Role playing: applications in hostage and crisis negotiation skills training

Role playing has been a mainstay of behavioral assessment for decades. In recent years, however, this analogue strategy has also enjoyed widespread application in the field of law enforcement. Most notably, role-play procedures have become an integral component of assessment and training efforts in hostage and crisis negotiation, which attempts to resolve high-risk and often volatile situations in a peaceful, nonviolent manner when possible. The purpose of this paper is to (a) describe development and validation of a role-play test specifically geared toward law enforcement negotiators, (b) present different role-play formats that have been incorporated in law enforcement negotiation training, and (c) discuss limitations and considerations in use of these instruments. Suggestions for directions that future efforts in this area might take are offered. The heuristic value of role playing in crisis management, counterterrorism, and emergency and mass casualty disaster training exercises is also underscored.