Hostage or Hoax? An Audio Case Study
- Presenter(s): Sarah Franz
- Session Length: 60 minutes
- Date: Jul 28, 2025
Using audio clips from a 2018 call in Conifer, CO, participants will engage in a discussion on crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques employed by the call taker. Attendees will analyze the situation, assess the impact of an individual who joined the call without full situational context and inadvertently disrupted communication with the hostage—potentially leading to fatal consequences—and reflect on the call taker's effectiveness. The discussion will cover the call's success, alternative approaches, the risk of catastrophic outcomes, and the actual resolution. Active audience participation is key!
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will be able to identify and label crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques heard in the audio case study.
- Participants will be able to articulate the impact our first, first responders have on the outcome of a call as well as the importance in their training.
- Participants will be able to identify and dissect the differences in an effective communicator and and ineffective communicator. They will also be able to apply that to their own work through an extreme example of what can go right and what can go wrong on a call.
description
Using audio clips from a 2018 call in Conifer, CO, participants will engage in a discussion on crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques employed by the call taker. Attendees will analyze the situation, assess the impact of an individual who joined the call without full situational context and inadvertently disrupted communication with the hostage—potentially leading to fatal consequences—and reflect on the call taker's effectiveness. The discussion will cover the call's success, alternative approaches, the risk of catastrophic outcomes, and the actual resolution. Active audience participation is key!Learning Objectives:
- Participants will be able to identify and label crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques heard in the audio case study.
- Participants will be able to articulate the impact our first, first responders have on the outcome of a call as well as the importance in their training.
- Participants will be able to identify and dissect the differences in an effective communicator and and ineffective communicator. They will also be able to apply that to their own work through an extreme example of what can go right and what can go wrong on a call.
