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The Crisis Negotiation Course 2021 of the Police Negotiation Cadre (PNC) was held from March 8 to 19. The recruitment of new cadre members started in October 2020, and after going through a series of assessments, such as making impromptu speeches, taking part in hands-on exercises, attending selection interviews and undergoing psychological evaluations, 28 officers from different formations were selected. They participated in the Crisis Negotiation Course with three members from the Special Duties Unit, the Counter Terrorism Response Unit and the Psychological Services Group.
The Director of this year’s course was Commanding Officer of PNC Wong Kwong-hing, who had been preparing the course with a group of trainers for over half a year. The course was designed to focus on both theories and practice in the realm of counter-terrorism, the handling of hostage situations and the defusing of suicide attempts. The course even provided training on participants’ fitness, stamina and mental health. The training lasted for 160 hours, making it the most strenuous training course in PNC’s history. During the course, psychiatrists specialising in different disciplines, former Commissioner Lee Ming-kwai, former Commanding Officer of PNC Peter Roderick Morgan and Assistant Commissioner (Crime) Yip Wan-lung shared their insights into conducting negotiations.
Expressing his gratitude to Commanding Officer of PNC Wong Kwong-hing, Commanding Officer Designate of PNC Liauw Ka-kei and all the trainers for their efforts in organising this course, Deputy Commissioner (Operations) Siu Chak-yee, presented certificates of graduation to the 28 officers, officially recognising their qualification as a new generation of PNC members who will shoulder the mission to perpetuate the cadre’s spirit—“Who Cares Wins”.
The number of PNC members has grown from 75 to 103. The 28 new members have been assigned to four negotiation teams to offer support to the Force round the clock. For the first six months upon joining PNC, each new member will be paired up with an experienced negotiator and on standby duty for two weeks every month.
Looking forward, PNC members will continue to save lives with “passion, nobility and commitment”. They will collaborate with professionals from different sectors, including psychiatrists and psychologists, to work with different communities in society to promote mental health among members of the public.
