A great honour to attend the Police Academy, Vienna, Austria to advise police negotiators and SWAT tacticians from across 14 European countries on many of the challenges, dynamics, and tactics in responding to hostage-taking perpetrated by terrorists.
Perhaps the most important part of any decision-making model is our ability to access good quality information and intelligence. Shared Situational Awareness is achieved by sharing information and understanding between the involved organisations to build a stronger, multi-dimensional understanding of events, their implications, associated risks, and potential outcomes.
Honoured to review this book by Lina Kolesnikova:
Where to begin…I cannot begin to understand the anguish, trauma, and fear that the lightening Taliban insurgency in recapturing the many provinces across Afghanistan brought to many of my friends and staff that have continuously served the people since 2005; it must have been terrifying. Throughout, I have vicariously lived this experience with them to literally move mountains to keep them safe from harm and help those most at risk, flee their homeland to begin a new journey in life.
It is always a challenge to maintain your currency in a specialist field after leaving policing, but I have been fortunate to not only to continue to use my skills in hostage/crisis negotiation within the humanitarian sector but also in contributing chapters to the 5th edition and now the 6th edition of this publication.
Despite the significant increase in airport-based and inflight countermeasures, hijacking remains a threat to aviation. Andrew B Brown questions how, despite, and perhaps specifically because of, the reduction in the number of incidents and their severity, we might increase our competence in dealing with such life-threatening incidents. As with a health pandemic, we must remain prepared to professionally respond to rare, or unlikely, incidents as if we were managing them on a daily basis.
Across the developed world the response to COVID-19 has been swift with some governments quickly moving to enforced lockdown of the populous to slow down the transmission of the virus.
Just when you think you’re finished a thirty-year career in policing, something always crops up to test your skills in saving life, no matter how challenging the circumstances…
Entering its 30th year this negotiator conference and competition has honed the skills of law enforcement & corrections officers from across the globe. I’m honoured to act as one of the Head Judges helping to deliver continuous improvement in saving life.
Enduring the emotional roller coaster of having a loved one kidnapped, it is important to remember the lessons from Rudyard Kipling and importantly take strength in Ulysses from Tennyson…
Pre-deployment training to military in Scotland to counter the insurgent threat in Afghanistan, was “first rate and equipped our soldiers not only with a valuable skill set, but also with a way of thinking, that might well be lifesaving”…
All too often we think we are making progress in negotiations, when in fact we are not as our dialogue begins to go in circles. A structured approach can help us assess progress that skillfully inform critical decisions in moving towards resolution…
Being able to help fellow human beings is a privilege. To do this safely, we must embrace duty of care, says Andrew B Brown, who outlines how personnel were kept safe during a fact-finding visit to speak to IDPs in Nigeria…
Editorial Advisory Panel Member Andrew Brown, who served as an expert witness into the Lindt Café siege inquiry in Australia, provides an insight into some of the findings of the final report on the incident, which resulted in several fatalities…
International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) work in some of the world’s most hostile environments, but the very people who bring aid to people in need are increasingly being targeted for kidnap. Abducted from their humanitarian work, many are held over varying periods of time and are sometimes released through ransom payments or high-risk rescue operations…
While much is reported on the prevalence of abduction and kidnap, little is known of the often aligned crimes of blackmail and extortion. Andrew B Brown provides a case study of a crime aimed at maximising shame and reputational damage