In 2015, I left my work as a Scotland Yard detective to build my experience in kidnap-for-ransom negotiations and other similar perils, as what’s called a response consultant. For the next few years, this is what I did, always keeping my kit bag with me and staying no more than three hours away from a major airport. The high tempo of the work meant that during this period, I helped resolve more than 300 cases of kidnapping and other similar crises such as piracy, extortion and cyber-attack.

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