The concept of crisis intervention has existed since people have needed assistance. All individuals experience crises in life in response to personal and societal events, and these crises often call for the attention of concerned others. Until recently American society was composed largely of tightly knit families, and assistance was provided from within these families when crises arose. The greater mobility potential of later generations, however, caused the ties that held families together to unravel. Thus, family members were denied immediate and, many times, long-term contact with supportive persons they had depended on in the past; therefore, crisis intervention expanded beyond the domain of the family unit, becoming professional in nature. Professionals responded accordingly to the growing demand of crisis-related issues in society and individual responses. The established fields of psychology and medicine supplied the earliest forms of assistance. Later, social service and criminal justice agencies assumed the bulk of assistance given in the United States. Today, criminal justice agencies are important conduits to crisis intervention. These agencies, of which law enforcement is an important part in providing initial response to crisis situations, are often the first encountered by persons in need of help. Throughout the entire litigation process, persons seeking crisis intervention are likely to deal with many criminal justice personnel, from police to parole officers. Among the topics discussed in this overview of the development of crisis intervention services are the role of government and the States in promoting crisis intervention, crisis intervention skills, crisis intervention in criminal justice and social services, and crisis intervention within a culturally diverse society. Chapter review questions and 50 references