By Kiernan Group Holdings (KGH)
Today “active shooter” is top of mind for Americans – it is a threat that is real, pervasive, and debilitating, leaving countless lives encumbered by uncertainty and fear.
What in the past seemed like an anomalous event that happened somewhere else has become almost commonplace, occurring with increasing frequency and lethality.
These incidents occur where we work, where we learn, where we serve, and where we worship, as we recently witnessed at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on an early Saturday morning, where congregants gathered to celebrate life.
(The suspected shooter is in custody after opening fire at the Tree of Life synagogue. Courtesy of ABC News and YouTube. Posted on Oct 27, 2018.)
They can occur even where we go to play as we learned from the 1 October event in Las Vegas, and more recently at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks California, filled with college aged young adults.
We know is that on average it takes six-eight minutes for the first responders to arrive, make entry, and contain the threat which is their first priority.
Often, by then, much of the killing has already been done.
Would they know action steps to improve outcome for survival?
Woud they have the confidence to take action without hesitation?
What we have come to understand through the experience of conducting hundreds of workshops across the country is that the gap of time prior to first responders arrival – can be best used to take some advantage away from the individual seeking to do harm.
Kiernan Group Holdings (KGH) believes that the best defense to any active threat is a prepared and engaged citizenry capable of sound decisions in complex and emerging threat environments.
(A gunman opened fire at a country music bar during a student night in the city of Thousand Oaks, California, killing 12 people and injuring several before turning the gun on himself. The shooter stormed the Borderline Bar and Grill wearing a black trenchcoat armed with a pistol equipped with an extended magazine and smoke grenades and began targeting people as young as 18. Courtesy of the Daily Mail and YouTube. Posted on Nov 8, 2018.)
Replacing fear with confidence to react without hesitation can dramatically change the outcome of an incident, wherever it occurs when an ordinary day turns into an extraordinary one without warning.
KGH has been honored with two Platinum awards from American Security Today, for developing a common sense approach to preparedness from the classroom to the boardroom.
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Kiernan Group Holdings
- 2018 Platinum ‘ASTORS’ Award Winner
- Preparedness Without Paranoia™ Approach
- Best Homeland Security Education Program
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Kiernan Group Holdings
- Platinum ‘ASTORS’ Award Winner
- Preparedness Without Paranoia™ Approach
- Best Homeland Security Consulting Firm
Additionally, Kathleen Kiernan has been recognized for her life-long commitment to Government and Homeland Security was recognized with a prestigious 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Excellence in Homeland Security Award.
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Kathleen Kiernan, CEO of KGH
- CEO of KGH and SameShield, chronicling the role of women in traditionally insular professions – specifically law enforcement, the military, diplomacy, and private industry.
- Excellence in Homeland Security
Preparedness Without Paranoia® (PWP) is not your typical Active Threat type training.
It is non-tactical by design; and is complimentary to the tactical concepts and operations employed by first responders, including the knowledge of what to do when law enforcement arrives on the scene to contain the threat.
We believe that preparedness is a mindset and the foundation for resiliency at an individual and community level which requires a holistic approach, not a single-threaded tactical solution.
PWP was developed by experienced practitioners to provide educational, state of practice actionable knowledge to individuals and organizations supported by academic rigor, national level guidance, and resources including video.
KGH has painstakingly captured the experience of responders, of victims, and of witnesses to actual incidents to bring authenticity to the learning experience.
(At least 12 people were killed, including a sheriff’s deputy, and 10 to 12 others were wounded when a gunman entered a crowded bar during a “college country night” event and opened fire in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Courtesy of TIME and YouTube. Posted on Nov 8, 2018.)
The key is developing a preparedness mindset and understanding in large measure that security sense is really common sense that can be learned and applied in critical, emergency situations.
Much the same as we were taught as children about different forms of danger and of safety, common sense tools in retrospect that we learned to apply without conscious thought: buckling a seatbelt, looking both ways before crossing a street, or responding to a fire alarm.
(Hear directly about the ‘Preparedness Without Paranoia’ Education and Training Series from Dr. Kathleen Kiernan, CEO & Founder of Kiernan Group Holdings. Dr. Kiernan, a 29-year veteran of Federal Law Enforcement, retiring as Assistant Director for the Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information for the ATF, developed PWP, an approach to individual engagement and education to increase confidence and decrease victimization in active threat environments. Courtesy of Kiernan Group Holdings and YouTube. Posted on Oct 8, 2018)
We engage regularly with teachers, children, and their parents to understand what and how children think about threats to inform the conversations that need to occur at home, at school as well as in their parent’s boardrooms crossing over into workplace violence, employee preparedness and emergency education.
For children we have built a series of learning materials and activity books to meet them where they are developmentally, and engage them in the conversations, not talk around them.
(PWP Minor Visions: Always find a trusted adult to talk to if something isn’t right. Courtesy of Kiernan Group Holdings and YouTube. Posted on Dec 7, 2018.)
From a business perspective, KGH offers a variety of training opportunities and sessions which are metric-based, in compliance with national level standards and guidance and a suite of audit-ready analytic tools for use by training managers and HR professionals.
The G.O.T Preparedness learning management portal is designed to provide educational and training resources for individuals and organizations to prepare for, respond to, and recover from active threat situations.
We understand that Active Threat is not confined to active shooters; it includes insider threat, terrorism, and workplace violence.
In September 2012 following the shooting at Accent Signage Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota, several civil lawsuits were filed against the company, which alleged that the company should have known from the shooter’s work history that he was potentially dangerous.
(A man police identified as 36-year-old Andrew Engeldinger had been fired from his job at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis Thursday morning. Police say Engeldinger returned that afternoon and opened fire before taking his own life. As of 4:45 p.m. Friday, six people had died. Courtesy of CCX Media and YouTube. Posted on Sep 28, 2012.)
Following this shooting, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) changed its General Duty Clause to include active shooter incidents as a recognized hazard in the workplace.
Pending legislation (H.R.7141) will, if passed, make education and training on workplace violence a requirement.
KGH’s analytic services include competitive intelligence, open-source analytics, market analysis, and investment opportunity identification, access to technology and advanced training, and the identification and integration of breakthrough ideas and subject matter experts.
Founded in 2009, Kiernan Group Holdings (KGH), a Woman-owned small business (WOSB), is an intelligence, law-enforcement, and national security consulting, training, and risk services firm providing tailored solutions to complex challenges.
KGH nurtures an array of purposeful partnerships with organizations and individuals in the law enforcement, military, intelligence, academic, and private sectors both at home and abroad.
These partnerships include national level organizations as well as small innovative companies developing new capabilities.
KGH’s team of cross-sector experts in threat assessment, emergency preparedness, and risk management specialize in providing evidence-based and state of practice Active Threat preparedness consulting services.
The 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program
The Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is specifically designed to honor distinguished government and vendor solutions that deliver enhanced value, benefit and intelligence to end users in a variety of government, homeland security and public safety vertical markets.
The 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program drew an overwhelming response from industry leaders with a record high number of corporate and government nominations received, as well as record breaking ‘ASTORS’ Presentation Luncheon Attendees, with top firms trying to register for the exclusive high – end luncheon and networking opportunity – right up to the event kickoff on Wednesday afternoon, at the ISC East registration!
Over 130 distinguished guests representing National, State and Local Governments, and Industry Leading Corporate Firms, gathered from across North America, Europe and the Middle East to be honored among their peers in their respective fields which included:
- The Department of Homeland Security
- The Federal Protective Service (FPS)
- Argonne National Laboratory
- The Department of Homeland Security
- The Department of Justice
- The Security Exchange Commission Office of Personnel Management
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Viasat, Hanwha Techwin, Lenel, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, Verint, Canon U.S.A., BriefCam, Pivot3, Milestone Systems, Allied Universal, Ameristar Perimeter Security and More!
The Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards is the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security Awards Program highlighting the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking security solutions coming onto the market today, to ensure our readers have the information they need to stay ahead of the competition, and keep our Nation safe – one facility, street, and city at a time.
The 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program was Proudly Sponsored by ATI Systems, Attivo Networks, Automatic Systems, Desktop Alert, and Royal Holdings Technologies.
2018 Champions Edition
See the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Champions Edition – ‘Best Products of 2018 ‘ Year in Review’ for in-depth coverage of the outstanding products and services of firms receiving American Security Today’s 2018‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards.’
Nominations for the AST 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program will officially open as of January 1st, 2019 at americansecuritytoday.com.
Enter Early to Maximize Media Coverage of your Products and Services at Kickoff, and Get the Recognition Your Organization Deserves!
And be sure to Register Early for the 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Luncheon at ISC East 2019 to ensure your place at this limited- space event!
Why the 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program?
American Security Today’s comprehensive Annual Homeland Security Awards Program is organized to recognize the most distinguished vendors of physical, IT, port security, law enforcement, and first responders, in acknowledgment of their outstanding efforts to ‘Keep our Nation Secure, One City at a Time.’
Why American Security Today?
American Security Today is uniquely focused on the broader Homeland Security & Public Safety marketplace with over 70,000 readers at the Federal, State and local levels of government as well as firms allied to government.
The old traditional security marketplace has been covered by a host of security publications that have changed little over many years.
American Security Today brings forward a fresh compelling look and read with our customized digital publications that provides our readers with solutions to their challenges.
Our Editorial staff provides a full plate of topics for our AST monthly digital editions, AST Website and AST Daily News Alerts.
The editorial calendar and AST’s high drawing website features 23 different Technology and Marketing Sectors such as Access Control, Perimeter Protection, Video Surveillance/Analytics, Airport Security, Border Security, CBRNE Detection, Border Security, Ports, Cybersecurity, Networking Security, Encryption, Law Enforcement, First Responders, Campus Security, Security Services, Corporate Facilities and Emergency Response among others.
These sectors are part of the new integration, where these major applications communicate with one another in a variety of solutions to protect our cities and critical infrastructure.
AST has Expanded readership into vital Critical Infrastructure audiences such as Protection of Nuclear Facilities, Water Plants & Dams, Bridges & Tunnels, and other Potential targets of terrorism.
Other areas of concern include Transportation Hubs, Public Assemblies, Government Facilities, Sporting & Concert Stadiums, our Nation’s Schools & Universities, and Commercial Business Destinations – enticing targets for extremist or lone wolf attacks due to the large number of persons and resources clustered together.
Learn More…
Kiernan Group Holdings (KGH) – Changing the World (Multi-Video)
