Crisis (hostage) negotiation: current strategies and issues in high-risk conflict resolution Gregory M. Vecchi a, * , Vincent B. Van Hasselt b , Stephen J. Romano c a Crisis Negotiation Unit, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Academy, United States b Center for Psychological Studies, Nova Southeastern University, United States c Crisis and Security Management, Control Risks Group, Washington, DC, United States Received 24 August 2003; received in revised form 14 September 2004; accepted 4 October 2004 Abstract 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. D 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Crisis negotiation; Hostage negotiation; Crisis intervention; Role-playing; Conflict resolution; Online 1359-1789/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2004.10.001 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 540 809 4500. E-mail address: GVecchi@aol.com (G.M. Vecchi). Aggression and Violent Behavior 10 (2005) 533– 551