Life-saving negotiators
Being a good negotiator is not an easy task - it requires patience, perseverance, professionalism and a willingness to be on call day and night.
OffBeat spoke to two volunteer members of the Police Negotiation Cadre (PNC): Central District's Chief Inspector Mr Lau Tat-keung and Police Tactical Unit's Woman Police Constable Ms Jessica Tam Wai-yi and asked them to share their experiences in handling matters of life and death.
Officers of all ranks and grades can volunteer for training for PNC duties. After training they return to their normal duties but remain on standby, 24 hours a day, to respond to emergencies where their skills are required.
"It is a very meaningful and satisfying job," Mr Lau told OffBeat. "And that is why members do not mind being called-out, even in their leisure time. We rush to the scene using the fastest possible means of transport and remain there as long as necessary.
"In the last 11 years my colleagues and I have handled a large number of cases and I estimate that between us we saved at least 120 lives."
Team Spirit Essential
Mr Lau has played an important role in the dissuasion of would-be suicides, resolution of domestic barricade situations and even in some hostage incidents. "Team spirit," Mr Lau said, "is the key to success. A satisfactory resolution of a situation is dependent upon close co-operation among team members. In a large-scale or drawn-out negotiation, every team member - the negotiator, the strategist and the requirement officer - contributes equally to a successful negotiation."
Mr Lau said: "The key to negotiation is to allow the subject persons to unburden themselves and freely express their own feelings. During the talk, negotiators can then detect the 'weak points' at the bottom of their hearts and talk them out of the attempt."
"Not so very long ago, my team members and I were called out in the middle of a very cold night to persuade a man to give up his suicide bid. After talking to the man for more than an hour on the open rooftop of a high-rise building, we finally persuaded him to give up the idea of committing suicide. We were so happy, but a day or so later, we all went down with a very bad cold."
When asked what prompted him to take up the voluntary work, he explained: "In late 1980's, I was working in the Narcotics Bureau and had many opportunities handling sometimes reluctant informants. There was an appeal for volunteers and I realised that if I could persuade people I had never met before to talk to me, there was no reason why I couldn't persuade others to give up their suicide bids.
"Soon after I joined the PNC, I realised that, quite apart from my normal policing work, this was indeed a good way for me to help people in need. That was the driving force for me in the very beginning. Later I realised that I derived tangible benefits from volunteering.
The father of three said his volunteering work had also won the support of his family. He said: "What I did has inspired my little children to help others. They appreciate the happy lives they are enjoying and are willing to do something extra to help others.
"Being a negotiator not only helps the needy but also assists fellow Police officers at the scene," he continued.
Looking back on the past 11 years of service at the Cadre, Mr Lau said he felt he was a lucky man after handling so many unfortunate cases. He said: "The most important thing is how you view a problem. If you face up to the difficulties and think positively, you will be at ease with yourself and won't be afraid of any challenge."
Patience & Perseverance Rewarded
For Woman Police Constable Ms Jessica Tam Wai-yi, being appointed a PNC member was a dream come true. Even when jogging or playing hockey, she always carries her pager with her so that she never misses a call for her negotiating skills.
Ms Tam was one of the six junior police officers (JPOs) recruited by the PNC last year and she has since been called out on about 20 occasions, mostly to handle attempted suicide cases.
"I volunteered as soon as I knew that JPOs were eligible to join," she continued. "The individual negotiator's rank is not important - we all work as a team.
"If I can save a life through my words, it doesn't matter how much of my leisure-time I spend on the negotiation work."
Negotiators sometimes have to spend many hours in uncomfortable environments, and success can only come if they are good listeners with great patience and powers of persuasion.
She recalled that on one occasion, she and her team members took almost 10 hours to dissuade a man from taking his own life near a hillside. By the time he agreed not to commit suicide, it was getting dark and mosquitoes were swarming.
"Although it was a long and drawn out negotiation, we were all very happy to have persuaded the man to change his mind," she concluded. 
PNC member Mr Lau Tat-keung: the team has saved at least 120 lives in the last 11 years
WPC Ms Jessica Tam Wai-yi: always happy when a would-be suicide abandons the attempt