For crisis negotiator Fern, helping get kidnapping victims home and deescalating sieges are part of every day
Constable Fern Dredge, 32, Canberra, ACT
Standing near the distraught man perched precariously close to the edge of the bridge, high over icy water below, my heart went out to him.
As a crisis negotiator for the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Negotiation Operations Team, I had arrived on one of the worst days of his life.
It was 4am and the temperature dipped low in the howling wind. But remembering to stay
