KAHN Blog - Kansas Association of Hostage Negotiators - KAHN

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD

5/29/2018

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that can develop in those people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, military combat, a serious accident, been taken hostage, a terrorist act, sexual assault, or other violent assaults.
Fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to help defend against danger or to avoid it. This “fight-or-flight” response is a typical reaction meant to protect a person from harm. Nearly everyone will experience a range of reactions after trauma, but most people recover from initial symptoms naturally. Those who continue to experience problems could be diagnosed with PTSD. People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened even when they are no longer in danger.
According to the DSM-5 the essential feature of PTSD is the development of characteristic symptoms following exposure to one or more traumatic events. The prevalence of PTSD in the United States is 8.7%. Rates of PTSD are higher among veterans, police, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and others whose vocation increase the risk of traumatic exposure. There is help for those suffering from PTSD.
June is PTSD awareness month. Here is how you learn more and help raise PTSD awareness:

PTSD Fact Sheet - Print and share
National Center for PTSD
Get some in crisis help - Crisis Resources
AboutFace - Media kit
Prepare yourself, attend KAHN training
National Institute of Mental Health - PTSD
Watch and share the videos:

Kansas Suicide Facts & Figures 2017 (infographic)

6/28/2017

Kansas Suicide Facts & Figures 2017 - Suicide Prevention

A telling and updated infographic on Kansas suicides from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Call 911 immediatly someones life is in danger or the situation is potentially life threatening. For additional national and Kansas suicide prevention resources please use our KAHN Crisis Resources page to find a resource near you..

NTOA Announces Open Registration for Conferences and Trade Show 2017

6/22/2017

NTOA

NTOA 2017 Conference

The National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) is proud to announce registration is open for its Crisis Negotiations Conference to be held Sept. 21-25, 2017 and its Tactical Operations Conference & Trade Show to be held Sept. 24 – 29, 2017 at the Sheraton Grand in Phoenix, Arizona. The two-day trade show starting on Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. is open to attendees of both conferences. The conferences will be co-hosted by the Phoenix Police Department and Arizona Tactical Officer’s Association. These conferences will draw hundreds of attendees from all corners of the U.S., Canada and other parts of the world.
The NTOA Crisis Negotiations Conference provides an excellent opportunity for law enforcement officers to enhance their negotiation skills, network with others who share the same mission and learn the latest negotiation techniques through a variety of seminars and incident debriefs presented by top speakers within the law enforcement community. Attendees can register here: http://www.ntoa.org/conferences/cnt-conference/.
The NTOA Tactical Operations Conference brings together internationally renowned instructors, cutting-edge approaches to challenges faced by officers, a first-class trade show and the opportunity to network and learn from peers. The conference features more than 75 courses including seminars and practical tracks, and several contemporary incident debriefs. Attendees can register here: http://www.ntoa.org/conferences/tactical-conference/.
Since the conferences are held back-to-back this year, the following incident debriefs and seminars are open to attendees of both events:

Anatomy of a SWAT Call
Embrace the Suck and Dare to be Great: A Challenge to Tactical Officers
Incident Debrief: 2013 Washington Navy Yard Active Shooter
Incident Debrief: Marcus Schumacher Domestic Incident
Integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in Law Enforcement
Law Enforcement Equipment Support Programs
Medical/Legal Issues in TEMS
Street Level Incident Command System

The exhibit hall will house more than 200 top-notch vendors featuring the latest in law enforcement technology and equipment, including apparel, body armor/personal protection, communications, firearms and ammunition, fitness equipment, footwear, nylon gear, surveillance/electronics, TEMS gear, training equipment, vehicles and WMD. Companies can register to exhibit at http://bit.ly/2rjJOPZ. Active law enforcement officers, as well as military or first responders with proper credentials, can register here: http://training.ntoa.org/registration/registration.asp.

A Message from the KAHN President on the NCNA Conference

6/14/2017

NCNA 2017

June, 2017, St. Petersburg, Florida; the sight of the Florida Association of Hostage Negotiators Conference. Kicking off the conference on Sunday, June 4, 2017, was the National Council of Negotiation Associations (NCNA). This was a great time to see old friends and take the opportunity to make new ones.

The agenda this year included a presentation from FBI SA Michael Yansick. He informed us of what the FBI could offer in resources and training. He encouraged all to get involved with HOBAS (Hostage Barricade Reporting System) and to send in reports of hostage and barricade situations to establish data on types of callouts and record the lengths of such callouts. SA Yansick encouraged all to make contact with local FBI agents to get a feel for what the FBI can provide.

All associations represented talked about their conferences and qualities of speakers for the conferences. Case studies are always popular at conferences.

NCNA will meet in 2018 in Oskosh, Wisconsin at the fall conference. CAHN (California Assoc. of Hostage Negotiators) will host NCNA in 2019. The location will be decided on at a later date. The FBI is scheduled to host NCNA in 2020. Location to be determined. MAHN (Missouri Assoc. of Hostage Negotiators) will host NCNA in 2021.

President Paul Priegel from Crisis Negotiatiators of Oklahoma, (CNOK) presented their request to become members of NCNA. Members present unanimously voted to accept them into NCNA.

I was proud to report to NCNA members our association hosted a successful conference in Overland Park, KS this past May. Although we are a small association, the quality of speakers and type of training we promote are second to none. Being dedicated to provide training to negotiators will keep our association on the upswing. I am proud to serve this association as President and look forward to another successful year.

Lt. Bob Ware
KAHN President

Kansas Counties and Abbreviations

5/26/2017

Kansas License Plate

Kansas License Plate

Kansas has 105 counties, the 6th highest total of any state. Many of the counties in the eastern portion of the state are named after important American figures from the late 1700s and early to mid 1800s. Counties in the central and western parts of the state bear the name of persons in the American Civil War. Counties throughout the state have names coming from Native American origins.

Kansas license plates use county codes to identify the county of residence for citizens or companies. The codes are two letter based originating from the first letter of and another letter appearing in the name of the county. There is no exact protocol from choosing the codes. For example, Johnson County uses the first two letters, JO, while Sedgwick county uses, SG, its first letter an another appearing in its name. The two-letter code began appearing on Kansas license plates in 1951, prior to that the county code was numerically based. Since then, the letters are on a sticker applied to the upper-left corner of the plate.

The following is a list of all 105 Kansas Counties, their abbreviations, and the county seat (map below):

AL - Allen Iola
AN - Anderson        Garnett
AT - Atchison          Atchison
BA - Barber             Medicine Lodge
BT - Barton              Great Bend
BB - Bourbon          Fort Scott
BR - Brown             Hiawatha
BU - Butler El Dorado
CS - Chase               Cottonwood Falls
CQ - Chautauqua Sedan
CK - Cherokee         Columbus
CN - Cheyenne        St. Francis
CA - Clark Ashland
CY - Clay Clay Center
CD - Cloud Concordia
CF - Coffey Burlington
CM - Comanche Coldwater
CL - Cowley Winfield
CR - Crawford Girard
DC - Decatur Oberlin
DK - Dickinson Abilene
DP - Doniphan         Troy
DG - Douglas Lawrence
ED - Edwards Kinsley
EK - Elk Howard
EL - Ellis                  Hays
EW - Ellsworth        Ellsworth
FI - Finney               Garden City
FO - Ford                 Dodge City
FR - Franklin           Ottawa
GE - Geary              Junction City
GO - Gove               Gove
GH - Graham           Hill City
GT - Grant               Ulysses
GY - Gray                Cimarron
GL - Greeley            Tribune
GW - Greenwood Eureka
HM - Hamilton        Syracuse
HP - Harper Anthony
HV - Harvey Newton
HS - Haskell Sublette
HG - Hodgeman Jetmore
JA - Jackson Holton
JF - Jefferson Oskaloosa
JW - Jewell Mankato
JO - Johnson Olathe
KE - Kearny            Lakin
KM - Kingman      Kingman
KW - Kiowa            Greensburg
LB - Labette            Oswego
LE - Lane                 Dighton
LV - Leavenworth Leavenworth
LC - Lincoln            Lincoln
LN - Linn                 Mound City
LG - Logan              Oakley
LY - Lyon Emporia
MN - Marion            Marion
MS - Marshall          Marysville
MP - McPherson McPherson
ME - Meade Meade
MI - Miami Paola
MC - Mitchell          Beloit
MG - Montgomery Independence
MR - Morris             Council Grove
MT - Morton            Elkhart
NM - Nemaha          Seneca
NO - Neosho           Erie
NS - Ness                 Ness City
NT - Norton Norton
OS - Osage              Lyndon
OB - Osborne          Osborne
OT - Ottawa Minneapolis
PN - Pawnee            Larned
PL - Phillips             Phillipsburg
PT - Pottawatomie Westmoreland
PR - Pratt Pratt
RA - Rawlins           Atwood
RN - Reno Hutchinson
RP - Republic          Belleville
RC - Rice                 Lyons
RL - Riley                Manhattan
RO - Rooks              Stockton
RH - Rush                La Crosse
RS - Russell             Russell
SA - Saline               Salina
SC - Scott                Scott City
SG - Sedgwick        Wichita
SW - Seward           Liberal
SN - Shawnee          Topeka
SD - Sheridan          Hoxie
SH - Sherman          Goodland
SM - Smith Smith Center
SF - Stafford St. John
ST - Stanton             Johnson
SV - Stevens            Hugoton
SU - Sumner            Wellington
TH - Thomas            Colby
TR - Trego               WaKeeney
WB - Wabaunsee    Alma
WA - Wallace          Sharon Springs
WS - Washington   Washington
WH - Wichita Leoti
WL - Wilson Fredonia
WO - Woodson Yates Center
WY - Wyandotte Kansas City

2017 KAHN - Crisis / Hostage Negotiator Conference

2/25/2017

The Kansas Association of Hostage Negotiators (KAHN) is proud to announce their 2017 Crisis / Hostage Negotiations Conference. The conference will be the first since 2013 and will be held in Overland Park, Kansas. It will run from May 1st through May 3rd with two days of class room instruction and lecture and conclude with a negotiation team scenario day. The conference format will differ from that in past years in that outside teams can opt to attend the final day for team building or team skills training.
The keynote speakers include Wayman C. Mullens (KAHN Advisor) and Michael J. McMains authors of Crisis Negotiations: Managing Critical Incidents and Hostage Situations in Law Enforcement and Corrections. Brian Herritt, is a retired California Law Enforcement Officer who is also known as the "Autism Cop". He is a national speaker on autism and public safety. Brian will speak on how to bridge the gap between public safety and the special needs community. Trooper Brian Geier has been a Missouri State Highway Patrol Negotiator since 2008. He also serves as President of the Missouri Association of Crisis Negotiators and will give a case study on a crisis situation that lasted over 68 hours. Chief Sam Farina, Fair Port Police Department, New York. Chief Farina will give a case study on a hostage standoff.
KAHN members and teams will receive deep discounts for the conference. Space is limited and will be on a first come, first serve basis, regardless of membership. Sign up on-line via our Training Page.
Hotel accommodations will at the Double Tree by Hilton (Overland Park) at 10100 College Boulevard, Overland Park, Kansas 66210, (913) 451-6100. To make your reservations contact the hotel directly or via the link provided.

2017 KAHN Conference Flyer (.pdf)

Crisis Negotiations - Scenario Day at Crisis City (11-15-16)

10/30/2016

Crisis City

Aerial view, Crisis City, Salina, KS

.The Kansas Association of Hostage Negotiators (KAHN) are sponsoring a full-day crisis negotiation/hostage negotiations event on November 15, 2016. This is a day-long event from 0800-1600 hours. Bring your team along with your teams equipment for a scenario-based training day at Crisis City, Salina, KS. Registration forms are available below.

Crisis City is located eight miles southwest of Salina. It was developed to fill the need to enhance the state’s capability to defend against terrorism threats, respond to disasters, and emergencies. Crisis City provides state of the art training facilities to all emergency response and support agencies, whether in one of its classrooms or on any of the training venues.

This crisis negotiations scenario training is focused on practicing your crisis negotiation skills and team dynamics. There will be an evaluator assigned to each team. Openings for teams are limited, so don’t delay.

Registered teams (forms below) will receive a confirmation email along with an attached information packet. Lunch will be provided.

If you would like to learn more about Crisis City, visit the Kansas Adjutant General's website.

Registration forms and documentation:

Crisis City Registration Form (Word)
File Size:	35 kb
File Type:	docx

Crisis City Itinerary (Excel)
File Size:	33 kb
File Type:	xlsm

Crisis City Scenario Day Flyer (.pdf)
File Size:	103 kb
File Type:	pdf

Crisis Negotiations Training - Olathe, KS

9/30/2016

Two weeks away from our Crisis Negotiation training in Olathe, Kansas. There is still room available, but we are adding students almost daily. Go to our website www.ksnegotiator.org for more information and online registration/payment.

This Crisis Negotiation Class is sponsored by the Kansas Association of Hostage Negotiators (KAHN) and hosted by the Olathe Police Department. The lead instructor for the class is going to be KAHN Advisor, William Hogewood (Ret. Prince George County Police, ATF).

The training will be held on Oct. 10, 2016 through Oct. 14, 2016 from 0800 to 1700 each day. The training will be taught at the Olathe Fire Administration, 1225 South Hamilton Circle, Olathe, KS 66061.

The crisis negotiation class will cover:

High Risk Management
Team dynamics and responsibilities
Recognizing types of sieges and perpetrators
Concepts of Respect, Empathy and Ownership of Feelings
Goals, Tasks and skills to achieve those goals.
Surrender plans
Exercises and role playing to practice negotiation skills

Hostage Negotiations History: Stockholm Syndrome

8/26/2016

Employees taken hostage inside the Kreditbanken building at Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm, Sweden.

No doubt you have heard the term Stockholm Syndrome in relation to hostage negotiation incidents. It was used to describe and is often mistakenly attributed to the Patty Hearst and Symbionese Liberation Army incident. The term has been used in movies, television, literature and pop culture. The term is now used figuratively when someone changes their sympathies after contact with others who normally would be considered adversaries.

Stockholm Syndromve takes its name from a real life hostage incident occurring in Stockholm, Sweden. On August 23rd, 1973, four employees of the Sveriges Kreditbank were taken hostage during a failed bank robbery attempt lead by Jan-Erik Olsson. Swedish Police responded to a silent alarm and a policeman was injured during the initial response. Olsson made demands including bringing his locked-up bank robbing friend Clark Olofsson to the bank, along with 3 million Swedish Kronor, two guns, bulletproof vests, helmets, and a fast car.

The incident captured headlines around the world and was broadcast across Sweden as the drama unfolded. While negotiating, the police brought Olofsson to the bank allowing him inside, the money and a blue Ford Mustang with a full tank of gas. Negotiators, however, would not let the hostage takers leave with the hostages.

Meanwhile inside the bank the hostages and captors, while in the bank vault, began to form bonds with their captors. Olsson made multiple gestures towards his captives. He draped a jacket over ones shoulders, while allowing and encouraging another to call loved ones, and allowed another to leave the vault (while still attached to a rope of course). One hostage stated later of Olsson, "When he treated us well, we could think of him as an emergency god." The Police Commissioner was allowed inside to check on the welfare of the hostages. He noted that the captors and hostages had developed a "relaxed" relationship.

131 hours into the incident on the night of August 28th, Swedish Polish dumped tear gas into the bank vault. As the surrender began hostages yelled, "don’t hurt them, they didn’t harm us.” The hostage takers and hostages exchanged embraces prior to surrender. Several captives called out that they would see Olofsson again. No hostage or hostage taker was injured.

The hostages' bizarre attachment to their hostage takers confused police and the public alike. One of the hostages was even investigated as to whether they had plotted the robbery with Olofsson. Psychologists say that Stockholm Syndrome is a traumatic bonding and is automatic and unconscious defense mechanism for hostages. They develop a sympathetic relationship with their captors, due to their total dependence on them and from extreme fear. The inverse can happen as well with hostage takers become emotionally attached to their captives.

A year after the robbery, journalist Daniel Lang interviewed the hostages a year later for the New Yorker. The syndrome still seemed to be in effect. Lang wrote that the hostages talked about being well-treated by their hostage takers and they owed their lives to Olofsson and Olsson.

This psychological phenomenon was originally referred to as the Norrmalmstorg Syndrome by Nils Bejorot, a psychiatrist assisting the police during the incident. It later became known as the Stockholm Syndrome. Psychatrist Frank Ochberg originally defined the syndrome to assist in the management of hostage situations. Altogether the hostage incident at the Sveriges Kreditbank along with the heavy media exposure helped to place Stockholm Syndrome firmly into the American lexicon.

PTSD Awareness - June 2016

6/10/2016

What is PTSD?
PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault.

June 2016 is PTSD awareness month. Learn. Connect. Share. #PTSD

AboutFace is dedicated to improving the lives of Veterans with PTSD. Veterans can learn about PTSD, explore treatment options and, most importantly, hear real stories from other Veterans and their family members. They can also get advice from VA clinicians who have treated thousands of cases of PTSD.

AboutFace is produced by the VA's National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, the world's leading research and educational center of excellence on PTSD. The Center is committed to improving the well-being of American Veterans through the advancement of research, education and training in the science, diagnosis and treatment of PTSD and stress related disorders.