By JESSICA ANDERSON
When my employer, Secure Community Network’s (SCN) current director, took the helm in late 2017, he did so with a vision of a national network of security professionals for all Jewish communities in North America. This idea is gradually taking shape as more communities identify the need for a security professional. Less distilled at that time was what that would look like. How would different security programs across the country function in unison when we all know that every Jewish community is different? We’ve all heard the joke that when you’ve seen one Jewish federation, well, you’ve seen one Jewish federation, and security programs are no different.
Each security program covers a different-sized community: A different security director heads them, and they have different backgrounds and skill sets. All of this creates a unique environment in which to work, and this translates to nuances and variations in how security programs are managed and executed. When SCN first started developing security programs, there were significant differences in programs and how each was run. Each director was pretty much figuring things out on their own. To minimize differences between programs, SCN has begun developing a set of standards to which each SCN security program will be held. 
SCN believes that addressing the current threat environment requires an integrated, comprehensive approach that connects local and national security efforts. This facilitates and supports coordinated information and intelligence sharing, and establishes standardized physical security efforts, best practice training, and standardized protocols. This approach ensures common standards and protection among all communities, irrespective of size, location, or resources.
To complete this, beginning in July 2021, SCN convened experts in public safety, organizational design, standards, training, compliance, and risk management, along with representatives of the national security director network of Jewish community security professionals, to identify and develop the National Jewish Community Safety and Security Standards (NJCSS). The goal was to develop appropriate standards and guidelines and a system of accountability. 
These standards are designed to be specific, measurable, actionable, and relevant, and the process is intended to provide guidance and clarity on the fundamental traits of a successful security initiative. This ensures that both established and brand-new security programs — and the professional security directors who run them — will have clear guideposts, benchmarks, and expectations. This ensures a quality product is delivered to the Jewish community they serve and provides a concrete method to evaluate the effectiveness of each security director. 
The standards cover a broad swath of requirements that include Management and Operational Standards. 
Management Standards – This category is everything from who is running the program, how they report to higher authorities and function administratively. Another element is community engagement – how is the director communicating with various groups, both within the community and outside? How extensive are the public safety and interfaith relationships?  Relationships are the key to a successful director, and they must show they have developed these, communicate with various community groups, and establish liaison relationships. The standard requirements include demonstrating that a risk analysis has been completed for every organization and a plan to address those risks.
Operational Standards – these standards relate to how we execute the day-to-day work. This includes responding to incidents, communicating with law enforcement, and sharing information with partners. We’re required to ensure all organizations have training, risk assessments, and meet cyber security and emergency planning standards. It’s a lot of obligations, and there are challenges to creating the enthusiasm in organizations to be able to meet them. Organizations have more than just security issues to manage, and everyone has only so much bandwidth.
As security directors, we’re expected to meet these standards and articulate and document how we’re trying to achieve them. The key is to make sure organizations know what’s available to them and be ready to help them achieve their goals when they are. The expectation is that we’ll be fully evaluated at least every three years, and ongoing check-ins for compliance will ensure standards are maintained. 
I share all of this with you so you have a bit more understanding of how SCN is working to ensure security programs have structures that are standardized, consistent, and rooted in best practices. These frameworks, while ultimately specific to each community, best position security directors to ensure the safety and security of the facilities, organizations, and members that we serve. 
If you have any questions about this process or want to contact me for training, or emergency preparedness (organizational or personal), or if you are an individual who wants to speak with me about a personal safety or security concern, please feel free to contact me at janderson@securecommunitynetwork.org or 872-273-9214. As always, we know antisemitic incidents are vastly underreported! Please let me know about incidents you’re aware of or submit it at the JFGP security webpage: https://www.jewishportland.org/security, by phone, or email. My training classes can also be found at the security webpage and on the community calendar.