How Safe Are Your Children?

Imagine this: You send your kids to a private school every morning thinking that once they step inside the campus, they are all safe and secure. Then you hear news of a gunman entering a school and shooting students, faculty, and staff. You start to ponder – how safe are my children – really? Are my kids still safe inside their school?

In 2006, a joint report titled Indicators of School Crime and Safety compiled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics released some rather disturbing information comparing violence and related issues in public and private schools. The results clearly show that private school students are generally blasé about their personal safety compared to public school students.

But without improving basic security for students within the campus and without a clear crisis preparedness measures in the immediate school environment, private schools can be vulnerable to campus violence and even terror attacks. Good thing there are companies that offer protection services and security for private high schools.

“Security is absolutely needed in private schools. There needs to be a change of thinking in schools about the safety of students because (crime) can happen. A lot of the schools we deal with have said it can never happen to them, and it can, so what we do is try to change that mindset, and then give them a different type of security,” said James Crawford, CEO of CJL Executive Protection and Transportation Services.

For over 25 years, CJL Security has been providing high-level comprehensive security services, resulting in ultimate peace-of-mind, to its clients. Its unique security service is tailored to meet and even exceed the requirements of most private high schools.

“We do security that’s unlike any other company. It’s very personal. We get to know the kids, we get to know the families that drop the kids off, and there’s a trust that’s built between the family and the kids in the school, so it works out fairly well,” said Crawford, who added that the company has branched out to providing security to family affairs and celebrities who need bodyguards.

Security has never been a very serious concern for many private school administrators. Providing their own security men, school officials haven’t wanted to spend money on private security, said Crawford. But after the 9/11 attacks in New York, parents have started asking private schools about their security measures in events of terror attacks or in-campus violence.

“Schools have to answer questions from parents, and so security has become more and more of an upfront issue. Now it seems that everybody is doing security,” said Crawford, who has 25 years of experience working at the LAPD.

Most schools tend to “reactive,” said Crawford, waiting until something happens then trying to fix it. CJL is trying to push the schools to be pro-active about security: “Get it taken cared of now and make sure it doesn’t happen.”

“Make sure if [an incident] does happen, we’re here or there’s something in place that’s going to prevent a huge tragedy. Let’s fix it here. So, in the schools, we do a very pro-active or way ahead of the curve when it comes to security,” he pointed out.

Crawford says the high-level security services of CJL can become a selling point for private schools; especially those with high-tuition.

“These parents are going to ask, ‘What do you have in place?’ It’s a selling point for the administration and say, ‘Look, we have this and my guys do this and this is how they trained.’ It really eliminates that question out of their mind completely,” said Crawford.

CJL trains armed off-duty law enforcement officers to provide security to the campus. The company also trains students and faculty on what measures to take in the unfortunate event that a shooter comes on campus. The security program of CJL is tailor-made to meet the demand of each private school.

Security men, who are off-duty or retired police officers with several years of experience, come in every morning to provide security of arriving students and staff and then continue on until the students and school staff are picked up again after school hours.

“We’re basically there for the needs of the staff and students, and our primary responsibility is their safety, so we deal with it from 24-hours a day, from the parking all the way down to the early morning hours,” said Crawford.

The company also provides personalized security to students going to private schools, especially celebrities who go to schools and seek security escorts for their own safety.

All the personnel of CJL are post-certified, which are the police officer’s standards of training. They are all former or current law enforcement. The company requires at least 10 years of service on the police department to ensure the delivery of high-level security to clients.

“All of our agents are off-duty or retired law enforcement professionals who are trained to respond and adapt to a variety of situations while remaining committed to the tradition of service and professionalism that has become our trademark,” Crawford said.

CJL offers a wide range of products and services that have been developed over decades of work in professional high-level security. The years have taught CJL that every security situation brings its own unique set of circumstances. By offering a complex mix of proprietary products and custom-tailored solutions, CJL Security ensures that every need can be met, no matter how complex or unique the situation.

Aside from providing high-level security services to private schools and celebrities, CJL also offers its services to private gatherings, parties, weddings, religious gatherings, and to people who really want security and peace of mind.

CJL Executive Protection and Transportation Services, LLC
www.cjlsecurity.com
460 E. Sidlee Street Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Phone: (818) 601-3558 Fax: (805) 371-4215