Community Security Enterprise of the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond
In 2020, The Jewish Community Federation of Richmond partnered with Secure Community Network (SCN) to enhance our community’s safety, security, and preparedness posture. SCN, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), is the official safety and security organization of the Jewish community in North America. Founded in 2004 under the auspices of The Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, SCN works on behalf of 146 federations, the 50 largest Jewish nonprofit organizations in North America, and over 300 independent communities as well as with other partners in the public, private, nonprofit, and academic sectors to ensure the safety, security, and resiliency of the Jewish people.
Our Regional Security Advisor serves the Jewish Community for the State of Virginia (excluding Northern Virginia) as well as regionally for North and South Carolina.
About the Regional Security Advisor
David Brackins joined the Secure Community Network (SCN) in 2019 as the Regional Security Advisor for the Richmond and Peninsula Virginia Jewish Communities. In this role, Mr. Brackins serves at the local level as Director of Security for the Jewish Federations of Richmond and the Penisula as well as regionally for North and South Carolina.
In addition to serving as a trusted advisor for Jewish organizations in the region, his responsibilities include facilitating security concerns thru consultation, education and training as well as physical security assessments; maintaining and creating effective partnerships with local, state, and federal law enforcement and emergency management agencies; implementing a region-wide emergency communications system; monitoring intelligence related to terrorism and public safety, and; assisting with the coordination of security for major events in the community.
Mr. Brackins has over thirty years of experience including law enforcement, government, and private homeland security sectors. He has worked with the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security and his experience includes creating, implementing, and directing bespoke, holistic security programs focused on safety, protection, physical security, counterintelligence, crisis management, disaster recovery, and training. He has worked with government entities, foreign governments, foreign law enforcement and security organizations in protecting communities in over 10 different countries in Africa, South America, the Middle East and Europe.
Mr. Brackins served honorably as a Supervisory Special Agent with the Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security for 27 years, both domestic and internationally, operating in law enforcement, protection, security management and working within US Embassies and across the U.S.
COMMUNITY SECURITY SERVICES
Our Regional Security Advisor provides services to community institutions to enhance their safety, security, and emergency preparedness posture. These services are provided free of charge to non-profit Jewish community institutions, including synagogues, day schools, JCCs, and Jewish service organizations.
Security Advice and Consultation: The foundation of a security program begins with an assessment of an institution or organization’s current security posture. Our Regional Security Advisor can advise and coach the institution through that process. The advisor will meet with the organization’s leadership to identify needs and to develop a roadmap towards building a strong safety and security posture and culture. Our advisor also conducts formal Threat, Vulnerability, and Risk Assessments (TVRAs) to support security planning and applications for grant monies from federal, state, and local governments for security enhancements.
Contact us to request a consultation or a security assessment.
Safety and Security Training: One of the most effective, no-cost measures to enhance an organization’s safety and security posture is training its members, staff, and others in situational awareness, Active Threat Response, and Greeter-Usher practices. These classes, and others, customized to the needs of each organization, build personal confidence, preparedness, and resilience in the face of a crisis or emergency and begin the development of a safety and security culture in the organization.
Find more information on safety, security, and preparedness training offered.
Information Sharing: Nationally, SCN maintains a Duty Desk with an on-call Analyst available to Jewish community leaders and government partners. The Duty Desk provides 24-hour threat monitoring, intelligence analysis, and liaison with local, state, and federal agencies. Locally, our Security team operates SCN Alert, a state-of-the-art emergency communications platform that allows them to provide vital, timely information to staff, community institutions, and partners through SMS and email notifications to subscribers.
Individual community members can subscribe to SCN's Daily Update of security related news.
Subscribe your organization's primary and secondary points of contact for safety and security matters to SCN Alert.
Find additional safety, security, and preparedness resources.