The Hostage Whisperer: Inside SAPS' Elite Negotiation Unit with Dr Ernst Strydom
Episode description
This week, Profiler Africa goes behind the scenes of South Africa’s most high-stakes standoffs with Dr Ernst Strydom — SAPS’ former National Coordinator of Hostage Negotiations.
Host Paul Llewellyn and forensic psychologist Gerard Labuschagne dig into the psychology of crisis and negotiation, guided by the man who trained the nation’s negotiators and led SAPS through hijackings, bomb threats, and terrorist incidents.
🔍 In this episode:
What makes a hostage-taker tick — and how negotiators break the cycle
Inside SAPS responses to terrorism, kidnappings, and mass casualty events
The anatomy of a standoff — and what finally makes people crack
Where SAPS got crisis psychology right… and where it didn’t
👤 About our guest:
Dr Ernst Strydom is a retired SAPS colonel, educational psychologist, and one of South Africa’s leading voices in hostage negotiation and trauma response. Over 30 years, he built and led the country’s negotiation units, trained over 70 teams, and represented SAPS internationally — including at the FBI Academy.
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