The new PNC members, comprising 11 inspectors and 10 junior police officers, were recruited after having successfully passed a series of selection programmes.

Professor Zhang Minggang from the Guangdong Police College, who has attended a similar one-week intensive training course tailor-made for Mainland negotiators, was on hand to assist the current training course by sharing his valuable training experience with the trainees from the Mainland and Macao.

It was the first time Mainland officers were taking part in a full Crisis Negotiation Course with local officers, and it was also by far the largest intake of trainees since PNC's establishment in 1975. As the training course went on, minor linguistic differences were overcome by trainees' enthusiasm and commitment to the course.

The course has been designed as a step-by-step learning approach for handling the various aspects of crisis negotiation, ranging from suicide intervention, barricaded subject and hostage to terrorism-related emergencies. The content includes the principles of crisis negotiation, active listening techniques, stress management, suicide intervention, use of intermediaries and tactical negotiation. It is a very demanding course with the main objective of equipping trainees with the skills of handling stress in crisis situations and operating with teamwork for prolonged hours.

During the two-week training, all the trainees attended lectures and discussion sessions at daytime and conducted practical negotiation exercises in the evening. Every evening simultaneous exercises were conducted to simulate real-life incidents, with experienced negotiators playing the roles of "actors" to bring real-life challenges to the trainees.

For the first time some chief inspectors and superintendents, who are not PNC members, played the roles of an incident commander in various scenarios to add realism into the training. At the end of the training, all the trainees attended a final assessment, which was a day-long exercise held at the Hong Kong International Airport, with the Airport Security Unit assisting.

The nature of the training course required trainees to work closely in small teams every day and night. As a result, they developed a close bond and working relationship.

Appreciation from visiting trainees

The training course also provided an opportunity for both the local and visiting trainees to share experiences of their different policing work. A joint appreciation letter to PNC by Professor Zhang and the seven visiting trainees has aptly summed up their feelings and observations of the training course.

The letter reads:

To our fellow negotiators from the HKPNC,

Despite the fact that our work context and environment is very different, we, police officers from Guangdong and Macao, gathered in the Hong Kong Police College to pursue common goals with a view to peacefully solving crisis through negotiation. This challenging but enriching two-week course generated considerable motivation and excitement amongst the trainees. The sweat and tears from our instructors, and the care and concern from fellow trainees gave us timely support to overcome our cultural and linguistic barriers. Please accept our most sincere gratitude.

The HKPNC is an established and renowned Cadre worldwide. It was with great pleasure that we were able to attend this professional negotiation course and experience the wide range of crisis negotiation work in Hong Kong. Throughout the learning process, we were deeply impressed and influenced by members of the Cadre. The pursuit of excellence, the honour and pride taken in this profession; the serious attitude towards training; the esprit de corps amongst the negotiation teams and the courage to innovate have impressed us greatly.

The 'Crisis Negotiation Course' has certainly given us memorable insights: the coaching team adopted a pragmatic approach in inspiring and enlightening trainees in crisis negotiations. The course is progressive and interactive, and the coaching programme was well structured with theories taught at daytime and related practical exercises held in the evening. By the end of the training course, we realised we had learned not only negotiation techniques but also an evolution of our own-self.

Negotiation has become an important part of modern society, the way to peaceful solution and the means to respect human life. To act humanely is the most appropriate method to minimise damage and move towards peaceful solution of any crisis situation. It is necessary for negotiators to put themselves into another's shoes so that trust may be gained and rapport developed. The success of negotiation requires negotiators to place emphasis on experience and values sharing, both locally and internationally. This has become increasingly significant in this dynamically changing environment where criminals and activists are engaging in international crime or terrorist activities. Cross-boundary co-operation is increasingly important. The Hong Kong Police have, through the Cadre, made the utmost effort in supporting our Mainland officers in developing crisis negotiation techniques. With the support of the Cadre, the Zhuhai Police Negotiation Cadre has been established, setting a good example to other cities in our motherland. Crisis negotiation and negotiation cadres are undergoing rapid development on the Mainland but in order to sustain and further develop this fast-developing field, it is necessary for Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao negotiators to learn from each other and to support each other.

Adequately equipped for taking on crisis negotiations