SCN to be national model for DHS

A Jewish security network will be used as a national model for other faith communities by the Department of Homeland Security.

The Secure Community Network, a four and a half year old organization set up by United Jewish Communities and the Conference of Presidents, was cited by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano in a speech she gave on preparedness last week at the American Red Cross.

"We will also be expanding our Secure Communities Network, SCN," said Napolitano in that speech. "That network currently provides members of the Jewish community with security training and rapid information sharing during a crisis. We are expanding that to include other communities as well."

SCN coordinates security within the organized Jewish community, disseminating and sharing information about threats and recommendations on how to combat them. It also sets up training seminars for Jewish organizations with DHS personnel.

Paul Goldenberg, the national director of SCN, said he has already been advising DHS, and said the group is proud to be a "national model" for security preparedness.

The SCN press release on the announcement is after the jump:[[READMORE]]

In a major national speech last Tuesday capping National Preparedness Month, Secretary Napolitano heralded Secure Community Network (SCN) as the national model that DHS intends to expand and replicate for communities across the country.

In her speech to the Red Cross, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano announced that DHS is planning to expand upon the SCN model "to include other communities as well."

"DHS has been a long-standing partner of SCN and the Jewish community. Together, we have established a coordinated, community-based approach to security preparedness," said Malcolm Hoenlein, SCN co-Chair. "We welcome the Secretary’s plan to build on the SCN model into other communities across the country. We are all stakeholders in the security of the members and institutions of our communities and country. This initiative will further engage our human and institutional resources into that effort."

SCN’s primary mission since its founding nearly five years ago has been to instill a "culture of security awareness and preparedness" among its member organizations and the American Jewish community. "With the continued threat of homegrown terrorism, violent lone offenders, a current
pandemic and other natural disasters, our communities must be engaged and prepared to respond," said Stephen Hoffman, SCN co-chair.

Earlier this year, when the Jewish community was the target of several threats and planned attacks, the DHS Office of Bombing Prevention partnered with SCN to deliver a series of security awareness training & surveillance detection web seminars to hundreds of Jewish institutions nationwide. In response to incidents on the ground in Chicago and Connecticut, DHS dispatched security specialists and trainers to deliver security programs to provide important awareness and response training to assist organizations with enhancing their security posture and staff preparedness in the aftermath of security related incidents.

Over the next few months, SCN National Director Paul Goldenberg and Deputy Director Patrick Daly will be assisting DHS with the expansion and development of the SCN model in furtherance of the community readiness and preparedness initiatives set forth by the Department of Homeland Security.

"Secretary Napolitano has been a strong advocate of partnering with organizations such as SCN to ensure that DHS programs and security training reach communities at the local level where they are needed most," reported Paul Goldenberg, SCN National Director. "We look forward to working with DHS to expand this effort and initiative to communities across the country."