ATAP Great Plains Chapter May Meeting
Friday, May 15th, 2025
@ Overland Park Police Department
8500 Antioch, Overland Park, KS
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Space is limited. To register email:
Michael Betten, CPP @ mbn@stowers.org
Wes Griffith, CPP @ wesley.griffith@opkansas.org
Presenter: Gregory M. Vecchi, Ph.D., retired from the FBI after 29 years of combined service in the military and as a federal agent. During his career, Dr. Vecchi investigated Russian organized crime, international drug trafficking, international and domestic terrorism, and violent crime. Dr. Vecchi was formerly the Chief of the FBI’s legendary Behavioral Science Unit and an FBI crisis and hostage negotiator.
Dr. Vecchi is a Certified Master Trainer in Threat Evaluation and Reporting with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He has published numerous peer-reviewed books, book chapters, and articles on crisis and hostage negotiation, crisis and suicide intervention, crisis management, and targeted violence. His most recently published book is Fatal Grievances: Forecasting and Preventing Active Killer Threats in School, Campus, and Workplace Settings. Dr. Vecchi is an active member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) and ASIS International.
Dr. Vecchi is a Professor of Criminal Justice at Keiser University, where he teaches law enforcement and homeland security topics at the master’s and doctoral levels. Dr. Vecchi also conducts behavior-based research, training, and consultation in targeted violence, firearms, use-of-force, tactical negotiation, crisis intervention, interview and interrogation, conflict resolution, behavioral analysis, threat and risk assessment, personal protection, and crisis management. Dr. Vecchi travels worldwide to deliver consultation and training solutions.
Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) in the Expert Witness Arena: Defending Foreseeability in Premises Liability Cases
As premises liability cases involving violent crime continue to proliferate across hotels, casinos, apartment complexes, and entertainment venues, defense attorneys are increasingly seeking expert witnesses capable of applying behavioral science to the legal standard of foreseeability. Yet few practitioners in the Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) community have developed the specialized knowledge required to navigate this intersection effectively.
This presentation provides a practical roadmap for BTAM professionals seeking to enter or expand their role in the expert witness arena. Beginning with expert witness qualifications under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert standards, the presentation covers alignment of ASIS International security standards with BTAM methodology, ethical integration of AI tools into analysis and report development, and application of behavioral science to the critical legal distinction between generalized venue risk and the specific, particularized foreseeability required to establish liability.
The presentation further demonstrates how litigation work product can be leveraged post-case to identify liability gaps, develop venue-specific security policies, and design BTAM-informed training programs — transforming a single expert engagement into a sustained consulting relationship. Attendees will leave with a framework for building a defensible expert-witness practice and a strategic understanding of why the defense bar is one of the most promising and underserved markets for BTAM practitioners today.
Objectives:
- 1. Describe the legal and evidentiary foundations of the requirements for expert witnesses for Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) methods in premises liability cases.
- 2. Differentiate between generalized risk and foreseeability using BTAM principles to conduct defensible, case-specific analyses of violent crime incidents across venues such as hotels, casinos, and residential properties.
- 3. Integrate ASIS International (American Society for Industrial Security) security standards, ethical AI tools, and post-litigation insights to build defensible expert witness strategies.