Crisis (hostage) negotiation: current strategies and issues in high-risk conflict resolution

Crisis (hostage) negotiation has been described as the most significant development in law enforcement and police psychology over the past several decades. This paper reviews three primary components of crisis negotiation: (1) the incorporation of crisis management and intervention in current broad-spectrum approaches to crisis negotiation; (2) the Behavioral Change Stairway Model (BCSM), constructed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU), that provides a systematic, multistep process directed toward peaceful, nonlethal resolution of critical incidents; and (3) role-playing as a vital tool in the assessment and training of crisis negotiation skills. Advancements and limitations in the field of crisis negotiation are highlighted; suggestions for directions that future work in this area might take are offered.