Senior Crisis Incident Consultant: KIMS International
Heleen is a Senior Consultant at KIMS International, specialising in kidnapping, extortion, hostage negotiation, crisis management and specialised law-enforcement training. With two decades of service in the South African Police Service (SAPS), she brings deep operational insight, disciplined methodology and extensive field experience to the management of high-risk incidents.
Trained as a negotiator, Heleen served on the SAPS Hostage Negotiation Team in the Western Cape, actively contributing to the successful resolution of hostage, barricade and suicide-related crises. As a member of the SAPS Hostage Negotiation Training Team, she was responsible for the instruction, assessment and mentoring of new negotiators, ensuring operational readiness across units.
During incident management, she oversaw incident command, resource and logistics deployment, and multi-agency coordination. She also played a central role in planning and executing negotiation simulations and contributed to strategic security planning as part of the National Key Point Joint Planning Committee Structures.Heleen’s SAPS career also included operational roles within several specialised units, including the Crime Reaction Unit and Area Crime Combating Units. She is proficient in advanced weapon handling and has completed a broad spectrum of tactical, crime-prevention and crowd-management programmes. As a qualified EDT Practitioner, assessor and moderator, she has delivered comprehensive training in domestic-violence intervention, suicide prevention and foundational policing skills. Her operational deployments include major national events such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the 2013 African Cup of Nations, multiple election cycles and the Johannesburg WSSD.
After Heleen joined the TSU Group of Companies before transitioning to her current specialist role at KIMS International, she has developed operational
frameworks, delivered advanced training and supported numerous kidnapping, extortion and security-related investigations for corporate and
private-sector clients.
Heleen is widely regarded for her professionalism, structured approach and composure in high-pressure environments. Her negotiation expertise,
instructional background and extensive operational experience make her a key asset to the KIMS International crisis-response team.