In the first case, Sergeant Chiu Chi-wai rushed to a hotel after the Samaritan Befrienders had alerted the RCCC that a member of its staff was trying to talk a man out of committing suicide by taking drugs. The man also reportedly threatened to kill his wife and daughter.

On entering the hotel room, SGT Chiu found the man very emotionally upset, refusing to talk and evading his questions. Using the skill of "Reflection of Feelings" learnt from the ICP programme, SGT Chui eventually made the man confide to him that his newly divorced wife was migrating to the US, and he would not be able to see his daughter again. At this juncture, SGT Chiu continued the conversation with "Empathic Listening", and managed to ascertain the man's way of life and background.

Following further conversation, SGT Chiu was certain that the man had given up his suicide intention, and his wife and daughter were safe. Before leaving the scene, he applied another skill - arranging a "support person" to help the man get through unstable emotions. It was only after two staff members of the Samaritan Befrienders had arrived in the hotel room that SGT Chiu could call it a day.

In the second case, Sergeant Yiu Man-fong applied the ICP skills in the Report Room when a detainee made a fuss and turned abusive over bailing out in the temporary holding area, affecting other detainees, persons waiting to make reports and work in the Report Room.

At the time, SGT Yiu realised that, as he had learnt from the ICP programme, before he could manage others, he had to manage himself first. Applying "Anger Management Skills", he stayed calm by taking a deep breath for about 10 seconds, exhaled slowly and visualised a "beautiful and harmonious picture" in his mind. He then patiently explained the police procedures to the detainee and promised to contact the case officer as soon as possible.

Seeing SGT Yiu not only keeping his temper, but also exercising patience, the man calmed down to wait for his turn to bail out. This earned for SGT Yiu immediate recognition by the Duty Officer.

The ICP lectures delivered by Dr Gracemary Leung and Dr Frendi Li of the University of Hong Kong have been made into an e-learning package. Access to the video version of the lectures can be made by simply going to the Learning Portal of the Training Wing on POINT, and clicking e-Learning, Courseware, and then e-Seminar. The alternative is entering the Cyber Learning Centre (CLC) Plus of the CSTDI, after registering as a user of both the CLC Plus and the Training Wing e-learning Unit. Registration details are available on the Learning Portal or by contacting Senior Inspector Lam Chiu-chung on 2814-4219.

Group discussion on ICP skills underway

ICP session draws many questions from attendants