contact with people outside the bank and to ensure that none of them would be able to pick on the locks. He also made all of the hostages strip off their clothes and wear the same suits and masks that the robbers did. This way, the police or anyone looking from the outside wouldn’t be able to distinguish the robbers from the hostages; and thus, would hesitate to shoot at anyone. In addition, he grouped the hostages in separate rooms and moved some of the hostages from one room to another in order to cause confusion and to prevent people from getting too familiar with each other. This would later pose difficulties and inconsistencies in the hostage interviews and police investigations. Moreover, he made the robbers alternately take off their masks and join the hostages so that the hostages would identify them as being among them, in effect leaving the hostages with no idea as to how the robbers looked like. In addition, even the robbers that posed as hostages were moved from one room to another to further add to the confusion and to ensure that all of the hostages have seen them as being among the hostages. As well, since he didn’t plan on hurting anyone, Dalton planned to make use of toy guns and to use sound effects. This way, it was ensured that no one got hurt but that the firearms looked realistic enough to instigate fear among the hostages and the police men. They also had some fake blood handy just in case they needed to make a show of killing people.
In addition, Dalton had planned for what he specifically needed to take from the bank and where to take it from. For this, he had already obtained the necessary information prior to conducting the heist. In particular, he already knew the number of the safety deposit box that contained the valuables that he needed. Since he didn’t want to be too greedy and did not want to take the money of the people but still wanted to gain financially, he planned to take the diamonds, which were owned by Mr. Case, the bank owner, and which Mr. Case also obtained through dubious and unethical means. Also, Dalton took the documents that proved Mr. Case’s association with the Nazis, although he did not really intend to use these documents or to expose Mr. Case. Rather, he got the documents as a safeguard for himself and the other robbers. More specifically, he could use these documents to bribe Mr. Case should Mr. Case file charges against him and his friends. This way, Dalton had already planned for a way to prevent any future litigation against him.
It is also because of their intricate and well-defined plan that the robbers did not feel rushed to complete the job. They knew that as long as they had the hostages and that the hostages were dressed similarly as the robbers then they were safe from being attacked by the police. Since they needed the contents of only one safety deposit box and did not need to rob the entire bank, they were actually able to complete this very quickly. However, they needed plenty of time to dig the hole in the storage room as this was where Dalton planned to hide in. It was also for this reason that they requested for a plane, although they knew that this wouldn’t be granted. This request would stall the police and would give the robbers more time to execute their plans. Furthermore, this would confuse the police with regards to their real motives.
In addition, Dalton had planned for how he and his fellow robbers could make their getaway without being caught or hurt and without any of the hostages being hurt. With the robbers posing as hostages, some of them were released as if they were hostages, which left the police with little evidence to suspect them as being among the robbers. As well, he had a plan for a course of action should the police attack them. Upon learning that the police were going to raid the bank, Dalton released all of the hostages at once. However, since all of the hostages and robbers were dressed similarly, the police fired only rubber bullets, which ensured that no one got hurt. For this, Dalton also planned a way to stay abreast of the police men’s plan against him. In particular, he found a way to bug the police station so that he could hear everything that the police was saying, which in turn enabled him to plan for his next steps. As for himself, Dalton had planned to make a hole on the storage room’s wall where he would later hide until the chaos settled down. This prevented him from getting caught, especially since Det. Frazier had interacted with him on a close range and might be able to recognize him. In this regard, the bank job was perfect as nobody got hurt, Dalton got what he came for, and no charges could be filed against him or his friends. As such, he was not placed in a prison cell. He was merely hiding in a cell on the wall of the bank’s storage room until the situation settled down.
In response to Dalton’s actions, Det. Frazier should have been more careful in the steps that he took against Dalton. He should have taken the time to analyze Dalton’s actions and use this to strategically plan for a course of action instead of acting impulsively and being in a hurry to resolve the situation.
In the same regard, one of the negotiation mistakes that was made was that both negotiating parties only had one option for each other and offered no alternative options that would still enable both parties to feel satisfied. In particular, the only option that Dalton gave the police was to provide him with the buses and the plane or else he would start killing the hostages. On the other hand, the only option that the police gave Dalton was for him to release the hostages or the police would raid the bank, which could lead to people getting hurt and the robbers getting arrested. In the same manner, Miss White did not give Dalton an alternative option. Her offer was for Dalton to give her Mr. Case’s Nazi documents in exchange for $2 million, along with assistance on any charges that will be filed against him.
In addition, Det. Frazier focused only on his own pressures instead of on Dalton’s pressures. This made him seem powerless against Dalton. In contrast, if he focused more on the pressures on Dalton then he may have been able to identify how he could satisfy some of Dalton’s basic needs without giving away too much and possibly getting the upper hand.
On the other hand, one of the negotiation strategies that was successful was that a relationship was built between Dalton and Det. Frazier. This fostered trust between the two, which helped in the somewhat peaceful resolution of the problem. In addition, some of the needs of both parties were met. In particular, the police granted Dalton with the food he requested and Dalton also granted Det. Frazier’s request to see that the hostages are indeed alive and safe. Moreover, a win-win strategy was used by all the negotiators because although each negotiator offered the other party with only one option, these options -- if taken – would create a win-win situation for the parties involved. In the negotiation between Dalton and Det. Frazier, it would have resulted in Dalton and his friends avoiding a shootout with the police and in Det. Frazier achieving his goal of having the hostages released. On the other hand, the negotiation between Miss White and Dalton would have led to Dalton getting money and possibly not getting charged for the robbery while Miss White would have obtained the documents that Mr. Case needed.
Another good negotiation strategy that Dalton employed was that he was assertive in the negotiation process. He was firm with what he wanted and was not afraid to ask for them. He was very calm during the negotiation process and did not show any anger or anxiety. He also did not sound desperate. The same calmness could also be seen in Miss White and in Det. Frazier, although Det. Frazier tended to be quite reactive and impulsive. However, a good strategy that Det. Frazier used was the way he challenged the validity of Dalton’s position. Although an unwise move on his part., Det. Frazier was able to challenge Dalton’s bluff of killing the hostages by challenging Dalton to kill him instead. As was seen in the movie, Dalton’s failure to pull the trigger on Det. Frazier served as confirmation to Det. Frazier that Dalton was just bluffing about killing the hostages.
Dalton was also well prepared for the negotiation. As he had done his research, he was fully aware of Mr. Case’s Nazi documents and of Mr. Case’s past, which gave him an upper hand in his negotiation with Miss White. As well, Dalton was not in a hurry to finish the negotiations, which helped him to win. He also aimed high and was optimistic that he would get what he wanted and indeed, he got them.
With regards to Mr. Case, some of the individual and organizational factors that influenced his decision included the shame he would get from his past being exposed, particularly with regards to how and where he got the money to start his bank business. This would give the bank a bad reputation, which could mean both his personal and the bank’s downfall. This is highly likely, especially since most of the bank’s employees and clients were Jews and the money that Mr. Case used to start the bank was from the payment that he received from the Nazis for his betrayal of his Jewish friends.
The writer thinks that Det. Frazier should have not tried to tackle Dalton nor should he have challenged Dalton to shoot him. He could have died if Dalton was the conventional type of robber who had nothing but malicious intentions. The writer also thinks that Dalton was very clever in how he handled the hostages and the police, especially with his very calm manner. However, if the writer were the film director, he would have made the turnout of events more realistic by making them a bit more complicated and messy. As it was, the ending of the movie was very straightforward and clean, which would be hard to pull off in real life.
Finally, the role of social perception in the movie was that hostage-taking scenes are always perceived as negative and frightening situations and that hostage takers should be dealt with carefully in order to avoid any loss of life. Although Dalton did not have any intention to harm the hostages, he used the perception that he would in order to gain an advantage in the negotiation process. In particular, this allowed him to negotiate for food and to stall the police so that he would have enough time to execute his plans.
References
Lee, S. (2006). Inside man [Motion picture]. USA: NBC Universal.
