Scenario Library
This page features scenarios that can be used by law enforcement training instructors, coordinators, or others to strengthen their de-escalation and crisis response training.
The following scenarios were adapted from publicly available training resources to support scenario-based skill practice in de-escalation and crisis response for law enforcement.
Browse All Scenarios
Use this interactive library to search and filter scenarios by difficulty level and core topic area.
Scenarios in this library presume that law enforcement officers serve as scenario participants. Scenarios do not include exact dialogue for role players but guide how they should respond and act. Difficulty levels were determined using the following definitions:
- Beginner scenarios are relatively straightforward, with no weapons present. The scenario is typically resolved by the participant using verbal de-escalation skills with a single role player;
- Intermediate scenarios can include role players with a weapon, or involve multiple role players, but are not overly complex relative to Advanced scenarios. There may be some escalators in the scenario that make it more challenging, or the objective is more complex than in a beginner scenario;
- Advanced scenarios are more complex, with multiple role players that the training participant will need to interact with and manage, or a scenario that requires significant repositioning and/or ongoing escalations.
SCENARIOS
Adolescent Experiencing Depression at Home
Training Source: Crisis Response and Intervention Training (CRIT)
Agitated Person Displaying Signs of Self-Harm and PTSD in an Office/Workplace
Training Source: Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training
Senior Citizen Subjects in Nursing Home
Training Source: Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training
Despondent Person with a Knife Outside an Apartment
Training Source: Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) Training
School Bus Hit-and-Run Scene Management
Training Source: Agency developed
Agitated Person with a Baseball Bat Inside a Home
Training Source: Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) Training
Intoxicated Person Refusing to Leave the Home of Estranged Spouse
Training Source: Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) Training
Agitated Person with a Knife (Suicide-by-Cop)
Training Source: Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) Training
Agitated Person Displaying Symptoms of Psychosis and PTSD Outside an Apartment Building
Training Source: Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training
Agitated Person Displaying Symptoms of PTSD Inside Apartment
Training Source: Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training
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