PNC offers advanced training for members
The Police Negotiation Cadre (PNC) offered a one-week advanced training course on hostage and crisis negotiation in February in a bid to update 52 cadre negotiators on the global trend of negotiation skills and to beef up their negotiation capability.
At the invitation of PNC, two experienced UK police officers, Chief Superintendent Paul Howlett and Detective Superintendent Sean Cunningham, conducted the course. Mr Cunningham was formerly Head of the Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Unit of the New Scotland Yard while Mr Howlett was ex-Head of the Wiltshire Special Branch, which is responsible for running the National Counter Terrorist Exercise Programme.
The course introduced the current negotiation strategies adopted by overseas law enforcement agencies in different fields, such as hostage-taking situation, negotiation with terrorists, engagement of protestors and cyber negotiation. The course also highlighted the importance of coordination among different operational units and the PNC through tabletop exercises, group discussion and case studies.
Apart from the negotiators, 12 officers from operational units, including Special Duties Unit, Airport Security Unit, Counter-Terrorist and Internal Security Division, Police Tactical Unit and Marine, also participated in part of the training course. Through scenario-based exercises, both the negotiators and the officers had a useful exchange of their operational capabilities and considerations in finding a tactical solution to a crisis situation.
At the end of the course, the negotiators indicated that they had gained a better understanding of the capabilities and strategies of the operational units in handling crises and hostage-taking incidents. They also hoped that the collaboration between PNC and the units in handling crises would be further strengthened in future.
A
total
of 52 PNC negotiators and 12 officers from operational units
attend a weeklong training on "Hostage and Crisis Negotiation"