2013 was a very fruitful year for the Police Negotiation Cadre (PNC). In addition to supporting frontline officers in crisis situations, PNC members received training provided by overseas experts, attended international conferences and provided training to Mainland officers. All these enabled them to upgrade their personal qualities in the field of negotiation for the benefit of negotiation work in future.
In September last year, PNC invited Mr Eric Blondeau, a French expert in coaching crisis management, to conduct a four-day specialised training for PNC members. Mr Blondeau introduced a negotiation process from the angle of behavioural science and the decision-making mechanism in the brain, explaining the biological and psychological responses of the negotiator and the subject. All PNC members were greatly inspired by this new concept and now have a good grasp of the underlying negotiation process. The course also strengthened PNC training programmes and provided a fresh insight into the relevant materials.
In November, PNC invited another guest speaker, Dr Thomas Strentz, former FBI Supervisory Special Agent and Counter Terrorism (CT) Expert, to conduct seminars on hostage negotiation, CT negotiation and Tactical negotiation. With extensive sharing of first-person experience in major crisis incidents, PNC members gained a better understanding of those situations and practical tips on handling similar incidents in future.
In the same month, the Commanding Officer of PNC, Superintendent Wong Kwong-hing, led two members to attend the "International Negotiators' Working Group" (INWG) 2013 Conference in Sydney, Australia. It was an annual meeting for police negotiators from over 20 countries, including USA, UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Japan. The theme of the conference was "CT Negotiation and International Co-operation", with the participants sharing their experiences in dealing with multinational and CT related kidnap incidents which often lasted for over a year, highlighting the significance of international co-operation among negotiation units.
In December, PNC was invited by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) to Haikou to conduct a five-day Crisis Negotiation Course for 46 PSB officers from 31 provinces, cities and regions on the Mainland. This was the seventh similar training since 2003. The Force delegation was led by PNC Deputy Commanding Officer, Chief Superintendent Fung Wai-kin, with members comprising Chief Inspector Cheng Yi-mui, Station Sergeant Li Sze-ki, Sergeants Ku Yuen, Yim Ming and Leung Siu-cheung. The training consisted of daytime lectures on negotiation theory and evening sessions on practical drill and exercise. Both received favourable response from the trainees.
PNC members commit themselves to taking on the challenges of crisis negotiation and will continue to serve the community and the Force with professionalism.
